Medium Tier Masters Programs

[bluedevils24]

Hello, all.

I have a low GPA (3.0) at a directional state school.  I have a very strong upward trend but a lot of Ws.  

I am looking for medium tier masters programs, with the eventual goal of getting accepting at an upper tier PhD program.

Could anyone give me the names of some medium tier masters programs that would help me get into an upper tier PhD program?  

Thanks!

[ashiepoo72]

I don't know what exactly constitutes a medium tier MA program, but in California SF State has a very well-respected terminal MA.

Honestly, the rank of your MA matters less than what you do while you're there. I went to a program at a CSU (not SF) that hadn't sent anyone to a PhD in the several years before I went on to mine in 2015, and this year one of my dear friends got into a top 10. What you should be focusing on more is finding a program that'll fund you for all or at least part of your degree. Also, one that actually has coverage in your area. For example, as awesome as the faculty is where I got my MA, I would only recommend the program to Americanists because coverage is spotty in other fields.

Upper tier PhD is rather vague, you should be exploring the literature in your field and figuring out where the top people seem to congregate. Some subfields have a completely different set of top schools than US News would have you believe. There may be a rockstar scholar at mediocre ranked program X that'll boost your academic cred just as much as or more than prestigious university Y. Since you're in the process of thinking about MAs, you have plenty of time to research scholars in your field and have a more nuanced application come PhD time.

Edited March 26, 2016 by ashiepoo72
Ugh typos

[Neist]

51 minutes ago, bluedevils24 said:

Hello, all.

I have a low GPA (3.0) at a directional state school.  I have a very strong upward trend but a lot of Ws.  

I am looking for medium tier masters programs, with the eventual goal of getting accepting at an upper tier PhD program.

Could anyone give me the names of some medium tier masters programs that would help me get into an upper tier PhD program?  

Thanks!

Well, what's your research focus?

A medium-ish school could be anywhere, depending on your focus. 

[archersline]

Not to mention, is there any area in the U.S. you would prefer to live? If you're not beholden to the upper echelon of schools you can likely find a great fit near you. 

[TMP]

For the MA, get as much funding as you can get for it.  Make sure you have faculty who can reasonably direct your MA thesis topic (but not need to be a great match as for the PhD dissertation).

[bluedevils24]

I am interested in U.S. urban history (particularly New York City) and the history of finance/economics/business/etc.  I love that city and would be most interested in doing my masters and PhD there.  

Columbia is my dream school, location-wise.  I am not sure how strong they are in urban history, but I suspect quite strong.

 

 

[ziggysunshine]

May I recommend you take a look at NYU? It's in your ideal location, and they've got a couple of people that you might enjoy working with (Connolly, Needham, Sugrue, and Tchen at least).

P. S. I'm glad to see someone else on these boards that's interested in urban history!

[ziggysunshine]

*to be clear, I mean this more for your future PhD! I think that specific faculty fit is less urgent for an MA.