caedmon

This is probably true for many cases, but perhaps I should have clarified--I'm very much in the humanities (finishing a BA in Classics, going into a PhD in medieval history) and I do have some classmates in the humanities who are going straight to the PhD. I would do a MA if I could get funding, but since I'm choosing between unfunded MAs and a fully-funded PhD program (at one of my dream institutions), the choice seems pretty clear. I think this also depends on the individual departments at various institutions--I know that at my current university, all of the Religion PhDs already have an MA, but this is not true for the History department, where about half of the incoming PhDs do. Basically, it does seem like many people in the humanities do a MA first, but it's not always impossible to go straight from a BA.

I'll second that--I'm also about to go straight into a PhD program (unless I end up getting a Fulbright...I'm an alternate), and I have several friends at my current institution who are also doing the same thing. We've all been planning on grad school for the past few years, and so have been able to shape our undergrad courses accordingly. When I've spoken with prospective advisors, they have claimed not to prefer MA students over BA students--I think it depends more on how focused you are as an undergrad.

Hi all, I'm planning on starting a PhD at ND this fall, and I'm now wondering... Is there a particularly good place to start looking for an apartment? Is there a way to find other grads to share an apartment/house with (beyond on-campus housing)?

Another lurker with info for the spreadsheet: Applied for full grant for UK Fulbright (Durham), phone interview in early Feb., notified March 13 that I'm an alternate. (Default plan: starting a PhD program this fall in the US. I got into one of my top choices with great funding, so the alternate status isn't heartbreaking.)