Connection between 3 Degrees of Masonry and 3 Degrees of University Work?

Apologies for the long title.


Regular Freemasonry has three basic degrees, Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. The university system has three basic degrees, Bachelor, Master, and Doctor (of philosophy). Masonry pre-dates the university degree system (more or less, and certainly with the modern system which wasn't even fully in existence in, say, Darwin's time), and lots of academics, like Ashmole, were early freemasons.


Lots of other groups have taken the freemason's model for their organization, that of having 3 degrees, often with similar names. Is it possible that the people that were invovled in the formation of the university degree system were masons and were influenced by the masonic structure? Also, apparently at places like Oxford, possession of the degree indicates the 'strength' of membership:

Traditionally the MA represented full membership of the University: until 2000, only MAs (as well as doctors of divinity, medicine and civil law) were members of Convocation, the main legislative assembly of the University, which today only elects the Chancellor and the professor of Poetry. Prior to then, members of the university who had not yet been made MA were known as "junior members" while those who were MAs were "senior members". This conveniently excluded most postgraduate students from the privileges the university and colleges accord to dons as well as their graduate alumni, such as the right to dine at High Table.

It's probable. But you have to remember that it's also probable that Freemasons took the names of their 3 degrees from operative masonry - the actual stone workers who built the churches and cathedrals.

The actual stonemasons started out as Entered Apprentices and worked their way up to Master Mason as they became skilled in their profession.

Freemasonry didn't have the monopoly on this one. Rather it copied from an older system.

[edit on 28-10-2005 by Leveller]