Do You Capitalize “Master’s Degree” When Writing?

When writing an article, essay, resume, or cover letter, we like to be sure we are writing everything down correctly and flawlessly. But when it comes to capitalizing, you may get stuck. Are you not entirely sure if you should capitalize “Master’s Degree” or not? This article lets you know the rules when capitalizing these words, examples, exceptions to the rule, and some other interesting facts.

Do we capitalize “Master’s Degree” when we write it? Unless we are using them at the beginning of sentences, we do not capitalize any of these words. However, if we are talking about a specific degree that we have or are attempting to obtain, then it must be capitalized.

In this case, the principles we learned in middle school about word capitalization will apply. Remember? Since it is a common word, we do not capitalize it. For example, we do not capitalize words like street, city, country, state, bachelor’s degree, or even master’s degree. There is no specific proper noun that goes by “master’s degree.” These words are a generalization, and therefore it is a common noun by default. So keep reading to try to remember the rules of capitalization, as well as the exceptions to the rule and the specific rule that applies to academic degrees.

Capitalization Rules

It is very important to always remember the rules of capitalization so that when you need it, all the information about it will be at your fingertips. Just in case you didn’t remember, let us refresh your memory. The following is a list of the rules of capitalization.

The First Letter In A Sentence

It is important to write the first letter of a sentence capitalized. This is the most basic rule of capitalization. It is straightforward and uncomplicated. For example:

• My cat is sleeping under the sun.
• His favorite color is purple.

People’s Name

When writing down the names of people, we always capitalize the first letter of the first name, middle name, and last name. For

• Anne Mary Johnson Smith.

The First Pronoun In Singular.

You should always capitalize the pronoun “I,” even when we do not capitalize the rest of the pronouns. For example:

• If you want, you can play a movie, but I will not watch anything. I am too tired to stay awake.

Capitalize Specific Places, Proper Nouns, and Proper Adjectives

Generally, names for specific people, places, and objects should be capitalized. It distinguishes proper nouns from common nouns. For example, a common noun is “city,” but a proper noun is “New York City.”

Proper nouns include:

• Cities, countries, and continents (Florida, Canada, America).
• Names of mountains, hills, volcanoes, etc. (Mount Everest).
• Names of rivers, oceans, seas, lakes, streams, falls, and creeks (Mississippi River, Niagara Falls, Hudson River, Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Ocean, Michigan Lake)
• Names of buildings, bridges, monuments, and tunnels (Eiffel Tower, the Lincoln Memorial).
• Names of streets (Fashion Avenue, Oxford Street).
• Languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian).
• Universities, colleges, and school names (Harvard University, New York University, Miami Dade College).
• Trademarks and companies’ names (Pantene, Oral-B, Burger King).
• Events and periods in time (the Renaissance, World War II).
• Names of institutions and groups (Democratic Party, Christian Association).
• Gods and religious writings (Zeus, the Bible)

Proper adjectives could be:

• Based on a place’s name, also a nationality (New Yorker, Canadian, Cuban).
• Based on names (Shakespearean, Darwinian).
• Based on religions (Christian, Jewish, Islamic).

Titles

Titles of books, movies, poetry, and other artistic works sometimes demand capitalization. We usually will capitalize the following words in a title:

• The first word.
• Nouns.
• Adjectives.
• Verbs.
• The last word.

But we do not capitalize these:

• Articles like a, an, and the.
• Conjunctions like for, but, and, and so.
• Prepositions of three letters or less like in, on, and at.

The First Word On A Quotation

If the quotation is a whole sentence, you should capitalize the first word. If the quote is just a fragment, then it does not require to be capitalized.

• When she returned to the country, she said, “This trip was the best graduation gift ever. I want to go back again”.

People’s Titles

When referring to people using titles, we do not just capitalize their names; suffixes and tittles should be capitalized too. In addition, you should capitalize them when addressing people by their position and family titles; this is just in case it is part of the name.

Example of suffixes:

• Jr.
• Sr.
• The Great
• Prince of Power

Examples of titles:

• Dr.
• Mr.
• Mrs

Examples of people’s positions:

• President John F. Kennedy.
• Executive Chef Greg McCulley.

Examples of family titles:

• Grandma Norah.
• Uncle David.
• Aunt Claudia.

Initials, Initialisms, and Acronyms

When writing acronyms, initialisms, and people’s initials, they will go with the first letter of each word or name capitalized.

Example of initialisms:

• FBI
• USA
• UK

Examples of acronyms:

• NASA
• FIFA
• ICE

Examples of initials:

• MLK (Martin Luther King Jr.)
• JFK (John Fitzgerald Kennedy)

Holidays, Months, and Days

This one is plain and simple. Just by looking at the calendar, we automatically store that rule in our heads. These can be considered proper nouns or names, so it makes sense they should be capitalized. For example:

• Monday
• Friday
• Saturday
• January
• July
• November
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas
• New Year’s Eve
• Fourth of July

Academic Degrees Capitalization

As stated by The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), if we are talking in general, names of degrees, fellowships, and similar designations should always be in lowercase. However, when we are writing the proper name of a degree on a résumé, diploma, directory, business card, or anywhere else, it should always be capitalized.

When speaking in general terms, it is best not to capitalize degrees, according to The Associated Press Stylebook (AP). However, when referring to a specific degree, we must always capitalize. You might have thought that the regulation is identical to the CMOS one. The reason for this is because the AP and CMOS agreed that the degree or area of study should be written in lowercase, except when it contains a proper noun.

For example:

• Bachelor of Hospitality Management
• Bachelor of Arts in English
• Bachelor of Science in physics

While AP and CMOS agree that the abbreviations of the degrees should be capitalized, there is a disagreement when talking about the punctuation of the abbreviations. CMOS advises deleting periods unless they are necessary for tradition or consistency (BA, BS, MA, MS, PhD). Still, AP likes to keep them (B.A., B.S., M.A., M.S., Ph.D.).

Exceptions to The Rules

There are a few occasions where the rules above do not apply. Continue reading to know when we should not capitalize.

• We do not capitalize common nouns. When talking in general terms, we do not capitalize the noun; for example, river, middle school, college, etc. These are not specific places.
• We do not capitalize after commas, semicolons, and colons unless it is a proper noun. A comma does not end a sentence; therefore, it is unnecessary to capitalize the word after it.
• We should not capitalize directions. There are exceptions to this rule when it comes to writing east, north, west, and south, but normally when describing a direction, we do not capitalize it.
• Majors and academic subjects do not need to be capitalized. When you are in college or university, you do not need to capitalize on the major you are pursuing. This also goes to the subject you are studying, except when the subject is the name of a class.
• Birthdays and anniversaries should not be capitalized. When talking about birthdays, celebrations, anniversaries, and special occasions, there is no need to capitalize when congratulating someone for it.

Final Thoughts

There is no doubt that we humans have an innate need to always look good, and our writing isn’t the exception. After reviewing this article, we are sure that you will have no hesitation when appropriately capitalizing any word. However, if you find yourself doubting, you can always return to this article to refresh your memory.