Freebase Staff http://www.freebase.com/view/user/domain_administrator Freebase Atom Feed Generator http://www.freebase.com/view/education 2009-12-17T16:48:05Z sprocketonline http://www.freebase.com/view/user/sprocketonline <p>Also beware that there are semantically different Master of Arts degrees, which should be separate topics: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Arts_" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Arts_</a>(disambiguation)</p> http://www.freebase.com/view/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000012ce6cf4

Also beware that there are semantically different Master of Arts degrees, which should be separate...

2009-12-15T06:24:04.0005Z tfmorris http://www.freebase.com/view/user/tfmorris <p>I agree that the reference to the degree should be as it was awarded, but unfortunately there's no way to do that currently with Freebase. The link is symbolic and the name at the end of the link is used universally for all occurrences so you can't have Artium Magister one place and Master of Arts another. The are occasional places in the schema where the actual value is preserved (Book Edition "credited as" for authors comes to mind), but when a literal string is used like that you lose the power of the symbolic connection. There isn't yet a good way to have your cake and eat it too.</p> http://www.freebase.com/view/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000012ce257b

I agree that the reference to the degree should be as it was awarded, but unfortunately there's no...

2009-12-14T22:30:23.0013Z jeff http://www.freebase.com/view/user/jeff <p>The standard practice in Freebase is not to create multiple topics for things that are identical except in name, so the practice with degrees has always been to use the same degree topic, no matter how called by the granting institution at the time. Thus degrees of "Artium Magister", "Master of Arts", and "M.A." are all represented by <a href="/view/en/master_of_arts">http://www.freebase.com/view/en/master_of_arts</a>. Or, in other words, the name isn't as important as what it represents. Hence, there is also some variability on how the degree topics themselves are named, based on whatever the user who created (or renamed) the topic entered. (E.g, <a href="/view/en/bachelor_of_arts">Bachelor of Arts</a> vs <a href="/view/en/master_of_arts">M.A.</a>) I'd personally support expanding the names, since it's less ambiguous that way, but as long as aliases are entered for variants, they'll still show up for autocompletion and reconciliation, which is the most important thing.</p> http://www.freebase.com/view/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000012ce20e8

The standard practice in Freebase is not to create multiple topics for things that are identical...

2009-12-14T21:24:29.0000Z dme http://www.freebase.com/view/user/dme <div><p>Some institutions use, or have used "the Latin degree names, such as Artium Magister (AM) or Scientiæ Magister (SM)." Though the wikipedia gives examples of institutions that currently use these names, "Harvard University, the University of Chicago, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania use the degree abbreviations A.M. and S.M. for some of their master's degrees." it does not say what institutions have used them in the past.</p> <p>I suspect that the use of such names was much more popular in the past and many bio's list degrees as such.</p> <p>See, for example: <a href="/edit/topic/en/john_erskine_1879" rel="nofollow">http://www.freebase.com/edit/topic/en/john_erskine_1879</a></p> <p>My question--yes, there is a question--is: how should degree information be entered?</p> <p>As awarded, or as known today? I think it should be as awarded, but I'd like to see a mapping to the current nomenclature, which I suspect exists, but I can't see in action.</p> <p>Additionally, I'd like to see more discussion of this in the help text, right now it just says to enter info about the degree: <a href="http://rookery5.aviary.com/storagev12/2678000/2678399_95c4_625x625.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://rookery5.aviary.com/storagev12/2678000/2678399_95c4_625x625.jpg</a></p> <p>It should give instructions as to how to enter the degree: In the original form. In fully qualified format and not an abbreviation. ...and other stuff</p></div> http://www.freebase.com/view/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000012ce1d3f

Some institutions use, or have used "the Latin degree names, such as Artium Magister (AM) or...

2009-12-14T21:01:23.0013Z