PhD applicant with only a Bachelor

[JohnMason]

Hi everyone.

 

I am going to apply PhD programs in political science commenced in fall 2016. 

As i only have Bachelor degree. I wonder is it common for Undergraduate to get PhD admission? 

(I know it is technically possible, given strong recommendations and strong statements). But i simply cannot found anyone around (from commonwealth states) to get PhD admission directly from undergraduate without doing a MA of some kind)

 

Any comments and case to share?

 

[Samx]

I don't have any immediate links, but they are out there.

Does it have to be a PhD or are you looking into any type of Doctorate?

What major was your undergrad in?

[mseph]

I don't have any solid statistics with me, but based on what I observed, I will say with confidence that it happens and it's not rare. If your GPA from undergrad is solid, can secure strong letters, and have specific area of interest, then I don't really see any reason why you shouldn't apply directly to PhD. I think those who choose to do Master's in between Bachelor's and PhD have their own reasons and I cannot speak for them--but for me, the reason I decided to take a terminal Master's was to refine my research interest, take some time to get more familiar with literature in the field, and to take the advantage of the opportunity for working on Master's thesis. But if you believe you do not need these additional time/training, then you can apply directly to PhD and save yourself some time. Good luck!

[MathCat]

What country are you applying in? That matters a lot. In the US I think it's more common to go straight to PhD than to have a Masters, while in most commonwealth countries I think direct to PhD is quite rare.

[Sarochan]

I've been accepted to two PhD programs (so far! I still have three programs to hear from) with only a bachelor's degree. (Some stats: I'm applying to schools in the US as a US citizen, had pretty good overall GPA and pretty high major GPA, and am applying to various flavors of biology programs.) So it is definitely a thing that happens, but I agree with MathCat, it definitely depends on where you are.

 

Good luck with your future endeavors!

[velua]

I think it depends on the field. In many fields, you should have a pretty specific idea of what you want to research. In math (and possibly other fields), you're really not supposed to know. Most people in math come directly from undergrad and know nothing about their interests except that maybe they like analysis over algebra or they like topology or something like that. In many cases, these students do complete 180s and end up studying a different subfield. When working on applications, you still need to write about your interests in your SOP, so you'll probably need to research some open problems in your declared interests, but once you get in, you're not bound to studying these areas.

[Sword_Saint]

Disclaimer: My field is Criminal Justice / Criminology.

 

 

I would speak with the admissions folks before applying, even if their website indicates students with only bachelor's degrees can apply for their PhD program. I say this from personal experience, two of the universities I am interested in attending that listed that as acceptable under certain circumstances, after speaking with them, informed me that practice is not what they're currently doing.

 

The norm in criminal justice doesn't appear to be bachelor's to PhD but some of the faculty in my department went that route, in my department it was like 2 out of 12.

 

Also: if you are going from bachelors to PhD, be sure you have a solid GRE and preferably research experience if possible.

Edited March 15, 2015 by Sword_Saint

[JohnMason]

Thanks guys, very helpful

[brown_eyed_girl]

In the US it's pretty common to go from BA to PhD, but I can't speak to the requirements in other countries. Most of the programs I looked at in the UK, for example, require an MA before applying to a doctoral degree.