Difference Between M.Sc and M.Phil
There are many degrees to be had after the completion of graduation. Usually, students opt for Master degree commonly known as MS in the United States. A post graduate degree in humanities is called an M.A and a post graduate degree in science is called M.Sc. M.Sc. is a master degree in sciences such as Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Computer Science etc. M. Phil is also a master degree which stands for Master of Philosophy. It is equivalent to a master degree. However there is basic difference them.
M. Sc. may be a course or a research based degree. It may be a mixture of both. There are may be various requirements to be fulfilled when research is mixed in M. Sc. depending on the university concerned. M. Phil is purely a research based degree. It has less course work. The research is basic. Its emphasis is on the dissertation after a research. One or two papers have to be cleared before submitting the dissertation. Both M. Phil and M. Sc. are the academic degrees. But M. Phil is purely a research based degree. On the other hand M. Sc. is not research based. M. Phil is considered more respectable and is a qualification for the job of a lecture in a college or a university. There is one more basic difference. To do an M.Sc. the qualification is graduation while the qualification of M. Phil is a master degree in the concerned subject.
Some people do bachelor’s degree, then masters and then M. Phil. Finally, they complete Ph. D. However, a Ph. D can be done without an M. Phil. It depends on the interest and aptitude of the student which degree he wants to complete. The rules in all the countries and universities are not the same. There are universities, which do not allow the students to do Ph. D without first completing an M. Phil in the concerned subject.