That is JK Rowling’s secret. I say this because I went to Oxford, England this past weekend for the occasion of my boyfriend’s graduation ceremony for his MA. Mind you, he hasn’t done anymore work than he did for his BA from there. But apparently if you go to university at Oxford for your BA, if you wait 3 or 4 years your degree has the right to get automatically upgraded to an MA.
Did you know this? Word is that three universities in the British Aisles do this. Oxford, Cambridge and one other school in Ireland. While I am very happy for my bf, and I would certainly take up the opportunity, I must admit I find this pretty high and mighty of them (particularly considering I don’t even know the 3rd school in Ireland – so much for it’s famous education). While the idea is that these schools are among the best worldwide and, as such, the students had to work that much harder than students at most universities, I think this is total…oh, what’s the word?… Ah, yes: “crap”.
Firstly, I went to quite a good school and I would challenge how much “easier” my BA education work actually was. Secondly, I had to work for 4 years to get my BA. Graduates form these schools most often only have to work for 3 years (the classic European standard for BAs). Lastly, if one’s school has such a high educational reputation, than isn’t that the extra award one gets for going there? That everyone knows you completed an extra difficult educational program? Students from the Ivy Leagues don’t get an automatic upgrade to MA after a time and they are certainly famously difficult programs (if I am wrong, please correct me).
Anyhow, I don’t actually care, I just think it’s silly. I will add, in defense of the people that get these upgrades, that this type of MA does have a special name. My bf’s is called an “OxMA” or something like that, which indicates that it was an upgrade MA, not a traditional one. I doubt that employers in the US would know this, however. I would like my “ChaHillMA” please!
Regardless, I did terribly enjoy seeing Oxford and I have great respect for the school. It’s a beautiful little city. What I didn’t know before meeting my bf is that Oxford isn’t actually a university like we usually think of it. It is a collection of individual colleges under the “umbrella” name of “Oxford”. When you apply, you apply to individual colleges, and the college you get into is where you will live, eat and take classes. (This seems a terribly inefficient way to run a university, but then again no one says efficiency is the ultimate goal. I suppose it preserves small class size and individual attention, which may be what keeps it at the top of the rankings.)
The college situation is the first thing that reminded me of Harry Potter, outside of the generally beautiful, old, Gothic buildings that make up the city. During the graduation ceremony, this image became comical in dimension. Namely, the service is held in Latin. Ever heard people pretend to speak Spanish by putting an “o” on the end of every word? Speakingus Latinus is apparentlyus justus like thisus. Add the English accent to the language and the comparison is inescapable. The officials of the commencement could well have been spouting Harry Potter spells for all I know.
Of course, this is amplified by the complex assortment of robes worn by the participants. Sure, all university commencements feature particular dress. But these are old school “robes” (no $20 one color poly/nylon blend graduation “gowns” here!), slightly different for men and women, 
featuring colored hoods, where every particular status merits a decorative variation on the hood and/or robe. There were far more varieties than I have witnessed before in one place. What’s more, students do not only wear robes for graduation, but also for exams and the nightly formal dinner service in each college (if one chooses to go to formal dinner, and not informal). They are not one-wear graduation clothes. They are part of the university student wardrobe, so to speak.
In the ceremony, the graduates are called forward, grouped by discipline as well as college. (“Brasenose”? C’mon! It might as well be Hufflepuff…) In the main aisle they bow to the officials several times while their representative formally announces them in Latin. The MAs also go forward by fours and kneel in front of the officials, the leader of which taps them each on the head with a book.
I felt silly for thinking of Harry Potter, until after the ceremony when the entire (English/Irish) family said the exact same thing. I suppose if Oxford ever runs short of funds, it could make a lot of money by selling itself to the parents of HP obsessed children. As serious an educational institution a sit is, it is now forever a sort of Disneyland of universities in my mind. Just like the hotel workers in Turkey that reminded us of Disneyland because of their traditional costume, and we had to remind ourselves that Disney copied Turkish traditions, not the other way around. The same goes for Oxford with regards to Harry Potter. Go and check it out. You’ll be tempted to credit JK Rowling for 750 years of university traditions.
March 15, 2008 at 1:14 pm
The university awards MAs seven years after matriculation as, historically, this was the length of time it took to complete a degree and the tradition has been maintained ever since. Some universities in the British ISLES operate a different system to those in other countries; this has developed over hundreds of years and I think it’s rather arrogant of you to dismiss as ‘crap’ something which just happens not to conform to your culture’s way of doing things. It may come as a surprise, but what American employers may or may not think in their ignorance of another culture’s practices is not uppermost in the minds of those who run British universities when they are deciding which traditions (many of which are themselves older than the USA itself) are to be preserved and respected. Scottish universities also award undergraduate MAs which may or may not have taken four years to complete – it isn’t a question of dishonesty, but one of cultural heritage. They say travel broadens he mind – it’s a shame you seem to have taken such a parochial and self-referential view of another culture’s heritage.
March 26, 2008 at 11:56 am
L. Snowe, let’s remember the spirit of the blog – that is, to write first impressions of how things look at first glance to an outsider. A “self-referential” view of other’s cultures is EXACTLY what it is. It’s a recognition of how the most “normal” things on one context can feel terribly weird to an outsider!
Furthermore, I do not deny that the system of awarding MAs in question doesn’t have its reasons behind it. But conversely, in my expereince the people receiving them rarely recognize that it might not appear completely logical to those that earned their MAs differently. My own partner received the Oxford upgrade degree in question. I do not begrude him that – but I do get to laugh a bit at the discrepancy in how we obtained our higher degrees. And he doesn’t find me to be close-minded or bitchy about it in the least.
It’s all to have a laugh at difference. Perhaps I failed to acheive the desired tone. But if so, then I ask readers keep that in mind as they proceed.
September 16, 2008 at 6:02 pm
I must say, I get quite a few offended emails from Trinity (the uni in Ireland, I’ve been informed), Oxford and Cambridge alums who don’t seem to like one questioning the practice of awarding these MAs, even when I point out that I was being purposefully cheeky. I should be snarky more often – it sure is good for debate!