Mechanical PhD From Different University Than Masters

[jwiz]

I am currently finishing masters program in Mechanical Engineering and thinking about going to a different university for PhD. 

I am worried about the qualifying exams however because  my program spends effort on preparing students for the mechanical qualifying exams, in the form of comments and hints. The department also tests from the specific core grad courses. 

I feel I may be at a disadvantage if I switch.

Any one have experience willing to share ? 

Thanks ! 

 

 

[Teaching Faculty Wannabe]

@jwiz I don't have any experience of this, so I am just going off intuition. However, I don't think it's a bad thing to go to a different university for a PhD. The reasons for this are:

1. You will get to experience another place. Moving to a new university will open your eye up to new personal, professional, and research experiences. Your network will expand by meeting new students and faculty, and you will get an new advisor that will be doing possibly similar, but slightly different research.

2. The qualifying exam may be different at the different university, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Also, I think it's a good thing that your Master's is preparing you for qualifying exams. You maybe take the advice with you to the other university. Nonetheless, I wouldn't fret too much about the exams in terms of transferring. You will probably get advice and time to prepare for them at the other university. Additionally, core grad courses are usually similar throughout different universities. You can also look up universities' core classes and compare them to the class you took for your master's.

I would only stay at the university you are currently at if you feel comfortable staying there and don't want to explore new places/research avenues.

I hope this helps! Good luck!