Structure and delivery

Master's degrees may be delivered via a full or part-time mode of study. They may include greater or lesser amounts of distance learning or may combine methods. In terms of duration, many are offered on the basis of one year of full-time study or the equivalent for part-time. However, program mes may be shorter or longer, with the M Phil usually taking up to two years full-time.Master's degrees may be modular, and may incorporate progression through postgraduate certificate and diploma. In such cases providers will wish to ensure that integration and synthesis across the program me lead to intended learning outcomes beyond those of its constituent parts. Some may also be delivered partly, and sometimes fully, through an employment setting. The mode of delivery will, in all cases, be clear for applicants and agreed by providers. It will be offered in the context of an integrated strategy of teaching, learning and assessment that enables the student to demonstrate the intended learning outcomes appropriate to the programme's overall aims.
Integrated master's awards - which are common in science, mathematics and engineering - are delivered through a programme that combines study at the level of a bachelor's degree with honours with study at master's level. As such, a student graduates with a master's degree after a single four-year, or five-year in Scotland, programme of study. If a work placement is included, the time taken to complete the programme may be extended.
There are also examples of master's degrees that are delivered through an integrated
programme of study that includes a three-year doctoral degree. In such cases, a student
graduates with a doctoral degree such as a PhD or DPhil after a single, four-year
(minimum)programme of study.