Apply for PhD before completing Master's

[YAPS]

Hi all,

I wanna ask if some of you have experience applying PhD before graduated from Master?

I wanna apply PhD soonest, as I don't want to wait to start my PhD after graduation for Master.

I saw one of my colleagues can do it, but when I come to some university websites, they request certificate or transcript of my master's.

I am now in my 1 year of master's degree in Japan, and would like to apply PhD in other countries like in Europe or Australia.

Thank you.

[maelia8]

What field are you in? In my field, it's quite common to "skip" the Master's and go straight to the PhD, which is what I did, because the Master's can be very expensive. I think this depends very much on whether a Master's is considered necessary in your field.

[kyjin]

Do you mean applying for your PhD while completing your Masters, so you'll begin as soon as you complete your MA? (Ie apply fall of your 2nd year of your MA to enter the fall of the following year?) If that's the case, that's fairly common. 

[1Q84]

Hi, I'm currently in my 2nd to last semester of my MA (2 year) and applying to Ph.D programs.

 

You send your transcripts that include all completed work. The courses you are currently completing will say something like "in progress" and Ph.D programs know to expect this. There are some online applications that allow you to enter (unofficially) courses in progress to supplement a transcript.

 

Some programs may ask for grade updates after the completion of the semester in which you applied. Some will even ask for updated transcripts after you complete the MA altogether, just to make sure you didn't completely bomb after you were offered acceptance!

Edited November 13, 2014 by 1Q84