A lot of universities offer 5 year degree programs where you can earn both your Bachelors and Masters degrees. Just wanted to solicit opinions on the benefits of these programs and if one should pursue this to obtain a Masters or would it be better to graduate with a Bachelors work a few years and then go get your Masters. I guess I was always of the opinion it was better to get your Masters from a different university than your Bachelors. Also does your opinion differ depending on what your field is say Business vs Engineering?
One of the biggest things may be that the additional year for the Masters you’ll probably have to pay for. If you go to another school for a traditional Masters it could be funded.
There is no 5 year BA, MBA option at Michigan. Engineering has some such programs though. In my day, there was a 5 year Masters in Economics as well, but I am not sure if that is still offered. There is no benefit from receiving your masters degree from another university unless it is from a superior program, like MIT or Stanford.
Fatsquirrel, I am fairly certain that funding for Masters programs are limited to non-existent. Funding usually kicks in for PhD students.
At UMich, there are SUGS and CUGS. Does anyone know if one may renew the scholarship for the last year of SUGS if it is within 4 years? I think it is possible for CUGS and the student is still not finished the undergraduate degree.
http://www.rackham.umich.edu/current-students/policies/academic-records/sugs-information
http://www.rackham.umich.edu/current-students/policies/academic-records/cugs-lsa-only
I believe Michigan has a 1 year programs for Masters in Accounting, Supply Chain, Entrepreneurship, and Management.
@Alexandre Funding for traditional MS students, at least in my dept., is definitely non-existent, and I don’t think we even have a single traditional Masters student or plans to have any. PhD students are of course being funded. I was speaking more to other schools that offer funding for a traditional Masters.
The vast majority of Masters programs are not funded.
I did my MPH at Michigan and there were some students who did a combined BA/MPH program. I don’t like it and I wouldn’t recommend anyone do it for that field. In order to get anything out of an MPH program, you need at least some experience because it’s such a broad field. For other programs I think that’d be less of an issue.
I agree with romanygypseyes. Most graduate programs make far more sense pursuing only after some real world experience (preferably 2-4 years of full time work in the given field of study). There are exceptions obviously:
- Law School
- Medical School/Dental School
- PhD in a traditional discipline such as Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Physics etc...
- Architecture (since Michigan only offers a BS ARCH), not a B ARCH)
A master’s degree in a traditional discipline is not usually worth it because it is neither here nor there. Most jobs will require either a BA or a PhD. Very few require just a MA/MS.
Typically, BBA students stand very little to gain from going straight to graduate school at they should find well-paying jobs straight out of college.
CoE students should also be able to find a job right after college, especially if their GPA is strong enough to get them into a one-year master’s program. But as a precautionary measure, applying to a 5th year master’s program in engineering may be a good idea just in case an appropriate job has not been found upon graduation.
Some students coming out of LSA may also benefit from a one year master’s program from Ross in Accounting or Management…again, only if they have not found an appropriate job upon graduation.
Yeah but you have to apply to the MBA separately, which will likely require years of work experience, plus that 1 year timeline is available to all admitted MBA. It’s not a streamlined combination bachelor’s/master’s like OP i think meant.
Some people i know in MSW are well-funded, but it’s a standalone school (no bachelor’s) and few go on to Ph.D, so master’s is where the funding goes
Just to be clear, even among stand alone programs like the MSW and MPH programs, internal funding is pretty rare. I don’t know a single MSW or MPH student who can be described as “well-funded” though I have no doubt a few exist.
“Some students coming out of LSA may also benefit from a one year master’s program from Ross in Accounting or Management…again, only if they have not found an appropriate job upon graduation.”
It is a good prep for the CPA exam.
Thanks for the replies - I guess what I was trying to figure out was is it better to work after getting your bachelor’s and then pursue the master’s (I was mostly thinking mostly a business degree) at a later date from a different university or continue on straight thru to the master’s programs at the same university. Sounds like the need for the master’s degree in business may not be necessary if you land a great job - I think my take is work a few years and then consider the master’s.