Only PhD?

[socnerd]

I saw that someone on the results section wrote this about their acceptance...

"Some bullshit MA program. Who wants to go to an MA program anyway? Especially when it is not funded."

I find that very offensive. Is the point of this forum to say that if you are not applying (or aspiring) to only PhD programs that your program is "bullshit"? Honestly some people can be so arrogant and stuck-up, it's no wonder that person, whoever they are, didn't get in to the program they wanted. Master's programs are included in graduate school, but I feel like they are not included (or respected) in this forum. Not everyone wants a PhD, it doesn't mean they aren't qualified or good enough for one and they had to settle for a Master's. Sorry, I know that is not everyone's opinion, that comment just bothered me.

[joro]

I don't pay attention to comments like that. I also assume those comments are just made out of anger.

I'm going after a MS first, but my ultimate goal is a PhD. I have my plan already laid out (even schools I'm going to apply for a PhD) and now I just need to go through the steps till I complete it.

Edited March 6, 2010 by joro

[Tiglath-Pileser III]

A lot of people write their results as a visceral first reaction to a rejection. When they fail to attain the lofty goal of PhD acceptance, they will respond with frustration. Later, after some reflection, a considered and circumspect view might emerge.

Don't take the comments too seriously.

[fuzzylogician]

First of all, as others have said, this is probably just a gut reaction to the frustration of being rejected. Nothing to take too seriously.

More generally, there are always going to be people who are dismissive of what you study, be it a MA or a PhD. I just recently had a discussion with someone who knew better because they had "a real-life job," as opposed to my sheltered grad school existence. You really should learn to just ignore them. The goals you are pursuing are your own and it simply doesn't matter what some internet strangers think about them.

[hadunc]

I saw that someone on the results section wrote this about their acceptance...

"Some bullshit MA program. Who wants to go to an MA program anyway? Especially when it is not funded."

I find that very offensive. Is the point of this forum to say that if you are not applying (or aspiring) to only PhD programs that your program is "bullshit"? Honestly some people can be so arrogant and stuck-up, it's no wonder that person, whoever they are, didn't get in to the program they wanted. Master's programs are included in graduate school, but I feel like they are not included (or respected) in this forum. Not everyone wants a PhD, it doesn't mean they aren't qualified or good enough for one and they had to settle for a Master's. Sorry, I know that is not everyone's opinion, that comment just bothered me.

Not only that, but many schools require you to apply at the Master's level if you want to pursue a PhD and only have a BA. Quite a few of the programs I applied to were these types of MA/PhD programs where as long as you are progressing decently it is assumed you will continue on to the PhD. So assuming that an MA can't lead directly to a PhD is pretty misinformed. Even so, not everyone applies to grad school with the PhD as a goal, and I agree with you that these types of comments are offensive, even if they are written in the heat of the moment. We all need to respect each others personal and professional goals.

[monkeefugg]

I have a Master's Degree

There is no way I could have gone straight from BA to PhD

For some people the MA is a necessary stepping stone.

Other's, however, fancy themselves veritable prodigies, and believe the leap from BA to PhD is the only option worthy of their level of excellence.

That's no reason to feel offended; it's merely their personal view coming from their own situation.

In defense of the poster, inflation of the higher education system has led to a devaluation of degrees. As more and more high school graduates attend college and receive Bachelor's degrees, they tend to lose value, and more and more graduates therefore go for the Masters. This trickle-up effect is something we are experiencing now: more and more MA grads are applying to PhD programs-- this is why the acceptance rates are so discouraging! The higher education infrastructure is overflowing.

Given that, the poster's feelings appear quite understandable.

[mudlark]

In Canada, everyone does MAs. They're starting to become devalued a bit thanks to people who think we should look just like the American system, but I think they're incredibly important. You get to professionalize a bit, practice different ways of thinking, and get used to what research really looks like BEFORE you sign up for years and years of it. I loved my MA.

[mbs191]

Agreed! I don't think those sophomoric posters are devaluing a Masters Degree is any way - its just that they "didn't get what they wanted" - so, maybe an analogy would be someone applying for a Masters Program - but being told that they weren't admitted, but they could get a 2nd Bachelors Degree instead - - - the person who receives that offer won't hate Bachelors Degrees - they'll just be loathe the fact that the degree to which they applied isn't willing to have them as a student, etc....

[pewtered]

To play devil's advocate, depending on the field an MA can be less than appealing. I don't know the field of the unhappy MA poster, but in psychology, it can be equally (if not more) advantageous to work as a research assistant than doing an MA, mostly because all you do is research, and you get paid (instead of having to pay). As a research assistant you get opportunities to present posters and publish papers, and I would say end up with a pretty good shot at graduate school. Additionally, most psychology programs I am familiar with still make you complete an MA as part of your PhD pursuit, even if you already have one. So, if the poster was responding to a situation like this, I can understand where they are coming from, and hopefully it means more that they are discouraged with the system than looking down on MAs in general.

But I do agree it's probably just a visceral reaction to not being accepted.

[red_crayons]

There is no way I could have gone straight from BA to PhD

For some people the MA is a necessary stepping stone.

Other's, however, fancy themselves veritable prodigies, and believe the leap from BA to PhD is the only option worthy of their level of excellence.

That's no reason to feel offended; it's merely their personal view coming from their own situation.

In defense of the poster, inflation of the higher education system has led to a devaluation of degrees. As more and more high school graduates attend college and receive Bachelor's degrees, they tend to lose value, and more and more graduates therefore go for the Masters. This trickle-up effect is something we are experiencing now: more and more MA grads are applying to PhD programs-- this is why the acceptance rates are so discouraging! The higher education infrastructure is overflowing.

My university dismantled almost all of its Master's programs, except for a couple targeted, professional degrees (MEng, MRP, MArch, MBA). For people coming into PhD programs here, they seem to get a balance of MS/BS holders in social and life sciences, and mostly people straight from BA in the humanities. It's just their preference, which responds in part to certain funding and image politics.

One big contributing factor: In many fields, you're not eligible for federal research grants if you don't have a PhD. So to be useful at all to your institution in a research setting, you need a PhD.

[socnerd]

I appreciate all the responses, I know that person was probably just angry and that's why they said that. This still makes me worry though, is the consensus that Master's degrees on their own are worthless? If I don't want to go on to a PhD is there going to be no chance of getting a decent job? I do not want to teach or go into academia and I am not aiming for a very high-up position where I would get my own research grants. I am getting a Master's for several reasons, I want to stay in school, the job market is bad right now and I thought that getting one would help me find a job. Not a very prestigious job but something I could support myself on. Is that just wishful thinking?

[piccgeek]

I appreciate all the responses, I know that person was probably just angry and that's why they said that. This still makes me worry though, is the consensus that Master's degrees on their own are worthless? If I don't want to go on to a PhD is there going to be no chance of getting a decent job? I do not want to teach or go into academia and I am not aiming for a very high-up position where I would get my own research grants. I am getting a Master's for several reasons, I want to stay in school, the job market is bad right now and I thought that getting one would help me find a job. Not a very prestigious job but something I could support myself on. Is that just wishful thinking?

No, that's not unreasonable at all. There are certain hardcore academics who seem to feel like if you're not going to go all the way and get a PhD and be in research/academia for the rest of your life, why bother going to graduate school at all?? Or maybe they understand your reasons, but they act like they're more *serious* about getting into grad school than people who want MAs for non-academic career goals. It happens. Like everyone else has said, it's the way some people are, you've just got to be confidant that you are doing what you need to do to achieve your goals, and the people who look down their nose at that can go hide in their ivy covered towers and be the kind of out-of-touch teachers undergrad students resent, instead of the awesome profs who are both serious academics AND people who are able to see outside the academy's walls.

(no offense meant to anyone here, I LOVE the academic community. But I find profs/grad students who pretend like the rest of the world is irrelevant just as annoying as people who think they're better than me because they have "real" jobs while I'm "just" a grad student. It's two sides of the same holier-than-thou coin.)