Master's degrees in Europe are the second cycle of the Bologna process, following on from undergraduate bachelor's degrees and preceding third cycle doctorates. Master's degrees typically take two years to complete, although the number of years varies between countries, and correspond to 60 – 120 ECTS credits. Within the European Higher Education Area, representing almost all countries in Europe, master's degrees are referenced to the Framework of Qualifications for the European Higher Education Area and national qualifications frameworks.

European Master's Market

Through the Bologna initiatives and support of the European Union, Europe is unifying and standardising especially the structure of their masters' programmes, making them more and more accessible to foreign students.

An often cited advantage of the European universities is an advantageous cost/quality ratio. In Europe, especially continental Europe, universities are heavily subsidized by their national governments. In Germany, Scandinavia or Eastern Europe for instance, most masters programmes have been traditionally totally free of charge. Recently, these governments are discussing and/or introducing tuition fees. E.g. Sweden started charging tuition for non-EU students in 2010 and Finland started charging non-EU/EEA students in 2017.

Austria

In Austria, one obtains a bachelor's degree after 3 years of study and a master's degree after 2 more years of study. This is true for both the "research-oriented university" sector as well as the "university of applied sciences" sector which was established in the 1990s.

Medicine and dentistry pose an exception; these studies are not divided into bachelor's and master's degree, but take 6 years to complete and the degree obtained is called "Dr. med." (However this is not an equivalent to other doctoral degrees, as one writes a "diploma thesis" and not a "doctoral thesis" or "dissertation".)

In addition to traditional master's degrees, Austrian universities also offer the Master of Advanced Studies which is a non-consecutive continuing education degree. MAS programs tend to be interdisciplinary and tend to be focused toward meeting the needs of professionals rather than academics.

Before the Bologna process, the traditional Austrian equivalent to the master's degree was the Diplomstudium, leading to the title Diplom-Ingenieur (female title: Diplom-Ingenieurin)(Abbreviation: "Dipl.-Ing." or "DI") in engineering or Magister (female: Magistra)(Abbreviation: "Mag.") in almost every discipline. The Diplomstudium took about 4–6 years of study.

Belgium

In Belgium, possessing a master's degree means that one has completed a higher education (usually university or college) programme of 4 or 5 years. Before the Bologna process most university degrees required 4 years of studies (leading to a licence), but some programmes required 5 years of study. An example in the field of education in business/management was the 5-year programme of "Handelsingenieur" (Dutch) or "Ingénieur de Gestion" (French) (English: "Commercial Engineer") with an important amount of mathematics and sciences, and which corresponds to an M.Sc. in Management. This degree co-existed with a graduate degree in business economics (4 years) named "Licentiaat in toegepaste economische wetenschappen" (Dutch) or "Licence en sciences économiques appliquées" (French) (English: "Licence in applied economics").

Denmark In Denmark, a Master's degree is awarded. The MA and MSc degrees and other master's degrees are distinguished. The MA and MSc.degrees are similar to a traditional Master's Programme, which are obtained by completing a higher education with a typical duration of five years on an accredited Danish university. Other master's degrees can be taken on an accredited Danish university, but these are made as adult (part-time) education such as the Master of IT (abbreviated M. IT) degree.

A large number of subdivisions exist, usually designating the area of education (e.g. cand.theol., cand.arch. and cand.jur.), though some have more vague definitions (cand.mag., cand.scient., cand.polyt., and cand.scient.techn., each of which encompass broad, overlapping areas of science).

The Bologna process has widely prompted master's degree education to consist of either 120 ECTS or 180 ECTS credit cycles, where one academic year corresponds to 60 ECTS-credits that are equivalent to 1,500–1,800 hours of study. In most cases, these will take 2 to 3 years respectively to complete.

1st cycle: typically 180–240 ECTS credits, usually awarding a bachelor's degree. The European Higher Education Area did not introduce the Bachelor with Honours programme, which allows graduates with a "BA hons" degree. 2nd cycle: typically 90–120 ECTS credits (a minimum of 60 on 2nd-cycle level). Usually awarding a master's degree.

Finland

In Finland, the introduction of the Bologna Process has standardized most degrees into the European model. The master's degree takes 2–3 years (120 ECTS units) after the bachelor's degree. In English-speaking usage, the degree title is named after the particular faculty of study. In Finnish, the degree is called maisteri when granted by a traditional university. The term ylempi korkeakoulututkinto is used to denote master's degrees earned at a university of applied sciences. The university of applied sciences master's degrees may be 60, 90 or 120 ECTS in scope.

Medicine-related fields of medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine pose an exception to Bologna system. In medical fields, the Licenciate (, ) is an equivalent degree, the completion of which takes five (dentistry) or six years (medicine and veterinary), while the Bachelor of Medicine's title () is gained after second year of studies. In fields other than medicine, the Licentiate's degree is a post-graduate degree higher than Master's but lower than doctor's.

In Engineering, the higher degree is either diplomi-insinööri (, literally "Engineer with diploma") or arkkitehti (, ) although in international use MSc is used. In Pharmacy, the degree is proviisori (). All such degrees retaining their historical name are classified as master's degrees (ylempi korkeakoulututkinto) and in English usage, they are always translated as master's degrees. Some other master's degrees give the right to use the traditional title of the degree-holder. Most importantly, the degree of Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration gives the right to use the title of ekonomi, while the Masters of Science in Agriculture and Forestry may use the titles of metsänhoitaja (Forester) or agronomi (Agronomist) depending on their field of study.

France

In France the Bologna Process has standardised most of the degrees into the three-cycle Bologna model, of which the master's degree is the second cycle. A master's degree takes 2 or 3 years (120 ECTS units) after the Licentiate. Many countries follow the French model (e.g. the Francophone regions in Switzerland, Belgium, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia). The following are considered master's degrees: The master's diploma (diplôme de master) is the most common master's degree. It is awarded mainly by universities, although some grandes écoles also deliver master's diplomas. The Engineer's degree diploma is awarded by grandes écoles. Not all grandes écoles programs are accredited by the State. The Architect's degree. Some degrees from Schools of Fine Arts. Qualifications recognised at Level 1 (EQF Level 7) of the répertoire national des certifications professionnelles (national register of professional certificates).

France is also host to a number of private American-style universities like The American University of Paris or Schiller International University, which offer US-accredited master's degrees in Europe. Admission into these master's programs requires a completed American undergraduate degree or an equivalent French/European degree.

The French Ministry of Higher Education has set up a web portal listing all the masters available in France: Trouvermonmaster.gouv.fr

Germany

Due to the EU-wide Bologna process, the traditional German academic degrees Diplom and Magister have mostly been replaced by the undergraduate Bachelor (3-4 year study programme) and postgraduate Master's degree (1-2 year study programme).

In Germany the Diplom (first degree after (usually) 4–6 years - from either a Universität (University), a Technische Hochschule or a Kunsthochschule with university status) and the Magister had traditionally been equivalated to the master's degree, the Magister being a degree after the study of two or three subjects (one main and one or two subsidiary subjects), as common in Humanities or Liberal Arts, whereas the Diplom is awarded after the study of one subject, commonly found in Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Formal sciences and some Applied Sciences. The Fachhochschulen or Universities of Applied Sciences conferred the Diplom (FH), whose length of study is between the bachelor's and master's degree.

Under the harmonised system there is no legal academic difference between the bachelor's and master's degrees conferred by the Fachhochschulen and Universitäten.

The German Meister qualification for a master craftsman is neither a degree nor is it comparable to the academic master's degree. It, however, qualifies the holder to study at a university or Fachhochschule, whether the Meister holds the regular entry qualification (Abitur or Fachhochschulreife) or not.

Ireland

Postgraduate master's degrees in Ireland can either be taught degrees involving lectures, examination and a short dissertation, or research degrees. An exception to this is Trinity College Dublin, where the MA is an undergraduate degree awarded 21 terms after matriculation as at Oxford and Cambridge.

In most established 3rd level institutes which award post graduate qualifications, a distinction is made between an MA qualification and an MPhil qualification. An MA is a combination of taught (classroom) and research-based modules, whilst an MPhil is composed exclusively of research-based learning.

The Magister in Arte Ingeniaria (MAI), literally meaning 'Master in the Art of Engineering', is awarded by Trinity College Dublin, and is more usually referred to as Master of Engineering. It was, historically, the engineering master's degree taken by the university's BAI graduates. Today the more common engineering master's degree at Trinity College Dublin is the MSc

A Master of Business Studies (MBS) refers to a qualification in the degree of master that can be obtained by students of recognized universities and colleges who complete the relevant approved programmes of study, pass the prescribed examinations, and fulfil all other prescribed conditions.

The Pontifical University St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, offer a Masters in Theology (MTh) and Masters in Liturgical Music (MLM)Courses Maynooth College the Church of Ireland Theological Institute offers a Masters in Theology (MTh) programme.Church of Ireland Theological Institute

University College Cork and Mary Immaculate College, Limerick offer a Master of Education (M.Ed), also the Mater Dei Institute now at St. Patricks Campus, Dublin City University had a Masters in Religious Education (MREd), now more commonly awarded as an MA. The Christian Leadership in Education Office (CLEO), in Cork, runs an MEd accredited by the University of Hull

The other universities in Ireland usually award a MEngSc, M.E., MEng or MSc for their postgraduate master's degree in engineering.

Italy

The old university system (Vecchio Ordinamento) consisted in a unique course, extended from four to five years or maximum of six (only Medicine), with a variable period (six-twelve months usually) for the thesis work. After the thesis discussion, students got the Master's Degree, simply called Laurea.