Does an MA affect my chances to get into a PhD program?

[john-smith536]

I got a BA in philosophy and I was thinking "ok, the next step to getting your PhD is an MA". So, I applied for MA programs. After I found out that everyone applies straight to PhD programs, I started thinking "hmm, well maybe it will look better when I apply to PhD programs if I already have an MA?"

Any ideas anyone?

I want a PhD in philosophy.

I've been hearing that it might make it harder to get a PhD from a different school than the one that you get your Masters.

[marXian]

It really depends on the program and your GPA.

Do you have above a 3.75 GPA? Have you taken the GRE and are your scores in the 90th percentile or higher?

I've done work at the graduate level in two different fields (English and Theology/Religion) and during both when I've spoken to competitive schools about PhD programs, they've said that an MA helps. It certainly can't hurt you--unless you finish with a really low GPA in which case PhD work probably isn't for you. UVA told me (for the religion department) that they don't even really consider applicants coming straight from their BA because they have too many other competitive applicants who are finishing an MDiv or MA at Harvard, Yale, or Princeton.

In fact some schools, if they have a terminal MA program, don't allow their MA students into their PhD program. If you're applying to programs that do not have a terminal MA, it may be the case that they don't want to accept transfer units, thus you'll have to do their coursework any way, but you won't get the degree for it. But if you're fully funded... then it doesn't really matter!

Before deciding to apply to PhD programs in religion this season, I had been prompted by a professor to consider local MA in philosophy programs as a way to broaden my PhD possibilities. I did some research and talked to the DGS at Loyola Marymount and Cal State LA. Both programs have excellent acceptance rates to good PhD programs, neither school offering a PhD themselves in philosophy. LMU specializes in continental philosophy and CSULA in analytic (though they have continental people and claim to be a department of broad interests.) You can go on those departments' sites and see exactly where people have gone after completing those programs.

Hope that helps.

[john-smith536]

Thanks a lot. That makes me feel a lot better.