If mention of degrees is necessary to establish someone’s credentials, the preferred form is to avoid an abbreviation and use instead a phrase such as Sally Ray, who has a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or doctorate in English.

• Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s, master’s.
• Use such abbreviations as BA, MA and PhD only when the need to identify many individuals by degree on first reference would make the preferred form cumbersome.
• The exception: When identifying MU alumni in a profile or story about them, use this form, set off by commas, after the person’s name: Bill Doe, BS ’95, and Sally Ray, MA ’04. When they have multiple degrees from different years, use this form: Sally Ray, BS ’78, MS ’81. For multiple degrees in the same year, use this form: Bill Doe, BA, BJ ’92.
• When used after a name, an academic abbreviation is set off by commas: Bill Doe, PhD, spoke to the class.
• Do not precede a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree and follow the name with the abbreviation for the degree in the same reference, as in Dr. Bill Doe, MD.
• Do not capitalize degrees unless abbreviated: Bill Doe, MA ’95, serves as president of his local Optimist Club or Bill Doe received a master’s degree in journalism from XYZ College.
• See degree abbreviations.