Re: MA vs MS

[Matt Harding <Harding.Matt@ICCSD.K12.IA.US>]

My physics degree, which was a BA, involved fewer upper level physics
courses than the BS.  I think in many circles, the 'S' represents more
rigorous course work.

One other thing I failed to mention about the great state of Iowa,
"forgiveable" loans are available for people outside of physics teaching
who pursue degrees in physics teaching and plan to teach in Iowa for
five years after graduation(unfortunately for those already in physics
teaching, we have to foot the grad school bill ourselves).  That
wouldn't provide a stipend for a person seeking the MAT degree, but
would cover the cost of tuition.



"An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a
very narrow field."

-  Niels Bohr


-----Original Message-----
From: Forum for Physics Educators [mailto:PHYS-L@list1.ucc.nau.edu] On
Behalf Of Larry Smith
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 2:38 PM
To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU
Subject: MA vs MS

At 12:28 PM -0500 10/13/04, Matt Harding wrote:
> The University of Iowa has an MAT program for students with a
> non-teaching BS.  I think the program takes about a year and a half to
> complete.  The student would graduate with a MA not a MS, but if the
> goal is to teach at a high school or small college, it shouldn't really
> make a difference.

Clear up something for me.  Is an MS viewed more positively than an MA?
At
my college the arts degree (two-year college, so it is an AA) has
exactly
the same requirements as the science degree (AS) _plus_ the foreign
language.  The AA is "harder" than the AS.

Larry