cogsguy

It's a risk, but for what it's worth, I was in a similar situation as you, took the MA and ended up doing very well as a result. I think you have to figure out two things: 1. how likely are you to get into a better ranked program after the MA? 2. how much better would the higher ranked programs be in terms of placement record and catering to your intellectual interests? Question 2. is something you can figure out for yourself by researching the programs in question. Question 1. really depends on knowing your own capabilities and also thinking about what doing the MA would achieve for you in terms of improving your application. For example, in my case, I didn't have a philosophy undergrad degree, which was a major liability in getting into the top phd programs. I also felt fairly confident in my philosophical abilities, level of diligence and motivation, etc. So I knew I had what it takes to really make the most of an MA program, and I also knew that having the MA would "fill the hole" in my profile - i.e. it would give me the one thing I was missing, which was formal training in philosophy.

It was a generic email from UBC Grad Studies with a link to the actual offer letter written by Chris Stephens

I don't think it was trolling because I was accepted yesterday. My guess is they just started sending out offers?

I got into Stanford yesterday! So stoked!

Just got waitlisted at Michigan this morning!

Yep, got my Princeton rejection.

I got rejected from MIT too Oh well...

Same here, rejected from ucla

I only applied to PhD programs. But if anyone has questions about SFU, feel free to message me.

I got into Pittsburgh HPS today! Super stoked!

I will be doing the MA at Simon Fraser University in the fall!

I'm on the waitlist for CUNY and Arizona. If I get off the waitlist for CUNY, there is a good chance I will take it. If not, I've declined all acceptances except Simon Fraser University (MA) and will go there.

The alternative to graded coursework is having one or more of your letter writers testify to your competence, or efforts to gain competence, in those languages. It's especially helpful if one of your letter writers does ancient philosophy.

I didn't get shut out this year, but I can try to give some encouragement. You definitely shouldn't feel like a loser for getting shut out. There are too many factors beyond your control, and too much random noise, for rejections from philosophy programs to say something bad about you. I'm sure you've heard this plenty of times, but it's hard to get in anywhere. One thing that I think matters a lot, and unfortunately is out of your control when you apply, is pedigree. It's not just the name of the institution itself that matters, but coming from a top school gives you a better chance of getting letters from the most respected philosophers in the field. A letter from a top philosopher probably goes a lot further than a letter from someone the ad coms haven't heard of before. I remember that Eric Schwitzgebel wrote on his blog that he couldn't recall a single student from UC Riverside getting accepted to a top 15 PhD program in the past decade or so, and UC Riverside is a mid-ranked PhD program. And even if you seem to have everything going for you, you are probably going to get a lot of rejections because there are just so few spots. If you applied and got into a decent MA, then hopefully you'll have a better shot of getting into a PhD program by taking that route. But if you didn't, it might help to know that some very good MAs accept late applications - for example, I know someone who got into a Canadian MA well after the deadline. So I'd suggest looking at some of the good Canadian MAs if you think you have run out of options.

I agree with qualiafreak. If your primary goal for getting the PhD is just the experience of doing the PhD, or if it's to teach at a community college afterwards, then go for the unranked PhD offer. But if you are looking to get a position at a research university, I think the MA gives you a better chance of getting there. My advice, in the latter case, would be to do an MA. Also, consider other options outside philosophy that would allow you to pursue your interests in case you don't get into a good PhD program out of the MA.

I got waitlisted at Arizona a few days ago. Hope it works out!

Thanks for the advice, guys. It sounds like everyone is pushing me towards the PhD. Thanks for the link, Page228. I was not aware of that post - that's great to know. HegelianThomist - may I ask why you're not interested in the top 20 program? Is it outside your specialty? Establishment - That's a good point about transferring from one PhD to another. Now that I've looked at it more carefully, WashU's placement record seems quite good. Looking at PNP (Philosophy-Neuroscience-Philosophy) in particular, which will be my program/specialty, most of the PhD graduates landed tenure track positions. There have only been 12 PNP graduates ever, only 5 of which were in the last decade. Of those 5, two are TT, one is doing a second post doc, and one is "Visiting WUSTL" but only just finished PhD in 2014. And as for the 7 who graduated in 2003 or earlier, they have done extremely well - 5 are now tenured, one didn't seek employment, one was TT for a while and ended up in a computer science PhD. However, this data is hard to rely on because the advisors of those earlier 7 graduates, Bechtel and Prinz, are no longer at WUSTL, and I'm sure the advisor makes a big difference. As unreliable as the data may be, the placement record for PNP in particular looks very good. Also, it might be relevant that at least two very good philosophers did their post docs at WUSTL. Turretin - it's full funding for 6 years. MattDest - I'm almost certain that my AOI will remain constant. Ian - I take your point that luck always plays a role. I certainly can't know for sure that I would get into a PhD program out of an MA.

I wanted to start a new thread to ask for advice on my specific situation, if that's okay. I applied to several MA and PhD philosophy programs without an undergraduate degree in philosophy and ended up getting into a few MAs and just one PhD. The MAs are Simon Fraser University in Canada, Georgia State University (Brains and behavior fellowship), and Tufts. The PhD is WashU PNP. I'm really interested in philosophy of cognitive science and neuroscience, and I know WUSTL PNP is perfect for these interests. However, I also know that it's not a top 10 or top 20 program, and that if I want to continue my philosophy career doing research in academia, it will be much easier coming out of a top PhD program (I hear there's a lot of prestige bias). I think it might be worth going to an MA program, both in order to get the broad foundation in analytic philosophy that I don't have right now, and in order to have a better chance of getting into a top ranked PhD program afterwards. For the MAs, SFU (Canadian MA) offers enough funding that I don't need to pay out of pocket; GSU is even better. On the other hand, Tufts is much more expensive. Although they give about 60% tuition remission, I know that tuition as of 2014 was 46.5k. Taking living expenses into account (let's say 10k a year in Boston), I would be paying at least 35k out of pocket. Fortunately, I'm working full time and will have saved up just enough money not to take out student loans, but 35k is still a lot of money. I know that Tufts is considered the best MA program, but do you think the difference (both in terms of placement record and faculty quality) is enough to justify going there over GSU or SFU? I realize many people may not be familiar with Canadian MA programs like SFU, but I'd appreciate any advice or comments on one or more of these programs. I do know that SFU and GSU have placed several students into top PhD programs, but not with the same consistency as Tufts.

Hi guys! Just joined. Got into WashU PNP yesterday! So happy! Still waiting to hear from other schools.