Switching PhD programs

[Guest Guesteroo]

If you accept an offer to one school's PhD program, how easy/frowned upon is it to try and switch to another program after you get the masters along the way (probably after the first year)? Would the school you want to transfer to care more about your grades in graduate coursework? Would they look down on you for transferring from another place? Can you still get LORs from your professors/advisor from undergrad (since you knew them longer than your grad professors/advisor)?

Im thinking of trying to switch to the PhD program in Bioengineering at Berkeley, Stanford, or MIT. I'd be going to Georgia tech in the fall.

Thanks in advance for your advice

[Guest mrdanw11]

I too am interested in the prospect of tranferring after the Masters or even earlier. If the professors at the school you are at are major players in the field you want to study in, would it be a good idea to transfer out of that program if you still wanted a future in that field?

[Guest Alice In Chains]

it depends.

if you are a PhD student and the school is therefore allowing you to skip the Masters, then you essentially have committed to the PhD there and you should not switch and they won't like it if you try.

If you will be graduating with a Masters at some time, it is purely your decision to reapply to other places just like it is your decision if you want to stop with just a masters and get a job.

I said I had interest in the PhD program where I went for my masters. They put me on a MS/PHD track. I am now getting my masters and, since I reapplied for the PhD, I went from a top 40 school to Berkeley!

So I would strongly suggest it. Oh, and you really shouldn't worry about your professor being upset with you as long as you haven't committed to the PhD track and as long as you are not on the PhD track only.

The flip side, is a fellow student I know tried to apply to other schools w/o telling his advisor. He was a PhD student. A prof from the other school immediately contacted his current advisor.

Also, some schools specifically state that they will not consider transfer students, especially top ones. So you should reapply only when you are graduating with a masters. If you won't be getting a masters, forget about it.

[Guest guesteroo]

Thanks Alice in Chains for the great answer!

I have a few followups. I applied to the PhD program at GT, not the MS program. The difference being that GT does not guarantee funding for MS students. Since I was accepted to the PhD program, I got a fat stipend + tuition + healthcare. Now, with that having been said, I believe that I can get the MS along the way if I write a Master thesis. Once I get the degree, am I "unoficially" obligated to continue and get the PhD because they funded me so well in my first two years?

Thanks in advance!

[morfinx]

If you accept an offer to one school's PhD program, how easy/frowned upon is it to try and switch to another program after you get the masters along the way (probably after the first year)? Would the school you want to transfer to care more about your grades in graduate coursework? Would they look down on you for transferring from another place? Can you still get LORs from your professors/advisor from undergrad (since you knew them longer than your grad professors/advisor)?

Im thinking of trying to switch to the PhD program in Bioengineering at Berkeley, Stanford, or MIT. I'd be going to Georgia tech in the fall.

Thanks in advance for your advice

Is there any reason why you would want to transfer? GT's bioengineering ranking this year is #3, ahead of the 3 schools you want to transfer to:

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/r ... _brief.php

Besides, GT by itself is regarded as one of the best engineering schools out there. You already have a great financial aid package, I personally see no reason to transfer.

I do not know the procedures in Bioengineering, but for ECE, you can petition to change your status from PhD student to terminal Masters, and if it is approved, you can leave with just a master's degree.

[Guest guesteroo]

Yeah, its true the GT is ranked highly in BioE and such. Great school without a doubt. However, my area of interest is in BioMEMS and MEMS in general. For that particular research area, Berkeley is regarded as the best in the country (if not the world) and Stanford too (since they got some of the original guys from Bell Labs that developed the technology back in the day).

Ill look into the petitioning thing. Thanks Morfinx!

[Guest guesteroo]

BTW, Morfinx, are you from GT? If so, could you give me an idea of what campus life, academics, social life, etc... is like at GT. Just a general idea of what its like down there

[morfinx]

guesteroo said:

BTW, Morfinx, are you from GT? If so, could you give me an idea of what campus life, academics, social life, etc... is like at GT. Just a general idea of what its like down there

I'm not from GT, although I have lived in Atlanta before for a short time. I'll be heading to GT in the fall for ECE. Check out this thread for information about Atlanta and GT:

http://thegradcafe.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=248