neechaa

I second that. I did a MA in philosophy in India before getting into in a PhD program in the US. I had similar worries about the pedigree of my MA because there's virtually no chance some one outside of India would have ever heard of the MA program, but things worked out pretty alright for me- so I can say with some confidence that you would be wise to focus on the parts of your application in your control- the ever important writing sample and your statement of purpose.

I don't really know much about MA programs in the US but I was in a fairly similar situation, so here's my two cents. Last year I finished an MA in philosophy at a university in India, which I'm pretty sure none of the philosophy departments in the US must have ever heard of. I did have decent GRE scores (V167/Q165/AWA5.0) and good grades but like you I was quite apprehensive about my chances of getting admitted to a PhD program because I came from a university that is not well known. But the results were in the end not all that bad- I got admitted to Mizzou and I was waitlisted, though ultimately rejected, at UVA and Minnesota, out of 6 total applications. So based on my case alone I would be willing to bet that you do not need an MA from an american university in order to get into a PhD program in the US. Though whether you can get into a 'good' PhD program would be more tricky to say; I think an MA from an american university would improve your chances . Also, in most programs you earn an MA on your way to the PhD anyway, so whether you wish to do an MA before that is something I personally would consider seriously, given that you are already doing an MA. I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be allowed to apply for a second MA, particularly since its a different country, but my guess would be that spending time working on your writing sample would be an equally good way to improve your chances of getting in the next season.

Thank you!

University of Missouri

I really appreciate the kind response. As it turns out though, one of the schools that had earlier rejected me got more funding and offered me admission after the April 15th deadline (which I have accepted), so I was not shut out after all!

Now that we are past April 15th I suppose most of us know the outcome of this application season. I applied to 6 PhD programs, was rejected by 4 of them and waitlisted by 2, only to be informed yesterday that all slots have been filled. After months of waiting it was heartbreaking to be shut out in that way! But I guess there are many more of you out there who have been shut out for the season, so starting this thread for those who would like to share their story of being shut out.

Rejected at University of Missouri. After a long wait, the DGS finally replied to my email today only to inform me that I have not been admitted.

It's good to hear about all the acceptances! I myself have not been very lucky so for- got rejected by Washington University in St. Louis (WashU), Boston University and Rice University. I am waitlisted at Minnesota and Virginia though, so that's what I am counting on. Curiously enough I am yet to hear back from Mizzou. So yeah, the season is far from summed up for me!