Masters Degrees

[goodgoalie]

Watching a TV drama today, one of the characters went to Cambridge University to do a one-year Masters Degree in Law. When she got her results she found she'd been awarded a 'first class honours'. That seems odd to me - are there honours awarded in a masters degree?

[Buenchico]

>>> are there honours awarded in a masters degree?

Nope!

. . . or certainly not in post-graduate masters degrees anyway. Some four-year undergraduate courses in Scotland can result in the award of a masters degree with honours and graduates of both Oxford and Cambridge can convert their honours degrees to masters degrees by paying a fee but regular one-year masters degree courses don't result in the award of honours.

[Buenchico]

To get onto the Master of Law course at Cambridge, a candidate must already have a First Class Honours degree:
https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/lwlwllll/requirements

[goodgoalie]

Thanks Chris, thought so. It was an Australian programme, so they must have not done any research - I was shouting no, no!

[goodgoalie]

Chris, I think the thing about graduates of Oxford and Cambridge converting their degrees by paying a fee is just to change a BA to an MA, nothing to do with a 'Masters' degree.

I have an MA (Master of Arts), but it's not a 'Masters'.

[Buenchico]

It's just our antipodean cousins who get things wrong, GG.

I was once returning from Paris on Eurostar when I noticed that the guy next to me was reading through a script and making notes on it. I couldn't resist the temptation to read it myself out of the corner of my eye. I discovered it was some sort of police drama, with really terrible dialogue and, within the first few ages alone, several practices occurring which clearly didn't conform to the requirements of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.

I assumed that the guy next to me was a college tutor and I found myself feeling sorry for him having to read through such a load of drivel from someone who was obviously one of his weakest drama students.

Then he closed the script and I noticed that the name on the front of it, next to the word 'Director' matched the name on the guy's ticket that was on the table next to him. Above that was the title of the utter drivel that I'd just been reading: "The Bill".

;-)

[goodgoalie]

They should be sending their scripts to us to check :)

[Buenchico]

I think that many TV dramas would lose their impact if they had to conform to the rules of real life, GG!

There are countless episodes of series such as Morse and Frost, where the hero finally confronts the villain in his own home (or somewhere else, other than a police station) and asks him about why he committed the crime, how he carried it out, whether he really expected to get away with it, etc, etc. The heroes never bother to caution the villains first and there's never any record of their conversations made. So much for the provisions of PACE!

[Canary42]

Misinformation - it's the way of the world. I was once returning from Edinburgh on the train when I overheard some Londoners revealing to a couple of American tourists that it (Edinburgh) was known as the Granite City. I resisted the temptation to shout, ,"NO YOU ***, THAT'S ABERDEEN". But that's how fake gen gets about - Can I look forward to an episode of [i[ The Bill [i] based in Edinburgh as the Granite City LOL.

[carrot99]

Goodgoalie why do you say that your MA (Master of Arts) is not a Masters? What do you consider a Masters to be?

[Prudie]

I'm asking the same as carrot. An MA is a Masters in my book. What else can a Master's degree be?

[goodgoalie]

No, a 'Masters' is generally understood to be a second, higher degree - normally requiring a first degree at bachelor level, sort of between a first degree and a doctorate.

[Prudie]

Exactly, a Masters is an MA or MSc for example, a second degree usually taken for a year by a graduate who already has a bachelor level degree. Maybe you don't know what an an MA is? I know that Oxbridge students could convert their first degrees to Masters level but that's not the norm.
In conclusion a master's degree is an MA etc.

[goodgoalie]

Prudie - I do know what an MA is, as I've said, I have one! But it was a first degree. My point is that nowadays when someone says 'I'm doing a Masters', they mean it is a second higher degree. At least, that is what I would understand was meant.

[Prudie]

You are very confusing. So if you have an MA how did you get it?

[Peter Pedant]

// are there honours awarded in a masters degree?
Nope!

I love AB adjustments and corrections try again....- - yup!

No probs. They come and go. Degrees. Maff werent but are now, (classed) they were wanglers, senior optimes and junior optimes ( Junior optime is not a 2.2 but a thiiiiiiiird)

classed now as no one cd understand what they hell they were

Furder Law when I was there was LlB ( Bachelor of Laws) and was classed. I am sure you can do a master's now.

Your degree used to be ( is) the subject ( er Tripos) of your final year. I read Law: I have a law degree.

Bright Maff people ( like Jim) used to do their first two years of a cge maff course in their first year (!) and then their finals in their second year, and the post grad course ( Part III excuse me) in their third year

Failures and might have dones point out bitterly that success in Part II maff ( wrangler, or er first) means that - you are very good at answering Part II maff questions.....but perhaps not much else

[goodgoalie]

It is from a Scottish university where an arts degree is an MA as opposed to a BA that would be given at English universities.

[Ken4155]

Chris, the anomalies you refer to can all be put down to 'poetic licence' can they not? Someone 'fessing' up at home in front of shocked loved ones is a tad more dramatic than doing so in an interview room in the local nick.
Not saying i agree with the misuse of poetic licence, though. I stopped watching Silent Witness some years ago because the forensics team were almost doing door to door enquiries with the police and taking DNA samples in the suspects home.

[Peter Pedant]

Oh and MD - which is now purely thesis
50 y ago - used to be just a very hard medical exam - written and viva

MC - wait for it - - Military Crawss - wait wait
was the surgery exam MB BC ( cantab) pre 1915
BC bach of chirurgery and MC master of chirurgery

MC ( military crawss) was invented so they wrote to all the old bugguz who had gone to SS foo-foo and other colleges (cawledges) of Oxbridge. They asked them to change their degrees ( MC) to MChir.

and the auld buggaz voted no ! So they kept MC ( cantab)
and for ever after they were MChir and MC was military

Last MC ( master of surgery ) by examination died a few years ago. Must a got it when he was 15 or something. - yeah he cd do it if you die at 100 y of age

early example of - will you do this for your country and Empire?
No we wont

[Peter Pedant]

The poesy on Silent Witness was lampooned on a french and Saunders spoof

French as WPC - the victim is in bits - I think he is dead
Saunders ( spaced out look) No I must first take to the field and needlessly put myself in danger before I say that

This was used as an exemplar of Amanda Burton when the person interviewed was..... Amanda Burton
she took it in good part

[Peter Pedant]

If you read Physics at Cge
you still get an BA