Master's degree

==Historical development==
===Medieval era to 18th century===
The master's degree dates back to the origin of European universities, with a [[Papal bull]] of 1233 decreeing that anyone admitted to the mastership in the [[University of Toulouse]] should be allowed to teach freely in any other university. The original meaning of the master's degree was thus that someone who had been admitted to the rank (degree) of master (i.e. teacher) in one university should be admitted to the same rank in other universities. This gradually became formalised as the {{Lang|la|licentia docendī}} (licence to teach). Originally, masters and doctors were not distinguished, but by the 15th century it had become customary in the English universities to refer to the teachers in the lower faculties (arts and grammar) as masters and those in the higher faculties as doctors.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages: Volume 1, Salerno, Bologna, Paris|author=Hastings Rashdall|date=1895|pages=1–22|chapter=I|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108018104|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E4-eLaN99PEC&pg=PA1|author-link=Hastings Rashdall|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=2 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102034925/https://books.google.com/books?id=E4-eLaN99PEC&pg=PA1|url-status=live}}</ref> Initially, the [[Bachelor of Arts]] (BA) was awarded for the study of the [[trivium]] and the [[Master of Arts]] (MA) for the study of the [[quadrivium]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.academicapparel.com/caps/History-College-Education.html|title=History of Medieval Education, Middle Ages European Learning|website=Academic Apparel|access-date=8 August 2016|archive-date=18 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118200807/https://www.academicapparel.com/caps/History-College-Education.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

From the late [[Middle Ages]] until the 19th century, the pattern of degrees was therefore to have a bachelor's and master's degree in the lower faculties and to have bachelor's and doctorates in the higher faculties. In the United States, the first master's degrees ({{Lang|la|Magister Artium}}, or Master of Arts) were awarded at [[Harvard University]] soon after its foundation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2012/05/commencement-from-1642-onward/|title=Commencements, from 1642 onward|website=Harvard Gazette|date=22 May 2012|author=Corydon Ireland|access-date=8 August 2016|archive-date=27 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160727082339/http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2012/05/commencement-from-1642-onward/|url-status=live}}</ref> In [[Scotland]], the pre-Reformation universities (St Andrews, Glasgow, and Aberdeen) developed so that the [[Scottish MA]] became their first degree, while in [[Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin)|Oxford, Cambridge and Trinity College Dublin]], the [[Oxbridge MA|MA]] was awarded to BA graduates of a certain standing without further examination from the late 17th century, its main purpose being to confer full membership of the university.<ref>{{cite news|title=Oxbridge masters degrees 'offensive', says Cambridge don|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/7771288/Oxbridge-masters-degrees-offensive-says-Cambridge-don.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/7771288/Oxbridge-masters-degrees-offensive-says-Cambridge-don.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|date=27 May 2010|work=Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> At Harvard the 1700 regulations required that candidates for the master's degree had to pass a public examination,<ref>{{cite web|title=Harvard College Laws of 1700|url=http://www.constitution.org/primarysources/harvard.html|access-date=8 August 2016|publisher=Constitution Society|archive-date=19 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819225249/http://www.constitution.org/primarysources/harvard.html|url-status=live}}</ref> but by 1835 this was awarded [[Oxbridge]]-style three years after the BA.<ref>{{cite book|page=22|title=Revised Code of Laws|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2fgxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA86|work=Report of a Committee of the Overseers of Harvard College|date=6 January 1825|last1=Board Of Overseers|first1=Harvard University|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=1 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101064332/https://books.google.com/books?id=2fgxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA86|url-status=live}}</ref>

===19th century===
The 19th century saw a great expansion in the variety of master's degrees offered. At the start of the century, the only master's degree was the MA, and this was normally awarded without any further study or examination. The [[Master of Surgery|Master in Surgery]] degree was introduced by the [[University of Glasgow]] in 1815.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-1hYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA687|work=Association Medical Journal|date=20 July 1855|publisher=Provincial Medical and Surgical Association|page=687|title=The Charters of the Scotch Universities and Medical Corporations, and Medical Reform in Scotland|author=J. A. Lawrie|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=31 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231140819/https://books.google.com/books?id=-1hYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA687|url-status=live}}</ref> By 1861 this had been adopted throughout Scotland as well as by [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] and Durham in England and the [[University of Dublin]] in Ireland.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lGkCBTGYtmYC&pg=PA41|work=The Medical Times and Gazette|volume=2|page=441|date=13 July 1861|title=Minutes of the Medical Council|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=13 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213005036/https://books.google.com/books?id=lGkCBTGYtmYC&pg=PA41|url-status=live}}</ref> When the Philadelphia College of Surgeons was established in 1870, it too conferred the Master of Surgery, "the same as that in Europe".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=11MCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA284|title=College of Surgeons|work=The Philadelphia University Journal of Medicine and Surgery|date=1870|volume=13|page=284|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=31 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231124008/https://books.google.com/books?id=11MCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA284|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Scotland, Edinburgh maintained separate BA and MA degrees until the mid-19th century,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B2JLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA821|title=University of Edinburgh|work=American Journal of Education|volume=4|page=821|date=1858|last1=Barnard|first1=Henry|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=30 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230122203/https://books.google.com/books?id=B2JLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA821|url-status=live}}</ref> although there were major doubts as to the quality of the Scottish degrees of this period. In 1832 [[Lord Brougham]], the [[Lord Chancellor]] and an alumnus of the University of Edinburgh, told the [[House of Lords]] that "In England the Universities conferred degrees after a considerable period of residence, after much labour performed, and if they were not in all respects so rigorous as the statutes of the Universities required, nevertheless it could not be said, that Masters of Arts were created at Oxford and Cambridge as they were in Scotland, without any residence, or without some kind of examination. In Scotland, all the statutes of the Universities which enforced conditions on the grant of degrees were a dead letter."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1832/jul/09/parliamentary-reform-bill-for-scotland#S3V0014P0_18320709_HOL_44|title=PARLIAMENTARY REFORM—BILL FOR SCOTLAND—COMMITTEE.|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=9 July 1832|access-date=21 August 2016|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202000904/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1832/jul/09/parliamentary-reform-bill-for-scotland#S3V0014P0_18320709_HOL_44|url-status=live}}</ref>

It 1837, separate examinations were reintroduced for the MA in England, at the newly established [[Durham University]] (even though, as in the ancient English universities, this was to confer full membership), to be followed in 1840 by the similarly new [[University of London]], which was only empowered by its charter to grant degrees by examination.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Yorkshire Post]]|date=29 June 1937|title=Durham University Centenary|access-date=8 August 2016|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 Master of Arts|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=5 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805180257/https://books.google.com/books?id=AYNCAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fd8NAAAAQAAJ|pages=xxv–xxvi|chapter=Regulations|title=The Durham University Calendar|date=1842|access-date=29 May 2020|archive-date=18 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418093316/https://books.google.com/books?id=fd8NAAAAQAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> However, by the middle of the century the MA as an examined second degree was again under threat, with Durham moving to awarding it automatically to those who gained honours in the BA in 1857, along the lines of the [[Oxbridge MA]], and Edinburgh following the other Scottish universities in awarding the MA as its first degree, in place of the BA, from 1858.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8gTj2h8cFM4C&pg=PA768|title=Edinburgh University|encyclopedia=Chambers's Encyclopaedia•volume=III|date=1862|last1=Chambers w. And r|first1=ltd}}</ref> At the same time, new universities were being established around the then British Empire along the lines of London, including examinations for the MA: the [[University of Sydney]] in Australia and the [[Queen's University of Ireland]] in 1850, and the Universities of Bombay (now the [[University of Mumbai]]), [[University of Madras|Madras]] and [[University of Calcutta|Calcutta]] in India in 1857.

In the US, the revival of master's degrees as an examined qualification began in 1856 at the [[University of North Carolina]], followed by the [[University of Michigan]] in 1859,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/1969/nsb0269.pdf|pages=1–5|title=Graduate Education: Parameters for Public Policy|publisher=[[National Science Board]]|date=1969|access-date=10 August 2016|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202004900/https://www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/1969/nsb0269.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> although the idea of a master's degree as an earned second degree was not well established until the 1870s, alongside the [[PhD]] as the terminal degree.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/archives/retrieving-the-masters-degree-from-the-dustbin-of-history/i-a-(very)-brief-history-of-the-masters-degree|title=A (Very) Brief History the Master's Degree|publisher=[[American Historical Association]]|access-date=10 August 2016|archive-date=26 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826200727/https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/archives/retrieving-the-masters-degree-from-the-dustbin-of-history/i-a-(very)-brief-history-of-the-masters-degree|url-status=live}}</ref> Sometimes it was possible to earn an MA either by examination or by seniority in the same institution; for example, in Michigan the "in course" MA was introduced in 1848 and was last awarded in 1882, while the "on examination" MA was introduced in 1859.<ref name=UMich>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ITcOAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA294|title=Degrees Authorized by the University of Michigan|series=The University of Michigan, an Encyclopedic Survey|publisher=University of Michigan|page=294|author=Walter Arthur Donnelly|date=1941|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=3 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103004725/https://books.google.com/books?id=ITcOAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA294|url-status=live}}</ref>

Probably the most important master's degree introduced in the 19th century was the Master of Science (MS in the US, MSc in the UK). At the University of Michigan this was introduced in two forms in 1858: "in course", first awarded in 1859, and "on examination", first awarded in 1862. The "in course" MS was last awarded in 1876.<ref name=UMich/> In Britain, however, the degree took a while longer to arrive. When London introduced its Faculty of Sciences in 1858, the university was granted a new charter giving it the power "to confer the several Degrees of Bachelor, Master, and Doctor, in Arts, Laws, Science, Medicine, Music",<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vyPiAAAAMAAJ|title=University of London, the Historical Record: 1836-1912|publisher=University of London Press|date=1912|chapter=Third Charter, 1858|pages=39–48|access-date=9 August 2016|archive-date=20 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520025543/https://books.google.com/books?id=vyPiAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> but the degrees it awarded in science were the [[Bachelor of Science]] and the [[Doctor of Science]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000876/18591228/042/0002|title=University of London|work=Southern Reporter and Cork Commercial Courier|date=28 December 1859|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> The same two degrees, again omitting the master's, were awarded at Edinburgh, despite the MA being the standard undergraduate degree for Arts in Scotland.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EekNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA115|pages=115–117|title=Regulations as to Degrees in Science|work=The Edinburgh University Calendar|date=872|last1=Ravenscroft|first1=Edward|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=28 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228045337/https://books.google.com/books?id=EekNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA115|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1862, a [[royal commission]] suggested that Durham should award master's degrees in theology and science (with the suggested abbreviations MT and MS, contrary to later British practice of using MTh or MTheol and MSc for these degrees),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000156/18621007/029/0008|title=Durham University|work=Bury and Norwich Post|date=7 October 1862|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> but its recommendations were not enacted. In 1877, Oxford introduced the Master of Natural Science, along with the Bachelor of Natural Science, to stand alongside the MA and BA degrees and be awarded to students who took their degrees in the honours school of natural sciences.<ref>{{cite news|work=Cheltenham Chronicle|date=5 June 1877|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000312/18770605/018/0003|title=New Degrees of Science|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> In 1879 a statute to actually establish the faculty of Natural Sciences at Oxford was promulgated,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000073/18790405/007/0005|title=University Intelligence|work=Oxford Journal|date=5 April 1879|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> but in 1880 a proposal to rename the degree as a Master of Science was rejected along with a proposal to grant Masters of Natural Sciences a Master of Arts degree, in order to make them full members of the university.<ref>{{cite news|work=Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser|date=5 February 1880|title=University Intelligence|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000206/18800205/063/0008|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> This scheme would appear to have then been quietly dropped, with Oxford going on to award BAs and MAs in science.

The [[Master of Science]] (MSc) degree was finally introduced in Britain in 1878 at Durham,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000289/18780824/007/0003|work=Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette|date=24 August 1878|title=Clippings from the Athenaeum|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> followed by the new [[Victoria University (United Kingdom)|Victoria University]] in 1881.<ref>{{cite news |work=Birmingham Daily Post |date=16 April 1881 |title=The Victoria University and its Science Degrees |access-date=8 August 2016 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000033/18810416/011/0005 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription }}</ref> At the Victoria University both the MA and MSc followed the lead of Durham's MA in requiring a further examination for those with an ordinary bachelor's degree but not for those with honours.<ref>{{cite book|title=University Calendar|pages=37–38|publisher=Victoria University|date=1883|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_t8NAAAAQAAJ|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=18 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418091423/https://books.google.com/books?id=_t8NAAAAQAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

===20th century===
At the start of the 20th century, there were four different sorts of master's degree in the UK: the [[Scottish MA]], granted as a first degree; the [[Master of Arts (Oxbridge and Dublin)]], granted to all BA graduates a certain period after their first degree without further study; master's degrees that could be gained either by further study or by gaining an [[honours degree]] (which, at the time in the UK involved further study beyond the ordinary degree, as it still does in Scotland and some Commonwealth countries); and master's degrees that could only be obtained by further study (including all London master's degrees). In 1903, the ''[[The Daily News (UK)|London Daily News]]'' criticised the practice of Oxford and Cambridge, calling their MAs "the most stupendous of academic frauds" and "bogus degrees".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000051/19030831/118/0006|title=Mr. Meyer and his D.D.|work=London Daily News|date=31 August 1903|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=13 August 2016}}</ref> Ensuing correspondence pointed out that "A Scotch M.A., at the most, is only the equivalent of an English B.A." and called for common standards for degrees, while defenders of the ancient universities said that "the Cambridge M.A. does not pretend to be a reward of learning" and that "it is rather absurd to describe one of their degrees as a bogus one because other modern Universities grant the same degree for different reasons".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000051/19030902/089/0005|title=University Degrees|work=London Daily News|date=2 September 1903|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=13 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000051/19030907/160/0008|title=University Degrees|work=London Daily News|date=7 September 1903|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=13 August 2016}}</ref>

In 1900, [[Dartmouth College]] introduced the Master of Commercial Science (MCS), first awarded in 1902. This was the first master's degree in business, the forerunner of the modern [[MBA]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bi014Kss9s8C&pg=PA15|page=15|title=MBA: The First Century|author=Carter A. Daniel|publisher=Bucknell University Press|date=1998|isbn=9780838753620|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=1 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101013716/https://books.google.com/books?id=bi014Kss9s8C&pg=PA15|url-status=live}}</ref> The idea quickly crossed the Atlantic, with Manchester establishing a Faculty of Commerce, awarding Bachelor and Master of Commerce degrees, in 1903.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000051/19031126/202/0012|title=Commerce as a Science|work=London Daily News|date=26 November 1903|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=13 August 2016}}</ref> Over the first half of the century the automatic master's degrees for honours graduates vanished as honours degrees became the standard undergraduate qualification in the UK. In the 1960s, new Scottish universities (except for Dundee, which inherited the undergraduate MA from St Andrews) reintroduced the BA as their undergraduate degree in arts, restoring the MA to its position as a postgraduate qualification. Oxford and Cambridge retained their MAs, but renamed many of their postgraduate bachelor's degrees in the higher faculties as master's degrees, e.g. the Cambridge LLB became the LLM in 1982,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.mcl.law.cam.ac.uk/the-faculty-of-law |title= The Faculty of Law |publisher= [[University of Cambridge]] |access-date= 14 August 2016 |archive-date= 21 August 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160821083737/http://www.mcl.law.cam.ac.uk/the-faculty-of-law |url-status= live }}</ref> and the Oxford BLitt, BPhil (except in philosophy) and BSc became the MLitt, MPhil and MSc.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/regulations/307-072.shtml#_Toc28140153 |title= Regulations for Degrees, Diplomas, and Certificates |publisher= [[University of Oxford]] |work= Statutes and Regulations |at= Conversion of BLitt, BPhil, and BSc to MLitt, MPhil, and MSc |access-date= 14 August 2016 |date= 16 September 2015 |archive-date= 27 July 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160727184601/http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/regulations/307-072.shtml#_Toc28140153 |url-status= live }}</ref>

In 1983, the [[Engineering Council]] issued a "'Statement on enhanced and extended undergraduate engineering degree courses", proposing the establishment of a four-year first degree (Master of Engineering).<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://digital-library.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/tpe.1983.0163|title=New-style engineering degrees proposed|journal=The Production Engineer|date=September 1983 |volume=62 |issue=9 |page=4 |doi=10.1049/tpe.1983.0163 }}</ref><ref name="EngC Chronicle">{{cite web|url=https://www.engc.org.uk/engcdocuments/internet/website/Chronicle%2520of%2520Engineering%2520Council%25202004.pdf|title=An Engine for Change: A Chronicle of the Engineering Council|author1=Colin R. Chapman|author2=Jack Levy|date=2004|publisher=[[Engineering Council]]|access-date=13 August 2016|archive-date=26 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826010221/http://www.engc.org.uk/engcdocuments/internet/Website/Chronicle%20of%20Engineering%20Council%202004.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> These were up and running by the mid-1980s and were followed in the early 1990s by the [[MPhys]] for physicists and since then integrated master's degrees in other sciences such as [[MChem]], [[MMath]], and MGeol, and in some institutions general or specific MSci (Master in Science) and MArts (Master in Arts) degrees. This development was noted by the [[Dearing Report]] into UK Higher Education in 1997, which called for the establishment of a national framework of qualifications and identified five different routes to master's degrees:<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/dearing1997/dearing1997.html#10|title=Higher Education in the learning society|author=The National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education|publisher=[[Her Majesty's Stationery Office]]|date=1997|access-date=14 August 2016|archive-date=15 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815085757/http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/dearing1997/dearing1997.html#10|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Four year (five in [[Scotland]]) first degrees such as the MEng
* Conversion degrees, sometimes below the standard of undergraduate degrees in the same subject
* The honours arts degree of the [[ancient universities of Scotland]]
* Specialist postgraduate programmes, such as the MA and MSc
* The Oxbridge MA, awarded without additional work
This led to the establishment of the [[Quality Assurance Agency]], which was charged with drawing up the framework.

===21st century===
In 2000, renewed pressure was put on [[Oxbridge]] MAs in the UK Parliament, with Labour MP [[Jackie Lawrence (politician)|Jackie Lawrence]] introducing an [[early day motion]] calling for them to be scrapped and telling the ''[[Times Higher Education]]'' it was a "discriminatory practice" and that it "devalues and undermines the efforts of students at other universities".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/why-ithink-oxbridge-ma-degrees-should-be-scrapped/152170.article|title=Why I...think Oxbridge MA degrees should be scrapped|date=16 June 2000|author=Jennifer Currie|work=Times Higher Education|access-date=14 August 2016|archive-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920081139/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/why-ithink-oxbridge-ma-degrees-should-be-scrapped/152170.article|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/early-day-motions/edm-detail1/?edmnumber=806&session=1999-00|title=Early day motion 806|website=Parliament.uk|access-date=14 August 2016|archive-date=10 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910234744/http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/early-day-motions/edm-detail1/?edmnumber=806&session=1999-00|url-status=live}}</ref> The following month the [[Quality Assurance Agency]] announced the results of a survey of 150 major employers showing nearly two thirds mistakenly thought the Cambridge MA was a postgraduate qualification and just over half made the same error regarding the Edinburgh MA, with QAA chief executive John Randall calling the Oxbridge MA "misleading and anachronistic".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/oxbridge-mas-are-misleading-says-agency-5369142.html|title=Oxbridge MAs are misleading, says agency|date=3 July 2000|author=Ben Russell|work=The Independent|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202001638/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/oxbridge-mas-are-misleading-says-agency-5369142.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The QAA released the first "framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland" in January 2001. This specified learning outcomes for M-level (master's) degrees and advised that the title "Master" should only be used for qualifications that met those learning outcomes in full. It addressed many of the Dearing Report's concerns, specifying that shorter courses at H-level (honours), e.g. conversion courses, should be styled [[Graduate Diploma]] or [[Graduate Certificate]] rather than as master's degrees, but confirmed that the extended undergraduate degrees were master's degrees, saying that "Some Masters degrees in science and engineering are awarded after extended undergraduate programmes that last, typically, a year longer than Honours degree programmes". It also addressed the Oxbridge MA issue, noting that "the MAs granted by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge are not academic qualifications".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qaa.ac.uk/crntwork/nqf/ewni2001/contents.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010414020408/http://www.qaa.ac.uk/crntwork/nqf/ewni2001/contents.htm|archive-date=14 April 2001|date=January 2001|title=The framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland| publisher=Quality Assurance Agency|access-date=14 August 2016}}</ref> The first "framework for qualifications of Higher Education Institutes in Scotland", also published in January 2001, used the same qualifications descriptors, adding in credit values that specified that a stand-alone master should be 180 credits and a "Masters (following an integrated programme from undergraduate to Masters level study)" should be 600 credits with a minimum of 120 at M-level. It was specified that the title "Master" should only be used for qualifications that met the learning outcomes and credit definitions, although it was noted that "A small number of universities in Scotland have a long tradition of labelling certain first degrees as 'MA'. Reports of Agency reviews of such provision will relate to undergraduate benchmarks and will make it clear that the title reflects Scottish custom and practice, and that any positive judgement on standards should not be taken as implying that the outcomes of the programme were at postgraduate level."<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010302180216/http://www.qaa.ac.uk/crntwork/nqf/scotfw2001/contents.htm|url=http://www.qaa.ac.uk/crntwork/nqf/scotfw2001/contents.htm|archive-date=2 March 2001|title=The framework for qualifications of Higher Education Institutes in Scotland|date=January 2001|publisher=Quality Assurance Agency|access-date=14 August 2016}}</ref>

The [[Bologna declaration]] in 1999 started the [[Bologna Process]], leading to the creation of the [[European Higher Education Area]] (EHEA). This established a three-cycle bachelor's—master's—doctorate classification of degrees, leading to the adoption of master's degrees across the continent, often replacing older long-cycle qualifications such as the {{Lang|la|[[Magister degree|Magister]]}} (arts), {{Lang|de|Diplom}} (sciences) and state registration (professional) awards in Germany.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20090424125127631|title=EUROPE: Future of masters programmes|date=26 April 2009|work=University World News|access-date=19 August 2016|archive-date=20 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820091545/http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20090424125127631|url-status=live}}</ref> As the process continued, descriptors were introduced for all three levels in 2004, and [[European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System|ECTS]] credit guidelines were developed. This led to questions as to the status of the integrated master's degrees and one-year master's degrees in the UK.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uOV_Ch45lV0C&pg=RA1-PA52|title=The Bologna process and the UK|work=The Bologna process: fourth report of session 2006-07, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence|author=Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Education and Skills Committee|date=30 April 2007|publisher=[[The Stationery Office]]|page=52|isbn=9780215033727|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=18 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418094803/https://books.google.com/books?id=uOV_Ch45lV0C&pg=RA1-PA52|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Framework for Qualifications of Higher Education Institutes in Scotland have both been aligned with the overarching framework for the EHEA with these being accepted as masters-level qualifications.