[brnt]

I've a Master of Science degree, will that chance too? Is anyone offended by that terminology?

[Edit] maybe I should clarify: in my native language master only has the connotation of mastery of a subject. A slave owner can't be called 'master', so we don't have that unpleasant crossover.

[minxomat]

The line is always drawn somewhere, to answer the not very well veiled slippery slope argument. If and when that applies to this specific case, history will show. No one demands everything happen all at once.

[yongjik]

I'm usually no fan of slippery slope arguments, but this time the slope does feel slippery. If, five years ago, someone argued "What next? Are we going to rename 'master branch' to something else because the term evokes slavery?", I feel most people would have answered "Don't be ridiculous."

[brnt]

I didn't try to make a slippery slope argument. I just want to know if someone considers that title unpleasant, and if so what the alternative could be (not Main of Science obviously).

[MikeTheGreat]

This could be an awesomely fun sub-thread.

Here's my ideas to get things started:

How about 'Science Wizard'? '<Your name here> The Science <Guy/Gal/Person>' 'Expert of Science'

What have the rest of you got? :)

[brnt]

There's really three titles, right? Bachelor, master and doctor. To me, the first was always the weirdest if the bunch, and if we're renaming things, maybe we could confer the hierarchy of the titles?

What's a good synonym for mastery? How can you describe someone who has mastered something? Expert, OK. What else?

[MikeTheGreat]

In the US we've got 12 levels (years) of primary and secondary education, followed by 'higher' education. Here at least I suppose you could call a bachelor's something like "16th grade", or "Level 16". Different Masters and PhDs require different numbers of years, though, so it's not a great system.

How about something like "Practitioner" instead of Bachelors, "Expert" instead of Masters, and stick with Doctorate for the PhD?

[Jonnax]

The fact that degrees are either a Bachelor's or Master's isn't inclusive language to women.

Isn't that obvious?

[brnt]

Its true that I've always thought bachelor to be a strange title.

[robjan]

The term "bachelor" in the context of education came from the Latin "baccalaureate", a word which we still use today. Master comes from "magister" which means teacher.

[brnt]

The precise definition of baccalaureate is however very variable. In much of Europe it refers to what Americans would call the last years of highschool.

[WalterSear]

Doesn't change the source of the word.

[eyeball]

You should main some new language. Master is double plus ungood.