There are three kinds of master's degrees in the natural sciences: (1) the booby prize, for students who during their graduate career are disqualified for academic reasons from continuing to the Ph.D.; (2) the automatic degree with no thesis requirement and generally awarded after accumulating a certain number of credits; and (3) the degree that requires a thesis and a certain level of competence in course work. This last degree is often awarded by independent colleges which either do not have a Ph.D. program, or are just thinking about getting one underway, and the student with this degree has often to go to a major university for the completion of his doctorate. The situation is different for engineering, where the pursuit of the master's degree is generally a part-time occupation, and where the degree itself has been downgraded over the last 5 years. The Ph.D., much more theoretical in nature, is being pushed in engineering. This is only acceptable if the fact is not overlooked that the nuts and bolts engineer is as important as his theoretical counterpart. A positive sign is the development of some hyphenated degrees, combining engineering and the natural sciences with some of the social sciences, preparing students to deal more effectively with the social fabric of our society. (AF)