Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin)
In the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, recipients of the Bachelor of Arts degree may, upon application, be promoted to the degree of Master of Arts. This promotion requires only the passage of a specified period of time and does not involve any further examination or study. The newly conferred degree is regarded as a mark of seniority rather than an additional postgraduate qualification. The postnominal letters "MA" are followed by the abbreviated Latin name of the conferring university: Oxon, Cantab, or Dubl.
In addition, under the principle of ad eundem gradum, graduates of the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin may use a process called "incorporation" to be granted equivalent academic degrees at either of the other two universities, provided that they wish to register for a separate higher degree at that university or are members of the academic staff, and that the required fee is paid. One of the most frequently cited examples of incorporation is that of the steamboat ladies — approximately 720 women graduates of Oxford and Cambridge who were awarded Dublin degrees. Although not earned through further study, both the original degree and any incorporated ad eundem degree may be listed as post-nominals in the Oxford University Calendar.
This promotion may take place no earlier than seven years after starting one's degree at Oxford, six years after starting the degree at Cambridge, and three years after graduation at Dublin. While these three universities also award postgraduate master’s degrees that require further study, they do not use the title ‘MA’ for any taught or examined postgraduate qualification. This practice differs from that of most universities worldwide, where the Master of Arts degree denotes postgraduate study. Consequently, the degrees are often referred to as the Oxford and Cambridge MA, and the Dublin or Trinity MA, in order to distinguish them. This system has at times caused confusion among employers, who may mistakenly regard the promoted MA as an additional academic qualification.
History and rationale
This system dates back to the Middle Ages, when the study of the liberal arts typically took seven years. At that time, students often entered universities at a much younger age than is common today, sometimes as young as 13 or 14. The basic university education comprised the Trivium and the Quadrivium, which together took about seven years of full-time study.During this period, a student would first earn a baccalaureate, or bachelor's degree, after completing part of his studies. The division between the trivium and quadrivium did not always correspond to the division between the BA and MA degrees, though it was adopted at Cambridge during the Tudor period and remained in place long after other European universities had moved away from it. At the University of Paris, the baccalaureate was awarded soon after responsions, while at Oxford and Cambridge the BA was granted much later and became more significant over time.
Upon being admitted to the degree of Master of Arts, a student would become a full member of the university and gain the right to vote in the Convocation. The new MA could then teach at the university for a set number of years, during which time they were referred to as a 'regent' or 'regent master.' Upon completing this period of teaching, they would become a 'non-regent master' and either leave the university or remain to pursue further studies in one of the higher faculties—Divinity, Canon or Civil Law, or Medicine.
Over time, it became possible to study in these higher faculties as a BA, although a graduate could not be promoted to a higher degree until they had the seniority required to become an MA. As the requirements for the BA increased, the requirements for the MA gradually diminished. By the 18th century, the practice had largely become a formality, and students could meet residency requirements simply by keeping their names on the college books. In 1800, Oxford introduced modern-style examinations for the BA and MA degrees, but the MA examination was abolished in 1807.
From at least the 16th century, noblemen formed the most select group of undergraduates, paying four times the normal fees and sometimes receiving an MA degree after just two years of residence, without completing the BA degree. However, many did not stay long enough to graduate. Noblemen were distinguished by gold tassels on their mortarboard caps, compared to the black ones worn by students of lower social ranks. Students of the next rank—fellow-commoners at Cambridge and Dublin or gentlemen commoners at Oxford—paid twice the standard fees, dined with the fellows, and were exempt from attending lectures and performing exercises required for the BA. They could graduate a year earlier than students in lower ranks. However, at Cambridge, both higher categories were still required to take the Senate House Examination to receive an honours degree. Below these were commoners at Oxford or pensioners at Cambridge and Dublin, who paid the standard fees and were more likely to remain and graduate. At the bottom were servitors at Oxford and sizars at Cambridge and Dublin, who had their fees subsidized by the college in exchange for menial duties. Oliver Goldsmith was a sizar; Isaac Newton was a subsizar. These distinctions were gradually phased out during the 19th century.
Reforms in the late 16th century allowed some ordinary undergraduates to bypass the BA stage altogether. Previously, it was necessary to wait three years after earning a BA to become a bachelor of laws or medicine, but after paying a fine, students could leave college after three years of residence to study at the Inns of Court or a teaching hospital, and return for a professional bachelor's degree, as was the case with William Blackstone.
Until 1865, all students at King's College, Cambridge were from Eton College and could graduate BA and later MA without taking university exams. Similarly, students at New College, Oxford, who all came from Winchester College, had the same exemptions until 1834.
Although the length of undergraduate degree programs has been reduced to three or four years in all subjects, the MA degree at Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin is still awarded roughly seven years after matriculation. This reflects the fact that much of the liberal arts education has been transferred to grammar schools, with students now entering university at an older age, typically between 17 and 19.
Durham University and the University of London broke away from the ancient English model by treating the MA as a distinct higher degree, awarded after further examination. However, by instituting further study beyond the initial baccalaureate, these universities can be seen to have reverted to the ancient model. Most modern universities followed their lead, with the Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin system becoming the exception. Some universities adopted the ancient model temporarily, allowing progression within the same faculty, such as from BSc to MSc, but later switched to the newer system.
Among the "steamboat ladies", some, like Julia Bell, earned MAs.
Historical examples at other universities
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.Although Durham University recognised the MA as higher degree, its regulation, at least until the 1940s, stipulates that Bachelor of Arts may be admitted to the degree of Master of Arts without further examination provided that they have been placed in the first or second class in the Final Honours Examination for the degree of Bachelor of Arts of nine terms’ standing, or six terms’ standing of Bachelor of Architecture. The regulation also states that Bachelor of Arts, having passed examination of other Bachelor’s degree of the university except Music or a Diploma in Theology may also be admitted an MA without further studies and examination.
In the United States, Harvard University engaged in this practice from the mid-1600s until 1872. At Yale University, an MA without examination was an award from its foundation until 1871. Likewise, Columbia University awarded the Master of Arts in this manner from its origins as King's College, during which, in 1761, three of the five members of the original graduating class of 1758 were promoted to Master of Arts. The practice was abolished by the Board of Trustees in June 1880, when a formal exam for the Master of Arts was introduced.
Other American colleges, during the mid to late 1800s, awarded a Master of Arts "in course" to graduates of three years standing, including at Amherst College and Union College.
Requirements
At Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, a Bachelor of Arts graduate may "incept" as a Master of Arts after a certain period, without further examination or residence but sometimes upon payment of a fee.- At Oxford, the MA can be conferred after the twenty-first term following matriculation upon holders of an Oxford BA or Bachelor of Fine Arts. Holders of other undergraduate Oxford degrees, such as Bachelor of Theology or Master of Mathematics, are not entitled to the MA.
- At Cambridge, the MA may be conferred six years after the first term in residence upon holders of a Cambridge BA. The previous rule that the BA must be held for two years before applying for the MA was suspended for many due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The MA can also be awarded to senior university or college staff after three years of employment.
- At Dublin, the MA may be conferred on holders of a Dublin BA after three years, provided they have completed at least nine terms of residence. A fee is payable, though it is waived for graduates of over fifty years' standing.
In accordance with the formula of ad eundem gradum, a form of mutual recognition among the three universities, a graduate entitled to an MA degree from one institution may have the equivalent title conferred by one of the other two without further examination.