DEA (former French degree)
A master of advanced studies or master of advanced study (MAS, M.A.S., or MAst.) is a postgraduate degree awarded in various countries. Master of advanced studies programs may be non-consecutive programs tailored for "specific groups of working professionals with well-defined needs for advanced degree work" or advanced research degrees. With the exception of the UK, advanced studies programs tend to be interdisciplinary and tend to be focused toward meeting the needs of professionals rather than academics.
The University of Cambridge began offering the master of advanced study in 2010 as a one-year master's degree in Mathematics as a replacement for the "Part III exam in Mathematics". Cambridge currently offers master of advanced study degrees in four fields of study. The University of Warwick has approved the introduction of a master of advanced study (MASt) degree in Mathematics for the 2013/2014 year.
In the United States, the master of advanced study also the master of advanced studies degree is a post-graduate professional degree issued by numerous academic institutions, but most notably by the University of California. M.A.S. programs tend to "concentrate on a set of coordinated coursework with culminating projects or papers rather than emphasizing student research" and frequently are structured as interdisciplinary offerings.
The Diplôme d'études approfondies or DEA (Diploma of Profound Studies) was a degree in France from 1964 to 2005. It was a postgraduate degree (diplôme de troisième cycle), aimed to prepare for advanced doctoral studies. In order to award a government sanctioned degree (diplôme national) for a DEA, the university or institution had to require its students to complete a minimum 90-page thesis with a bibliography based on the students' original research, and a thesis defense. In addition to the research, thesis, and its defense, higher-ranking institutions (grands établissements) often required one-year of classroom study, an internship, a written exam, and an oral exam. Although only credited with one-year, it often took these students two to three years to receive the diploma. Entrance in DEA programs was permitted only to holders of the maîtrise universitaire, a one-year degree aimed to be an initiation to research methods. Despite the thesis requirement, the DEA is considered equivalent to the North American "All But Dissertation" or ABD status within a doctoral program or a master of philosophy (M.Phil.) or master of research (M.Res.) degree.
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