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"This practice differs from that in most other universities worldwide, for whom the degree reflects further postgraduate study or achievement, and these degrees thus are frequently referred to as the Oxbridge MA and Dublin or Trinity MA to differentiate them."
"The Oxbridge MA is based on a system of academic rank rather than academic qualifications."
If you fail third year (and fail the repeat exams, and fail the year a second time) certain schools will not accept you for the final honours year and you finish with a pass degree. Students who leave with a pass degree are not entitled to the MA. Sheels ( talk) 14:44, 4 June 2009 (UTC)
In the case of Oxbridge the B.A. degree is awarded first and can be changed to an M.A. three years later on payment of a modest fee.
I thought it was 7 years at Cambridge? Badgerpatrol 13:41, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
What is the convention on citing degree classes when you hold an MA? For example if you obtained a 2:1 for the BA, and then you obtained the MA, does the degree class carry over to the MA or does it only apply to the BA? JimProfit 15:05, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
"The Oxford Master of Arts: If you have completed a BA or BFA you will be eligible to take an MA in or after the 21st term since you matriculated (i.e. seven years after matriculation). This is not an automatic process and to obtain your MA you must apply to graduate at a degree ceremony (either in person or in absentia). You must have had your BA or BFA conferred in order to take your MA. They can be conferred at the same ceremony provided that sufficient time has elapsed since you matriculated. You should book for a Degree Day through your college in the usual way. You are not at any point eligible to take an MA if your undergraduate degree is an undergraduate Masters degree. Please note the Oxford MA is not an upgrade of your BA and has no subject or class. We do not issue Degree Confirmation letters as proof of your MA, please use your Degree Certificate as evidence of this award." From http://www.ox.ac.uk/students/graduation/ceremonies/ I hope this clears things up a bit! 94.193.253.59 ( talk) 18:26, 1 June 2011 (UTC)
Since when were Masters' degrees, however gained, undergraduate degrees. They're all postgraduate degrees surely. I shall edit unless someone corrects me Bob aka Linuxlad 18:40, 9 March 2006 (UTC)
Ageism! That aside, there's really only one real question and one further point -
This article page is inaccurate and needs updating. Any suggestion that the overwhelming majority of people who stay on or return to Oxford to do a Masters degree are not studying and their work is unassessed is a bit insulting. David Lauder 07:02, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
A C Benson, in his introduction to William Johnson Cory's Ionica, states that "in those days Kingsmen did not enter for the Tripos, but received a degree without examination, by ancient privilege." This refers to a B.A. gained at King's College, Cambridge, in 1845, which was 20 years before they began to allow non-Etonians to enroll. I presume such a privilege would have extended to eligibility for award of an MA a few years after the BA given for residing in college for the prescribed number of terms. Does anyone know when examinations began to be taken by King's College undergraduates? Was this privilege extended to other categories of students or to other colleges?
I believe examinations came to be regarded as old fashioned, and were abandoned by other English institutions, such as the Inns of Court, after the middle ages and were not reinstated until late in the nineteenth century. I also have the impression (which may be mistaken) that doctorates (such as LLD, DD, LittD, etc) were normally awarded without thesis or examination (i.e. as honorary degrees) until recent times. Does anyone know when examinations became the norm before the award of Cambridge degrees? NRPanikker 22:49, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
I have copied the above from the University of Cambridge talk page. Can the ordinary BA still be obtained without examination? Does it also lead on to an MA? NRPanikker 22:32, 7 November 2007 (UTC)
No, the ordinary BA cannot be obtained (any more, if it ever could) without passing an examination. It can, however, be obtained by passing an examination with a result that satifies the standard required for a "pass degree" but does not satisfy the (considerably more onerous) honours standard. The BA degree thus obtained can be converted into an MA degree at the appropriate time just like any other Oxbridge BA.-- 136.8.150.6 ( talk) 11:00, 25 March 2009 (UTC)
A little digging reveals that students at New College, Oxford, and King's College, Cambridge, were exempt from the BA and (former) MA examinations until 1834 and 1851, respectively. They still had to pass their own college's tests to be allowed to remain in residence for enough years. The next question that arises is whether students at these colleges could additionally purchase exemption from the college examinations by claiming privilege of nobility (and paying four times the normal fees) or as a gentleman commoner or fellow-commoner (paying double fees). NRPanikker ( talk) 15:20, 21 March 2019 (UTC) NRPanikker ( talk) 10:55, 22 March 2019 (UTC)
According to the Dean of Degrees of my college a BA or BFA who held senior status during his or her period as an undergraduate may incept as an MA during or after the eighteenth term from matriculation. I haven't yet found the authoritative text for this but it is clearly out there to be found. This should be added to the article.-- Oxonian2006 ( talk) 16:07, 26 June 2008 (UTC)
Someone has made the point that holders don't put "MA (Oxon)" (etc) after their names to emphasise that "It's not a real MA." I wonder where in the world it could be a disadvantage to say you went to Oxford, even if your colleagues do have real higher degrees? NRPanikker ( talk) 16:55, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
The quote on this page says otherwise:
Oxford University maintains that there should be no confusion between its MA and those awarded at other universities for postgraduate work because of the use of the title MA (Oxon) which clearly distinguishes the two
Which seems to suggest that Oxford at least considers that putting (Oxon) after the end of the 'MA' does serve (at least in part) to emphasise that it doesn't denote a proper postgraduate qualification. I've put a [citation needed] after the claim, if one isn't added soon, I'll remove the claim (and possibly include the claim that the '(Oxon)' qualification does, in part, serve to highlight the difference) 81.23.56.53 ( talk) 21:29, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
The MA from Oxford and Cambridge is not actually a degree. You graduate BA and then 21 terms after matriculation, send them £10 and they send you an MA in the post! It allows you to walk across the grass in the quad (instead of round the periphery), sit at a table with the other "Masters" when eating dinner and allows you to vote in the college convocation. However it 'appears' like its a degree and causes much confusion, and some would say (though I could not possibly comment), fraudulent, since it mis-represents one achievements. Every so often it comes up in parliament, where some MP's try to get it banned, but since a lot of MP's have studied PPE (politics, philosophy and economics) at Oxford, the bill usually gets sabotaged and the (some would say) fraud continues. Its part of the lies (some would say) that are at the heart of the British Establishment. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.170.131.21 ( talk) 13:49, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
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The article states that "the Master of Arts degree is not awarded separately". This is unclear. An Oxford graduate goes to a degree ceremony to be awarded the BA and then some years later goes to another degree ceremony to be awarded the MA degree. However, apart from that, one does not have to anything else to move from BA to MA.-- Bduke ( talk) 10:31, 30 November 2020 (UTC)
This article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's
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"This practice differs from that in most other universities worldwide, for whom the degree reflects further postgraduate study or achievement, and these degrees thus are frequently referred to as the Oxbridge MA and Dublin or Trinity MA to differentiate them."
"The Oxbridge MA is based on a system of academic rank rather than academic qualifications."
If you fail third year (and fail the repeat exams, and fail the year a second time) certain schools will not accept you for the final honours year and you finish with a pass degree. Students who leave with a pass degree are not entitled to the MA. Sheels ( talk) 14:44, 4 June 2009 (UTC)
In the case of Oxbridge the B.A. degree is awarded first and can be changed to an M.A. three years later on payment of a modest fee.
I thought it was 7 years at Cambridge? Badgerpatrol 13:41, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
What is the convention on citing degree classes when you hold an MA? For example if you obtained a 2:1 for the BA, and then you obtained the MA, does the degree class carry over to the MA or does it only apply to the BA? JimProfit 15:05, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
"The Oxford Master of Arts: If you have completed a BA or BFA you will be eligible to take an MA in or after the 21st term since you matriculated (i.e. seven years after matriculation). This is not an automatic process and to obtain your MA you must apply to graduate at a degree ceremony (either in person or in absentia). You must have had your BA or BFA conferred in order to take your MA. They can be conferred at the same ceremony provided that sufficient time has elapsed since you matriculated. You should book for a Degree Day through your college in the usual way. You are not at any point eligible to take an MA if your undergraduate degree is an undergraduate Masters degree. Please note the Oxford MA is not an upgrade of your BA and has no subject or class. We do not issue Degree Confirmation letters as proof of your MA, please use your Degree Certificate as evidence of this award." From http://www.ox.ac.uk/students/graduation/ceremonies/ I hope this clears things up a bit! 94.193.253.59 ( talk) 18:26, 1 June 2011 (UTC)
Since when were Masters' degrees, however gained, undergraduate degrees. They're all postgraduate degrees surely. I shall edit unless someone corrects me Bob aka Linuxlad 18:40, 9 March 2006 (UTC)
Ageism! That aside, there's really only one real question and one further point -
This article page is inaccurate and needs updating. Any suggestion that the overwhelming majority of people who stay on or return to Oxford to do a Masters degree are not studying and their work is unassessed is a bit insulting. David Lauder 07:02, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
A C Benson, in his introduction to William Johnson Cory's Ionica, states that "in those days Kingsmen did not enter for the Tripos, but received a degree without examination, by ancient privilege." This refers to a B.A. gained at King's College, Cambridge, in 1845, which was 20 years before they began to allow non-Etonians to enroll. I presume such a privilege would have extended to eligibility for award of an MA a few years after the BA given for residing in college for the prescribed number of terms. Does anyone know when examinations began to be taken by King's College undergraduates? Was this privilege extended to other categories of students or to other colleges?
I believe examinations came to be regarded as old fashioned, and were abandoned by other English institutions, such as the Inns of Court, after the middle ages and were not reinstated until late in the nineteenth century. I also have the impression (which may be mistaken) that doctorates (such as LLD, DD, LittD, etc) were normally awarded without thesis or examination (i.e. as honorary degrees) until recent times. Does anyone know when examinations became the norm before the award of Cambridge degrees? NRPanikker 22:49, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
I have copied the above from the University of Cambridge talk page. Can the ordinary BA still be obtained without examination? Does it also lead on to an MA? NRPanikker 22:32, 7 November 2007 (UTC)
No, the ordinary BA cannot be obtained (any more, if it ever could) without passing an examination. It can, however, be obtained by passing an examination with a result that satifies the standard required for a "pass degree" but does not satisfy the (considerably more onerous) honours standard. The BA degree thus obtained can be converted into an MA degree at the appropriate time just like any other Oxbridge BA.-- 136.8.150.6 ( talk) 11:00, 25 March 2009 (UTC)
A little digging reveals that students at New College, Oxford, and King's College, Cambridge, were exempt from the BA and (former) MA examinations until 1834 and 1851, respectively. They still had to pass their own college's tests to be allowed to remain in residence for enough years. The next question that arises is whether students at these colleges could additionally purchase exemption from the college examinations by claiming privilege of nobility (and paying four times the normal fees) or as a gentleman commoner or fellow-commoner (paying double fees). NRPanikker ( talk) 15:20, 21 March 2019 (UTC) NRPanikker ( talk) 10:55, 22 March 2019 (UTC)
According to the Dean of Degrees of my college a BA or BFA who held senior status during his or her period as an undergraduate may incept as an MA during or after the eighteenth term from matriculation. I haven't yet found the authoritative text for this but it is clearly out there to be found. This should be added to the article.-- Oxonian2006 ( talk) 16:07, 26 June 2008 (UTC)
Someone has made the point that holders don't put "MA (Oxon)" (etc) after their names to emphasise that "It's not a real MA." I wonder where in the world it could be a disadvantage to say you went to Oxford, even if your colleagues do have real higher degrees? NRPanikker ( talk) 16:55, 14 August 2008 (UTC)
The quote on this page says otherwise:
Oxford University maintains that there should be no confusion between its MA and those awarded at other universities for postgraduate work because of the use of the title MA (Oxon) which clearly distinguishes the two
Which seems to suggest that Oxford at least considers that putting (Oxon) after the end of the 'MA' does serve (at least in part) to emphasise that it doesn't denote a proper postgraduate qualification. I've put a [citation needed] after the claim, if one isn't added soon, I'll remove the claim (and possibly include the claim that the '(Oxon)' qualification does, in part, serve to highlight the difference) 81.23.56.53 ( talk) 21:29, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
The MA from Oxford and Cambridge is not actually a degree. You graduate BA and then 21 terms after matriculation, send them £10 and they send you an MA in the post! It allows you to walk across the grass in the quad (instead of round the periphery), sit at a table with the other "Masters" when eating dinner and allows you to vote in the college convocation. However it 'appears' like its a degree and causes much confusion, and some would say (though I could not possibly comment), fraudulent, since it mis-represents one achievements. Every so often it comes up in parliament, where some MP's try to get it banned, but since a lot of MP's have studied PPE (politics, philosophy and economics) at Oxford, the bill usually gets sabotaged and the (some would say) fraud continues. Its part of the lies (some would say) that are at the heart of the British Establishment. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.170.131.21 ( talk) 13:49, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
Hello fellow Wikipedians,
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The article states that "the Master of Arts degree is not awarded separately". This is unclear. An Oxford graduate goes to a degree ceremony to be awarded the BA and then some years later goes to another degree ceremony to be awarded the MA degree. However, apart from that, one does not have to anything else to move from BA to MA.-- Bduke ( talk) 10:31, 30 November 2020 (UTC)