Education Policy PhD vs MA help

[joysii]

I'm a student fresh out of undergrad that applied to a bunch of PhD programs for ed policy and just got all my results back. I was accepted into some PhD programs and some MA programs (I applied to the PhD and they referred me to the MA instead bc they thought I would be a better fit) and I was looking for advice on making decisions.

My main concern is all the MAs are only 1 year long. Are these programs still designed to lead towards further study (PhD) or do they function as something more for teachers who would like more background/a degree? I just find it hard to imagine the stress of having just started a MA only to have to apply to PhD programs all over again that very winter before I even know my MA professors that well. I want to work in the research field so a PhD would be my goal in the long run, but I wasn't sure if it would be better to do a MA first or go straight to a PhD program. Since so many schools referred me to their MA programs, maybe there's a reason I shouldn't jump into a PhD straight away?

 

[Richelieu]

I believe it depends on the school who accepted you for PhD. The ranking of the university matters in this case, if you aim to start your PhD at a top 10 school, then MA would be a wise route, but if you want to start for PhD asap, then continue with the offer you got.

[seskande]

I also applied to some PhD and some Masters programs and seems like I got accepted to masters programs more so than PhD. I would choose to go to a highly ranked school as that’ll get you through to a good PhD program eventually anyway. That’s what I’m doing.

[GradSchoolGrad]

On 3/11/2020 at 7:12 AM, seskande said:

I also applied to some PhD and some Masters programs and seems like I got accepted to masters programs more so than PhD. I would choose to go to a highly ranked school as that’ll get you through to a good PhD program eventually anyway. That’s what I’m doing.

If possible, I recommend you go straight to PhD and skip a master's if your goal is to do PhD level work (either teach or do research). Your only excuse to do Master's is if you really really really want to do applied work and want to build your applied network in the long run. However, 2 years of school tuition + opportunity + being 2 years older is not worth it generally speaking form my perspective. 

I will say that Education Policy PhDs are comparatively not as competitive (for example compared to History or Political Science). As long as you get into a top 10 school for Education Policy (Vandy, any Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, and etc. I think you should take it in a heartbeat.) 

[ZeChocMoose]

On 3/10/2020 at 7:34 PM, joysii said:

I'm a student fresh out of undergrad that applied to a bunch of PhD programs for ed policy and just got all my results back. I was accepted into some PhD programs and some MA programs (I applied to the PhD and they referred me to the MA instead bc they thought I would be a better fit) and I was looking for advice on making decisions.

My main concern is all the MAs are only 1 year long. Are these programs still designed to lead towards further study (PhD) or do they function as something more for teachers who would like more background/a degree? I just find it hard to imagine the stress of having just started a MA only to have to apply to PhD programs all over again that very winter before I even know my MA professors that well. I want to work in the research field so a PhD would be my goal in the long run, but I wasn't sure if it would be better to do a MA first or go straight to a PhD program. Since so many schools referred me to their MA programs, maybe there's a reason I shouldn't jump into a PhD straight away?

 

Since education is a practical field - not having experience in the field, but an education policy PhD is going to be hard on the job market.  My suggestion without knowing which PhD programs that you got into and which MA programs that you got it is to get the MA and get experience in the field and then go back for the PhD. Most successful candidates for top 10 PhD program in education policy typically have 2-5 years of experience and a relevant master's degree.

The people who I have seen in your potential situation (PhD + no to little experience) end up with entry level research or policy analyst jobs after they graduate. Usually, you can get an entry-level research or policy analyst job with either a masters or a bachelor's degree and some research experience in college so having a PhD for an entry-level job is a bit overkill IMO.

Although - I am not sure if I would suggest to do a one year education policy MA if you want a research position after you graduate.  I would be concerned that you won't get enough stats or research methods courses/experience to really be that marketable for entry level research or policy analyst positions.  I would really look at the courses that they want you to take (or can take) as most one-year education policy MAs are not research degrees.  You might be better off to do a two-year MA program that allows you to take a lot of courses in stats, qualitative methods, and research designs.  Some master's in education programs do that, but they are not usually one-year programs.  

I might consider doing the PhD if that program has a good placement rate for its graduates and they offer you full funding for at least 4-5 years. You also want to have a research assistantship as part of your package to help you gain research experience and to be able to work closely with one of your professors on their research.  I would suggest to do at least one internship at an education policy organization over the summer to get more experience.  It would be a risk though because the job market is going to be harder, but might be a better option depending on what the MA offers are.