Duke MS vs UVA PhD

[Monte Carlo]

I am having a hard time choosing between Duke's Statistics MS and UVA's Statistics PhD.  Duke’s stats program is top 10 in the US. It is also one of the only two year MS programs. It requires MS students to finish a Master's Thesis to graduate, which seems like a good preparation for PhD. But the problem is that if I want to continue pursuing PhD, I need to do well in the MS program. Typically they admit around 2 PhD students from their own MS students, and around 3-4 more students get admitted to other PhD programs elsewhere, out of 35 students each year. For UVA, they have a pretty low program ranking (around 70 in the U.S), but the advantage is that I don’t have to apply again and I get full ride for the five years. Also, they have a pretty small program (3-4 PhD students each year), which means I might get a lot of attentions from the advisors.

 

At this point I’m not 100% confident about my academic ability to become a PhD. Also, I'm not quite sure what research topic I want to do for PhD. I thought it would be better if I get a masters degree first and decide afterwards. But at the same time, I realize that a PhD degree can give me much better job opportunities and higher salaries. If I force myself to go to PhD at this point, I might as well finish it, but I might struggle. I guess my question is if I want to work in the industry eventually, does program ranking and school reputation matter a lot? If money is not a big issue, should I go straight to PhD now or get MS at Duke first? Can anyone give me some advice please?

[omicrontrabb]

If I were you, I’d email UVA and ask for information on their past placements. Then you’ll know what you can realistically expect for job opportunities afterwards.

Your choice also depends on what your goal is. Do you just want a high paying interesting job? I’m sure you’ll be able to find that from either program. Industry generally cares much less about rankings than academia.

Finally, getting a MS first won’t necessarily help your chances for PhD admissions very much. Everyone tends to get good grades in masters programs. So paying for an MS at Duke and then doing well is unlikely to drastically change your profile.

[GoPackGo89]

21 hours ago, Monte Carlo said:

I am having a hard time choosing between Duke's Statistics MS and UVA's Statistics PhD.  Duke’s stats program is top 10 in the US. It is also one of the only two year MS programs. It requires MS students to finish a Master's Thesis to graduate, which seems like a good preparation for PhD. But the problem is that if I want to continue pursuing PhD, I need to do well in the MS program. Typically they admit around 2 PhD students from their own MS students, and around 3-4 more students get admitted to other PhD programs elsewhere, out of 35 students each year. For UVA, they have a pretty low program ranking (around 70 in the U.S), but the advantage is that I don’t have to apply again and I get full ride for the five years. Also, they have a pretty small program (3-4 PhD students each year), which means I might get a lot of attentions from the advisors.

 

At this point I’m not 100% confident about my academic ability to become a PhD. Also, I'm not quite sure what research topic I want to do for PhD. I thought it would be better if I get a masters degree first and decide afterwards. But at the same time, I realize that a PhD degree can give me much better job opportunities and higher salaries. If I force myself to go to PhD at this point, I might as well finish it, but I might struggle. I guess my question is if I want to work in the industry eventually, does program ranking and school reputation matter a lot? If money is not a big issue, should I go straight to PhD now or get MS at Duke first? Can anyone give me some advice please?

I wouldn't worry about not knowing what research area you're interested in. Most people in my cohort have only the slightest idea (except for genetics folks... they seem to know that stat gen is their thing and even that is very broad). Meeting faculty, reading papers, going to seminars will steer you.

It feels like your quality of life during what I am assuming will be your mid 20's is going to be much better as a UVA PhD student. BUT a masters in statistics from Dook is likely going to open doors and help you land a high paying job if that is important to you. You could also leverage an MS + a few years of solid work experience to get you into a program at least as good as UVA or better if you later decide a PhD is right for you.

I guess I agree with omicron with the added thought that Masters -> industry -> PhD is a common route people take.

[Monte Carlo]

Thank you @omicrontrabb @GoPackGo89

I've also talked to a few current PhD students. They all told me that a PhD student has to be very self-motivated and has very strong interest in what he/she is doing. Regarding of this, I'd say I am only above average. I'm pretty sure I am not the top 5% or 10% of people who has strong self motivation, so I am a bit worry that I might struggle in the PhD program. However, some people encouraged me to try it out. They said the worst case scenario is to drop out of PhD and get a free master degree. But I feel like I would be so frustrated if that happened.

[omicrontrabb]

@Monte Carlo 

You were accepted into their PhD program, so they clearly think you can succeed. I wouldn’t too much about being under qualified. That being said, I wouldn’t start a stats PhD program unless you’re pretty confident you would enjoy it. It is a long process and you have like doing stats research. You could always get a job and apply again later when you’re more sure.