Question: What is a second-cycle academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice, and is a degree offered by Many medical schools which is a tertiary educational institution?

<P0-S0> A master's degree (from Latin "magister") is a second-cycle academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. <P0-S1>  A master's degree normally requires previous study at the bachelor's level, either as a separate degree or as part of an integrated course. <P0-S2>  Within the area studied, master's graduates are expected to possess advanced knowledge of a specialized body of theoretical and applied topics; high order skills in analysis, critical evaluation, or professional application; and the ability to solve complex problems and think rigorously and independently. <SEP> <P1-S0> A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians and surgeons. <P1-S1>  Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MBChB, BMBS), Doctor of Medicine (MD), or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO). <P1-S2>  Many medical schools offer additional degrees, such as a Doctor of Philosophy, Master's degree, a physician assistant program, or other post-secondary education. <SEP> <P2-S0> In the United States, the PhD degree is the highest academic degree awarded by universities in most fields of study. <P2-S1>  American students typically undergo a series of three phases in the course of their work toward the PhD degree. <P2-S2>  The first phase consists of coursework in the student's field of study and requires one to three years to complete. <P2-S3>  This often is followed by a preliminary, a comprehensive examination, or a series of cumulative examinations where the emphasis is on breadth rather than depth of knowledge. <P2-S4>  The student is often later required to pass oral and written examinations in the field of specialization within the discipline, and here, depth is emphasized. <P2-S5>  After the comprehensive examination the student is a "PhD Candidate", which is the academic equivalent of a Master's degree (today, universities will award terminal Master's for students who drop out of the PhD program at this stage, and some, like Columbia University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, award a Master's en route to the PhD). <P2-S6>  Some PhD programs require the candidate to successfully complete requirements in pedagogy (taking courses on higher level teaching and teaching undergraduate courses) or applied science (e.g., clinical practice and predoctoral clinical internship in PhD programs in clinical, counseling, or school psychology). <SEP> <P3-S0> An associate degree (or associate's degree) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study intended to usually last two years. <P3-S1>  It is considered to be greater level of education than a high school diploma or GED.