More important, holders of an MS degree are presumed to have different intellectual and career aspirations compared to those with a BS degree. Generally an MS degree requires as little as 30 to as many as 40 post-BS degree semester credit hours. The difference depends on whether a thesis is required or not. If a thesis is required, this is generally the result of some guided research from one of the resident faculty members. At times, an adjunct faculty may serve as the thesis adviser.
Course work consists of graduate level material.
These graduate level courses imply that the students already have reached the intellectual maturity of a BS degree holder. Thus, the first issue in this study is rather pointed. Comparing the numbers of credit hours reported by different institutions does not resolve the question of equivalency. Several exposure courses in a wide range of topics and often taught by guest or adjunct faculty are not to be confused with carefully designed graduate level courses, even if the numbers of semester credit hours are comparable. Unless an institution performs such a self-evaluation and clearly delineates a graduate level path, it is likely that the diploma is not MS degree equivalent, in spite of the numerical evidence.