Can you fail a Masters?

MMcLoughlin

I think that once a university has accepted you for a Masters program, they are legally obliged to confer you with a Masters Degree, even if you technically "fail" the course assessment (assignments, placements, exams, thesis etc). Is this correct?

Sad Professor

Eh, no. You can definitely fail a masters.

MMcLoughlin

This came up a number of years ago on a Masters I was part-time lecturing on.
(I'm asking for a different student now).
I was lecturing on a clinical training Masters and one student submitted good academic papers, but never developed the requisite clinical skills.
The staff looked into their options, and apparently it was not possible to fail a Masters student. All they could do was give the student a pass mark and recommend that they stick to research rather then clinical practice.
It seemed that once the college accepted any person onto a Masters programme, they were basically entering into a legal contract, whereby they deemed the person suitable and capable of attaining Masters standard, by virtue of accepting them.
I don't think I've ever heard of anyone failing a Masters...?
In any case, the student I am asking the question for now is doing a non-clinical Masters.
I would be happy to hear from anyone who would have any knowledge of this

Thanks

Falthyron

MMcLoughlin wrote: »

This came up a number of years ago on a Masters I was part-time lecturing on.
(I'm asking for a different student now).
I was lecturing on a clinical training Masters and one student submitted good academic papers, but never developed the requisite clinical skills.
The staff looked into their options, and apparently it was not possible to fail a Masters student. All they could do was give the student a pass mark and recommend that they stick to research rather then clinical practice.
It seemed that once the college accepted any person onto a Masters programme, they were basically entering into a legal contract, whereby they deemed the person suitable and capable of attaining Masters standard, by virtue of accepting them.
I don't think I've ever heard of anyone failing a Masters...?
In any case, the student I am asking the question for now is doing a non-clinical Masters.
I would be happy to hear from anyone who would have any knowledge of this

Thanks

That sounds ridiculous. A Master's Degree is certification that the person who has earned the award is capable, competent, and examined to prove ability, in a particular field/area. The institution is rubber stamping the student's credentials and therefore risking their own reputation with prospective employers. What you are saying suggests that anyone with the means to pay for a Master's will be given one, irrespective of their ability to do the work and meet the requirements to earn the award.

If the student you mentioned had done enough work to pass, but failed a particular aspect of the Master's, then, perhaps, they have passed by compensation. Is that what you are implying? Or are you saying that if I paid 5,000-10,000 for a Master's programme and spent the entire year doing absolutely nothing, I can expect to walk into my graduation and pick up my award?!

Undergraduates are accepted into undergraduate programmes (contractual), they don't get free degrees for doing nothing. Why would a Master's be any different?

Redhighking

Falthyron wrote: »

That sounds ridiculous. A Master's Degree is certification that the person who has earned the award is capable, competent, and examined to prove ability, in a particular field/area. The institution is rubber stamping the student's credentials and therefore risking their own reputation with prospective employers. What you are saying suggests that anyone with the means to pay for a Master's will be given one, irrespective of their ability to do the work and meet the requirements to earn the award.

If the student you mentioned had done enough work to pass, but failed a particular aspect of the Master's, then, perhaps, they have passed by compensation. Is that what you are implying? Or are you saying that if I paid 5,000-10,000 for a Master's programme and spent the entire year doing absolutely nothing, I can expect to walk into my graduation and pick up my award?!

Undergraduates are accepted into undergraduate programmes (contractual), they don't get free degrees for doing nothing. Why would a Master's be any different?

I think a point could be made between a taught Masters and a research Masters.

antoinolachtnai

The case you are talking about sounds like a particular situation where the student passed the course. The issue wasn't academic ability or knowledge of the material or anything else; the issue was the suitability of the person for a certain job. The person wasn't suitable for the job to which the course naturally led, at least in the view of the people involved in delivering or examining the course. However, the person passed the criteria for the course (exam, thesis or whatever) and as a result these people were not in a position to refuse to grant the relevant qualification to the person.

It is a very complicated situation. A qualification from a university may be a prerequisite for joining a profession, but it may not be sufficient in and of itself. At the end of the day, deciding on a person's suitability for a particular job is a matter for professional bodies and for employers, not for universities.

Zoinks

A college will not award you a degree if the requirements have not been met, and will not award passing grades to assessments if they are of very poor quality. A research masters is not automatically awarded either, the work will be examined and failed if not up to standard.

If the student you mentioned had done enough work to pass, but failed a particular aspect of the Master's, then, perhaps, they have passed by compensation.

This sounds more likely the case.

MMcLoughlin

To Falthyron: No, that's not what I am saying. There are assignments, placements, lectures etc during the year and if a student was not showing up and not submitting anything, they would be called to account by the staff.
I was just relating a situation I was aware of and asking a question; I am not taking any position on this issue as I don't know what the answer is.

Tom Dunne

Yes, you can fail a masters.

It comes down to this: does a student, through the work presented, meet the learning outcomes. If they do not present anything, then they do not meet the learning outcomes and therefore fail.

I suspect we are not getting the full facts of this story.

Hellywelly

You can certainly fail a masters. Taught or research. You can also fail a PhD. If you don't meet all the criteria to pass then you won't be awarded the qualification and it doesnt matter what the qualification is!
I work in a university and each year we have a number of candidates who fail at Masters level.

Supercell

I've just completed a masters in TCD and am anxiously awaiting results from my thesis submission. The course lead went to great lengths to tells us the sad tale of students that failed in the past because they didn't listen to their thesis supervisors advise and submitted sub par work, so it does happen.

helimachoptor

Supercell wrote: »

I've just completed a masters in TCD and am anxiously awaiting results from my thesis submission. The course lead went to great lengths to tells us the sad tale of students that failed in the past because they didn't listen to their thesis supervisors advise and submitted sub par work, so it does happen.

Currently also in the same situation, my supervisor did also brief on students who failed for a couple of different reasons