question on education track - master of arts in evol/eco - (Oct/10/2011 )

What's the difference between an MA and MSc in biology? It makes sense in undergraduate studies where you may not have as many science courses, but now, you're focusing on only core classes behind a specific field in biology. I recently received my bachelors in ecology, evol, and environmental bio and am taking time of to work and gain experience before pursuing a masters. I'm not planning on a joint program and the eventual goal is PhD; so, i was wondering how these programs would look at an MA. Right now, I'm interested in the University of Colorado due to their research and the option of a certificate in astrobiology. They only offer a thesis/non-thesis master of arts in ecology and evolution. Does a MA or MSc bear the same weight when applying to a doctorate program?

A masters is a masters degree, it shouldn't matter whether it is a MA or a MSc. The reason they are different is historical (as far as this non-US person can tell) - in some places the science departments grew out of arts colleges, and as such still produce MAs, but in others they were founded as sciences in their own right, and produced the MSc.

i figure it would depend more on what you're doing outside class. thanks bob, that settled my question. wasn't aware of the historical aspect