BA/PhD at same institution

[dih2]

Is it bad to do a PhD at the same place you did your BA? Specifically, does anyone know if this is a big deal for the theory subfield?

[resDQ]

8 minutes ago, dih2 said:

Is it bad to do a PhD at the same place you did your BA? Specifically, does anyone know if this is a big deal for the theory subfield?

I'm guessing this question is a result of what I said elsewhere. I didn't attend a T5 or T10 for undergrad. I can't imagine it being an issue for the very top departments. If you are like me and got your BA at a large public university that is in the T25, it is not ideal to stay in the same department if I have other options. I didn't even apply to my undergrad institution. Your advisor would probably be the better person to ask. 

[RevTheory1126]

Fwiw, I think there are some people that frown on this or look down on it, but overall it's not the biggest issue. I think the biggest concern would be having a smaller academic network and being somewhat insular, in that regard, but if it's a big school with diverse faculty that are involved in many different academic fields, it won't tip the apple cart...

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

I don't think it is - if departments view it as an issue, they certainly would never accept undergraduates that finished their program into their graduate programs. Another 5-6 years at a university gives you ample time to branch out and work with completely different people. You're also transitioning from working on a general BA, to a specific research topic within your PhD. The key will be to demonstrate that you've worked with new and old faculty, as well as branched out -- i.e. by the end of your degree, hopefully you've networked at conferences and established ties (and potentially joint research projects) with faculty at different universities. It's more common than you think (there are people in my cohort who did their BA at the same institution. I did a BA and an MA at the same institution as well and while some of the people I worked with during my MA were the same faculty I took courses with as an undergrad, the dynamic changes when you're a graduate student. 

[alrightok]

Ask a professor who sat on a search committee recently if they even know where the candidate did their undergrad