degree abbreviations

Sometimes on here, I run into an abbreviation for a degree that makes me go "Huh?" and I am probably not the only one. Today, I ran across this list on the Rutgers webpage. I hope it helps somebody else. Yes, I realize that some other common ones such as the DBA (Doctor of Business Adminstration) are missing. Maybe somebody else will post those that are not listed.

Master’s Degree
Ed.M. (Educational Master’s)
M.A. (Master of Arts)
M.A.T. (Master of Arts for Teachers)
M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration)
M.C.R.P. (Master of City and Regional Planning)
M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts)
M.L.S. (Master of Library Service)
M.M. (Master of Music)
M.P.A. (Master in Public Administration)
M.P.P. (Master of Public Policy)
M.S. (Master of Science)
M.S.T. (Master of Science for Teachers)
M.S.W. (Master of Social Work)
M.T.A. (Master of Theatre Arts)

Doctorate
D.C. (Doctor of Chiropractic)
D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy)
D.V.M. (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine)
Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)—Usually awarded for doctorates in education-related fields.
J.D. (Juris Doctor)—A law degree following three years of study.
M.D. (Medical Doctor)
Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)—Usually awarded for academic subject areas in the humanities, sciences and social sciences.
Psy.D. (Doctor of Psychology)

 

Actually MLS is Master of Library Science. MSLS is Master of Science in Library Science.

 

From time to time, I mention the wonderful little book, Epithetology, published in 1948 by Commercial Press, by Curtis Bartholomew, LL.B., J.D., LL.D., B.S., M.S., Sc.D., Consulting Epithetologist.

The book lists more than 3,000 "correct" degree titles and abbreviations, and hundreds more "incorrect" ones.

Bartholomew grows quite petulant about what he regards as misuse:

"Occasionally we observe the abbreviation B.S.H.E., which is meant to represent Bachelor of Science in Home Economics. This, of course, is not correct, and the proper form is B.S. Ho.Ec. or B.S. in Home Economics."

"The degree abbreviation B.S.S. is the recognized indicator of Bachelor of Sanitary Science, and it does not signify any other degree. When the degree Bachelor of Social Science is to be indicated, the corect identifying abbreviation is B.So.Sc., and not B.S.S."

And so on. And on.

This book would be a great source for Puzzler questions, but for the fact that there are copies out there in libraries and other collections.

Consider these five, out of many:

D.Did.
D.Di.E.
D.D.T.
D.E.D.
D.E.Ch.E.

The answers, of course, are:
Doctor of Didactics
Doctor of Diesel Engineering
Doctor of Drugless Therapy
Doctor of English Divinity
Doctor of Electro-Chemical Engineering

It occurs to me that this book is 56 years old, which, I believe, means that the copyright (if renewed) expires this year. I wonder if there would be a market for a reprinted version -- probably just as a historical curiosity, though, not as a terribly useful reference book.

 

Potentially confusing are those degrees from the Harvard University Extension School...
A.L.B. - is the Bachelor of Liberal Arts
A.L.M. - is the Master of Liberal Arts
They come out kinda backwords because they're actually written in Latin. There may be a few other schools that do this too.
Jack

 

In English Divinity different than everybody else's divinity?? Or do they mean the confection?

 

You will also see BM, MM, and DM for these.

 

M.L.S. can also stand for Master of Liberal Studies.

 

NFL on CBS
NHL on ESPN
NBA on NBC
MLB on FOX

 

Between the Masters and Doctorate in education related fields is the Ed.S. (Specialist In Education).

 

Also known as the C.A.G.S. (Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study).

 

I've never heard of this one. Who grants it, Bruce? Ed.S. I know, but not this equivalent.

A little side bit of interest: my husband holds an Ed.S. in Multilingual/Multicultural Education from Florida State, but for all of his English teaching jobs in the Middle East, besides his experience, they hire him on the strength of his M.A. . . . in German . . . because they don't know what an Ed.S. is! Go figure.

 

Regent University is one school that offers a CAGS. Here is the quote from Regent's website.

Students may choose to receive the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study mid-way through the Ph.D. program once they have successfully completed 30 semester hours of coursework. In some cases, attaining this post-graduate certificate assists students with job promotion and/or salary increase. Once students reach this level, they are encouraged to continue their studies to complete the Ph.D. in organizational leadership, which involves an additional 30 semester hours of coursework including comprehensive exams and a scholarly dissertation.

 

Thanks, airtorn, for this information.

So, then is a CAGS just merely a stepping-stone along the way to the doctorate? The Ed.S. is often seen to be a terminal degree in its own right, for practitioners and/or administrators in education, particularly in k-12, in lieu of a doctorate.

Cheers,
Adrienne

 

Likewise the somewhat obscure "Engineer" degree is between a masters and doctorate (University of Southern California is one school offering this degree)

 

I have a Bachelor's degree in Behavioral Science from Concordia College in NY; a Physical Education Master's degree from Hofstra University in NY; and a Master's degree in School Building Leadership from Mercy College in NY. How would I (if appropriate) use abbreviations for my degrees in signing my name? i.e John Smith blah blah blah...

 

*Mercy College Masters in School Building Leadership

 

It can be confusing...Dr. Bear once revealed that he is the proud holder of an M.J. degree. My immediate thought was that he had done three semesters at Stanford Law School for a Master of Jurisprudence but was bitterly disappointed to learn that, no, it was a Master of Journalism.

I was in therapy for MONTHS!

 

I hate my master's degree abbreviation. I have an M.S.S. - Master of Security Studies. How come they didn't just choose Master of Art or Master of Science? It kind of becomes a pain when I fill out applications with a dropdown menu that makes you choose MA, MS, or other common master's titles and don't list plain master's.