M Dev Policy -> PhD

[lalalacereza]

I'm starting a Master's in International Development this year. It's a terminal program, so there's no PhD to transfer into if I decide I want to do that at the end. I chose this degree because it came with a lovely fellowship and benefits (ie fully funded internship overseas).

So what happens when you have an MA from one uni but want to do a relevant PhD at another? Is it generally possible to transfer over and not have to do a full 5 years, or do grad programs want you there for the whole time?

I'd be looking at fairly high ranking programs, I think. My undergrad degree is solid and from the #1 ranked university in my major (in my country), the MA is at a top ten uni, and I have a lot of relevant work experience, good professional and academic references etc in case that makes a difference to your answers.

[jaw17]

Ummm....what would your PhD be in, exactly? To my knowledge, there are relatively few (if any) international development-specific doctoral level programs, at least in the US. So presumably you're talking about either econ PhD programs, which have a pretty set course track that you would have to take (and hence would take just as long), or public policy PhDs, which are also relatively rare but probably more flexible about course requirements.

Or am I missing something entirely?

[lalalacereza]

I don't think you're missing anything, thanks for your reply. It'd be more of a public policy focus, or even in international relations. Now I'm looking at social sector reform in developing countries, but have no idea what it'll morph into over the next couple of years. Things are very different here in Australia -- I could have walked straight out of undergrad into a 3 year PhD program, skipping the MA -- so I don't know how it all works over there. So it is theoretically possible to roll an MA from one uni into a PhD program at another?

[erin85]

most programs only allow around 6 credits to transfer in from another school... (give or take a few). So it wouldn't be much, and you'd have to jump through hoops to get them to transfer usually.