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MA by thesis

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  • 05-10-2010 11:41am
    #1
    G20
    Registered Users Posts: 35 ✭


    One of the characters in my novel wants to do an MA by research and thesis back in 1980.
    Would this have taken her one or two years?


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    #2
    parker kent
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,289 ✭✭✭parker kent


    It depends on the course but it is normally one year for a taught masters. But there are lots of taught and research masters that take more than one year. There are a myriad of reasons why it might take 2 years including part time courses.

    Do you have a particular course in mind? If not, it might be a good idea to come up with one to flesh out the back story in your mind. Also when you say MA, do you specifically mean a Master of Arts or do you just mean a masters? MA is just one of a number of masters including MSc, MEd etc

    Edit: Also what exactly do you mean by "by research and thesis"? Any masters includes research or major project of some form or other.


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    #3
    El Siglo
    Registered Users Posts: 3,803 ✭✭✭El Siglo


    G20 wrote: »
    One of the characters in my novel wants to do an MA by research and thesis back in 1980.
    Would this have taken her one or two years?

    Novel set in 1980? Right, then yes it was a thesis that you would have to do research for. It does depend on the masters as well, a lot of masters degrees took two years back in the day, it's only been in the last 15-20 years that these have been shortened.


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    #4
    parker kent
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,289 ✭✭✭parker kent


    El Siglo wrote: »
    Novel set in 1980? Right, then yes it was a thesis that you would have to do research for. It does depend on the masters as well, a lot of masters degrees took two years back in the day, it's only been in the last 15-20 years that these have been shortened.

    Oh yeah, forgot the 1980 part of the query! It really depends on the particular course.


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    #5
    El Siglo
    Registered Users Posts: 3,803 ✭✭✭El Siglo


    parker kent wrote: »
    Oh yeah, forgot the 1980 part of the query! It really depends on the particular course.

    I was told by a lecturer before that doing an MA back in the day, you were usually 'in with' your lecturer and they took you under their wing for the two years. It was all research (zero taught, or taught was informal, like a 5-day FORTRAN course) and was probably more akin to what the MLitt is today. On the other hand there were taught courses (e.g. MSc in Environmental Science started in 1979 in TCD, MRUP started in the mid 1960s in UCD) and these were two years but you did a good bit (one of my old lecturers compared the old MRUP to doing something like 400 credits!).


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    #6
    parker kent
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,289 ✭✭✭parker kent


    El Siglo wrote: »
    I was told by a lecturer before that doing an MA back in the day, you were usually 'in with' your lecturer and they took you under their wing for the two years. It was all research (zero taught, or taught was informal, like a 5-day FORTRAN course) and was probably more akin to what the MLitt is today. On the other hand there were taught courses (e.g. MSc in Environmental Science started in 1979 in TCD, MRUP started in the mid 1960s in UCD) and these were two years but you did a good bit (one of my old lecturers compared the old MRUP to doing something like 400 credits!).

    Yeah I have dealt with a few people in my job in UCD that graduated from their masters in the 80s. The taught masters idea only took off in the 2000s. The idea of a masters is that it is meant to be research driven but getting in the money means they are moving more towards taught masters. The "pile them high" approach.


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    #7
    G20
    Registered Users Posts: 35 ✭G20


    I'm overwhelmed by the helpfulness of both parker kent and El Siglo.

    To flesh it out a bit, the character has just done brilliantly in her honours BA in English and French literature. Now she has decided to proceed to Masters in Arts taking as her research subject the life and times of the writer James Stephens.
    Seems from your answers she will be under the supervision of a lecturer or tutor during the two year period and there will be minimal attendance at college.
    Am I right?


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    #8
    parker kent
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,289 ✭✭✭parker kent


    I think the best thing to do is to ring the School of English and check with them. You are probably correct in what you say but they could give you a definite answer. Most students doing a Masters in the 80s probably had very few hours where they had to be in, especially English. Even today the MA in English is pretty focused towards self driven work.

    http://www.ucd.ie/englishanddrama/contact/


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    #9
    G20
    Registered Users Posts: 35 ✭G20


    Thanks a mil, parker kent. I think I've enough to go on at this stage.


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