BA and PhD at the same institution?

[antecedent]

Hi everyone!

 

I have a question about academic pedigree (kind of). If I got my undergrad degree in English Lit, went to a different school for my Masters in Linguistics, and then went back to my undergrad institution for Linguistics, would that be frowned upon? I know there is a stigma about doing your BA and PhD at the same institution, but I don't know if that includes switching departments. 

 

My undergrad institution is quite strong for linguistics (top five in the country, I think), and so is where I'm doing my Masters, if that matters.

 

Any thoughts on the matter?

Edited January 19, 2013 by antecedent

[fuzzylogician]

My understanding is that the source for the "different schools" preference is the belief that you should be exposed to different researchers, environments, theories, etc during your training. Having all your education completed in the same department limits that exposure, and (also depending on your research profile) might lead people to think that you are uni-dimensional or limited in your knowledge as it applies to the field at large. At the end of the day, you're going to graduate from some program and will most likely be employed by some other program. People on job search committees will want to hire a colleague who's been exposed to multiple ways of thinking and doing research, and can converse with all kinds of peers. If you attended a completely different program as an undergrad than as a graduate student, even though the two programs are in the same school I would think that this worry would be diminished -- but of course some old fart on a search committee might still wrinkle their nose at your "academic insect." Not much you can do about that, except show a breadth as well as depth of knowledge, same as everyone else should.

[antecedent]

Thanks fuzzylogician! That was kind of what I was thinking, but I thought I'd canvas for more opinions. I'll keep all that in mind when I'm applying in the Fall!

[goldheartmountaintop]

I know someone who was rejected from the MA program at their school on the sole basis that the faculty wasn't accepting any students who did their BAs at that school; all of these students were strongly encouraged to apply again (and return) for their PhDs though. That school is in the top three in my country. So, at least in my friend's case, doing her BA and PhD at one place but MA at another place was encouraged.

 

Personally, I don't think it'll matter in the long run if you do your MA at a different school and then return for your PhD, especially since you're switching departments between your BA and MA. I think the only thing might be that you should probably have an apparent academic reason to return to your original school for your PhD, and that this reason is clear to your future employers.