Magister (degree) - Denmark and Norway

Denmark and Norway

In Denmark and Norway, the Magister's degree was an advanced research degree, corresponding to the PhD in the Anglo-Saxon system and often translated as a PhD in an English language context. It is one of two formal predecessors of the current PhD degrees in Denmark, whereas in Norway, it is one of many predecessors of the current PhD degrees introduced in 2003. In modern times, the Magister's degree typically required 7–8 years of studies, with strong emphasis on the scientific dissertation. The Magister's degree became increasingly rare from the 1970s, and as a result of Denmark and Norway implementing the Bologna Process, it has now been completely abolished and replaced by PhD degrees.

Two main forms of the Magister's degree existed: Mag. art. (abbreviation of the Latin Magister Artium, "teacher of the arts"), if the degree was earned in humanities or social sciences, and mag. scient. for Natural Science. In Denmark, there was also a third degree in sociology, mag. scient. soc. The mag. scient. degree was discontinued in the 1970s and the mag. art. degree programs in Denmark ceased immatriculating students in 2007, but the degree was rarely used since the 1990s. In Norway it was abolished some years earlier, having become an increasingly rare, but highly regarded, degree, especially after the 1970s.

The degree was introduced in Denmark-Norway in 1479, as the highest degree at the Faculty of Philosophy, and was equivalent to the doctoral degrees in Theology, Law and Medicine. It was replaced by the Doctor Philosophiae degree as the highest degree at the Faculty of Philosophy in both countries in 1824. In 1848, the Magister's degree was reintroduced in Denmark, as a degree above the Candidate's degree, formally equal to the Licentiate's degrees at the other faculties. The new Magister's degree was originally formally known as Magisterkonferens, "Magister Counselor". The program was designed to be preparation for finding employment as a researcher. Sometimes the degree was obtained after the Candidate's degree had been obtained. The Magister's degrees, directly based on the Danish ones, were introduced in Norway in the early 1920s. In 1955, the Licentiate's degrees were also introduced at the University of Oslo Faculty of Law, and were occasionally awarded until 2003.

A Norwegian Magister's degree required a 3-year scientific dissertation of high quality, and is considered "approximately equivalent to an American Ph.D." Also in Denmark the Magister's degree is considered a degree at the same level as a PhD. By comparison, in both Norway and Denmark, a PhD degree today only requires a 2,5-year dissertation. The Danish and Norwegian PhD degrees are identical, but in Denmark, the PhD is not considered a doctorate, as is established by law.

Both American PhDs and German doctorates have been found to be equivalent to Danish and Norwegian Magister's degrees on several occasions. In Denmark, the PhD degree has been introduced as a so-called "lower doctorate" (although it is not a doctorate in the legal sense), formally replacing the Licentiate's degree and thus also the Magister's degree. Those obtaining the traditional doctorates in Denmark, now called higher doctorates, are well-established academics, overwhelmingly at the associate or full professor level, and this was also traditionally the situation in Norway. In Norway, however, the earlier Magister's degree and the formal doctorates, which are now roughly similar to the Magister's degree in extent, are now equivalent, as Norway unlike Denmark does not draw a distinction between the PhD (with its predecessors, the Licentiate's and Magister's degrees) and the doctorates.