The Mechanical Turk Masters Program is designed to give Requesters access to a specialized group of Workers who consistently demonstrate accuracy in performing a wide range of HITs.

Today, we are taking steps to consolidate and simplify the Masters program into a single, unified Qualification. As part of these changes, the Photo Moderation Masters and Categorization Masters Qualifications are being retired. Workers with these Qualifications have been granted the single, unified Masters Qualification.

These changes are intended to increase the amount of work available to Masters Workers and present a simpler experience for Requesters.

Frequently Asked Questions

I publish HITs using the Requester website. What changes do I need to make?

If you are a Requester with a Project that references Photo Moderation Masters or Categorization Masters Qualification Types, we’ve got you covered. We will automatically replace instances of these Qualifications with Masters Qualification Requirements. You do not need to take any action to address these changes.

I publish HITs through the API. What changes do I need to make?

It depends on how you call CreateHIT in your API calls.

If you call CreateHIT with a HITTypeId that references either of the two Qualification Types being retired, we will send you an updated HITTypeId referencing the Masters Qualification to use in your CreateHIT requests.

If you call CreateHIT without a HITTypeId and you reference either of the two Qualification Types being retired, you will need to update your QualificationRequirement with the Masters QualificationTypeId the next time you call CreateHIT.

In both cases, you will receive an email by December 18, 2015 containing additional detail.

How are Workers selected for the Masters program?

Masters Workers are selected based on a number of attributes including total assignments submitted, total earnings, tenure, and diversity of work type. If you’re an aspiring Master who’s been focused on a single work type, give a transcription task a shot or spend some time taking a survey.

Please join us in welcoming the Workers who have been granted the Masters qualification today. Congratulations!

For any questions about these changes, Requesters can contact us here and Workers can contact us here.