Introduction
If you’ve typed “Masters tutor” or “masters tutor” into Google, you’re not alone — thousands of students do this every month. It’s completely understandable: apostrophes are tricky, and even highly capable students sometimes feel unsure about when (and where) to use them.
However, when you’re looking for academic support at postgraduate level, the correct terminology really does matter. If a tutoring or coaching company consistently writes Masters degree, Masters programme or Masters tutor across their website, that should raise a small but sensible red flag — especially if you’re paying for specialist Master’s level academic support.
TL:DR
If a tutoring or coaching company offering dissertation or other support to postgraduates can’t correctly write Master’s degree or Master’s tutor, it’s reasonable to question the academic standard of the support they offer. This blog piece explains why.
Questions also addressed in this article
- Is it Masters or Master’s degree?
- Is it Master’s programme or Masters programme?
- Should I use an apostrophe in Masters?
Why the apostrophe matters in Master’s degree
The word Master’s includes an apostrophe because it is a possessive form.
Historically, the phrase comes from:
Master’s degree = degree of a Master
The apostrophe replaces the missing word “of”.
That means:
✅ Master’s degree → correct
❌ Masters degree → incorrect
The same rule applies to:
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Master’s programme
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Master’s dissertation
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Master’s tutor
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Master’s coaching and mentoring services
If you’re working with a professional Master’s dissertation tutor, this level of language accuracy should be standard.
You’re not alone — apostrophes confuse even strong students
This isn’t about criticising students. In fact, many very bright undergraduates and postgraduates struggle with apostrophes because:
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They’re not taught consistently in school
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They look small but carry big grammatical meaning
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Spellcheck often doesn’t correct them
This is why working with a professional academic writing tutor can make a major difference in clarity and confidence.
Different correct ways to refer to a Master’s degree
Here are grammatically correct versions of how your qualification can be described:
✅ Master of Business Administration
✅ Master’s degree in Business Administration
✅ Business Administration Master’s
✅ Master’s in Business Administration
✅ MBA (Master of Business Administration)
These are all correct because they either preserve the possessive form or restructure the sentence to avoid breaking the grammar.
Incorrect versions include:
❌ Masters of Business Administration
❌ Masters degree in Business Administration
❌ Business Administration Masters
This type of precision is exactly what a qualified tutor with expertise in Master’s level education should help you achieve. Note, however, the precision I’m talking about refers not just to how to write “Master’s degree”, but apostrophe use and knowledge of English grammar more generally.
A word of caution about large “tutor database” companies
There are many large tutoring and coaching platforms that operate like supertrawlers — huge databases of tutors covering everything from GCSE to PhD.
On the surface, they often claim to offer:
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“World-class academic experts”
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“PhD-level subject specialists”
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“Elite dissertation coaches”
Yet some of these sites repeatedly publish content using incorrect versions such as:
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Masters tutor
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Masters programme
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Masters qualification
Now, for many students, the absence of the apostrophe around these terms might seem very small, perhaps insignificant. For me, however, as a former professor who’s worked alongside hundreds of staff at many top universities, it’s a red flag. Why? Because it tells me that either the staff in the tutoring business in question do not know how to use apostrophes at all – or they don’t care about grammatical standards.
As a university professional, I expect every member of qualified staff to know how to use an apostrophe (not just in the term “Master’s degree” but across the board). The ability to produce assessments that have a high standard of English, and an absence of spelling and grammatical errors, is a core part of Master’s level assessment criteria.
So, if you’re choosing between providers, it’s worth considering a specialist Master’s coaching and tutoring service where their website demonstrates basic academic accuracy.
The positive part: what good support should actually look like
A high-quality Master’s tutor isn’t just someone who knows your subject.
They should also:
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Understand academic language and conventions
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Model correct writing standards
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Help you improve clarity, structure and critical thinking
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Care about precision in both ideas and expression
This is exactly what specialist one-to-one tutoring aims to provide. Check out one of my other blog pieces on how to find a good, high quality private tutor and coach for Master’s level students.
Conclusion
Searching for a “Masters tutor” is understandable. Google habits form quickly, and apostrophes are tricky.
But when choosing someone to help you with your Master’s degree, it’s worth looking for providers who get the fundamentals right — including the name of the qualification itself.
If they can’t consistently write Master’s degree, it’s reasonable to ask what else they might be getting wrong.
And when it comes to your postgraduate work, you deserve better than “close enough”.