International Degree Equivalents

[HannahPie]

Hello all!

 

I've been accepted to an MLitt program at St. Andrews and it's my backup plan if I don't get into an American PhD program, but I'm unclear as to whether or not the MLitt will be seen as the equivalent of an MA in the US. (Wikipedia at least has not managed to give me a definitive answer.) The difficulty is that the Scottish degrees are different from UK degrees and there's all manner of different Masters programs (MPhil, MLitt, MSc, etc.), so I'm not sure if the investment in the St Andrews MLitt will be worth it if I have to come back and do an MA in the States anyway.

 

Any information would be enormously helpful. And good luck to everyone in these coming weeks!!

[uromastyx]

Is this a one year taught course?

It would also depend on your plans after the MLitt. St. Andrews is a great school. Would you continue there? Continue back in the States? Seek employment?

Certainly a MLitt isn't a MPhil. I would think it's value would depend on who's judging it.

[apotheosis]

Echoing uromastyx's sentiments, it is hard to offer a yes or no answer for equivalency, since there are so many kinds masters programs in the UK. The terminology (MA, MLitt, MPhil, MSt) actually doesn't say much, but the important factors to consider are the length to degree and whether it is research-based or not. Is the MLitt you are considering a Scottish way of saying research-only MPhil, or is it more similar to a taught MA? Many PhD programs give credit for MA coursework, so something to consider will be whether if what you do during your MLitt will reduce time to PhD in the US or not. But in the end, getting the MLitt will be good proof that you can carry out independent research and write something of considerable length, which of course, you can submit as a writing sample. Hope this helps!

Edited February 5, 2013 by apotheosis

[ukarthist]

I am a British student. Hopefully I can clarify the issue here. The UK does have a number of different terms for postgraduate degrees (MA, MSt, MLitt, MPhil etc.) but they can, in fact, mean different things. In the case of Scottish Universities, an undergraduate degree is four years (as opposed to three in England and Wales). As such, you automatically graduate with a Master of Arts rather than a B.A. Thus, in order to distinguish this qualification from a terminal (one year) Masters degree, the latter is referred to as a MLitt. An MLitt from say St Andrews does not differ in structure or content from a MA at an English university.

 

There is some variation in terminology from University to University with the biggest exceptions to the rule being Oxford and Cambridge. Much like the Scottish Universities, an undergraduate degree from Oxbridge is converted to an MA six years after graduation. Thus, a Masters degree from such an institution cannot simply be referred to as an MA degree and is instead given a different title (eg, an MLitt or an MSt)

 

What is important is that an MLitt, like an MA, is a taught Masters degree, whereas an MPhil is a Masters by research.

 

Put simply, a MLitt from St Andrews is exactly the same as an MA from elsewhere. The university would probably provide literature to support this fact should you be looking to continue with a Phd outside of the UK. If you were to continue your studies in the UK, no explanation would be required.

[HannahPie]

Awesome, thank you all! It is indeed a one-year taught Masters, which is where my uncertainty came in, since it doesn't have the same level of research that the MPhil does. And because it's one year, I wasn't sure if it would be seen as a stand-alone Masters from an American program.