Master's and PhD at different schools?

[CuddlyWingman]

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking here for a while, essentially since I decided to apply to several grad programs last year. I haven't found a topic that specifically talked about this issue, so I wanted to get a feel for what the consensus was regarding doing a Master's and a PhD at two different universities. Starting out, I only applied to about 4 schools out of undergrad (my first mistake), 3 PhD and 1 Master's/PhD (my second mistake). Lo and behold, being a young, fresh graduate, the only one I got into was the Master's/PhD program, which was not my first choice for school. Regardless, I took it, and am making progress through my first year in my master's program. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the school, faculty, and community, but it's not where I would have ideally ended up.

My question then, is if I should apply to several programs for my PhD work come next year. The school I'm in has a PhD program already, but I don't want to get stuck in a position like I did last time, with only one option open, or even worse not having any program to continue in.

[MonstersU-Terp]

You're clearly not happy where you currently are. Finish up your MA/MS and then move on. Your education will be useful for you by allowing you to explore your interests more thoroughly and then you can better select a more suitable PhD program. And you'll of course be more competitive with a graduate degree under your belt.

[CBclone]

I think this is very field dependent, and I don't know anything about grad programs in Archaeology. In my field, it's more common to do all 3 levels of study at different schools than to have any overlap at all.

[rising_star]

I don't know about archaeology but, I'm in the social sciences and did my master's and PhD at two different universities. My MA department also offered PhDs and I did apply for, get accepted to, and offered funding to stay there for my PhD. But, ultimately, for a variety of reasons largely related to the research I wanted to do, I decided to accept a funded offer elsewhere for my PhD. The only regret I have about it is the additional time to degree that was involved.

[brown_eyed_girl]

I'm a bit confused - are you in a combined, funded MA/PhD program or are you in a terminal MA program at an institution that also offers PhDs? If you committed to doing a combined MA/PhD program, and are receiving funding to do so, leaving for a better program may burn some bridges, and you'll need your current adviser to give you a recommendation so you'll want to be tactful in explaining your reasons for applying elsewhere.

If you're just in a terminal MA program at an institution that also offers PhDs, then you are certainly not expected/obligated to stay there for the PhD, and many people recommend going to several different schools. Doing a terminal MA at a different school from the PhD is quite common. Not to mention, unless they said otherwise, the school you're at for your MA also has no obligation to accept you as a PhD student, so applying widely (within reason) is never a bad idea. 

Edited November 24, 2015 by brown_eyed_girl

[otherss]

Take my advice with a grain of salt since I'm applying for grad schools right now, but one of my professors a couple years ago suggested that I get my masters and PhD at different schools so I can learn the different view points of all the faculty involved as everyone doesn't share the same view. This can possibly help tackle different problems in the future post grad school. 

[MarineBluePsy]

Also not in archaeology, but I was also encouraged by professors and professionals in the field to not do all of my education at the same school.  Their reasons were that changing schools would allow me to learn from different teaching philosophies and access professors with different backgrounds and strengths.  Depending on where you're applying for PhDs you can also challenge yourself to be in a completely different environment (this is what I'm doing) and that helps you grow as a person as well.