A researcher whose highest qualification is a master's degree (MSc, MA, MRes, MPhil, etc.) engaged in research work in a role appropriate to that qualification, distinct from doctoral candidates and from those with bachelor's-only qualifications.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 21 May 2026

Examples

Worked examples

Is an instance
A research manager with an MPH at an NGO, leading a multi-country evaluation project

Counter-examples

Looks similar, but isn't

Not an instance
A bachelor's-only research assistant is not a master's-level researcher

Editorial commentary

Captures researchers in technical, professional, and research-support roles who are not on a doctoral track or are pre-doctoral. Increasingly recognised in narrative CVs as a legitimate research career path rather than only a transition stage.

References

Vitae Researcher Development Framework
UK QAA Master’s Degree Characteristics Statement

Also known as

Master's researcher · MSc-level researcher

Machine-readable encodings

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

xml

<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
      vocab-term="Master’s-level researcher"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/master-s-level-researcher" />

Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

json

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "@id": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/master-s-level-researcher",
  "name": "Master's-level researcher",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/master-s-level-researcher",
  "description": "A researcher whose highest qualification is a master's degree (MSc, MA, MRes, MPhil, etc.) engaged in research work in a role appropriate to that qualification, distinct from doctoral candidates and from those with bachelor's-only qualifications.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/mentorship-career-stages#set",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/master-s-level-researcher",
  "sameAs": [
    "Master's researcher",
    "MSc-level researcher"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "publisher": {
    "@id": "https://casrai.org/#organization"
  },
  "dateModified": "2026-05-21T02:01:28",
  "inLanguage": "en"
}

Referenced across the research world

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