northeastern phd or umass ms?

[pepsi]

most of my decisions have come in, and now i'm in a bit of a dilemma.. due to funding issues, my choice of schools really lies between getting an MS at Umass amherst or a phd at northeastern. i mostly applied to MS programs this year, with NEU being the only phd. the thing is, i don't know if i want to do a phd or not yet. it sounds interesting, but i dont have enough research experience to know if ill enjoy it enough to complete a phd program. my intention was to do an MS first and then pursue a phd if i felt it suited me

the MS is not funded, but because i'm an mass resident, umass with living expenses is going to cost me about 40-50k for the whole degree. sounds cheap compared to other schools i know, but thats like all my savings from 4 years of penny pinching. on the other hand, as with most phd programs, NEU offers a full tuition waiver and stipend.

UMass MS

better reputation

gives me the chance to find out if i want to do research or not before committing to a phd

possible that i may be able to get an assistantship after i enroll

NEU PhD

guaranteed funding

may save time if my ultimate goal is a phd? (if i get an MS from umass first and then decide to do a Phd, won't it take longer?)

would probably get more attention as a phd student here than as a MS student at UMass

id really appreciate any input you guys have. thanks!

[newms]

Having to pay for grad school is always an undesirable option, since you're investing some of your best income earning years to do graduate work in the first place. So I would be really wary of taking an unfunded offer. That said a MS may be a better option for you since Amherst is a better program and you're not sure if you want to ultimately do a Ph.D. Perhaps some questions you could ask yourself would be: Does the NEU program allow you to leave with a MS if you decide that the PhD isn't for you? Is NEU stronger in your area than it's overall ranking would suggest? Can you afford to drain your savings in order to get the MS? It would likely take an extra year if you got the MS first and then went for PhD (I've heard of someone who had an MS before completing a 5 year PhD program in 3.5 years, so it could roughly be the same amount of time).

Perhaps you could also speak with people at both schools to get a feel of the programs there. It's a tough choice, but good luck in making it.

Edited March 23, 2011 by newms

[starmaker]

I don't know what subfield you're in, but if it's programming languages, go with NEU. They're big shots in programming languages. If you have questions about what NEU is like, I'm happy to answer - I'm an MS student there.

The MS at UMass Amherst will put you in a good position for getting into a top PhD program, assuming that you do well and take advantage of opportunities there. That is a lot of money to shell out, though. To a large extent, this is going to come down to whether you're willing to spend, which is not a decision that we can make for you.

[pepsi]

thanks for the responses--i'll be pondering over this over the next few weeks..

[emmm]

Northeastern -- no contest -- it's FUNDED! Plus, it's a great school in a great location, and it you really discover that you hate it, you can generally leave a PhD program with an MA/MS.

[beanbagchairs]

Go with the funded one . You'll thank yourself when you are done without exhausting your savings. You can always apply for PhD to umass amhers later on.