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When someone states "I have a Masters in Computer Science" should the word masters have a capital M? I've seen arguments for both and can't determine which is correct.

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General reference: master's degree. – Robusto Dec 12 '12 at 16:32
Good question. A couple of resources that don't quite answer it: data.grammarbook.com/blog/capitalization/… grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/… – Waggers Dec 12 '12 at 16:36
Wonder if academia.stackexchange.com could answer. Unfortunately, the usage of the OP's is inconsistent: Master's, master's, and even Masters. – rajah9 Dec 12 '12 at 17:04

1 Answer

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The word "master's degree", used generically, means the degree attained by a master. For example, using it in this sentence is correct:

I received my master's degree from the university last January.

The capitalised form is usually used to refer to a specific master's degree by name:

I received my Master['s] of Science degree from the University of Waterloo last January.

Universities may use any of "Master", "Master's" or "Masters" when naming their specific master's degree, and you should use the same one.

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