Masters of Military Art and Science
A Master of Military Art and Science (MMAS or M.M.A.S) is a type of Master's degree awarded by United States Army Command and General Staff College. Military Art and Science is an interdisciplinary field of study. It encompasses many academic disciplines insofar as they relate to war, peace, and the employment of military forces; they include established academic fields of study such as sociology, history, engineering, psychology, politics, geography, science, ethics, economics, anthropology, and others. It may also include other professional fields of practice such as medicine and the law insofar as they interact with the military or are applied to military matters.
Military Art and Science provides intellectual and theoretical depth to the military profession and its practitioners. Thus, a large proportion of research in the field of Military Art and Science is done to address practical problems faced by practitioners. Purely academic research, however, is also an integral part of the field and is essential to ensure its continued intellectual vitality. The results of scholarship and research in the field of Military Art and Science may be of interest and may be helpful to political leaders and policymakers, military officers, as well as to scholars and the interested public.
Military Art generally deals with the human dimensions of war and military operations. Military art is generally subject to qualitative rather than quantitative investigation, although it does not exclude the use of quantitative methods when appropriate. It includes such areas as psychology, leadership, individual and collective behavior, culture, ethics, and problem-solving. History provides the context and depth for the study of military art. Military Art also includes such specifically military subjects as strategy, operational art, and tactics. Research in Military Art requires a degree of expertise in the use of logic and critical thinking.
Military Science generally deals with the technical dimensions of war and military operations. Military art is generally subject to quantitative rather than qualitative investigation, although qualitative methodologies are used when appropriate. It includes such areas as the technological military applications and equipment made possible by the physical sciences, various engineering disciplines, industrial management, logistics, electronic simulations, communications technologies, and transportation technologies. Mathematics is an important tool in the practice of Military Science and associated disciplines. Specific military applications include gunnery and ballistics, materials science technology for soldier protection, transportation technologies, and communications technologies. Research in Military Science requires a degree of expertise in the use of logic and critical thinking; and normally it also requires technical expertise in at least one of its associated disciplines.
The interdisciplinary field of Military Art and Science may be pictured as a “Big Umbrella” which encompasses other academic disciplines and fields of professional practice. At the core of Military Art and Science, however, lie Strategy, Operational Art, and Tactics. These are inherently military fields of theory and practice.