Master of Science A Master of Science or M . S . ( ; abbreviated M . Sc . , MSc , M . Sci . , M . Si . , Sc . M . , M . S . , MS ) is a postgraduate academic master ' s degree awarded by universities in many countries . The degree is typically granted for studies in the sciences or engineering or medicine . Algeria . Algeria follows the Bologna process for higher education in Europe . Argentina , Brazil , Mexico , Colombia and Uruguay . In Argentina , Brazil , Mexico , Colombia and Uruguay , the Master of Science or Magister is a postgraduate degree of two to four years of duration . The admission to a Master ' s program ( Spanish : " Maestría " ; Portuguese : " Mestrado " ) in a Brazilian , Argentine , Colombian or Uruguayan University requires the full completion of a four to five years long undergraduate degree , or a Licentiate ' s degree of the same length . Australia . Australian universities commonly have coursework or research based Master of Science courses for graduate students . They typically run for 1 – 2 years full - time , with varying amounts of research involved . Research based Masters degrees are usually accompanied by an extensive thesis before completion . Bangladesh . In Bangladesh , all universities , including Dhaka University , University of Chittagong , Jahangirnagar University and Rajshahi University , have Master of Science courses as postgraduate degrees . After passing Bachelor of Science , any student becomes eligible to study in this discipline . Canada . In Canada , Master of Science ( MSc ) degrees may be entirely course - based , entirely research - based or ( more typically ) a mixture . Master ' s programs typically take one to three years to complete and the completion of a scientific thesis is often required . Admission to a master ' s program is contingent upon holding a four - year university bachelor ' s degree . Some universities require a masters degree in order to progress to a doctoral program ( PhD ) . Quebec . In the province of Quebec , the Master of Science follows the same principles as in the rest of Canada . There is one exception , however , regarding admission to a master ' s program . Since Québécois students complete two to three years of college before entering university , they have the opportunity to complete a bachelor ' s degree in three years instead of four . Some undergraduate degrees such as the Bachelor of Education and the Bachelor of Engineering requires four years of studies . Following the obtention of their bachelor ' s degree , students can be admitted into a graduate program to eventually obtain a master ' s degree . Czech Republic and Slovakia . The Czech Republic and Slovakia are using two Master Degree systems . Both award a title of " Mgr . " or " Ing . " to be used before the name . The older system requires a 5 - years programme . The new system takes only 2 years , but requires a previously completed 3 - year bachelor programme ( a " Bc . " title ) . It is required to write a thesis ( in both master and bachelor programme ) and also to pass final exams . It is mostly the case that the final exams cover the main study areas of the whole study programme , i . e . a student is required to prove his / her knowledge in many subjects he attended during the 2 resp . 3 years . Egypt . The Master of Science ( M . Sc . ) is an academic degree for a post - graduate candidates or researchers , it usually takes from 2 to 3 years after passing The Bachelor of Science ( B . Sc . ) degree . Master programs is awarded in many sciences in the Egyptian Universities . A completion of the degree requires finishing a pre - master studies followed by a scientific thesis or research . ِِAll M . Sc . degree holders are allowable to take a step forward in the academic track to get the PhD degree . Germany . The Master of Science ( M . Sc . ) academic degree has been recently introduced in Germany , as the once common " Diplom " or " Magister " programmes typically lasting four to five years were replaced by separate three - year bachelor and two - year master programs . It is awarded in all sciences . The completion of a scientific thesis is required . All Master ' s degrees in Germany are designed to certify an equal level of education and qualify for a doctorate program only if approved by the Kultusminister and a local university . And now that is a rule . Guyana . In Guyana , all universities , including University of Guyana , Texila American University , American International School of Medicine have Master of Science courses as postgraduate degrees . Students who have completed undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree are eligible to study in this discipline Iran . In Iran , similar to Canada , Master of Science ( MSc ) or in Iranian form " Karshenasi - arshad " degrees may be entirely course - based , entirely research - based or sometimes a mixture . Master ' s programs typically take two to three years to complete and the completion of a scientific thesis is often required . Israel . In Israel , Master of Science ( MSc ) may be entirely course - based , or include research . The program is most commonly a two - year program and a thesis is required only for research based degrees . India . In India the M . S . is a research program . However few Universities such as Assam University , VIT are giving a 5 Years Integrated M . S Degree in disciplines like Computer Science , IT , Electronics etc . Also IISc and IITs are giving 3 Years M . S by research . Italy . Similar to Germany . The degree " Master of Science " is awarded in the Italian form , " Laurea Magistrale " ( formerly " Laurea specialistica " ; before the introduction of the " Laurea " the corresponding degree was " Laurea quinquennale " , or " Vecchio Ordinamento " ) . Netherlands . Similar to Germany . A graduate who is awarded the title Master of Science may still use the previously awarded Dutch title " ingenieur " ( abbreviated as ir . ) ( for graduates who followed a technical or agricultural programme ) , " meester " ( abbreviated as mr . ) ( for graduates who followed a law programme ) or " doctorandus " ( abbreviated as drs . ) ( in all other cases ) . Norway . For engineering , the Master of Science academic degree has been recently introduced , and has replaced the previous award forms " Sivilingeniør " ( engineer , a . k . a . engineering master ) and " Hovedfag " ( academic master ) . Both were awarded after 5 years university - level studies and required the completion of a scientific thesis . " Siv . ing " , is a protected title exclusively awarded to engineering students who completed a five - year education at The Norwegian University of Science and Technology ( , NTNU ) or other universities . Historically there was no Bachelor ' s degree involved , and today ' s program is a five years Master ' s degree education . The " Siv . ing " title is in the process of being phased out , replaced by ( for now , complemented by ) the " M . Sc . " title . By and large , " Siv . ing " is a title tightly being held on to for the sake of tradition . In academia , the new program offers separate three - year bachelor and two - year master programs . It is awarded in the natural sciences , mathematics and computer science fields . The completion of a scientific thesis is required . All Master ' s degrees are designed to certify a level of education and qualify for a doctorate program . Master of Science in Business is the English title for those taking a higher business degree , " Siviløkonom " in Norwegian . In addition there is for example the ' Master of Business Administration ' ( MBA ) , a practically oriented masters degree in business , but with less mathematics and econometrics , due to its less specific entry requirements and smaller focus on research . Pakistan . Pakistan inherited its conventions pertaining to higher education from United Kingdom after independence in 1947 . Master of Science degree is typically abbreviated as M . Sc . ( as in United Kingdom ) and which is awarded after 16 years of education . Recently , in pursuance to some of the reforms by the Higher Education Commission ( the regulatory body of higher education in Pakistan ) , the traditional 2 - year Bachelor of Science ( B . Sc . ) degree has been replaced by the 4 - year Bachelor of Science degree , which is abbreviated as B . S . to enable the Pakistani degrees with the rest of the world . Subsequently , students who pass 4 - year B . S . degree that is awarded after 16 years of education are then eligible to apply for M . S . degree , which is considered with Master of Philosophy ( M . Phil . ) degree . Poland . The Polish equivalent of Master of Science is " magister " ( abbreviated " mgr " , written pre - nominally much like " Dr " ) . Starting in 2001 , the MSc programs typically lasting 5 years began to be replaced as below : The degree is awarded predominantly in the natural sciences , mathematics , computer science , economics , as well as in the arts and other disciplines . Those who graduate from an engineering program prior to being awarded a master degree are allowed to use the " mgr inż . " pre - nominal ( " master engineer " ) . This is most common in engineering and agricultural fields of study . Defense of a research thesis is required . All master degrees in Poland qualify for a doctorate program . Spain . The Master of Science ( MSc ) degree is an officially recognized program by the Spanish Ministry of Educations . It usually involves 1 or 2 years of full - time study . It is targeted at pre - experience candidates who have recently finished their undergraduate studies . A MSc degree can be awarded in every field of study . Some universities require a MSc degree in order to progress to a PhD . Sweden . The Master of Science academic degree has , like in Germany , recently been introduced in Sweden . Students studying Master of Science in Engineering programmes are rewarded both the English Master of Science Degree , but also the Swedish equivalent " Teknologie masterexamen " and " Civilingenjör " . Syria . The Master of Science is a degree that can be studied only in public universities . The program is usually 2 years , but it can be extended to 3 or 4 years , the student is required to pass a specific bachelor degree to attend a specific master of science degree program , the master of science is mostly a research master ( except for some types of programs held with cooperation of foreign universities ) , The student should attend some courses in the first year of the master then he / she should prepare a research thesis . Publishing two research papers is recommended and will increase the final evaluation grade . United Kingdom . The MSc is typically a " taught " postgraduate degree , involving lectures , examination , and a short project . Taught masters programmes involve 1 or 2 years of full - time study ( or the equivalent period part - time ) . Some universities also offer research MSc programmes , where a longer project or set of projects is undertaken full - time . Until recently , both the undergraduate and postgraduate masters degrees were awarded without grade or class ( like the class of an honours degree ) . Nowadays however , taught masters degrees are normally classified into the categories of Pass and Distinction , with some universities also using an intermediate Merit category . The MSc by research and thesis , a purely research degree with no formal taught component , remains ungraded . The more recent MSci degree , now offered by UK institutions , is an abbreviation for Master " in " Science . It is equally reputed and acknowledged by employers within the UK and internationally . According to the UK National Qualifications Framework , an MSci and other such masters degrees ( MPhys , MChem etc . ) are termed integrated masters and are classed as level 7 qualifications — the same level as a Master of Science or Master of Arts degree . Many research universities are now demanding MSci degrees for entry to PhD research programmes . This education pattern in United Kingdom is also followed in Hong Kong SAR and in many Commonwealth Nations such as Malta , India , Pakistan , and Sri Lanka . United States . The " Master of Science " ( " Magister Scientiæ " ) degree is the primary type in most subjects and may be entirely course - based , entirely research - based , or , ( more typically ) , a combination of the two . The combination often involves writing and defending a thesis or completing a research project which represents the culmination of the material learned . Admission to a master ' s program is normally contingent upon holding a bachelor ' s degree , and progressing to a doctoral program may require a master ' s degree . In some fields or graduate programs , work on a doctorate can begin immediately after the bachelor ' s degree . Some programs provide for a joint bachelor ' s and master ' s degree after about five years . Some universities use the Latin degree names , and due to the flexibility of word order in Latin , " Artium Magister " ( AM ) or " Scientiæ Magister " ( SM ) may be used in some institutions .