Back Master of Arts (Oxbridge) French 文学修士 (オックスフォード・ケンブリッジ・ダブリン) Japanese Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin) SIMPLE
In the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts (BAs) are promoted to the rank of Master of Arts (MA), typically upon application after three or four years after graduation. No further examination or study is required for this promotion, which is a mark of seniority rather than an additional postgraduate qualification.[1][2][3]
Additionally, in accordance with the formula of ad eundem gradum, graduates of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge are also eligible to apply to "incorporate" and be granted equivalent academic degrees at Trinity College Dublin, and vice versa, provided that they wish to register for such a degree or are members of the academic staff; they also pay a required fee.[4][5][6][7] The "Steamboat ladies" (720 women graduates of Oxford and Cambridge who received Dublin degrees) are a well-known part of the history of incorporation.[8]
While these universities also award postgraduate masters' degrees that require further study and examination, they do not award the title 'MA' for any postgraduate degree.[9] This practice differs from that of most universities worldwide, where the MA reflects further postgraduate study. As a result, these degrees are often referred to as the Oxford and Cambridge MA and the Dublin or Trinity MA, to distinguish them.[10] Similarly, in the ancient Scottish universities, the degree of Master of Arts is awarded as an undergraduate degree in certain subjects.
Upon promotion to MA, graduates no longer wear the academic dress or use the post-nominal letters associated with Bachelors of Arts.
- ^ "Regulations for the Degree of Master of Arts". University of Oxford. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ^ "The Cambridge MA". University of Cambridge. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ "Regulations for the degree of Master in Arts (M.A.)". Trinity College Dublin. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ "Degrees and Diplomas" (PDF).
- ^ "Requirements for Incorporation at Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin universities". Oxford University.
- ^ "CHAPTER II : MATRICULATION, RESIDENCE, ADMISSION TO DEGREES, DISCIPLINE – INCORPORATION". University of Cambridge. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ "University of Oxford charter for Incorporation of Cambridge and Dublin". University of Oxford.
- ^ "A Timeline of the History of Women in Trinity". A Century of Women in Trinity College. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- ^ "Verifying qualifications". Oxford University. April 2020.
- ^ See a reader's letter to Times Higher Education: "Why I...think Oxbridge MA degrees should be scrapped". Times Higher Education. 16 June 2000. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. an Independent article "Parliament: The House In Brief: Oxbridge MA 'unfair'". The Independent. 8 June 2000. Archived from the original on 26 August 2011 – via HighBeam Research. and an article in The Oxford Student "Privilege Axed". The Oxford Student. 14 October 1999. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2009.