Magister degree

A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from Latin: magister, "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education.

The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to the doctorate; while the doctorate was originally conferred in theology, law and medicine, the magister degree was usually conferred in the liberal arts, broadly known as "philosophy" in continental Europe, which encompassed all other academic subjects.[1] In some countries, the title has retained this original meaning until the modern age, while in other countries, magister has become the title of a lower degree, in some cases parallel with a master's degree (whose name is cognate).

South America

In Argentina, the Master of Science or Magister (Mg, Ma, Mag, MSc) is a postgraduate degree of two to four years of duration by depending on each university's statutes.[2] The admission to a Master program (Spanish: Maestría) in an Argentine University requires the full completion of an undergraduate degree, as well Licentiate's degree as Professorate degree of four to five years duration from any recognized university. Under the accomplishment of the Magister Scientiæ thesis dissertation, that in years of formal education, is generally equivalent to a Ph.D. or Doctorate in universities of North America or Europe given the Bologna comparison system among academic programs.



German-speaking Europe and other parts of Central and Eastern Europe

In German-speaking Europe and other European countries culturally influenced by it the Magister's degree was originally equal to the doctorate; in German-speaking institutions the "doctorate" gradually replaced the earlier title of Magister, and it became the only recognized degree for the completion of a course of study in the faculty of arts or philosophy."[3]

After the classical Magister's degree had been replaced by the doctorate in the faculties of arts or philosophy, the word magister has in modern times mostly been used for an advanced degree below the doctorate, that is equal to a master's degree under the Bologna process.

In Austria, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia, obtaining the Magister requires at least five years of study including coursework and a final thesis, similar to a Diplom degree. Magisters tend to be awarded in the humanities and the social sciences, while Diplomas dominate in the natural sciences and in engineering.

In Austria, major universities have partitioned almost all their Mag.Phil. programs into a three- or four-year bachelor's and two-year master's program. This move is an attempt to standardize requirements with other EU countries as part of the Bologna process, and would give students the option to exit with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree after four years, or continue with additional coursework towards a Mag.Phil. (master's) degree, typically a two-year program.

In Poland magister (abbreviated mgr or mgr inż. for in technical disciplines) is awarded after 5 years of University level education and it is an equivalent to Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Laws, Master of Music in an academic discipline. Before around 1999 and the implementation of the Bologna Process the first academic degree awarded in Poland was magister. After implementation of the Bologna Process the person who obtained a Licentiate degree can continue education to the magister level (it requires additional 2 years of studies).

With the implementation of the Bologna Process, curriculums leading to Magister degrees have been phased out in many countries.

Denmark and Norway

In Denmark and Norway, the Magister's degree was formerly an advanced research degree used in certain fields, that was equivalent to the PhD in Anglophone countries. It was usually translated as a PhD in an English language context[4] and was replaced by PhD degrees in the 1990s and 2000s.[5] The Magister's degree in Denmark and Norway was based on the classical Magister's degree also found in other European countries, that was equal to the doctorate. The Magister's degree was, and to some extent still is, commonly the terminal degree held by academics in the new sciences, that is the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences; it was not used in the traditional "higher faculties" of theology, law and medicine in the modern era.

In Norway, the Magister's degree in the 20th century required 7–8 years of studies, with strong emphasis on the scientific dissertation, which eventually had a formal standardized scope of 3 years; the degree required a first degree such as a cand.mag. (4–5 years of studies) or equivalent, an independent scientific work with a dissertation workload corresponding to three years of full-time research and dissertation work, and a public trial lecture. As such it was a research-only degree. The dissertation was evaluated by a committee; the purpose of the trial lecture, a requirement the degree shared only with the doctoral and licentiate's degrees, was to demonstrate the candidate's suitability for permanent (tenured) academic positions at university-level. Like doctoral and licentiate's dissertations, magister's dissertations did not receive grades, but all approved dissertations were ipso facto regarded as "laudable" (the highest grade, equal to A in the ECTS grading scale). The degree of magister qualified for positions as assistant or associate professor, and many went on to become full professors without obtaining further degrees.

The Magister's degree became increasingly rare from the 1970s, and as a result of Denmark and Norway implementing the Bologna Process, it has now been completely abolished and replaced by PhD degrees. In Norway, the formal requirements for equivalence with the modern PhD are "a standardized scope of at least 3 years of study" and "an independent scientific work" with a thesis workload corresponding to "at least two years of standardized full time study," which is one year less than the requirements for the Magister's degree.[6]



A Norwegian Magister's degree required a 3-year scientific dissertation of high quality, and is considered "approximately equivalent to an American Ph.D."[7] Also in Denmark the Magister's degree is considered a degree at the same level as a PhD.[8][9] By comparison, in both Norway and Denmark, a PhD degree today only requires a 2,5-year dissertation. The Danish and Norwegian PhD degrees are identical, but in Denmark, the PhD is not considered a doctorate, as is established by law.




The title magister has had many different meanings in the Swedish educational system, from a degree equal to the doctorate to a graduate degree.

Since 2007 in Sweden, the Magister Examination (Swedish: magisterexamen) is a one-year graduate degree which requires at least three years of undergraduate studies. It is officially translated into either Master of Arts, Master of Social Science or Master of Science depending on the subject.[11]



This master's degree was traditionally taken as a first degree before the Bologna Process. The degree usually lasted about 56 years and is structured into Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced progressional components. A new undergraduate magister degree, requiring at least 4 years of studies, was introduced in 1993. Since the introduction of the Bologna Process in 2005, the Magister has been broken into bachelor (formerly Basic/Intermediate) and master (formerly Advanced) components. However, the vast majority of students continue right through to complete the master's degree and, in effect, the duration and extent of the old Magister degree remains much as it was.

Territories of Former Yugoslavia

In Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia and other countries once part of Yugoslavia, before the implementation of the Bologna process, the magistar nauka/magister znanosti (Magister of Science) was a research-oriented degree awarded for 2 or 3 years of study following the diploma degree (which lasted 4 to 6 years) and the defense of a magistarski rad (magister's thesis).[12][13] In order to be promoted to doktor nauka/znanosti (Doctor of Science), a magistar was supposed to write and defend a doctoral thesis. Magistar um(j)etnosti (Magister of Arts) was a terminal degree in music performance, acting and visual arts.

In Serbia, by decision of the Serbian Parliament (Odredba stava 2.), the status of those graduated before the Bologna process is now equivalent with master's degree graduates in the EU.[14] Magister's degree has been considered as equivalent of the first two years of three years doctoral studies. In Croatia, the statuses are regulated by a new law from 2007[15] and a new classification from 2008.[16]









In some fields (particularly, Law, Medicine, Pharmacy and Architecture) the Laurea magistrale a ciclo unico is awarded. This is a five or six year second cycle (master's) degree, which does not require a previous first cycle degree for the admission.

English-speaking regions

There are various traditional master's degrees (especially those that predate the 20th century) whose English-language names (containing Master) have New Latin counterparts (containing Magister). They include the following:

English New Latin
Master of ArtsMagister Artium
Master of DivinityMagister Divinitatis
Master of EducationMagister Educationis
Master of LawsLegum Magister
Master of LettersMagister Litterarum
Master of Liberal ArtsMagister Liberalium Artium
Master of PharmacyMagister Pharmaciae
Master of PhilosophyMagister Philosophiae
Master of Sacred TheologySacrae Theologiae Magister
Master of ScienceMagister Scientiae
Master of SurgeryMagister Chirurgiae
Master of TheologyTheologiae Magister


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  14. "Службени гласник Републике Србије", број 76/05
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