MA after a name stands for Master of Arts, an academic degree awarded by universities for graduate-level study in subjects like English, history, psychology, education, philosophy, communications, and other liberal arts or social science fields. It is one of the most common post-nominal letters you will encounter on business cards, email signatures, résumés, and professional directories.
What a Master of Arts Degree Involves
A Master of Arts is a graduate degree that typically requires one to two years of study beyond a bachelor’s degree. Programs vary widely by field, but most involve coursework, research, and often a thesis or capstone project. Common disciplines where graduates earn an MA include English literature, history, political science, sociology, psychology, linguistics, education, and fine arts.
Some universities also award an MA in fields that might surprise you, such as economics or mathematics, depending on the institution’s tradition. Oxford and Cambridge, for example, grant an MA under a different historical convention that does not require additional graduate study beyond the bachelor’s degree. Outside of that specific tradition, an MA signals that the person completed a competitive graduate program.
How MA Differs From Other Master’s Degrees
The most common counterpart to the MA is the MS, or Master of Science. The distinction usually comes down to the subject area or the program’s emphasis. An MA in psychology might focus more on theory and qualitative research, while an MS in psychology might lean toward lab work and statistics. Both are master’s-level degrees and carry the same academic weight.
Other master’s degrees you might see after a name include MBA (Master of Business Administration), MFA (Master of Fine Arts), MEd (Master of Education), and MPH (Master of Public Health). Each signals a specific field, but they all represent the same level of graduate education.
How MA Appears With Other Credentials
When someone lists multiple letters after their name, the standard convention is to arrange academic degrees in ascending order, starting with undergraduate degrees and moving up. A person with both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree would list the bachelor’s first. For example: Jane Smith, BA, MA. Someone who went on to earn a doctorate would write: Jane Smith, BA, MA, PhD.
Professional certifications and memberships typically follow academic degrees. Full stops between the letters are increasingly dropped in modern usage, so you will see both M.A. and MA. Either is correct, though the trend favors the cleaner version without periods.
MA in a Healthcare Context
If you see MA after a name in a medical office or clinic, it may stand for Medical Assistant rather than Master of Arts. Context makes the difference. A medical assistant is a healthcare professional who handles both clinical and administrative tasks: taking medical histories, preparing patients for exams, collecting lab specimens, performing phlebotomy, administering injections, scheduling appointments, and processing insurance claims.
Medical assistants can earn formal certification through organizations like the American Association of Medical Assistants, whose CMA (AAMA) credential requires graduation from an accredited postsecondary program and passing a certification exam. Some medical assistants use MA as a general professional designation on name badges or directories, while those with the specific AAMA certification use CMA. If you are unsure which meaning applies, the setting will usually tell you: a university or corporate environment points to Master of Arts, while a doctor’s office or hospital points to Medical Assistant.
Why People List MA After Their Name
Displaying post-nominal letters is a professional convention, not a requirement. People include MA after their name when the credential is relevant to their role or audience. A therapist with an MA in counseling psychology lists it to show clients their qualifications. A professor includes it alongside other degrees on a university directory. A job applicant might add it to a résumé header to signal their education level at a glance.
In everyday life, most people do not use post-nominal letters in casual communication. You are most likely to see MA on professional profiles, academic publications, conference name tags, and formal correspondence. If you spot it on a LinkedIn profile or business card, it simply means the person completed a graduate degree in an arts or humanities-related field, or, in a clinical setting, works as a medical assistant.