Research match vs school prestige

[global_nomad]

Hi All, I'm looking for some advice: I have three acceptances so far. Two are from the most prestigious schools in the UK on Masters courses (not news on funding from either). The third is for a PhD in the US with funding (tied to a TA of 15 hours a week). The US school is an excellent research match with me and I'd have a supervisor highly regarded in the field, with good feedback from her current grads and whose projects really inspire me, BUT the school does not have a prestigious reputation. I only have two weeks to make a decision!!!

Things are more complicated because I am a Brit who has been living overseas for some years and I'm unlikely to be able to visit any of the schools to get a feel for the places (although I did my undergrad at one of the UK ones). I also have a husband to add into the mix (visa dramas) and neither of us are keen on staying in the UK long-term (eg to stay on for the PhD).

I don't think I'll be able to get a decision on funding from the UK within the US timescale, so in trying to weigh up my options I'd love some thoughts on:

• Prestige vs fit
• Is 15hrs TA a bit heavy in grad school?
• combined vs separate MA and PhD courses
• In terms of getting an academic/research job after the PhD, would an employer pay any attention to the MA institution, if I had done the PhD elsewhere?

My gut is saying the US option, but would I be mad to turn down the other schools with that kind of international reputation???

Thank you for any help you can give.

[newms]

Go with your gut. A good research fit is pretty important and if you have it with the US University, then that's a huge plus. Also, in most instances, the reputation of the department is more important than the overall prestige of the university, so if your supervisor is highly regarded, then that is probably better than getting a degree from a prestigious university that isn't as highly thought of in your field. 15 hours a week as a TA doesn't sound like too much to me, but you're definitely going to have to balance your TA time, your own course and research time and your personal time. Good luck!

[Bukharan]

• In terms of getting an academic/research job after the PhD, would an employer pay any attention to the MA institution, if I had done the PhD elsewhere?

I just wanted to comment on this. No, you are right - once you have a Ph.D., the institution of your MA probably becomes irrelevant. So if you choose the USA, I think you are making the right choice. Follow your heart! All the best to you.

[Eigen]

In the sciences, a highly regraded PI would be worth more than a prestigious institution, especially if you want to go into Academia.

It seems like the usual TA is a "20 hour" assignment... But that doesn't necessarily reflect how many hours you'll work every week. Some will be more and some will be less.

[The Dudester]

My feeling is that a slightly less prestigious school where you produce better research will make you seem more qualified for jobs. Based off what I have read, there will always be the committees that go with an Ivy/Big Name/Oxbridge school, but many would prefer good research from a slightly "worse" institution so they can see what you can do.

[eklavya]

if your goal is to stay in academia, getting MA before PhD might actually help you in the long run. MA will make you well prepared and more confident about your career choice. even if you were to jump straight to PhD, the time required to graduate almost equals the MA + PhD route.

as for your questions:

# fit is more important than prestige, but the fame of your advisor is more important than anything. settling for relatively unpopular school but with a great advisor is the smartest move

# 15 hours of TA isn't too bad.. it's about average i think

# see above

# like folks said above, MA institution isn't given much priority if you have a PhD. but if you capped with an MA, then yes, the last institution is looked at

[Eigen]

if your goal is to stay in academia, getting MA before PhD might actually help you in the long run. MA will make you well prepared and more confident about your career choice. even if you were to jump straight to PhD, the time required to graduate almost equals the MA + PhD route.

This is definitely not true for all fields. In my field, having a MS gives you no "head start" on your PhD, hence the time for MS+PhD will be 2-3 years longer than going straight for a PhD. I know there are other fields that are the same way.

[eklavya]

This is definitely not true for all fields. In my field, having a MS gives you no "head start" on your PhD, hence the time for MS+PhD will be 2-3 years longer than going straight for a PhD. I know there are other fields that are the same way.

really? that's very interesting. so if you took about 30 credits during your MS, none of them will be transferred into your PhD? in mine, most theory classes taken during MS (roughly 20 credits) will get transferred, therefore cutting your total period by about 1.5-2 years. although, the time required to finish a PhD also depends on your research, and on what kind of researcher you are.

if you don't mind me asking, how long does it take to get a chemistry PhD? if going from undergrad?

[Eigen]

It's 4-6 years, no matter what the starting point is. Several people in my year had MS degrees, and had to start out the same place as the rest of us.

Courses can transfer, either from undergrad or a previous MS program... But most cap the amount of transfer credits. Our transfers system also requires submission to a departmental (and then college wide) committee, and the submissions aren't accepted until your second semester in the program. Most of them require near-exact equivalency of the courses- same book, covered the same material, etc. I suppose it also depends on the level of the course- here, 100-400 level courses are undergrad (with 400 being mixed/cross listed), 500-600 level courses are masters level, and 700-800 are doctoral level. We can only have a few of our required courses come from the 500-600 level masters courses. For an MS, we would have 24 hours of coursework (6 hours thesis research), but not all of the classes would have to be "masters level", as upper level undergrad classes would be acceptable for a few of that 24 hours.

I suppose it also depends on what the course load is weighted towards... We only have about 18 hours that you could possibly transfer over, and all of our coursework should be done by the second semester anyway. The majority of the time is research- enough hours in the lab to get enough data and publications to defend. The rest of our 48 hours of required coursework are mostly practical sections (independent study/research classes), as well as seminar type classes, none of which could be transferred in.

Edited February 27, 2011 by Eigen

[anthropologygeek]

Reputation of your advisor goes a long ways but if the reputation of school itself is poor it will take a lot to overcome the school. But the school might be respected in the field, if you want to send me a pm and then I can answer this directly if I knew.

[global_nomad]

Thanks everyone, some really sound and useful advice here. Much appreciated.

Anthropologygeek - I'll PM you once I work out how!