Is everyone applying to PhD?

[murpstud]

Don't get me wrong, ask all the questions you want, but when I look at the results search, its all PhD applicants. I'm applying to Masters, and this is my first time. Are you PhD people first time applicants? Did you get a Masters already? Is this site mostly for humanities PhD applicants, cuz I feel really out of place.

[piccgeek]

nah, there are lots of master's applicants and lots of people applying to programs other than humanities and sciences. what's up on the results search is all a matter of the flux of results...a lot of MA/MS programs hear back later because there are a lot more applicants to those programs, so they take longer to search through!

[Jack Horner]

Humanities MA applicant here. This is my first time applying to grad school, and I would agree that the majority of posters at the Cafe seem to be PhD applicants. That said, most of the advice that's being thrown around to PhD applicants is just as relevant for Masters applicants (with the exception of interviews, usually).

I think it's funny that people are pulling their hair out and complaining because they're waiting to hear back in February, when most MA/MS programs don't hear back until mid- to late-March. Meanwhile, my life is in a holding pattern. Yay.

[urbanchic]

This is my first time applying. I'm straight out of undergrad, applying to a mix of Master's and PhD programs in "social science".

Most people here seem to be applying to PhD programs in sciences or humanities.

And what is the meaning of your subtitle?

[murpstud]

The subtitle is for Ph.d applicants who already have a Masters.

[kent shakespeare]

It does seem very PhD heavy, doesn't it? So many go from BA right nito a PhD prog, and get their MAs along the way.

I opted to go to a Canadian U, where it's a separate prog. I applied last year and started in Sept.

Next winter, I'll be part of the throngs applying for a PhD prog.

there are a lot of humanities people, yes, but plenty of math/sciences too.

everyone's out of place to some extent, given the range of programs, universities, cities, regions and nations. we are all in place because we are all out of place.

[murpstud]

Right, I acknowledge that many are applying to a MA/PhD program, which makes sense for the worrying. And it does make sense that all PhD responses are coming in sooner than MA/MS ones.

[jose]

I've been wondering the same thing. I only have a BA, and I applied to a mix of ma/phd programs and to one masters program. None of my top choices offer a terminal masters degree (which is usually the norm for music composition- you can't really do anything with just a masters), so I applied to the full ma/phd track for those.

Then, just in case I got rejected from all of them, I applied to a less competitive university for just a masters. I felt that this school would be easier to get into, and I would be able to go on my merry way after two years without burning any bridges. Then the plan would have been to re-apply to the more competitive phd programs with a masters under my belt.

Not sure if this was terribly sound logic, but it worked out.

[jeanne]

I'm applying to PhD, but I've already gotten a Masters, although in a somewhat different area. I think the decision timeline is what makes it seem so much more heavily PhD.

[johndiligent]

All of the programmes I'm applying to are MA's, since it's common both in my discipline (Religious Studies) and my country (Canada) to get an MA before applying to PhD programmes. Further to that, I don't have a stellar undergraduate record (a rough year that wreaks havoc on my overall GPA) so I wasn't very confident in being accepted directly to the PhD.

[daimiasue]

There are life science programs which don't offer masters degrees. Not sure about other programs so for many its our first time applying to grad school right out of undergrad.

[daimiasue]

I'm talking about applying to PhD programs.

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

I've applied to both MS and PhD, though a PhD is my ultimate goal.

However, at two of my schools they convinced me to apply straight to the PhD program and skip the masters. It seems that some science fields are veering away from the MS because so many students have already had research experience as undergrads - that's how it was explained to me, anyway.

[hydrangea]

I think it's funny that people are pulling their hair out and complaining because they're waiting to hear back in February, when most MA/MS programs don't hear back until mid- to late-March. Meanwhile, my life is in a holding pattern. Yay.

Here is the thing that is really killing us... seeing the first round of accepts go out, and still not knowing. I was happy as a clam (strange saying, epically since I cooked clams for the first time yesterday...) to have the app submitted and off my hands, before anyone was hearing back. Once one of my friends heard back the stress started. I imagine it's like walking through a field of landmines and seeing others get knocked off around you, you just become tense.

(No disrespect intended to those human beings who have had the misfortune of actually walking through a field of landmines. Grad school applications are not that life altering to say the least.)

[joro]

I'm applying for a MS. My ultimate goal is a PhD, but there are only 2 schools I'm considering for it.

Edited February 16, 2010 by joro

[peppermint.beatnik]

All of the programmes I'm applying to are MA's, since it's common both in my discipline (Religious Studies) and my country (Canada) to get an MA before applying to PhD programmes. Further to that, I don't have a stellar undergraduate record (a rough year that wreaks havoc on my overall GPA) so I wasn't very confident in being accepted directly to the PhD.

Agreed. It's unusual in Canada not to do an MA. There are very few places that accept applicants without an MA. I think it's a better practice.

Edited February 16, 2010 by peppermint.beatnik

[tarski]

Agreed. It's unusual in Canada not to do an MA.

This is a trend that is changing, depending on discipline. For philosophy, the top programs are Toronto, UWO, UBC and McGill, all of which accept students directly to the PhD.

[Kam]

I know that, for English at least, there aren't really many (funded) MA programs in the States. If you don't have the money to pay for the MA and don't want to do (more) loans after undergrad, then your options are slimmed down a lot. Factor in location, program fit, and other points, and you might only have a handful of schools that you'd see yourself going to for an MA, making the PhD much more attractive, especially since an MA is (essentially) earned on the way to a PhD at most schools.

[peppermint.beatnik]

This is a trend that is changing, depending on discipline. For philosophy, the top programs are Toronto, UWO, UBC and McGill, all of which accept students directly to the PhD.

I saw you mention this before. I disagree, I don't think it's a trend.

[tarski]

I saw you mention this before. I disagree, I don't think it's a trend.

Several philosophy PhD programs that used to ask for an MA no longer ask for an MA. What else do you need? In philosophy, anyway, it is changing.

[peppermint.beatnik]

Several philosophy PhD programs that used to ask for an MA no longer ask for an MA. What else do you need? In philosophy, anyway, it is changing.

I don't know if you're Canadian, but if you are, you'll know there are some marked differences in the development of education, here, in Canada.

Perhaps it is changing in Canadian philosophy, but that is an anomaly more than a trend.

Even if a department doesn't state they require an MA, it's still an unwritten rule. Maybe if, say, your credentials are stellar and you have a reference from "god," you're in the clear. People getting direct entry are a very rare exception, not the rule.

(I speak from a non-sciences perspective)

[tarski]

Yes, I'm Canadian, and currently at a Canadian school. None of the following quote is true for philosophy:

Even if a department doesn't state they require an MA, it's still an unwritten rule. Maybe if, say, your credentials are stellar and you have a reference from "god," you're in the clear. People getting direct entry are a very rare exception, not the rule.

It used to be, but it's not. For philosophy.

I just feel it's important to make this clear for any future readers, because I have many peers who think they need to do an MA when they don't, and one of them is curently stacking up some debt in the States because he didn't even bother checking if he could get in without an MA, so he didn't apply to any PhD programs.

Edited February 16, 2010 by tarski

[solairne]

To back up Tarski's point, McGill does not require an MA for entrance to the PhD program in Linguistics.

Their website says:

Applicants for direct admission to the MA or PhD program in linguistics should normally have completed a B.A. with a specialization in linguistics

This could also be different as Linguistics is a very small field and most schools don't offer terminal MA degrees for it. I know Toronto does still require an MA for admissions to the PhD program, however.

[Jade]

I think it's funny that people are pulling their hair out and complaining because they're waiting to hear back in February, when most MA/MS programs don't hear back until mid- to late-March. Meanwhile, my life is in a holding pattern. Yay.

A lot of us applied back in early December, some in November. So we've been waiting for several months, at this point.

[solairne]

A lot of us applied back in early December, some in November. So we've been waiting for several months, at this point.

I sent my applications in Sept. 29th... lol