Master of Science

[Bram]

OK, they're printing a business card for me. And because of globalization (I presume) it needs to be in English. Now nobody seems to know for sure what the correct internation (read: American) format for academic titles is (all I know is that it's significantly different from the Dutch conventions).

An example.

Jack Daniels, M.Sc.

1. With or without the comma?
2. With or without periods/spaces? (in other words: M.Sc. or M Sc or MSc)
3. Before or after the name (I'm pretty sure it's after, but I'm asking anyway because in Dutch, it goes in front of it)

Can anyone help me out? Google isn't providing many answers since it tends to ignore case, spaces and periods. Also, I'd appreciate it if you state WHY your opinion is correct (for example, because you have a title yourself and you live in the USA or something ;-)

Thanks again, dear community!

- Bram

[OfficeShredder]

In America, it's usually abbreviated simply M.S.

I know this by googling and finding a wikipedia page, along with a Carnegie Mellon page that agrees

http://www.cmu.edu/styleguide/abbreviations.html

If you prefer to abbreviate degrees, be sure to use periods after all the letters: B.A., M.S., Ph.D., M.S.I.A., B.F.A. (with the exception of MBA)

The M.S. being Master of Science degree

[Mr. Nightmare]

Agrees with OfficeShredder, as I'm currently working on my M.S.E.E. in the United States (or States United, if you're Dutch).

[Bram]

Yeah, I think I get it now.

MS is the US terminology, whereas the British (and consequently most European countries') designation of the same title is Msc. That still leaves the issue of the periods, but there doesn't seem to be much convergence on that.

[MadManiac21]

Jack Daniels, M.Sc.

If your name was really Jack Daniels, I would be exceptionally jealous.

Go with First Last, M.S. Or if you wanted to be really saucy: Last, First M.S.

[The Atog Lord]

For whatever it is worth, I've never actually seen anyone append anything to their name on account of a Master's degree. A Doctoral degree frequently results in the name being changed, but I haven't seen this done for a Master's. And I say that as someone two months away from a Master's degree himself, and years away from a doctorate.

[Bram]

I'm not sure what you mean by that.

[ELD]

I plan on taking over a small section of Europe in the next couple years.  I'm not sure exactly where yet, but I will be renaming it to Latveria.  First order of business is my desk placard. 

ELD the Usurper S.O.

Is S.O. still the recognized abbreviation for Supreme Overlord?  Also, is Supreme Overlord still in frequent use?  Would it be better to just drop the S.O. and stick with the simpler/more down to earth "ELD the Usurper"

[Moxlotus]

For whatever it is worth, I've never actually seen anyone append anything to their name on account of a Master's degree. A Doctoral degree frequently results in the name being changed, but I haven't seen this done for a Master's. And I say that as someone two months away from a Master's degree himself, and years away from a doctorate.

Go to any orthodontist, endodontist (root canals), and probably oral surgeon and periodontist (gum specialist).  They will have M.S. at the end of his title on the door.

[Godder]

It's MSc (and BSc) here in New Zealand, and also in Australia and the UK. Looking into it further at a few NZ websites, we list such info as <Name>, title, title, title with no periods between any letters.

For example: Dr Monty Soutar, BEd, BA(Hons), MA, PhD

The common degrees here are BA, BCom, BSc, LLB (laws), BE (Engineering), BEd (Education) and MB (Medicine aka Dr). Others exist, but are somewhat less common. Replacing 'B' with 'M' gives the appropriate Masters degree for each one. Actual doctorates are usually listed as PhD, regardless of the actual thesis subject.

BS (or B.S.) here means bullshit, and MS (or M.S.) means multiple sclerosis, which isn't the sort of thing you'd advertise normally speaking.

[Bram]

For whatever it is worth, I've never actually seen anyone append anything to their name on account of a Master's degree.

Well, since it's a business card that I'll be giving out to other scholars (e.g. experts that I interview), I find it useful to give them some indication as to my education level. Also, it's common practice to print titles (those that are protected by law, anyway) on business cards. It's just that we usually use the Dutch title, such as ir. Firstname Lastname for university-level engineers, ing. Firstname Lastname for non-university level engineers, mr. Firstname Lastname for university-level law graduates (we use dhr. where you guys would normally use mr), and drs. Firstnmae Lastname for any other type of university graduate. A finished "promovendus" (PhD student) gets to use dr. (if he was a drs. before), dr.ir. (if he was an ir. before) and mr.dr. (if he was mr. before). Note how an ing. cannot become a PhD student in principle, so dr.ing. is very rare.

Is S.O. still the recognized abbreviation for Supreme Overlord?  Also, is Supreme Overlord still in frequent use?

It's SOv these days. But I let most people just call me Bram.

[ChemEng]

I dont think that Ive seen a Masters Degree listed on a business card before. Usually its PhD or certifications similar (PE, CPA, et al)

[Matt]

In the USA, you basically never advertise your education level unless it's a certfication (CPA, MBA) or doctorate-level.* The only time you'd bring up bachelor's or master's degrees is on a resume or C.V.

*Or, I suppose, 'maestro'.

[ChemEng]

I have an MBA and I wouldnt think to put it on a business card.

ChemEng MBA, PE

or is it PE, MBA?

hrmm...

[freakish777]

I've seen it both ways (M.S. and M.Sc.) in vitaes of various faculty at Universities at the states, but most of the departments claim they award M.S. degrees leading me to believe that the people using M.Sc. aren't American citizens but rather students from abroad studying in the States.

To be perfectly honest though, I think both conventions (the M.Sc. more-so though) get the point across that you have a Masters of Science, and wouldn't stress over which it is.

First Last, M.S.  or  First Last, M.Sc. either way should be fine.

[Bardo]

I agree with Matt, not to mention that I work at a Uni.

In the U.S. it's tacky to list your education anywhere other than your CV or resume. The exception is for professional credentials or a terminal degree (Ph.D, J.D., MFA [Master of Fine Arts], for instance is terminal).

But listing a B.A., M.S., M.A., etc. on a business card would just seem desperate and is generally distasteful.

And yeah, periods are appropriate. MS could too easily be read as "Miss" anyhow.

Go with M.S. if you must.

[nataz]

But listing a B.A., M.S., M.A., etc. on a business card would just seem desperate and is generally distasteful.

It depends what kind of masters you have though. If its a terminal degree (like an applied masters, or something along the lines of moxlotus' examples) I wouldn't call it out of place. But, if it were a non-terminal degree (like doc track) then it would seem odd.

Still, I say put it on. Letters are pretty. I know I <3 mine, and I put them on lots of things. (Though my card is simply white with black contact info and name. I think it looks very classy). 

Oh, and if we are voting, I vote for the most unusual one. To be fair, its all a kinda an intellectual penis ego thing anyways. I've spent my entire life around Ph.D's and not one of them gets anymore special/smarter/more impressive when you call them Doctor. If you are going to stroke your ego on a card (or on anything for that matter) you mind as well do it in an interesting way. Heck, it may end up being a useful topic starter.

Plus, I find as you move up the ladder, your knowledge becomes exponentially more narrow. Example: someone who went biologist -> marine biologist -> ichthyologist probably knows the same amount of information on the non fish levels as someone who went biologist -> marine biologist -> algologist.

Therefore, if you really want to be informative, I'd just spell out exactly what you are.

[Bram]

In the USA, you basically never advertise your education level unless it's a certfication (CPA, MBA) or doctorate-level.*

Hmm, OK. But that really wasn't the question. Since the point is exacly TO advertise my education level (my degree needs to be on the card - besideswhich I already told you it's common practice over here), I just wanted the proper way of doing it. If the idea of printing a Master's title on a business card offends you, imagine I'm writing a resume and then tell me the correct way to do it

But I think I've got it at this point. Thanks all!

[Godder]

To make it clear to anyone from the UK, put MSc - the Americans won't have any trouble figuring that one out.

[ChemEng]

Hmm, OK. But that really wasn't the question. Since the point is exacly TO advertise my education level (my degree needs to be on the card - besideswhich I already told you it's common practice over here)

Thats not the role of business cards stateside. Business cards are primarily tools to 1. quickly find a POC for a given company. or 2. quickly find a POC for a given company division or SBU. Neither of these options have anything to do with advertising your education level or yourself for that matter.

quotes fixed. - Bram

[diopter]

Hmm, OK. But that really wasn't the question. Since the point is exacly TO advertise my education level (my degree needs to be on the card - besideswhich I already told you it's common practice over here)

Thats not the role of business cards stateside. Business cards are primarily tools to 1. quickly find a POC for a given company. or 2. quickly find a POC for a given company division or SBU. Neither of these options have anything to do with advertising your education level or yourself for that matter.

Yes, but *his* specific need is to advertise his education. Bram does not live in the U.S.

[Bram]

...and does not work for a company 

[Klep]

I don't have my Master's yet, but I'm pretty sure the most common notation is: Jack Daniels, M.S.

[diopter]

In Canada (at least at my University), it is M.Sc.

[Mr. Nightmare]

My Nameplate at work says "Captain Adam J. Barnello, Esq."  No joke.

[PacmanXSA]

Here in Canada, it is uncommon to be putting academic related degrees on your business card.  Typically, the business cards are for specific designations.  When sending formal letters or when binding a corporation, I typically put my full credentials, however.

I use the commas except for the masters, don't ask me why.  Maybe it's cause I'm still working on it

Kristopher W. A. Taylor, B.Comm(Hons.), MBA

Pac

[Bram]

I suggest, in order to prevent undue confusion (and to cater to those of you who don't wanna read the whole thread), to to stop calling my card a "business card" and start calling it an "academic level identifier card" 

What does (Hons.) mean?

 

[Godder]

It refers to Honours. In England, the option exists to take a year of full-time study after gaining a Bachelor's Degree, but without doing one's Master's Degree. Entry is restricted to students with a high average grade in their final year of study (the precise entry requirements vary from university to university and often from department to department). Passing this year confers the (Hons.) after the degree e.g. BSc(Hons) or MSc (Hons). If you have passed Honours, it generally can be credited towards a Master's Degree (at the university I went to, a Master's Degree normally took 2 years full-time, but doing Honours halved that).

[OfficeShredder]

Here in Canada, it is uncommon to be putting academic related degrees on your business card.  Typically, the business cards are for specific designations.

Because that is totally an original insight for this thread 

[PacmanXSA]

Here in Canada, it is uncommon to be putting academic related degrees on your business card.  Typically, the business cards are for specific designations.

Because that is totally an original insight for this thread 

I'm glad you liked it.  Not sure what your problem is, however seeing M.S. on a business card doesn't typically fly over here.  Unless you have a P.Eng, CMA, etc, no one cares as far as business cards are concerned.

Pac