Applying to a PhD program after completing one year of a MA

[LouisdePointeduLac]

Hey everyone! I am in my first semester of a MA in literature program. I love the program but the cost of living, DC area,  is extremely stressful, I fully understand that I should have thought about that more in advance. So I’ve thought about transferring after the first year to another MA program. If anyone has any experience doing that I would love to hear about your experiences? My other idea was to just apply for PhD programs for fall 2019? I was coming from a different field of study which is why I went with MA programs to begin with. But would i have enough Literature experience now to apply to PhD ones or should i just finish out the MA first? 

[Dogfish Head]

I had a professor during undergrad who was doing an unfunded MA, and after one year of the MA applied to PhD programs and had a successful applicant cycle. It is definitely something I have heard of happening so I wouldn't shut down the idea, also the fact that you are in an MA will look good on PhD applications if you justify leaving for financial reasons.

[LouisdePointeduLac]

Thanks for the response! I think I am going to explore the option and make sure that I justify it by leaving for financial reasons. 

[Warelin]

I think there are some questions that are important to ask here:

1. How much prior experience in Literature do you have? Some programs require you to have a certain amounts of credits in order to apply for a Doctorate's in Literature.
2. Who are you going to get to write your letters? Programs generally have a preference for these to be written by someone who have a PHD in the same or similiar field because they understand what it takes to obtain an advanced degree in the subject. (This isn't simply "Louis was a good student and attended class and earned an A on this paper." It goes way beyond that. Transferring after this semester might cause you to get weaker letters than you would have otherwise. Keep in mind that there are other people at your university that will also be asking those professors for a letter. And it'll probably be easier for that professor to write letters for students they've known longer.
3. Master programs accept very few (if nay) credits from another Master's program. Staying for the full year is a good idea to ensure stronger letters. Since this would be semester 3, it doesn't make much sense to me to apply to another Master's since you'd be finishing up the program the following semester. Is it cheaper to stick it out for the additional year or start from scratch and take an additional 2 years to complete a Master's?
4. Grad programs have been facing cuts at a lot of programs. Applications have stayed steady overall but the number of available spots have decreased. I don't think having credits at the Master's level will hurt you but I don't think it'll help you either. If a program sorts its students, you'll most likely wind up in the Master's pool due to your experience. Admission requirements are often higher here because those additional 2 years are there to help you know the field better and participate in some preprofessionalization. You'll be in a pool with students who might have conference experience, have gotten a chance to TA or RA for a professor, and have found other ways to be involved with departmental life. All these things help the professor write a stronger and more compelling letter for the student. How do you hope to combat this?

[LouisdePointeduLac]

Thank you for the in-depth response! All those questions have been my majors concerns while looking into this. While I think I could might be able to get into a PhD program for 2019, if I stayed I could cure all of the problems you brought up. Honestly it’s just the cost of living that has been getting to me. I’ll take it all into account when I’m making my decision. Thanks once again to both of you!