You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

The IP address or range 44.202.0.0/16 has been blocked (disabled) by ‪Blablubbs‬ for the following reason(s):

The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider or colocation provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts and colocation providers may be blocked from editing Wikipedia.
You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host or colocation provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN.
We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you are using a corporate internet connection, switch to a different Wi-Fi network. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in.
If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption.

How to appeal if you are confident that your connection does not use a colocation provider's IP address:
If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: ((unblock|reason=Caught by a colocation web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~)). You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host or colocation provider (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host or colocation provider.

Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and requests should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator.

This block will expire on 21:04, 17 October 2024.

Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page, as well as email administrators and other editors.

For information on how to proceed, please read the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful.

Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked
Your IP address is in a range that has been blocked on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. The block was made by ‪AntiCompositeNumber‬. The reason given is Open proxy/Webhost: Visit the FAQ if you are affected .
- Start of block: 13:55, 18 August 2022
- Expiry of block: 13:55, 18 September 2024
Your current IP address is 44.202.77.27. The blocked range is 44.202.0.0/16. Please include all above details in any queries you make. If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki. You could also send an email to the stewards VRT queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details.

You can view and copy the source of this page:

((Short description|Academic title or rank))
((EngvarB|date=September 2013))
((Use dmy dates|date=September 2015))

In the universities of [[University of Oxford|Oxford]], [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], and [[University of Dublin|Dublin]], [[Bachelor of Arts|Bachelors of Arts]] are promoted to the [[academic degree|degree]] of '''Master of Arts''' or '''Master in Arts''' ('''MA''') on application after six or seven years as members of the university, including years as an [[Undergraduate education|undergraduate]]. It is an academic rank indicating seniority and not an additional postgraduate qualification. Within these three universities there are in fact no postgraduate degrees which result in the postnominals 'MA'.<ref>((cite web|date=April 2020|title=Verifying qualifications|url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/graduation/verification|website=Oxford University))</ref> No further examination or study is required for this promotion and it is equivalent to undergraduate degrees awarded by other universities.<ref name=oxford-ma>((cite web|url=https://examregs.admin.ox.ac.uk/Regulation?code=mastofarts|title=Regulations for the Degree of Master of Arts|publisher=[[University of Oxford]]|access-date=17 October 2022))</ref><ref name=camb-ma>((cite web|url=http://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/graduation-and-what-next/cambridge-ma|title=The Cambridge MA|date=6 November 2014 |publisher=University of Cambridge|access-date=13 December 2015))</ref><ref name=dublin-ma>((cite web|url=http://www.tcd.ie/calendar/1415-2/part-3/4-regulations-for-professional-higher-and-other-degrees/7-regulations-for-the-degree-of-master-in-arts-m-a/|title=Regulations for the degree of Master in Arts (M.A.)|publisher=Trinity College Dublin|access-date=13 December 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924121512/http://www.tcd.ie/calendar/1415-2/part-3/4-regulations-for-professional-higher-and-other-degrees/7-regulations-for-the-degree-of-master-in-arts-m-a/ |archive-date= Sep 24, 2015 ))</ref>

This practice differs from most other universities worldwide, at which the degree reflects further postgraduate study or achievement. These degrees are therefore sometimes referred to as the '''Oxford and Cambridge MA''' and the '''Dublin''' or '''Trinity MA,''' to draw attention to the difference.<ref>See for instance a reader's letter to ''[[Times Higher Education]]'': ((Cite web |date=2000-06-16 |title=Why I...think Oxbridge MA degrees should be scrapped |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/why-ithink-oxbridge-ma-degrees-should-be-scrapped/152170.article |website=Times Higher Education |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817202701/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/why-ithink-oxbridge-ma-degrees-should-be-scrapped/152170.article?storycode=152170 |archive-date= Aug 17, 2022 |postscript=,)) an ''[[The Independent|Independent]]'' article ((Cite web |date=June 8, 2000 |title=Parliament: The House In Brief: Oxbridge MA 'unfair' |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-5087035.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826052616/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-5087035.html |archive-date=Aug 26, 2011 |publisher=The Independent |via=HighBeam Research |postscript=,)) and an article in ''[[The Oxford Student]]'' ((cite web |title=Privilege Axed |website=The Oxford Student |date=14 Oct 1999 |url=http://www.oxfordstudent.com/mt1999wk1/news/privilege_axed |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203174401/http://www.oxfordstudent.com/mt1999wk1/news/privilege_axed |archive-date=3 December 2008 |access-date=2009-06-25 |df=dmy-all))</ref> However, as with gaining a postgraduate degree from another university, once incepted and promoted to a Master, the graduate no longer wears the [[academic dress]] or uses the post-nominal letters pertaining to a Bachelor of Arts, being no longer of that rank.

All three universities have other masters' (i.e. postgraduate) degrees which do require further study and examination, but these have other titles, such as [[Master of Letters]] (MLitt), [[Master of Philosophy]] (MPhil), [[Master of Studies]] (MSt), [[Master of Engineering]] (MAI, or MEng), [[Master of Science]] (MSc) or Master of Business (MBA).

In the [[ancient universities of Scotland]], a degree with the same name is awarded as a [[Undergraduate degree|first degree]] to graduates in certain subjects (see [[Master of Arts (Scotland)]]).

==Requirements==
In all three universities, a Bachelor of Arts may "incept" as a Master of Arts after a given lapse of time or as soon as a person is of the required academic standing. No further examinations or residence are required, but some institutions require the incipient to pay a fee.

*At Oxford, the rank of MA may be conferred during or after the twenty-first term from [[matriculation]] (i.e., ordinarily seven years after joining the University) upon anyone holding an Oxford BA or [[Bachelor of Fine Arts]] (BFA) degree.<ref>((cite book
 | year = 2005
 | title = University of Oxford Examination Decrees and Regulations for the Academic Year 2005–2006
 | chapter = Chapter 4: Regulations for the Degree of Master of Arts
 | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
 | page = 563
 ))</ref> An exception is that a Bachelor of Arts who attains the degree of Doctor of Philosophy may immediately incept as a Master of Arts, before the requisite number of terms have passed.
*At Cambridge, the MA degree may be conferred six years after the end of the first term in residence to a person holding a Cambridge Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. The previous requirement that the BA must have been held for two years before becoming eligible for the MA was removed as a result of the delay for many graduands receiving their BAs during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], although it remains the case that the BA must be held before the MA can be applied for.<ref>((Cite web|url=https://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/so/pdfs/2022/ordinance05.pdf|title=CHAPTER V : B.A. DEGREE AND M.A. DEGREE - MASTER OF ARTS|website=www.admin.cam.ac.uk))</ref>  The MA degree can also be awarded by the University of Cambridge to senior members of staff of the university or colleges, after three years of employment, if they have not previously graduated from Cambridge.
*At Dublin, the rank of MA may be conferred to anyone who has held a Dublin BA degree (or another bachelor's degree after at least nine terms' residence) for at least three years. A fee (€637 in 2012) is payable, but is waived in the case of graduates of more than fifty years' standing.<ref>((cite book
 | year = 2007
 | title = College Calendar, Trinity College Dublin
 | chapter = Degrees and Diplomas – II. REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE AWARD OF DEGREES – 4. Masters
 | url = http://www.tcd.ie/calendar/assets/pdf/degrees_diplomas.pdf
 | page = E5
 ))</ref>

The MA degree may be conferred in some other situations, but these are by far the most common. Details of these other instances may be found in the sections referenced.((vague|date=January 2020))

In accordance with the formula of ''[[ad eundem gradum]],'' a form of recognition that exists among the three universities, a graduate of Oxford, Cambridge, or Dublin who is entitled to an MA degree may be conferred with the equivalent degree at either of the other two universities without further examination.<ref>((cite book
 | title = Statutes and Regulations, University of Oxford
 | chapter = Statute X: Degrees, Diplomas, and Certificates
 | url = http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/
 | chapter-url = http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/215-031.shtml
 ))</ref><ref>((cite book
 | year = 2006
 | title = The 1966 Consolidated Statutes of Trinity College, Dublin, and the University of Dublin
 | chapter = Chapter XXII: Chapter relating to the Degrees conferred by the University
 | url = http://www.tcd.ie/Secretary/Board/Other_Papers/Statutes-Current.pdf
 | page = 83
 | access-date = 16 July 2008
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090305164644/http://www.tcd.ie/Secretary/Board/Other_Papers/Statutes-Current.pdf
 | archive-date = 5 March 2009
 | url-status = dead
 ))</ref> The Board of Trinity College, Dublin currently restricts its ''ad eundem'' awards to eligible members of the Dublin academic staff, or those who wish to register for a higher degree at Dublin;<ref>((cite book
 | year = 2007
 | title = College Calendar, Trinity College Dublin
 | chapter = Degrees and Diplomas – II. REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE AWARD OF DEGREES – 10. Degrees awarded in special cases: degrees ''ad eundem gradum''
 | url = http://www.tcd.ie/about/calendar/pdf/degrees_diplomas.pdf
 | page = E5
 ))</ref> Cambridge restricts its awards to those "matriculated as a member of the University";<ref>((cite book
 | year = 2007
 | title = Statutes and Ordinances of the University of Cambridge and Passages from Acts of Parliament relating to the University
 | chapter = Ordinances Chapter II: Matriculation, Residence, Admission to Degrees, Discipline
 | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
 | url = http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/so/
 |chapter-url = http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/so/so_ch02.pdf
 | page = 179
 ))</ref> Oxford considers applicants who are undertaking a course of study or fulfil some educational role at Oxford, or who have "rendered valuable services to the University or to its members."<ref>((cite book
 | year = 2002
 | title = Statutes and Regulations, University of Oxford
 | chapter = Regulations for Degrees, Diplomas, and Certificates, Part 1: Admission to Degrees – Incorporation
 | url = http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/
 |chapter-url = http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/regulations/307-072.shtml#_Toc28140154
 ))</ref> This process is called "incorporation".

==Post-nominal style==
Masters of Arts of the three universities may use the [[post-nominal letters]] "MA". Although [[honours degree|honours]] are awarded for the examinations leading to the BA degree (hence "BA (Hons)"), it is incorrect to use the style "MA (Hons)," as there is no examination for the MA degree. The abbreviated name of the university (Oxon, Cantab or Dubl) is therefore almost always appended in parentheses to the initials "MA" in the same way that it is to higher degrees, e.g. "John Smith, MA (Cantab), PhD (Lond)," principally so that it is clear (to those who are aware of the system) that these are nominal and unexamined degrees.<ref name="oxford-ma"/><ref name="camb-ma"/><ref name="dublin-ma"/>

If someone incorporates from one of the above universities to another, the Latin ''et'' can be inserted between the university names, e.g. "MA (Oxon et Cantab)", etc. as opposed to "MA (Oxon), MA (Cantab)" which would indicate that the holder graduated BA at both universities.((citation needed|date=December 2015))

The Oxford ''University Gazette'' and ''University Calendar'' have, since 2007, used Oxf rather than Oxon (also Camb rather than Cantab and Dub rather than Dubl) to match the style used for other universities, stating that: "It is not feasible to use the form ‘Oxon’ because to do so would entail Latinising all of the very many university names which occur in the Calendar".

This style is used equally for all degrees, with no distinction being made between incorporated, incepted, and examined MAs. However, the BA degree is not shown if the graduate has proceeded from BA to MA – "BA MA Oxf" should not appear. For example, someone who graduated BA at Oxford and proceeded to MA, studied for an MA in London, then moved to Cambridge and became an MA by incorporation, would be shown as MA Camb, MA Lond, MA Oxf (note the universities are ordered alphabetically), while someone who had graduated as both BA and MA in London is shown as BA MA Lond.<ref>((cite web|title=Calendar Style Guide 2015|url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/media/global/wwwoxacuk/localsites/gazette/documents/universitycalendar/Calendar_Style_Guide_2015.pdf|publisher=University of Oxford|access-date=12 December 2015))</ref>

==History and rationale==
((More citations needed section|date=November 2020))This system dates from the Middle Ages, when the study of the liberal arts took seven years. In the late Middle Ages most students joined their university at an earlier age than is now usual, often when aged only 14 or 15. The basic university education in the [[liberal arts]] comprised the [[Trivium (education)|Trivium]] (grammar, rhetoric and dialectic) and the [[Quadrivium]] (geometry, arithmetic, astronomy and music), and typically took seven years of full-time study.

In between matriculation and licence to teach, which was awarded at the end of an undergraduate's studies (whereafter he was incepted as a Master of Arts), he took an intermediate degree known as the [[bachelor's degree|baccalaureate]], or degree of Bachelor of Arts. The division into trivium and quadrivium did not always correspond with the division between the studies required for the BA and MA degrees, but was adopted in Cambridge in the Tudor era and maintained long after it was abandoned elsewhere in Europe. In the [[University of Paris]] the baccalaureate was granted soon after [[responsions]] (the examination for matriculation), whereas in Oxford and Cambridge the bachelor's degree was postponed to a much later stage, and gradually developed a greater significance.

On inception and admission to the degree of Master of Arts, a student would become a full member of the university, and was allowed to vote in discussions of the house of [[Convocation]]. The new MA might then teach in the university for a specified number of years, during which time he was a 'regent' or 'regent master'. Upon completion of this work, he would become a 'non-regent master' and would either leave the university (often to become a clerk or [[schoolmaster]] or to enter the priesthood), or else remain and undertake further studies in one of the specialised or 'higher' faculties: Divinity, Canon or Civil Law, and Medicine.

Later, it became possible to study in the higher faculties as a BA, although the higher degree could not be taken until a graduate had the required seniority to incept as an MA. While the requirements for the bachelor's degree increased, those for the master's degree gradually diminished. By the 18th century, the ancient system of [[disputation]]s had degenerated into a mere formality, and it was possible to satisfy the prescribed terms of residence, which formerly included compulsory attendance at set lectures, by keeping one's name on the college books. Examinations along modern lines were introduced for the BA and MA degrees in Oxford by the first great statute to reform the examination system in 1800, but the MA examination was abolished by a second statute in 1807. 
[[File:Agar Cambridge non-regent MA 1815.jpg|thumb|Costume of a non-[[Regent master|regent]] MA in Cambridge, 1815.]]
From at least the sixteenth century, the most select group of undergraduates were the noblemen (peers, eldest sons of peers or relatives of the monarch) who paid four times the normal fees and often received an MA degree after two years’ residence only, and without any formal exercises - thus bypassing the BA degree. However, they might not stay long enough to graduate.  At the universities this group was marked with gold tassels ("tufts") on their [[mortarboard]] caps, compared to the black ones that socially lower-ranking students wore.<ref>((Cite web|url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-tuf2.htm|title=World Wide Words: Tufthunter|website=World Wide Words))</ref> Those students of the next rank, [[fellow-commoner]]s at Cambridge or Dublin, or [[gentleman commoner|gentlemen commoners]] at Oxford, paid twice the normal fee, ate with the fellows and were also excused from attending college lectures and performing their exercises for the plain BA. They could graduate a year earlier than the next category below. Nevertheless, at Cambridge both higher categories of student still had to take the Senate House Examination if they wished to have an honours degree.<ref> Peter Searby, ''A History of the University of Cambridge'', vol. III, 1750-1870, Cambridge University Press, 1997, pp. 68-69</ref> Commoners (at Oxford) or Pensioners (at Cambridge & Dublin) paid the standard fee and were more likely remain to graduate. Below them came [[servitor]]s (at Oxford) and [[sizar]]s (at Cambridge & Dublin), whose college fees were subsidised by their colleges and who in return had to fetch and carry, sweep, and serve at table. This group was much more likely to graduate. [[Oliver Goldsmith]] was a sizar: [[Isaac Newton]] was a subsizar. These privileges and humiliations were gradually removed during the nineteenth century.

Reforms in the late sixteenth century allowed some ordinary undergraduates also to bypass the BA stage: after the bachelor of arts degree, it used to be necessary to wait another three years to become a bachelor of laws or medicine, but after paying a fine it was possible to leave college after three years in residence, study at the Inns of Court or a teaching hospital in London, or abroad, and return at the five year mark for a professional bachelor's degree, allowing later progression to a doctorate, as happened in the case of [[William Blackstone]].

Students at [[King's College, Cambridge]], who until 1865 were all from [[Eton College]], could until 1851 graduate BA, and in due course MA, without taking the university examinations. Students at [[New College, Oxford]], who all used to come from [[Winchester College]], had the same exemptions until 1834.

While the length of the undergraduate degree course has been shortened to three or four years in all subjects, all three universities still require roughly seven years to pass before the awarding of the MA degree. The shortening of the degree course reflects the fact that much of the teaching of the liberal arts was taken over by [[grammar school]]s, and undergraduates now enter universities at an older age, in most cases between 17 and 19. (It may be noted that the school-leaving certificate in France today is known as the [[Baccalauréat|baccalaureate]].)

[[Durham University]] (first MA awarded 1838) and the [[University of London]] (first MA awarded 1840) broke away from the ancient model of England by considering the MA to be a higher degree distinct from the initial degree, awarded after further examination.<ref>((cite news|work=[[Yorkshire Post]]|date=29 June 1937|title=Durham University Centenary|access-date=12 December 2015 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19370629/295/0008| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription |author=C. E. Whiting|quote=The M.A. degree at Oxford and Cambridge had degenerated, and was granted to Bachelors of three years' standing on the payment of certain fees. At Durham the B.A. had to keep residence for three extra terms, and to pass what seems have been an honours examination in order to proceed to the Master's degree, and for a number of years classes were awarded in the M.A. examination.))</ref><ref>((cite book|pages=21–23|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYNCAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR1|title=Regulations of the University of London on the Subject of Degrees in Arts|date=1839|chapter=Examination for the degree of Matter of Arts))</ref><ref>((cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fd8NAAAAQAAJ|pages=xxv–xxvi|chapter=Regulations|title=The Durham University Calendar|date=1842))</ref> However, in instituting a course of further study beyond the initial baccalaureate, these universities can be seen to have reverted to the ancient model. Almost all newer universities followed their lead, with the result that the Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin model is now the anomaly. Some followed that model for some years (allowing progressions in the same faculty such as from BSc to MSc, etc.) but changed to the newer system afterwards.

Among the "[[steamboat ladies]]", female students at Oxford and Cambridge who were awarded ''ad eundem'' University of Dublin degrees between 1904 and 1907 (at a time when their own universities refused to confer degrees upon women), some like [[Julia Bell]] obtained an MA.<ref>
((cite ODNB |id=38514 |title=Bell, Julia (1879–1979) |first=Greta |last=Jones |date=17 September 2015));
((cite ODNB |id=61643 |title=Steamboat ladies (''act.'' 1904–1907) |last1=Parkes |first1=Susan M. ))
</ref>

==Rights and privileges==
((More citations needed section|date=November 2020))The degree of Master of Arts traditionally carried various rights and privileges, the chief of which was membership of the legislative bodies of the universities – [[Convocation]] at Oxford and the [[Faculty senate|Senate]] at Cambridge and Dublin. These were originally important decision-making bodies, approving changes to the statutes of the universities and electing various officials, including the two [[University constituency#Scotland, England, Ireland, Great Britain, United Kingdom|members of Parliament]] for each university. Inception to the MA degree was the principal way of becoming a member of these bodies, though it is not the only way, e.g. at Oxford Doctors of Divinity, Medicine and Civil Law were always also automatically members of Convocation. Today, the main role of Convocation and Senate is the election of the [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of each university as well as the [[Oxford Professor of Poetry|Professor of Poetry]] at Oxford and the [[High Steward (academia)|High Steward]] at Cambridge.

The privileges accorded to MAs and other members of Convocation/Senate were formerly very important. At Oxford, until 1998 the [[Proctor]]s only had the power to discipline "junior members" (those who had not been admitted to membership of Convocation), which meant that any graduate student who had incepted as an MA was immune from their authority. At Cambridge, MAs and those with MA status continue to be exempt from the rules governing the ownership of motor vehicles by students. Other privileges intended for academic staff and alumni, e.g. the right to dine at High Table, to attend [[Gaudy|Gaudies]], to walk upon college lawns, etc., are in most colleges restricted to MAs, which excludes the majority of graduate students.

For Cambridge, membership of the Senate is no longer limited to the MA<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/so/2009/statute_a-section1.html |title=Statutes and Ordinances of the University of Cambridge: Statute A Chapter 1 |publisher=Admin.cam.ac.uk |access-date=21 November 2012))</ref> and in 2000, Oxford opened membership of Convocation to all graduates.<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/780-121.shtml |title=Statutes and Regulations: Statute III – Convocation |publisher=Admin.ox.ac.uk |access-date=21 November 2012))</ref>

For Dublin, the right to elect senators to the upper house of the Irish parliament, [[Seanad Éireann]], is now restricted to those who are Irish citizens and since 1918 the franchise was extended to include all graduates, not only those with an MA.<ref>((cite web |url=http://www.tcd.ie/calendar/assets/pdf/seanad_eireann.pdf |title=Representation of the University in Seanad Éireann |access-date=21 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607042527/http://www.tcd.ie/calendar/assets/pdf/seanad_eireann.pdf |archive-date=7 June 2011 |url-status=dead ))</ref>

==Precedence==
The MA degree gives its holder a particular status in the universities' orders of precedence/seniority.<ref>((cite book
 | year = 2005
 | title = Statutes and Ordinances of the University of Cambridge and Passages from Acts of Parliament relating to the University
 | chapter = Ordinances Chapter II: Matriculation, Residence, Admission to Degrees, Discipline
 | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
 | url = http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/so/
 | chapter-url = http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/so/so_ch02.pdf
 | page = 186
 ))</ref><ref>((cite book
 | year = 2002
 | title = Statutes and Regulations, University of Oxford
 | chapter = Regulations for Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates, Part 2: Academic Precedence and Standing
 | url = http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/
 |chapter-url = http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/regulations/307-072.shtml#_Toc28140155
 ))</ref> In the [[University of Oxford]] a Master of Arts enjoys precedence, standing, and rank before all doctors, masters, and bachelors of the university who are not Masters of Arts, apart from [[Doctor of Divinity|Doctors of Divinity]] and [[Doctor of Civil Law|Doctors of Civil Law]].  Precedence, standing, and rank were formerly important for determining eligibility for appointments such as fellowships, but now generally have only a ceremonial significance.

==MA status==
((More citations needed section|date=November 2020))In Oxford, until 2000 the university statutes required that all members of [[congregation (university)|Congregation]] (the academic and senior staff of the university) have at least the degree of DD, DM, DCL or MA or have MA status. This linked back to the MA as the licence to teach in the university. MA status was thus routinely granted to academics from other universities who came to take up positions within the university; while it is no longer granted in this way, many members of Congregation appointed before 2000 retain MA status.

In Cambridge, the status of MA is automatically accorded to graduates of other universities studying in Cambridge who are aged 24 or older (graduate students under 24 years are given BA status). This entitles them to wear the appropriate Cambridge gown, but without strings.<ref name="cusugg">((cite web|title=Cambridge SU Gown Guide|url=https://www.cambridgesu.co.uk/aboutus/services/gowns/gownguide/))</ref>

For the above cases, the status is not a degree so is automatically relinquished upon leaving the University (in the case of Oxford) or completion of their degree (for Cambridge).

== Historical examples at other colleges ==
While today only Cambridge, Oxford, and Trinity College, Dublin promote students to the degree of Master of Arts three years after graduation, this was a practice at other colleges before the 20th century.  

In the United States, [[Columbia University]] awarded the Master of Arts in this manner from 1761<ref>((Cite book |last=Columbia College (New York |first=N. Y. ) |url=http://archive.org/details/62640310R.nlm.nih.gov |title=Catalogue of Columbia College in the City of New-York : embracing the names of its trustees, officers, and graduates, together with a list of all academical honours conferred by the institution from A.D. 1758 to A.D. 1826, inclusive |date=1826 |publisher=New York : Printed by T. and J. Swords |others=U.S. National Library of Medicine))</ref> until the practice was abolished by the Board of Trustees in June 1880, when a formal exam for the Master of Arts was introduced.<ref>((Cite book |last=Columbia university. [from old catalog] |url=http://archive.org/details/statutesofcolumb00colu |title=Statutes of Columbia college and its associated schools |date=1878 |publisher=New York, Printed for the College |others=The Library of Congress))</ref>

==Criticism==
In 2000, research by the [[Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education]] showed that 62% of employers were unaware that the Cambridge MA did not represent any kind of postgraduate achievement involving study.<ref>((cite web|title=Oxbridge students' MA 'degrees' under threat|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/8318460/Oxbridge-students-MA-degrees-under-threat.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/8318460/Oxbridge-students-MA-degrees-under-threat.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|publisher=Daily Telegraph|access-date=2 January 2013))((cbignore))</ref> The same survey found widespread ignorance amongst employers regarding university-level qualifications in general: 51% believed the [[University of Edinburgh|Edinburgh]] [[Master of Arts (Scotland)|MA]] to be a postgraduate qualification, 22% were unaware that a [[Doctor of Business Administration|Doctorate in Business Administration]] was a higher qualification than an undergraduate [[Diploma of Higher Education]], and 40% thought that a BA or BSc was a postgraduate degree.<ref name=thes-qaa>((cite web|title=QAA to tighten reins on MAs|url=http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/qaa-to-tighten-reins-on-mas/152424.article|publisher=[[Times Higher Education Supplement]]|access-date=6 February 2014|date=7 July 2000))</ref>

In February 2011, the then Labour MP for Nottingham East, [[Chris Leslie (politician)|Chris Leslie]], sponsored a private member's bill, the ''Master's Degrees (Minimum Standards) Bill 2010–12'', to "prohibit universities awarding Master's degrees unless certain standards of study and assessment are met".<ref name="mdmsb"/><ref name=hansard>((cite journal|title=Master's Degrees (Minimum Standards) Bill 2010–2012: Second Reading|journal=House of Commons Hansard Debates|date=21 October 2011|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm111021/debtext/111021-0002.htm#11102146000004))</ref> The bill's second reading debate occurred on 21 October 2011, but ran out of time.<ref name="hansard"/><ref name="mdmsb">((cite web|title=Master's Degrees (Minimum Standards) Bill 2010–2012|url=https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/831|publisher=UK Parliament|access-date=29 November 2021))</ref>

In Ireland, the Master of Arts at Trinity College, Dublin, is not registered with or approved by [[Quality and Qualifications Ireland]], the national agency responsible for academic [[National Framework of Qualifications|qualifications]] in [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]].<ref>((Cite web |title=Irish Register of Qualification |url=https://irq.ie/ |access-date=2023-08-21 |website=irq.ie))</ref>

==See also==
*[[Ad eundem degree|''Ad eundem'' degree]]
*[[Wooden spoon (award)]]
*[[Wrangler (University of Cambridge)]]

==References==
((reflist|30em))

==External links==
*[http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/so/2016/chapter05-section2.html Ordinances of the University of Cambridge regarding Master of Arts degree]
*[http://www.oriel.ox.ac.uk/content/oxford-ma The Oxford MA], [[Oriel College, Oxford]]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/478163.stm Oxbridge MA degrees under threat (BBC website)]
((Academic degrees))

[[Category:Academic courses at the University of Cambridge]]
[[Category:Academic courses at the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Education in England]]
[[Category:Master's degrees|Arts]]
[[Category:Terminology of the University of Cambridge]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin) (edit)
Template:Academic degrees (edit)
Template:Ambox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Both (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Template:Cbignore (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Citation needed (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite ODNB (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Cite book (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite encyclopedia (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite journal (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite news (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite web (view source) (protected)
Template:DMCA (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Dated maintenance category (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Dated maintenance category (articles) (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Delink (view source) (protected)
Template:EngvarB (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:FULLROOTPAGENAME (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Fix (view source) (protected)
Template:Fix-span (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Fix/category (view source) (protected)
Template:Hlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:Link note (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main other (view source) (protected)
Template:More citations needed (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:More citations needed section (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Ns has subpages (view source) (protected)
Template:ODNBsub (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description/lowercasecheck (view source) (protected)
Template:Sp (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Use dmy dates (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Vague (view source) (extended confirmed protected)
Template:Zero width space (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Zwsp (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Arguments (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/blacklist (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/shared (view source) (protected)
Module:Check for unknown parameters (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1 (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/COinS (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:DecodeEncode (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Delink (view source) (protected)
Module:Disambiguation/templates (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/ambox.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Ns has subpages (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/disambiguation (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/setindex (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/softredirect (view source) (protected)
Module:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Module:String (view source) (protected)
Module:Template wrapper (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Unsubst (view source) (protected)
Module:Wikitext Parsing (view source) (protected)
Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin).

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Arts_(Oxford,_Cambridge,_and_Dublin)"