Ph.D in 3 years (or maybe less than 5years !!)

[suggestmeaname]

Hi,

 

I am a fresh college graduate with the dream to pursue my PhD in the US.

 

My field of intertest is Psychology, mainly in Social and personality.

 

I am planning to take my master's in psychology first, and then do my PhD in the States

 

But as I searched for PhD programs in prestigeous schools around United States,

 

sad to say all PhD programs in the US were 5-years long or more...

 

even if you have a master's degree.

 

That means if I ever get into a PhD program with a master's degree, I should submit a master thesis AGAIN during the first few years of the program.

 

Are the things I'm saying right?

 

However I have seen some school that allow credit transfer..but does that mean I will be able to finish it in a lesser time right??

 

I kind of think it is a waste of time to continue studying 5 MORE YEARS when I already have a certified master's degree.

 

So, does anyone know a prestigious school that offers a PhD program that can be finished in less than 5 years?

 

meaning schools that offer ADVANCED STANDING (for students who apply with a master's degree).

 

I hope there ARE schools that I am looking for.

 

I just need the list of schools that may grant me an advanced standing in the PhD program..(preferably the renowed ones heheh)

 

Please help me look for schools that do

 

Thank you Gradcafe Seniors !!

 

 

[Guest joshw4288]

This is not how the system works in the US. Some places you can get "advanced standing" but it will be minor such as not having to take the introductory stats sequence if you have already taken multiple graduate level statistics courses. Some place outside the US (UK and Canada for example) usually require a master's prior to enrolling in the doctoral program so you can finish the Ph.D. in 3-4 years rather than 5. Furthermore, while 5 years is the standard time listed on departmental websites, the average completion time is greater than 5 years. Even if you could finish somewhere in 3 years, you likely would not finish with enough research publications and presentations to secure an academic job (not that this is the only choice or what you desire) over others that would have multiple additional years. This issue is becoming so bad that 2-4 year post-docs are quite the norm. 

[Lisa44201]

Additionally, psychology is about research fit, not about school ranking.

[Munashi]

Curious: What is the motivation (in your specific case) for getting your Master's before the PhD?  Why not apply to the PhD programs in the states, take the 5 years, and do both your Master's and PhD over here?

 

Please note, I am not trying to be snarky - I'm genuinely curious!  I think you will have a hard time finding a place "offering advance standing" to someone with a Master's degree.  Like joshw said, some places will but it will often not save you a full 2 years and you may have to re-do your thesis even if it does save you from re-taking some coursework.  I could be wrong, but it's possible this may be especially difficult if the Master's is from outside the US (someone please correct me if I am wrong, this is only a guess on my part).

[jakem]

Yeah, sorry. People over here do the same thing, and they have to essentially "re-do" their Master's as well. Just think of it as time to publish more!

[lrbrade]

Hello. Depending on the program you are applying to University of Miami's Community Well-Being program accepts on those with an MA such that you can complete the program without having to redo the MA so it takes around 3 years. 

[schpsy92]

Without a Masters Degree, most doctoral programs will be 5 years at a minimum. But, there are a small handful of doctoral programs that will grant the Ph.D / Psy.D in 4 years ... you can PM me if you want more information.

[suggestmeaname]

Additionally, psychology is about research fit, not about school ranking.

yes I agree thanks for the advice

[suggestmeaname]

Curious: What is the motivation (in your specific case) for getting your Master's before the PhD?  Why not apply to the PhD programs in the states, take the 5 years, and do both your Master's and PhD over here?

 

Please note, I am not trying to be snarky - I'm genuinely curious!  I think you will have a hard time finding a place "offering advance standing" to someone with a Master's degree.  Like joshw said, some places will but it will often not save you a full 2 years and you may have to re-do your thesis even if it does save you from re-taking some coursework.  I could be wrong, but it's possible this may be especially difficult if the Master's is from outside the US (someone please correct me if I am wrong, this is only a guess on my part).

 

I have already applied to master's here in the area where I am living in. I am not from the US and I have no been to the US..I am somehow worried and not ready to send any application form to the schools in the US. So I was thinking I would have a little taste of tedious researching first (doing my master's degree) here in my hometown and then genuinely start my PhD with sufficient knowledge and planning of what I am going to do in the future while doing my PhD

[suggestmeaname]

Actually almost everywhere that I interviewed told me that they would accept my Master's thesis as well as several courses, which naturally would shave off a few semesters. One program I interviewed at actually has a 3-year track for MA students, as opposed to the 5-year track for others. Another program told me I could finish in 3 years. Regardless, I wouldn't choose a program based on timeline and it's likely that it will end up taking more time than you originally thought/was told. 

Thank you for the advice, but would you know the schools offering those programs? those schools that interviewed you and confirmed that they would accept your master's thesis. If you do know, could you please message me? Thank you ~

[suggestmeaname]

Hello. Depending on the program you are applying to University of Miami's Community Well-Being program accepts on those with an MA such that you can complete the program without having to redo the MA so it takes around 3 years. 

Thank you for that information

[dbrainiak914]

Additionally, psychology is about research fit, not about school ranking.

 

This really depends on what one's goals are and what they want to accomplish in graduate school.  While working with people who share similar interests and viewpoints is helpful to cultivate a student's interest and perseverence in their work, and would be useful for later clinical applications, I wouldn't consider it particularly predictive of success in research-heavy academia.  In that realm, the following article has some interesting information on what are strongest predictors of success, as defined as a position in a research-heavy PhD-granting university (R1).  But I admit this is not the goal for everyone setting out for grad school in psychology!

 

Stenstrom, D. M., Curtis, M., & Iyer, R. (2013). School Rankings, Department Rankings, and Individual Accomplishments What Factors Predict Obtaining Employment After the PhD? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(2), 208–217. doi:10.1177/1745691612474316

[juilletmercredi]

From the abstract:

 

 The strongest predictor of employment was department-level rankings even while controlling for individual accomplishments, such as publications, posters, and teaching experience. Equally accomplished applicants for an employment position were not equal, apparently, if they graduated from differently ranked departments.

 

I'm of the opinion that while research fit is the most important, departmental ranking is actually also really important and should be taken into account when selecting a program.

 

To answer the OP's question, the vast majority of U.S. based psychology PhD programs will take 5-6 years to complete even with a master's degree.  Also, in another thread you said you had already completed the MA while here you say that you're just looking...

[suggestmeaname]

From the abstract:

 

 The strongest predictor of employment was department-level rankings even while controlling for individual accomplishments, such as publications, posters, and teaching experience. Equally accomplished applicants for an employment position were not equal, apparently, if they graduated from differently ranked departments.

 

I'm of the opinion that while research fit is the most important, departmental ranking is actually also really important and should be taken into account when selecting a program.

 

To answer the OP's question, the vast majority of U.S. based psychology PhD programs will take 5-6 years to complete even with a master's degree.  Also, in another thread you said you had already completed the MA while here you say that you're just looking...

 

Hello, yeah people might have misunderstood my thread when they saw my other threads, but this was just to let the people reading this realize I have already applied to master's program and would EVENTUALLY do my master's (there is no way I could apply for another direct phd program at this point in time in my personal case). Because I assumed many people reading this would suggest me to go straight to PhD thinking I still have the chance or opportunity to do so (when actually i cant) and maybe give answers that I already know. I figured it would be difficult and too lenghty to state my personal reason and so I just posted that I have already completed a masters, just to make it CLEAR to the audience (So they would reply with the information I am looking for).

 

This was the first post I wrote and I was thinking I could get more answers in the latter posts by stating a clearer point of view (my situation right now and will be in the future)

 

So if ever some people here thinks I am misunderstood...I am not, and to some of the people who thinks I'm a fraud

I am not :DDD

 

Just tried a different strategy in posting threads to get more diverse and informative answers (And I sure did ! )

[juilletmercredi]

I think you will get better and clearer answers if you just post one thread and actually tell the truth about yourself, then just describe your preferences.

 

Just because you have already applied to master's programs doesn't mean that you actually have to go to any of them.  You could turn them down and spend next year applying directly to PhD programs.  You can, indeed, go straight into a PhD program if you want to - just not in the Fall of 2014.  You'd have to wait until next fall at least - but in your case, that might be better than spending 2 years getting a master's and then another 5-6 years getting a PhD.

 

But the short answer is that if you absolutely want to begin a master's in psychology this fall, if you want to get a PhD in the United States you will almost certainly have to spend at least 5 years getting a PhD - regardless of the fact that you have a master's.

[RubyBright]

Perhaps social and personality programs are different, but in many of the PhD programs in my subfield of psychology (Human Factors), it is possible to bring in credit for a completed master's. The catch is that it has to be a master's with a thesis that is examined by the PhD school and deemed acceptable. You may lose anywhere from 3-12 credits, but yes, there are definitely schools that will let you start as a brand new "third year" as if you had done your master's there as part of their combined 5-year MA/PhD program. However, I'd like to stress again that this is my experience with HFac programs, not social or personality. This type of information (and any rules governing credit transfer) is usually available in the student handbook, which you should be able to find on the department website of a given school. 

I also agree with juilletmercredi - just because you applied to master's programs doesn't mean you have to attend one. You could use an extra year to get more research experience and make yourself more marketable to PhD programs.

[clinicalpsychphd20]

I think you will get better and clearer answers if you just post one thread and actually tell the truth about yourself, then just describe your preferences.

 

Just because you have already applied to master's programs doesn't mean that you actually have to go to any of them.  You could turn them down and spend next year applying directly to PhD programs.  You can, indeed, go straight into a PhD program if you want to - just not in the Fall of 2014.  You'd have to wait until next fall at least - but in your case, that might be better than spending 2 years getting a master's and then another 5-6 years getting a PhD.

 

But the short answer is that if you absolutely want to begin a master's in psychology this fall, if you want to get a PhD in the United States you will almost certainly have to spend at least 5 years getting a PhD - regardless of the fact that you have a master's.

 

Others may disagree, but I also wanted to point out that you have the option of enrolling in the master's program and applying to a PhD while you are in it. This way, if you don't get in, you can finish the Masters but if you do get in you can start in a year.

[suggestmeaname]

thanks for your answersss everyone im keeping my options open !

[juilletmercredi]

Perhaps social and personality programs are different, but in many of the PhD programs in my subfield of psychology (Human Factors), it is possible to bring in credit for a completed master's. The catch is that it has to be a master's with a thesis that is examined by the PhD school and deemed acceptable. You may lose anywhere from 3-12 credits, but yes, there are definitely schools that will let you start as a brand new "third year" as if you had done your master's there as part of their combined 5-year MA/PhD program. However, I'd like to stress again that this is my experience with HFac programs, not social or personality. This type of information (and any rules governing credit transfer) is usually available in the student handbook, which you should be able to find on the department website of a given school.

 

Yes, it's going to be very different by school and program.  I'm in social psych and generally speaking my subfield is one that doesn't allow credit transfer.  I think it's more common for Human Factors/ I/O folks to have a master's before entering since you can do professional work with a master's in that field.  But it's less common in social psych to come in with a master's.  I think my program may technically/theoretically allow you to get up to a semester or two in "advanced standing", but in practice you work it out with your advisor, and the advisors here aren't amenable, typically.  Although a few people in my cohort did have master's degrees before beginning, we have all taken the same amount of time to finish (5-6 years).

 

Still, even if you did find a program that allowed advanced standing that still doesn't mean you'll finish in less than 5.  I attend a joint program and so I have a psych cohort and a public health cohort.  The public health department lets people with a master's in a related field to get up to a year of advanced standing, and nearly everyone in my cohort had a master's and did get advanced standing.  However, that didn't really make them finish very quickly.  My closest lab mate got a master's in our department and still took 5 years to finish, whereas I did not have a master's and I am finishing this year (my sixth).  So yes, she finished a year before me, but still took 5 years.  But I'm not the only one in my cohort still here, and I believe the woman who finished the first out of all of us didn't have an MA at all before she began (and she finished in 5 years).  So...it just really depends on the program.

 

Honestly what takes the longest isn't even the coursework.  It's the exams and dissertation work.