Gaps between MA and PhD?

[philosopuppy]

Hi everyone,

As I choose between MA offers I was hoping I could get some input on a kind of specific question I have. So, I work on [unspecified non-Western region], in addition to some more mainstream analytic stuff. I applied for MAs this round, because my coursework in the latter was kind of lacking & I felt I'd benefit from more time to work on a sample, get my background up to speed, etc. However, I will also need to spend some significant time abroad to get my languages up to snuff and be able to spend time reading the texts I'm working on, etc. (Also, it's just very important to me personally.) I would be taking some sort of fellowship or scholarship to do this -- I'll be applying to Fulbrights + a whole range of language training fellowships and [country] government scholarships, the latter of which are plentiful. So I wouldn't just be kicking around.

I want to make sure I get some of this - say, a year or two - done before I get to the PhD, so this won't hold up my research, make things take longer, be seen as a distraction in my program, etc. And I know this is quite common for people who study [this area of philosophy] in programs that aren't philosophy (like religious studies or area studies), and my advisors in those areas have all done it. (One of them took like 5 years in-country between the MA and PhD.) My question is, does anyone have any idea how this looks to philosophy departments? Would they be suspicious of this, or would it make me seem less serious about philosophy? The reason I ask is that I know some of my MA programs will let me take a year in between, which would shrink the gap before applying to PhD programs, but those are also the ones with less funding, so it's unclear which way to go. I know this is kind of an out-there question & that I'll probably have to ask some people in person, but I figured it couldn't hurt to see if anyone here has any insight.

Thanks all in advance, and I hope you're all hanging in there

Edited March 5, 2019 by philosopuppy

[maxhgns]

I don't think it matters at all. If anything, it'll help to show that you're more serious about the PhD, because you'll have taken some time to do something else first. Plus, if you get funding for it, that looks even better all the way down the line to postdoc and grant applications.

[philosopuppy]

That is good to hear. Thank you for the reassurance!