4+1 Programs?

Graduate School
1

<p>hey, I'm a sr. in high school and going to ucsb next year to study mechanical engineering</p>

<p>they offer a 4+1 bs/ms program where you can get a ms in materials engineering</p>

<p>ucsb is ranked as one of the best materials programs, but is there any disadvantage to a 4+1? are there any pros/cons to getting you masters at the same school you do your undergrad work?</p>

<p>i know 4 years is a long time and things change, but it helps to get questions answered so i can have a clearer picture</p>

<p>thanks for any opinions/advice</p>

2

<p>No I don't think there is any "disadvantage" of getting an MS in a year. But I do think if you ultimately want a PhD, you should apply to other graduate programs after your BS (may or may not include UCSB).</p>

3

<p>bump...</p>

<p>anyone else have any thoughts on this?</p>

4

<p>i think "bump"s are really annoying, personally.</p>

<p>(just saying.)</p>

5

<p>Agreed, but it's the way of forums everywhere.</p>

<p>You aren't locked into the decision I assume? I wouldn't say there is anything necessarily wrong with such a program, assuming you have the feeling you might end up in a materials field, but I don't see the connection between ME and materials; I thought it was primarily a chemical/physics (or the engineering variants of either) type of thing. </p>

<p>Personally I think you're jumping the gun, I'd just wait until the end of sophomore year or so before you try and decide something for a masters... two years of coursework should help you get a much better picture of what you want and how the materials MS would/wouldn't help you than anything anyone on these boards can tell you.</p>

<p>As for getting your masters at the same place you got your undergrad degree: I wouldn't worry about it. It can mean that you had good ties there and liked the program, I don't think anyone would say that you stayed there because you couldn't get in anywhere else... I don't think it works like that, but even if it did, if the program is strong as a graduate program and you succeed, who's going to nit-pick?</p>