Finishing MA first?

[lureynol]

Hello all,

I've been getting a lot of 3rd hand rumour/feedback that due to the current dire funding/applicants situation, a lot of schools are pretty much rejecting out of hand anyone who is still working on/ABD with their masters degree.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks.

[TMP]

You should plan to finish the MA before you do the PhD. Heck, I know someone who got FOUR funding offers even though she finished her coursework 2 years earlier but was still working on her thesis.

Worry? Not.

[lureynol]

You should plan to finish the MA before you do the PhD. Heck, I know someone who got FOUR funding offers even though she finished her coursework 2 years earlier but was still working on her thesis.

Worry? Not.

I know I should plan to finish it before I start the PhD. My question was more on whether a completed (vs. in progress) MA has had an impact on PhD applications success rate.

[TMP]

No. But you should think hard about your writing sample. Your MA thesis is definitely better to use than any seminar paper. If you feel that you can produce a stronger sample with a MA thesis and you don't think you can get a chapter of the thesis done by November to be used as a writing sample, either consider a very strong research seminar paper or take a year off to spend more time working on that thesis.

[sidiosquiere]

No. But you should think hard about your writing sample. Your MA thesis is definitely better to use than any seminar paper. If you feel that you can produce a stronger sample with a MA thesis and you don't think you can get a chapter of the thesis done by November to be used as a writing sample, either consider a very strong research seminar paper or take a year off to spend more time working on that thesis.

This is what I did. I applied having finished my thesis, but my reason for doing this is that I had a low undergrad gpa (2.9) and what I thought to be a low graduate gpa (3.7) at the time. Basically, I wanted to show that my gpa didn't reflect anything, and that I could use my research languages in my thesis. That way my letter writers could write about my thesis and not just my seminar performance - which is bad, since I'm quiet (a habit I need to break).

However, I know people who applied not having finished their theses' yet, and they got into some great programs - ucla, george washington, and illinois-urbana champaign. They pretty much had great grades during grad school as well, though.

I think as TMP says that a thesis is better for a writing sample than a seminar paper, and if you write a great thesis, im sure your letter writers will discuss that in their letters. However, a seminar paper is fine too I think - especially, if it shows insight and use of primary sources in target languages.