Questions about pluralistic PhDs and mastering out

[philosopuppy]

Hey everyone, this is my last advice-begging thread, I promise! I had another thread about getting into MA programs, but I'm going back and forth on also applying to some PhD programs, and could use advice/input on a couple things...

So, my aim is PGR top 20-30 schools. If in the end I couldn’t break into that tier at all, I probably would still take the PhD at a lower-ranked school, work hard, and see what happens - but, naturally, the higher-ranked, the better. Since I am entering into mainstream “analytic” philosophy fairly late (having done only Continental for most of my undergrad), I am applying to MA programs, since I think the added two years of preparation will make a huge difference in terms of my competitiveness for the programs I want to end up in. If I got into a below-30 PhD program this cycle, I would want to master out and apply to stronger programs. Is this something people can do? I haven't found very much substantive information about transferring PhD programs, how it's received, etc. Would it rub people the wrong way to be transferring out of a perfectly good PhD program? Maybe it'd be better to go the MA route, which is at least an established path for getting there?

However, I’m also thinking about top-ranked PhD programs where my “non-analytic” background might actually count for something. Most of the time I was doing Continental stuff I was taking grad classes, presenting at conferences, etc. I could get a letter from one professor who had me in his grad class, has read all of my most recent work, and with whom I’ve organized a department reading group for several semesters. He’s definitely in my corner and I think he’d write a great letter. However, he is definitely a SPEP person, and you can tell this from a quick search. So, the question is: if I apply to places like UChicago and UC Riverside, where Continental is actually a big strength of the program, would that help me at all? Would it nudge me over from “maybe wait until after the MA” to “might be worth a shot now”? Or would the fact that my teachers were all SPEP people be cause for suspicion?

I just took my GRE and got a 170V/162Q, so that’s part of the reason this is on my mind. My other letters are from junior tenure-track faculty who know my more recent “analytic” work really well and have taught independent studies and grad classes with me. I just don’t have the years of research experience and famous letter-writers that other people applying to these top PhD programs have - and these are things that I could get with a couple extra years.

Thank you everyone again for your helpful input and advice. I'll do my best to pay it forward once I've ended up somewhere!

tl;dr: Can I transfer just for ranking, or will that piss people off? Can I get into PGR Continental programs if my letter is from someone with a SPEP background?

Edited October 26, 2018 by philosopuppy

[hector549]

55 minutes ago, philosopuppy said:

Hey everyone, this is my last advice-begging thread, I promise! I had another thread about getting into MA programs, but I'm going back and forth on also applying to some PhD programs, and could use advice/input on a couple things...

So, my aim is PGR top 20-30 schools. If in the end I couldn’t break into that tier at all, I probably would still take the PhD at a lower-ranked school, work hard, and see what happens - but, naturally, the higher-ranked, the better. Since I am entering into mainstream “analytic” philosophy fairly late (having done only Continental for most of my undergrad), I am applying to MA programs, since I think the added two years of preparation will make a huge difference in terms of my competitiveness for the programs I want to end up in. If I got into a below-30 PhD program this cycle, I would want to master out and apply to stronger programs. Is this something people can do? I haven't found very much substantive information about transferring PhD programs, how it's received, etc. Would it rub people the wrong way to be transferring out of a perfectly good PhD program? Maybe it'd be better to go the MA route, which is at least an established path for getting there?

However, I’m also thinking about top-ranked PhD programs where my “non-analytic” background might actually count for something. Most of the time I was doing Continental stuff I was taking grad classes, presenting at conferences, etc. I could get a letter from one professor who had me in his grad class, has read all of my most recent work, and with whom I’ve organized a department reading group for several semesters. He’s definitely in my corner and I think he’d write a great letter. However, he is definitely a SPEP person, and you can tell this from a quick search. So, the question is: if I apply to places like UChicago and UC Riverside, where Continental is actually a big strength of the program, would that help me at all? Would it nudge me over from “maybe wait until after the MA” to “might be worth a shot now”? Or would the fact that my teachers were all SPEP people be cause for suspicion?

I just took my GRE and got a 170V/162Q, so that’s part of the reason this is on my mind. My other letters are from junior tenure-track faculty who know my more recent “analytic” work really well and have taught independent studies and grad classes with me. I just don’t have the years of research experience and famous letter-writers that other people applying to these top PhD programs have - and these are things that I could get with a couple extra years.

Thank you everyone again for your helpful input and advice. I'll do my best to pay it forward once I've ended up somewhere!

tl;dr: Can I transfer just for ranking, or will that piss people off? Can I get into PGR Continental programs if my letter is from someone with a SPEP background?

You can try to transfer out of a PhD program. It's not unheard of. However, I don't think that it's very likely that you'll be able to get into a better program. From what I've heard, people who do this usually end up moving laterally, not up, and there's usually some reason other than trying to move up in the rankings (issues of fit or culture with the program, etc.).

Continental-friendly programs like Chicago, etc., have a different methodological approach than most SPEP programs, so I'm not sure that having an SPEP continental background will help you, particularly if you're not planning on doing work in those areas. It seems to me you'd just be saying, "hey I have an SPEP continental background, but I don't want to work on continental stuff anymore."

My two cents' worth of advice: if you want to do analytic work but have little background, then apply to some of the top MA's. You'll set yourself up better for doing PhD work.