There are multiple ways to earn a master's degree at Washington University:

• Students who have not previously earned a master's degree in the same field as their PhD may earn the degree along the way to their PhD. This option is available in some disciplines but not in all of them.
• Students who have not previously earned a master's degree in the same field as their PhD may be awarded a master's degree for work done in a PhD program that they are leaving without completing. This option, a master's degree in lieu of a PhD, is available in some disciplines but not in all of them.
• There are a number of Arts & Sciences disciplines that admit students to pursue a standalone master's degree. The majority of these programs are for full-time students and are described by their departments in other sections of this Bulletin. Two instances of standalone part-time master's degree programs exist in Arts & Sciences: the Master of Arts in Biology and the Master of Liberal Arts. (Most part-time standalone master's programs are available through the School of Continuing & Professional Studies and are described in that school's section of this Bulletin.)
• Undergraduate students in Arts & Sciences at Washington University may apply for the accelerated BA/MA program, in which graduation with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) is followed by one year of graduate study leading to the MA. This option is described in the Accelerated BA/Master's Program section of this Bulletin.

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