A Scottish MA is the undergraduate academic degree in Humanities and Social Science faculties given at the four Scottish ancient universities and the University of Dundee. Although the degree is named MA (Master of Arts), it is considered equivalent to the BA (Bachelor of Arts) awarded elsewhere by most universities. The degree course usually lasts four years, while the BA (Hons) course in England usually lasts three years - the Scottish MA generally consists of two years of honours-level courses as opposed to the one year of honours studied as part of the BA, although there exist three-year MA (Pass) degrees with a different layout. In some educational systems, an undergraduate is a post-secondary student pursuing a Bachelors degree. ... This article is about academic degrees. ... The humanities are a group of academic subjects united by a commitment to studying aspects of the human condition and a qualitative approach that generally prevents a single paradigm from coming to define any discipline. ... Terms like SOSE (Studies of Society & the Environment) not only refer to social sciences but also studies of the environment. ... The Ancient universities in Scotland comprise: The University of St Andrews (founded 1413) The University of Glasgow (1451) The University of Aberdeen (1495) The University of Edinburgh (1583) The University of Dundee (1881) Uniquely, the Ancient Universities award a Masters degree for Arts Undergraduate courses (known as Scottish MA... The University of Dundee has its roots in the earlier University-College and the University of Saint Andrews. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate course of one or two years in duration. ... A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B.) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Ethnicity...

For this reason and because only the ancient Scottish universities along with Dublin, Oxford and Cambridge bestow undergraduate MAs (although in a different manner to the Scottish system), most employers treat a Scottish MA as being of slightly higher value than a BA. This situation has been encouraged by the emergence of other undergraduate masters courses such as the MSci, MEng or MMath, which are superior to a bachelor's degree but lower in status than a postgraduate masters. Scottish/Oxbridge undergraduate MAs are seen by some as being within this cohort of advanced undergraduate degrees, mostly as a combination of the title of "Master of Arts" (as opposed to the title of Bachelor) and also by virtue of being granted by a leading research university with a long history. This uncertain status of an MA (Hons) with regards to a BA (Hons) is the source of some antagonism, particularly by the graduates of newer universities (such as the "Red Brick" universities or the post-1960/1992 universities). Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath),is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Irelands east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin region. ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... The city of Cambridge is an old English university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. ... A bachelors degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts three or four years. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. ... Oxbridge is a portmanteau name for the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest in the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world. ... Red Brick is a name given originally to the six civic British universities that were founded in the industrial cities of England in the Victorian era and achieved university status before World War II. The civic university movement started in 1851 with Owens College, Manchester (now the University of Manchester... In the United Kingdom, the term New University has two meanings regarding British universities. ...

The undergraduate MA only applies to the Faculties of Arts or Social Sciences within these universities. The Honours degree of Bachelor of Science (BSc) is awarded for four years of study in the field of science and the honours Bachelor of Laws (LLB) is the four year legal degree (agin with an ordinary available after three years). Newer undergraduate degrees are either undergraduate Bachelors or undergraduate Masters in the advanced undergraduate degree scheme as above. A Bachelor of Science (B.S., B.Sc. ... The degree of Bachelor of Laws is the principal academic degree in law in most common law countries. ...

As opposed to the Oxbridge MA (which has no honours as there are no separate exams for the award of MA), the Scottish MA is awarded with the same system of honours as other British undergraduate degrees, for example "MA (Hons) Upper Second Class". Consequently, graduates with a Scottish MA may also gain a postgraduate MA from a non-Scottish university and may style themselves MA(Hons), MA - the research MA, although not awarded with honours, is nonetheless considered superior to the undergraduate MA and thus is placed last in post-nominal titles. Faculties of Arts in Scottish universities generally do not award postgraduate MAs but instead use the system of an MPhil (for a research postgraduate masters) or MLitt/MRes (for a taught postgraduate masters).

The justification for awarding an undergraduate MA by these universities is based on the history of their founding. For example, the University of Glasgow is empowered under the terms of its Papal Bull of 1451 based on the historical circumstances of universities at the time, where a scholar in the arts was given the title of "master" and the theological, legal or medical equivalent was a "doctor". Thus Glagow's bull states: The University of Glasgow is the largest of the three universities in Glasgow, Scotland. ... Papal bull of Pope Urban VIII, 1637, sealed with a leaden bulla. ...

...and those who shall have been examined and approven in their said university of the city of Glasgow for the degree of master or doctor... shall thenceforth, without any other examination and approval, have full liberty to teach as well in the said University as in each and all other universities in which they shall choose to rule and teach...

Glasgow's Principal, in 2000, justified the Scottish MA by a presumedly light-hearted invocation of the final words of the formula used in papal bulls for establishing universities:

...Let none therefore in any ways infringe this writing of our constitution and appointment, or with foolhardy daring go in the contrary thereof, but if anyone shall presume to attempt this, let them know that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God, and of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul..

The newer universities (be they Red Brick, Glass Plate or Modern) were founded under very different terms which followed the Parisian degree system. For details of the justification of the Oxbridge MA, see the Oxford MA. This article concerns the Degrees of Oxford University. ...

The reason that Dundee is included in the undergraduate MA cohort along with the 15th and 16th century medieval universities of St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh is that Dundee only became an independent University in 1967, before which it existed as part of St Andrews and thus issued degrees with the authority of that university. The first European medieval universities were established in Italy, France and England in the late 11th and the 12th Century for the study of arts, law, medicine, and theology. ... The University of St Andrews was founded between 1410 and 1413 and is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the anglophone world. ... The University of Aberdeen is a university in Aberdeen, Scotland, founded by William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen in 1495 as Kings College. ... The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ...