Reevaluating options after admission

[levie]

Hi All,

 

I've been admitted to two PhD programs and am having a tough time deciding between them. They both have something I want in terms of research experience and preparation for my career goals, yet they are complimentary (rather than identical) programs. While mulling these over in my head, I have identified several routes that I can take but do not want to do anything in poor taste. So I come to you all for help and guidance.

My options are as follows:

 

1. Suck it up, choose a program and don't look back.

 

2. Start one program and bow out with a master's, then complete the PhD at the other university. Best of both worlds? Or bad form?

In this case, I would gear my master's research so that it could be bridged to the PhD program at the second university. Is it looked down upon to begin a PhD program and leave with a master's? Does anybody care?

 

3. Ask university 1 if they would change my acceptance to master's status instead of PhD. Ask university 2 if they would be willing to defer enrollment for 2 years (or decline now and re-apply in 2 years). 

 

As an aside question, does it generally take longer to sequentially complete a master's followed by a PhD, rather than going straight through? 

I'm sure the ideas that I'm entertaining here are unreasonable, but they arise from the sheer exhaustion of making the most difficult decision of my life!

[ShortLong]

I say option 1 because you usually lose time try to switch programs. A lot of programs are set up to just get your Masters along the way, so your Masters classes prepare you for quals and such. You would probably have to retake classes and stuff. It is ok to leave after a Masters, things change. But if PhD is your ultimate goal, it is easier to do them at the same school.

[zabius]

Do you plan to go into academia as a career? If so, I'd advise picking one of the programs (whichever one you like the best) and sticking it out for the full PhD. Then, try to secure a postdoc position in the lab at the other school after you graduate! Then you can use your postdoctoral research to build on some of the things you did as a PhD student.

 

Alternatively, if these are truly complementary programs, you might consider enrolling in one and starting a collaboration with professors from the other? It's not unheard of for a student to have someone on his/her thesis committee who is based at another school. I had that during my master's program. There may be a little extra paperwork involved, and not every professor would want to do something like this (Skyping across time zones can be tricky if the schools are really far apart). But in theory, this would truly give you the "best of both worlds." You might even be able to spend a year working in your collaborator's lab if you need to. My top choice lab is based in the upper midwest, but the POI there has an extensive collaboration going with a lab in the southeast. The two labs focus on similar questions, but approach them from different angles (one is more neurobiological, the other is more ethological). She says that she occasional sends her students down to her collaborator for a while (a summer? a semester?) when it makes sense to do so given the students' projects. It's something to consider.

 

I'd advise not switching schools, because you will lose time just as ShortLong pointed out... you'll most likely have to reapply to the other school (which is a hassle and you might not even get in if competition is more fierce two years from now), and you might have to retake courses at the second school if all of your credits from the first school don't transfer over (many programs specify that x% of all coursework must be completed at their institution). You can do it, but it sounds like more of a headache than it's worth, in my opinion. It's usually not looked down upon to bow out from a PhD program with a master's, but you should have a good reason for it (i.e. your career plans have changed or the program isn't a good fit for you anymore, etc.). I don't know how the first school would react if you said that you were leaving just because you wanted to see what the second school is like... it might come across as fickle.

 

To answer your other question... in my experience, it takes at least 6 years to do a separate master's followed by a PhD (2 years for the master's + typically 4 years for the PhD, though some people need 5 years to finish). Just doing the PhD without a master's usually takes 5 years, though it can last for 6 years depending on how many courses you need to take and how many field seasons you need for research. That's just in my field, however... I don't know what your field is, but the situation might be different there. Most of the schools that I've applied to, though, suggest trying to finish the PhD in 4 years if you have an MS and 5 years if you don't. The reality of the situation is that it usually takes people ~5-6 years to finish the PhD, regardless of whether or not they have the master's.

Edited March 28, 2013 by zabius