What are the degrees in Freemasonry?

Craft Masonry is organized around three degrees: Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason 13. This three-part structure developed gradually between 1717 and 1730 1. Prior to this period, operative lodges recognized three grades of membership status—Apprentices, Fellows of the Craft, and Masters—upon which the modern symbolic degrees were structured 1. In 1717, speculative lodges used a single form of initiation, with the Entered Apprentice degree remaining the primary form of membership for years before the Master Mason degree assumed its modern position 1.

William Preston describes these three divisions as distinct classes: the first enforcing virtue and morality, the second elucidating science and human reason, and the third restricted to experienced members entrusted with preserving the landmarks of the Order 2. Wilmshurst interprets this sequence as a spiritual progression of purification, illumination, and perfection, comparing its three stages to early Christian ceremonial rites 3.

Beyond the Craft, additional degrees exist across various rites and orders 1. In the Royal Arch, the symbolism centers on the Temple of Zerubbabel and the discovery of truth, complementing the Craft Master Mason degree, which focuses on the search for truth at Solomon's Temple 1. Other classifications include Degrees of Chivalry—such as the Christian orders of Knights Templar and Knights of Malta incorporated into the Masonic system—as well as historical reform systems like Fessler's five "Degrees of Knowledge," created to provide systematic instruction in lodge history and practice 1.