Terminal Masters Programs With the Best Placement Rates

[MargeryUnkempet]

Hello all,

 

After a lot of thought, I have officially decided on obtaining a terminal Masters degree after the completion of my undergraduate degree instead of going straight into a PhD program. Now that I have made this decision, however, the question of which Masters programs have the best PhD placement rates has popped into my head. I have attempted to do my own research by looking on the Grad Student profile pages of top 20-30 ranked programs to see where people who are in PhD programs I am interested in obtained their Master's degrees, but the results from these searches have been limited. Some programs have stuck out as places with particularly good PhD placement rates (Columbia, Georgetown, NYU, Villanova, McGill, etc.), but I would like to get more feedback on which programs do exceptionally well with PhD placement. If the suggested programs offer funding that is also a pretty big plus . Thank you all in advance.

 

[silenus_thescribe]

This has been asked in various different places of this forum, and to my looking there's no standardized list a la the US News & World Report PhD rankings where MA programs are ranked. I know that MA programs sometimes publish lists of where their MA students end up if they choose to go further into academia, and if you've found any place like that, that's a good place to start.

What I will say with respect to an MA, however, is that funding should be a top priority for you. There are plenty of MA programs with funding; I got accepted to Miami-Ohio's funded MA during my app cycle. For my money, getting into a fully funded MA at a school that's ranked less than an unranked program is better than paying for an English MA. As a grad student, you have to get used to the idea of not making a lot of money, and debt should only be taken on if absolutely necessary. Lots of the MA programs at prestigious schools like NYU and Chicago are known "cash cow" programs that charge top dollar, and from various reports I've read on here and elsewhere, those programs also take a lot of students, which makes one-on-one connections with professors really difficult to establish. Many are also more general "humanities" MAs, rather than specifically English. That's not to say that students don't succeed or produce great work from those programs, but it does come at a high cost, and unless you have a large cash reserve, IMO it's not worth it.

A funded MA will both give you (relative) financial security, and often the chance to teach, which will be invaluable if you decide to go on to a PhD program. For that reason, I'd recommend going not off of rankings (especially since there are none for MA programs), but rather (a) programs that match you/your interests well, and (b) programs that will fund you. 

[Yanaka]

i am curious to know how those programs are funded. Through TA jobs? Or easily obtainable fellowships or grants? I mean compared to PhD programs?

[Axil]

51 minutes ago, Yanaka said:

i am curious to know how those programs are funded. Through TA jobs? Or easily obtainable fellowships or grants? I mean compared to PhD programs?

I applied to four MA programs this season and they all provide funding (guaranteed or merit based) through TA jobs. 

[Warelin]

I'd also like to add that these numbers would be nearly impossible to find because not everyone obtaining a Master's is interested in obtaining a PHD. People from my university have received offers from Princeton, Harvard, Pennsylvania, and Maryland among other programs. However, in my current cohort of 15 people, only 3 of us are interested in obtaining a PHD in English. I'd imagine that this is more common than uncommon. The rest of my cohort is interested in becoming an editor, writer, or teacher.

Edited February 5, 2017 by Warelin

[Dr. Old Bill]

14 minutes ago, Warelin said:

I'd also like to add that these numbers would be nearly impossible to find because not everyone obtaining a Master's is interested in obtaining a PHD. People from my university have received offers from Princeton, Harvard, Pennsylvania, and Maryland among other programs. However, in my current cohort of 15 people, only 3 of us are interested in obtaining a PHD in English. I'd imagine that this is more common than uncommon. The rest of my cohort is interested in becoming an editor, writer, or teacher.

This is an invaluable point. UMD has a ton of excellent funding options for M.A. students -- funding isn't guaranteed, and is mildly "competitive" in that you generally have to apply for GAships -- but in my sizeable cohort of 25 (way more people accepted M.A. offers than expected), only four of us, to my knowledge, applied for Ph.D. programs. I know a couple others who intended to but thought better of it for various reasons...but four out of 25 is surprisingly slim. I'd be remiss to not point out that all four of us have received at least one offer of admittance so far...

*gives the UMD horn one last toot*

 

[jrockford27]

I went straight from BA, but I am in a PhD program where we have students from a wide variety of masters programs - from household name type programs to schools you may never have heard of.  My fiancé is doing a humanities PhD as well, and took an unfunded masters.

  And without commenting in too much detail, I'll echo what others have said and say only this: go where there's funding.  While you can no doubt do really good work and receive brilliant training with great people at an unfunded MA program with a household name, you'll really want to think about what your life will be like when you can no longer take deferments on your loans.

Edited February 6, 2017 by jrockford27

[MargeryUnkempet]

Thank you all for the advice! I am mostly looking at programs that offer decent funding, but I was just generally curious what programs have a good track of placing people into PhD programs. I would preferably go to a program that offers funding, but I also may apply to programs that don't always offer funding (or only offer funding to some students) just to see if I can get a funding offer. Also, Wyatt, UMD has been on my list for a good while because there is a lot of Digital Humanities work being done there so that is one place that I am almost for sure applying to.

[Dr. Old Bill]

59 minutes ago, MargeryUnkempet said:

Also, Wyatt, UMD has been on my list for a good while because there is a lot of Digital Humanities work being done there so that is one place that I am almost for sure applying to.

Great! Even though I almost certainly won't be remaining at UMD, I can't say enough great things about the program...and indeed, DH is one of the major strengths of the program, thanks to the presence of MITH, and Matt Kirschenbaum and Neal Fraistat in particular.

As mentioned, M.A. funding isn't guaranteed...but GAship opportunities are abundant. I never really had to worry about funding at any point, and even managed to make an extra $5000 one semester as a teaching overload. It takes a bit more effort to get all your funding ducks in a row than in a funding-guaranteed M.A. program like Villanova etc., but I'm living proof that it's very possible.

[othersamantha]

I don't have a lot of wisdom to share here, but to throw in my two cents...

In the previous application cycle, I applied and was accepted to Bucknell University's (in Lewisburg, PA) terminal MA program, and was offered a stipend and tuition remission. I had applied during my senior year of undergrad not really knowing what I wanted to do, and it was the only English program I applied to at that time. I ultimately turned it down because I decided that if I was serious about pursuring an advanced degree in English, I wanted to do some more careful research about programs and cast a wider net. I didn't reapply there in this cycle because I ultimately decided it wasn't the best fit for me (I want to go directly into a PhD), but I can say that everyone I spoke to was super nice and they seemed really excited about the potential of having me there. I spoke with the director on the phone and was contacted by a couple other members of the faculty, including one who was interested in having me work with her on a project as a graduate assistant. They were really forthcoming with contact info for current/past students, and all of those I corresponded with were really happy with their experiences. Many went on to great PhD programs, although I can't recall the specifics. So, if you're looking for a funded MA program where you can get lots of personal attention, they might be worth looking into!

The more general advice that I received this year from professors with whom I discussed going to grad school was to not go into debt in order to get an MA/PhD. The job market is shaky, and they advised me that it's just not sensible to go if you're not getting some sort of funding -- this depends on your personal situation of course, but I thought it was sound advice.

Good luck in your search!

[JessicaLange]

On 2/4/2017 at 8:55 PM, silenus_thescribe said:

. Lots of the MA programs at prestigious schools like NYU and Chicago are known "cash cow" programs that charge top dollar

I believe NYU is now waiving up to 50% of the MA tuition cost. A representative I spoke to told me this, so I assume it's true, but I'm not sure if it's listed on their site or if there are TA or RA requirements or other types of stipulations.

[Warelin]

50 minutes ago, JessicaLange said:

I believe NYU is now waiving up to 50% of the MA tuition cost. A representative I spoke to told me this, so I assume it's true, but I'm not sure if it's listed on their site or if there are TA or RA requirements or other types of stipulations.

15k per year is still a lot of money to pay in addition to living expenses. At minimim,  you're probably looking at a job that pays 35k while living with multiple roommates with a schedule that probably isn't agreeable with a university schedule. Depending on NYU's terms, you may or may not even be able to gain practical academic experience. 

Working a job that isn't a stipend also means you're paying into FICA so there goes another 8 percent of your check plus nyc's city and state income tax and federal taxes. I think this totals to about 22 percent of your wages gone each pay period. 

Edited February 6, 2017 by Warelin

[erosanddust]

58 minutes ago, JessicaLange said:

I believe NYU is now waiving up to 50% of the MA tuition cost.

Yes, NYU offers some MA admits a 50% tuition scholarship and some a 75% tuition scholarship. My impression, having been offered one last year, was that these scholarships are not dependent on teaching/service (although I didn't attend the program, so I can't say for sure).

I'll add that Boston College offers some MA students a 50% tuition scholarship and some a full tuition scholarship. Again, these are not dependent on service, although there many opportunities for teaching assistantships/fellowships for an additional stipend (an amount equivalent to about 50% tuition). Graduate assistantships are also available in many other offices/programs on campus.

[claritus]

Another thing to keep in mind is that specific faculty members often trump general institution reputation in these situations. Look at the work being done by potential supervisors: where are they publishing, are they actively publishing, are they working with faculty members at institutions you are interested in moving on to? Likewise it helps to look at where they completed their doctoral work & what sort of network they have. 

Obviously there's danger in instrumentalizing all of this information, but maybe the best way to think about it is that you want to work with someone who is motivated to do good work, is publishing in the right venues, and is still excited about academia. Institution doesn't mean too much at this point, but having a strong ally with a solid network does.