Switching fields

[LateAntique]

I'm interested in hearing from those of you who did one thing in their undergrad and are now applying (or have applied and have been accepted) to programs that are either somewhat or totally outside of your undergraduate focus(es). As a Classicist, could I find an MS in Geology program that would be willing to take me (purely hypothetical, I swear)? Or, does one have to pursue another undergraduate degree before they can do such a thing?

[rising_star]

I think a lot of it depends on your undergraduate coursework and how related the two fields are. I moved from the humanities for undergrad to the social sciences for grad school. But, my humanities major was interdisciplinary and I took a number of religion and anthropology courses, did a minor in area studies, etc. So it wasn't a huge stretch to say that my interests in that region shifted from literature to the social sciences. No one expected me to do another bachelor's, or even to take a bunch of undergrad courses. So yea, it all depends.

[ridgey]

I think some of my applications would win a "most extreme change of field" award. My undergrad major was neuroscience. I'm applying to some Poli Sci PhD programmes.

The missing link is public health, in which I have just finished a masters degree. Most of my PhD apps are in fact public health, in the policy end of things. My research questions lend themselves to a poli sci approach, and I did take a handful of polisci papers in undergrad just for fun.

I am struggling with how to approach this in my poli sci SoPs though.

[LateAntique]

I think some of my applications would win a "most extreme change of field" award. My undergrad major was neuroscience. I'm applying to some Poli Sci PhD programmes.

The missing link is public health, in which I have just finished a masters degree. Most of my PhD apps are in fact public health, in the policy end of things. My research questions lend themselves to a poli sci approach, and I did take a handful of polisci papers in undergrad just for fun.

I am struggling with how to approach this in my poli sci SoPs though.

That doesn't seem terribly radical, though. I can see the evolution. I don't see how I could justify it to an adcomm if I up and decided I wanted to be a Geologist or Evolutionary Anthropologist now, but I'd like to see if someone has done such a thing and what it took.

[Sparky]

I don't see how I could justify it to an adcomm

I am considering switching from an MA/BA in religion to a Ph.D (well, probably MA/Ph.D combined programs) in history, and the people at the departments I have talked to seem much more interested in whether I can write a historical paper than in my justification of the switch. I realize that history and religion are much more closely linked than, say, classics and astrophysics, but I think that something similar might apply. The applicant would have to have the relevant background--it's not like you can start an M.A. program and enroll in Rocks for Jocks your first semester, right? So the interest would already be there, on your transcript. I think it's fairly common for people to get far enough into one undergrad major before realizing they're not cut out for it that it becomes sort of pointless to drop it.

[Ziz]

I'm switching from political science to philosophy but it's not a huge stretch. I did almost exclusively political theory/philosophy in my undergrad and masters. I have found, however, that the UK schools are much more open to this, but philosophy departments in the States wont' even consider you without a philosophy undegrad.

[Jennszoo]

I have an undergrad in Business Mgmt and am applying for an MEd in Communication Disorders. Both programs for SLP that I am applying to have a system in place for those w/ the "wrong" undergrad, which basically means it adds a year to my masters. They both would enroll me as a graduate while I take some grad courses and some undergrad courses. If I get accepted, I may look into taking 1 of the pre-reqs over the summer just to ease myself back into academia.

[rogue]

I did my undergrad in communications and then got an MBA. Now I'm mainly applying to sociology programs (+1 comm and 1 gender studies). I think (I hope, anyway) that I justified the switch sufficiently in my SOPs. And quite a few of the programs I'm applying to explicitly state that applicants do not need to have a background in soc. I hope that's not just lip service.

[piccgeek]

I was a English lit BA and am now an MA student in the same field, but I'm applying to a master's in science writing program. I'm not trying to make a HUGE switch, but I am still worried that I don't have the coursework for it. Obviously I've got the writing part down...but even though I've been interested in science/biology since high school, and a lot of my undergrad work explored philosophy of science and the impacts of science and technology on culture, I had a heard time proving that I am capable of understanding/working with scientific research. I know I CAN do it (at Purdue, one of the most science-centered schools around, I was tutoring biology to pre-pharmacy majors), but I don't know if I can PROVE that to an adcom, ya know? I took the minimum science requirements in undergrad, not because I didn't like science (I love it, in fact), but because I found so many interesting things in the humanities to study that I just didn't have time to pursue biology, which I didn't think would contribute to any career in writing/English (haha, joke's on me...).

So...is it going to work? I'll let you know in March. Oh, waiting, what an exquisite torture thou art....

[UnlikelyGrad]

I'm interested in hearing from those of you who did one thing in their undergrad and are now applying (or have applied and have been accepted) to programs that are either somewhat or totally outside of your undergraduate focus(es). As a Classicist, could I find an MS in Geology program that would be willing to take me (purely hypothetical, I swear)? Or, does one have to pursue another undergraduate degree before they can do such a thing?

You wouldn't necessarily have to do another complete undergrad degree...but taking some background classes (as a non-degree major) would greatly improve your chances.

My undergrad degree was in Chemistry and I'm now in a Geochem program. They are making me take a couple of remedial classes in Geology (I had a couple as an undergrad, but not as many as a Geol major). But then, this is an interdisciplinary major so they are used to people with not quite the right background...

[LateAntique]

You wouldn't necessarily have to do another complete undergrad degree...but taking some background classes (as a non-degree major) would greatly improve your chances.

My undergrad degree was in Chemistry and I'm now in a Geochem program. They are making me take a couple of remedial classes in Geology (I had a couple as an undergrad, but not as many as a Geol major). But then, this is an interdisciplinary major so they are used to people with not quite the right background...

I think I secretly want to be a Geologist. I had a Geology class as one of my science electives and the professor said, "If you switch majors, I could get you a consulting job after you graduate." That was very appealing and now as I'm stressing about getting into a graduate program and thinking I'm not exactly a practical hire, I keep thinking, "Just go be a Geologist."

[pea-jay]

I am transitioning from a BA in Geography to Public Administration MA by using 5 classes of graduate work in Urban planning and 8 years of on-the-job experience. I dont think it would have worked as well straight from UG though.

Edited November 25, 2009 by pea-jay

[newage2012]

I have my BS in EE and finishing my MS in the same field. I applied to switch to the PhD program in Computer Science for spring 2010 and got approved in 5 days.... no letters of rec needed, no questions asked etc.

Edited November 25, 2009 by newage2012