-Facts every aspirant should know
A Master is an advanced degree conferred by universities around the world for completion of graduate study in a specific discipline. Masters degree programs typically take one to two years to complete and further prepare graduates for a career in their chosen field. Obtaining a Masters degree offers numerous professional, personal and academic benefits to students who have graduated from a Bachelor program.
Masters degrees are available across various fields of study, including the Arts, Business, Engineering and Technology, Law, Humanities, Social Sciences, Biological and Life Sciences, and the Natural Sciences. Within each of those fields of study, numerous practical specializations are available within particular disciplines.
India
In the Indian system, a master's degree is a postgraduate degree following a Bachelor's degree and preceding a Doctorate, usually requiring two years to complete. The available degrees include but are not limited to the following:
History :
The master's degree dates back to the origin of European universities, with a Papal bull of 1233 decreeing that anyone admitted to the mastership in the University of Toulouse should be allowed to teach freely in any other university. The original meaning of the master's degree was thus that someone who had been admitted to the rank (degree) of master (i.e. teacher) in one university should be admitted to the same rank in other universities. This gradually became formalised as the licentia docendī (licence to teach). Originally, masters and doctors were not distinguished, but by the 15th century it had become customary in the English universities to refer to the teachers in the lower faculties (arts and grammar) as masters and those in the higher faculties as doctors. Initially, the Bachelor of Arts (BA) was awarded for the study of the trivium and the Master of Arts (MA) for the study of the quadrivium.
From the late Middle Ages until the nineteenth century, the pattern of degrees was therefore to have a bachelor's and master's degree in the lower faculties and to have bachelor's and doctorates in the higher faculties. In the United States, the first master's degrees (Magister Artium, or Master of Arts) were awarded at Harvard University soon after its foundation. In Scotland, the pre-Reformation universities (St Andrews, Glasgow, and Aberdeen) developed so that the Scottish MA became their first degree, while in Oxford, Cambridge and Trinity College, Dublin, the MA was awarded to BA graduates of a certain standing without further examination from the late seventeenth century, its main purpose being to confer full membership of the university. At Harvard the 1700 regulations required that candidates for the master's degree had to pass a public examination, but by 1835 this was awarded Oxbridge-style three years after the BA.
Master's degrees are commonly titled using the form 'Master of ...', where either a faculty (typically Arts or Science) or a field (Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Business Administration, etc.) is specified. The two most common titles of master's degrees are the Master of Arts (MA/M.A./A.M) and Master of Science (MSc/M.Sc./M.S./S.M.) degrees, which normally consist of a mixture of research and taught material.
Sr. | Courses | Eligibility criteria | Duration | |
01. | Master of Arts (M.A.) |
The minimum score to obtain a bachelor’s degree must be at least 40% or above. |
2yrs | |
02. | Master of Social Work (MSW) | Graduation with 40-50% marks | 2yrs | |
04. | Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) | the minimum score criteria in Graduation which is 50 per cent in average or equivalent. | 2yrs | |
05. | Master of Computer Applications (M.C.A.) | The candidate must have passed Graduation in BCA or equivalent from a recognized board. | 2yrs | |
06 | Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) | must have an aggregate of 55% marks in qualifying exams | 2yrs | |
07 | Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) | the candidates must secure at least 55% marks in the post graduation level from any recognised university. | 2yrs | |
08 | Master of Science (M.Sc.) | candidates need to possess a Bachelor's degree in Science (BSc) from a recognised college/university with an aggregate of 50% - 60%. | 2yrs | |
09 | Master of Technology (M.Tech.) | Candidates who have completed their BE/BTech degree with a valid score in GATE | 2yrs | |
10 | Master of Statistics (M.Stat.) | degree of ISI, or B.A./B.Sc. (Mathematics) with Statistics as a full subject are eligible for the M. Stat. | 2yrs | |
11 | Master of Laws (LL.M.) |
|
2yrs | |
12 | Master of Commerce (M.Com.) | 50% aggregate in BCom or BCom (H) from a recognised university or college. | 2yrs | |
13 | Master of Architecture (M.Arch.) | a BArch degree from a recognized institute or college. | 2yrs | |
14 | Master of Veterinary Science (MVSc) | Any candidate with Bachelor's degree B.Sc. / B.V. Sc in the relevant field, or any similar course from a recognized university with minimum aggregate marks of 60% | 2yrs |
A Master of Arts (MA) is usually awarded in disciplines categorized as arts or social sciences, such as communications, education, languages, linguistics, literature, geography, history and music.
A Master of Science (MS, MSc) is usually awarded in disciplines categorized as the sciences, such as biology, chemistry, engineering, health and statistics.
A Master of Research (MRes) degree is designed to provide training in how to become a researcher. Containing a significantly larger research element than MA or MSc programs, an MRes may give candidates an advantage if they wish to pursue a PhD or enter a career in research.
A Master by Research (MPhil) is an advanced research-based degree which allows the candidate to focus on a particular topic in-depth and independently, to complete a single large research project.
Taught in only a few places (including the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge), a Master of Studies (MSt) degree is comparable to the MA or MSc, requiring both classroom learning and the completion of a thesis and an examination.
There are also more specialized types of master’s degrees, often focusing on a specific professional area.
The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is designed to give students the skills and knowledge required for career progression in business and management roles.
The Master of Library Science is designed to give students both academic and professional knowledge for entry into the workplace
The Master of Public Administration is a public policy degree similar to an MBA but focusing on the public sector rather than the private sector.
The Master of Public Health has academic and professional elements, taking an interdisciplinary approach to areas related to public health.
The Master of Social Work degree prepares students for careers within the field of social work, focusing on improving the quality of life for individuals, groups and communities.
The Master of Laws degree is usually taken after having graduated from a professional law degree and gives candidates the chance to combine their knowledge of the basic skills needed to become a lawyer with specialist knowledge gained through research in a particular area of law.
The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies is an interdisciplinary program designed to provide rigorous teaching in the liberal arts. Candidates graduate with both depth and breadth of postgraduate knowledge, with MALS programs drawing from courses and instructors from across the university’s postgraduate curriculum. Typically, liberal arts students choose the course for an opportunity to intellectually challenge themselves, explore ideas and pursue knowledge, rather than to pursue a specific career path.
The Master of Fine Arts is a creative degree granted in disciplines such as the visual, performing and studio arts. This may include creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, theatre and painting. Assessment and study are both practical, culminating in a major work or performance.
Awarded by universities and music conservatories, the Master of Music degree combines advanced studies in a specialist applied area chosen by the student (such as music performance, composition or conducting) with advanced studies in musical theory. MM degrees could be preparation for teaching music or to become a professional in a chosen field.
The Master of Education degree prepares students for careers in education. Some Master of Education degrees prepare student teachers to become certified, while others are more suited for experienced, already certified teachers to specialize in areas such as curriculum, instruction, special education, counselling and administration. The MIT and MAT degrees include coursework and a student teaching internship and lead to the teacher certification qualification needed to teach in public schools.
The Master of Engineering degree can be either academic (with a focus on engineering theories and practice) or professional (with a focus on preparing students for work in the engineering field). While some MEng programs require students to become published in an industry journal, others involve training periods in industry or laboratories, or a combination of the two in order to graduate.
The Master of Architecture is a master’s degree in architecture that assesses students through practical internships, final examinations and/or a thesis or final project in order to receive a license. As M.Arch degrees vary in kind, you may find different names for different types of programs. Students are required to produce coursework in subjects such as design, building science, structural engineering, architectural history and theory and professional practice.
Finally, master’s degrees also vary in terms of the entry requirements applicants need to meet. To meet the requirements of a master’s degrees it’s usually necessary to have graduated with a bachelor’s degree (though not always), and some programs require a certain amount of professional experience. See below for the most common requirements for different types of master’s degrees.
For these types of program, master’s degree requirements usually include a certain amount of professional experience, especially in the case of an MBA (Master of Business Administration). An MSc in Management (MSc, MIM, MSM) typically requires a bachelor’s degree in social sciences, while an MA in Management is more likely to accept candidates from all backgrounds. The Master’s in Engineering Management (MEM) is specially designed for engineering students.
Designed specifically for mid-career executive professionals, executive master’s degrees require candidates to have gained significant professional experience – even more than in the case of an MBA. The most common are Executive Master’s in Business Management (EMBA) or Executive MSc programs.
Master by Research programs are designed for those who hold a bachelor’s degree with a significant research component and/or have several published research papers.
These are master’s degrees that follow on directly from an undergraduate degree program, most commonly available in scientific and technology subjects. It’s possible to apply for an integrated master’s degree program directly after completion of secondary-level education. Integrated master’s degree programs usually last a year longer than it would take to earn an undergraduate degree, and students may have the option to skip the final year and just graduate at bachelor’s level instead.
Full-Form |
Master of Science (MS) |
Duration |
1.5 - 4 years |
Examination |
Semester Based |
Admission Process |
Based on Entrance Exams |
Average Fees |
INR 1-3 Lakhs |
Job Positions |
Research Scientist, Research Fellow, Project Fellow, Research Associate, Management Consultant etc. |
Average Salary |
INR 3-8 LPA |
Employment Areas |
Government Research Institutes, Private Companies, Colleges |
MS in Biological Science |
MS in Metallurgical and Material Engineering |
MS in Software Engineering |
MS in Biochemical Engineering & Biotechnology |
MS in Automobile Engineering |
MS in Civil Engineering |
MS Quality Management |
MS Consultancy Management |
MS Computer Aided Structural Engineering (CASE) |
MS Manufacturing Management |
MS Software Systems |
MS IT in Building Science |
MS Computer Science Engineering (CSE) |
MS Computational Natural Sciences (CNS) |
MS Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) |
MS Computational Linguistics (CL) |
Applied Mechanics |
Information Technology |
Telecommunication Technology and Management |
Biochemical Engineering |
Biotechnology |
Chemical Engineering |
Civil Engineering |
Computer Science & Engineering |
Job Position |
Job Description |
Average Salary |
Research Scientist |
A Research Scientist works in the R&D department, researching on a particular field of study and drawn towards innovation. |
INR 6.45 LPA |
Research Associate |
A Research Associate works with the Senior Scientist in his or her research work and assist in their studies and research work. |
INR 3.5 LPA |
Research Assistant |
A Research Assistant is an entry level job position in the field of research work, and their main duty is to help their seniors in a particular project work, be it on experiments or research writing |
INR 3.08 LPA |
Senior Research Fellow |
SRF is usually employed in government research institutes and assists the supervisor in his/her research, apart from supervising the project work. |
INR 3.95 LPA |
Assistant Professor |
An Asstt Professor is employed in various research universities and do research as well as teaching. |
INR 3.40 LPA |
Lecturer |
A lecturer is appointed in state and central level colleges after qualifying the NET exam, and is paid as per the govt. standards. |
INR 3.42 LPA |