The Allied Masonic Degrees are a series of Masonic

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

 degrees conferred by Councils of the Allied Masonic Degrees. They are side degrees that can be conferred only by invitation. These AMD councils exist in Great Britain, the United States, Canada, France and Australia and their members also educate each other by presenting research papers on Freemasonry.

The American system

In the United States, a national Grand Council charters local councils, which confer their degrees on selected Royal Arch Masons

York Rite

The York Rite or American Rite is one of several Rites of the worldwide fraternity known as Freemasonry. A Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic organizations or bodies, each of which operates under the control of its own central authority...

. Most councils are limited to twenty-seven members, but the Council of the Nine Muses is limited to nine authors (the new Sovereign Master must read a new essay), and the Grand Master's Council has no limit, either numerically or geographically.
The officers of a council have mostly the same titles as the officers of a Masonic lodge

Masonic Lodge

This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...

, with the president being the Sovereign Master. The councils also study Freemasonry with a view to improving service in it. The Grand Council has created some internal honors, the most notable being "Knight Grand Cross".

The degrees in the United States

• Royal Ark Mariner
• Order of the Secret Monitor
  • Brotherhood of David and Jonathan: Induction
  • Brotherhood of David and Jonathan: Admission of a Prince
  • Installed Supreme Ruler (OSM chair degree)
• Knight of Constantinople
• Order of Saint Lawrence the Martyr
  • Installed Worthy Master (OSLM chair degree)
• Architect
• Grand Architect
• Superintendent
• Grand Tiler of Solomon
• Master of Tyre
• Excellent Master
• Installed Sovereign Master (AMD chair degree)
• Installed Commander Noah (RAM chair degree)
• (honorary) Royal Order of the Red Branch of Eri and Appendant Orders, including
  • Man-at-Arms
  • Esquire
  • Knight
• Ancient Order of Corks
  Ye Antient Order of Noble Corks
  Ye Antient Order of Noble Corks also known as The Cork, is an informal degree allied to Freemasonry. It is described as a "fun" degree.-Origins:...
  
  (recreational; special rules apply)

The degrees in the UK

The entry degree is the Order of Saint Lawrence the Martyr. This is the requisite for participating in Council meetings. The other four degrees, which can be taken in any order or not at all, are Knight of Constantinople, Grand Tiler of Solomon, Grand High Priest, and Red Cross of Babylon. In Britain, the Order of the Secret Monitor, once part of the AMD, now has its own independent conclaves.

The degrees in Canada

In Canada, the degrees conferred are:

• St. Lawrence the Martyr
• Installed Master of St. Lawrence

Optional degrees are:

• Knight of Constantinople
• Grand Tyler of Solomon
• Excellent Master
• Masters of Tyre
• Architect
• Grand Architect
• Superintendent
• Sovereign Master's Degree