Master of Arts Degree

A Master of Arts is a postgraduate academic master degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in Fine Art, Humanities, Social Science or Theology and can be either fully-taught, research-based, or a combination of the two.

At Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, it is awarded without further examination to those who are entitled to the undergraduate degree of Bachelor of Arts after a certain number of years, and in the ancient universities of Scotland it is awarded as a first degree to undergraduates.

The Master of Arts degree traces its origin to the teaching licence, or Licentia docendi, for the University of Paris.