I see that there are historical threads on this but just wanted to get a fresh set of perspectives on this. I applied for a PhD, which offers a path to the Masters. Although I submitted my app to the PhD, I got accepted to the Masters. I never received a rejection from the PhD, so it appears as though they moved my app into the Masters pool. Not sure what to make of this. I was hoping to enter the PhD and obtain the Masters along the way. This program was/is my first choice, but a non-terminal degree would not make sense for me since I am already well established in my field outside of the academy. The reason why I want to go to grad school is to obtain a PhD, not to up my skillset or accumulate debt to get the exact same type of job that I already have...
So my question is: do you have any advice for how to proceed in this situation? Is it worth pursuing/inquiring about the possibility of a contingent offer to the PhD upon completing the Masters -- or is that a silly question / not at all how PhD funding "works"? For context, so far I have been waitlisted by a PhD program that offers a Masters along the way, and I am still waiting to hear back from one more. Not sure how to navigate all this. Many thanks!