subject: Psychology Graduate School Search [print this page] It may be interesting to know that the first academic degrees were awarded in European universities. These degrees were PhD degrees and they were only conferred upon serious students who wanted to add to the knowledge in their respective fields. The first University to offer a Masters of Arts degree was the University of Michigan.
There has been some controversy about the advent of the master's degree because it was originally meant to be a stepping stone to the final goal; the PhD degree. The controversy centers around the fact that many graduates opt to stop their education once they are conferred the Masters degree instead of continuing to earn their PhD.
The shift from PhD degrees to the acceptance of Masters of Arts degrees is one of pragmatism. Whereas PhD degrees used to be the only respected degree for professionals, Masters of Arts degrees are also sufficient for professional work. This shift has lead to an increase (almost double) of Masters of Arts degrees conferred upon students. This shift has not included Bachelor's degrees for professionals, however. In many content areas such as Psychology, a Master of Arts degree in Psychology is required for licensure.
The difference between a Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology and a Masters of Arts degree in Psychology is one of expertise and time of study. Typically, Bachelors of Arts degrees in Psychology take 4 years of study and only focus on the general aspects of Psychology. A Master of Arts degree in Psychology typically takes 2-3 additional years of study and consists of more specialized and in depth psychology classes.
It should also be noted that there are two types of Masters degrees; arts or science. The difference between these two specifiers is that an arts' degree graduate has more credits in the arts (art, music, foreign language, writing, etc), whereas the science' degree refers to more credits in the science field (history, biology, chemistry, botany, etc.)
Some Universities require a thesis for their Masters of Arts degree in Psychology. Universities that do not require a thesis usually require the student to complete a practicum and a certain amount of additional hours/credits in their specialized field. Many Universities also require that their students maintain a "B" average or higher in order to earn their Master of Arts degree in Psychology.
A Masters of Arts Degree in Psychology allows the student to become licensed in particular fields of applied psychology. It's important to choose the Master of Arts degree in the Psychology specialty that interests you the most.
