usintheworld

How common in the United States is it to apply to a Ph.D. program in History and then receive an offer to join their MA program? This has not happened to me (yet?) but I'm curious if this is something that does happen; if it is common, etc. For background, I am completing my BA in Spring 2020 and applying directly to Ph.D. programs for the Fall. Thanks friends!

One of my research areas is critical refugee studies; so yes. However the programs I applied to are International/Global History Programs and American History Programs. I wrote an undergraduate thesis at a top liberal arts college so most of my writing samples are covered from that. This would be something to pursue in the mean-time as well as work on languages. I suppose my main question though is whether a MSc is frowned on compared to an MA. Thanks!

I am applying to History and American Studies Ph.D. programs for Fall 2020 in the United States. My interests (FWIW) are twentieth century transnational history and transnationalizing the U.S. and the Levant. As a backup, I am applying to two Masters programs. One of which is a MSc in refugee and Forced Migrations Studies at Oxford University. It's a 9-month program, which is very appealing to me--both financially and temporally–as I would be able to then apply for Ph.D. programs in the next cycle (Fall 2021). My question is: would History Ph.D. programs/admissions committees which are research-based view a MSc unfavorably? Would I be better off entering a two-year MA program? Thank you!