A master's degree typically requires one to two years of full-time study at a university after the completion of a bachelor's degree. Master's degrees, like bachelor's degrees, are available in both the arts and the sciences. Master's degrees may require course work, research or both. In many cases, master's degree programs that require research will also provide financial aid or monetary compensation. In some cases, students in master's degree programs will have the opportunity to teach undergraduate courses to receive financial aid and a part-time salary.
Master of Arts degrees are awarded in a broad range of subjects including history, literature, rhetoric and composition, communication and philosophy, among many others. In the hierarchy of degrees, the M.A. degree is above the B.A., but it is below the Ph.D. A college instructor who has an M.A. but not a Ph.D. is unlikely to earn a tenure-track position at a university, although she will be eligible to earn a nontenured position.
Master of Fine Arts degrees are awarded in a narrower range of subjects, chief among them creative writing, the visual and performing arts, and film. Coursework in M.F.A. programs requires more creative work on the part of the student; the M.F.A. requires a student to enhance his craft. Students in M.F.A. programs may perform, attend workshops or produce work for galleries, often in addition to completing studies in the theory of their art. An M.F.A. is often considered a terminal degree (final degree in the field), although many students go on to pursue their Ph.D., particularly in the field of creative writing. In some university departments, an M.F.A. is enough to earn a tenure-track position, although candidates may face stiff competition from other applicants with a Ph.D.
M.A. and M.F.A. programs are often housed under the same departments, and in some cases M.A. and M.F.A. students may share classes. For example, M.A. in literature students and M.F.A. in creative writing students are in most cases both students in the English Department, may teach the same classes as part of teaching assistantships, and may even take some of the same classes; however, M.A. in literature students often are not permitted to take creative writing courses.