US BA to Canadian MA

[theyellowboots]

Hi to all,

I am an international student from University at Buffalo. I am looking to continue my studies after I have finished my BA by doing an MA because I believe currently, I do not have the research experience to enter a PhD program. I am exploring schools outside the US since I am an international student and I am considering both the Australian and Canadian universities.

My concern with the Australian system is that it is not easy for people with US degrees because I will have to take a year of postgraduate diploma in Australia to be eligible to enroll into an Australian MA program.

What about the Canadian system? Since Canada and US are so close to each other, there should be many students who cross the border and Canadian schools should recognize US degrees more than the Australians do.

[lewin]

If you took a four-year BA (especially with an honours thesis component) you should be fine. Some universities up here in Canada offer a three-year "BA" degree and typically that's not enough to get into graduate school.

[carlyhylton]

I just want to point out that in Canada there is no direct entry from undergrad to PhD programs

Like in Europe, you do 2 years doing your masters and 3 years doing your PhD

(there are rare circumstances where, if you are a complete genius, you can defend your masters thesis as a PhD dissertation)

which means:

-programs usually accept roughly the equivalent of american PhD programs so around 8-15 or less

-programs are usually funded

-programs are research intensive (generally, depends on the program of course)

[lewin]

I just want to point out that in Canada there is no direct entry from undergrad to PhD programs

Mmmm... this might vary by subdiscipline. In social psych there are definitely direct entry programs. Clinical too.

[carlyhylton]

That's true, may vary, I apologize.

Haven't looked into social psych programs

But Clinical? Really? I haven't come across any...

Well PsyDs at unis in Québec yes but no PhDs

I know McGill, and some other schools I'm sure have Masters/PhD programs.. Kinda like in 'in track masters/PhD programs in the states... But pretty sure you still enter the program as a Masters student right?

Curious!

[carlyhylton]

Oh and ps... I suppose I should have written 'most countries in Europe' instead of 'europe' in my original post because the UK definitely has direct entry. My bad.

[fluttering]

My concern with the Australian system is that it is not easy for people with US degrees because I will have to take a year of postgraduate diploma in Australia to be eligible to enroll into an Australian MA program.

What area of psychology are you interested in? Because there are not many Masters programs in psychology in Australia - many universities are even gradually phasing out their clinical masters (in favour of DPsych degrees). But if you want to get into clinical psych programs in Australia, you are right that you will need an Australian 4-year honours degree or equivalent degree that is accredited by the Australian Psychological Society. US degrees are not accredited by the APS so you will need to do, at minimum, 1 extra year (i.e., Honours year) - however depending on your degree it is possible that you may not even meet the requirements for Honours, in which case you will need to complete a Graduate Diploma in Psychology in order to be eligible for Honours.

On the other hand, if you are ultimately interested in a research PhD, then you may be eligible with your US degree. This is because research PhDs in psychology do not require an APS accredited undergrad degree in psychology. To get into a PhD, typically you need a first class honours degree. If your undergraduate marks aren't high enough you can get into a research masters (e.g., MPhil) but not many people do those - since you don't do coursework in most MPhil degrees, it is just like doing a PhD on a smaller scale, but there are very few scholarships available for MPhil students.

[lewin]

That's true, may vary, I apologize.

Haven't looked into social psych programs

But Clinical? Really? I haven't come across any...

Well PsyDs at unis in Québec yes but no PhDs

I know McGill, and some other schools I'm sure have Masters/PhD programs.. Kinda like in 'in track masters/PhD programs in the states... But pretty sure you still enter the program as a Masters student right?

Curious!

No need to apologize What's the difference between "in track" and "direct entry" PhD? I've never heard that term. Maybe we're just labelling the same thing differently?

I had meant that many programs may technically admit people as master's students but are essentially combined programs. They state something like: (1) "Ours is a PhD program but sometimes students pick up a Master's along the way" or (2) "Students are admitted into a Master's program, but the expectation is that they will do a PhD too and would not be admitted if they expressed interest in a Master's only."

In my mind both of those cases are basically PhD programs. Calgary, McGill, UNB, Ottawa, Concordia, Saskatchewan, SMU, Waterloo, and Windsor seem to hit one of the two points above, in contrast to other places that have more well defined Master's and PhD streams. This is a useful guide if you want more detailed info. I mean, regardless of what they call it you're going to be there for 5-7 years.

In my program people, on paper, are admitted as MA students because it works better in terms of which scholarships they can apply for but basically it's a direct-entry PhD program. After some period of time they're just transferred over. Students who said they just wanted to do a terminal MA wouldn't be admitted.

[carlyhylton]

Ha.

You're right, I think we were talking about the same thing.

I guess it all usually works out being the same right?

A colleague and former member of our lab did her PhD in the UK, which I guess took her a few years less than it would have in Canada, and apparently she will have to do more post-docs to kind of 'make up for it'.... I guess it all evens out eventually...