academic inbreeding as a factor in graduate school decision

Graduate School
1

<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>I am a student of philosophy, as you can probably guess from my name. I live in Canada. I applied to American PhD programs this year as well as Canadian MA programs, as a sort of back up plan. I was rejected at all of the PhD programs I applied to so I am opting to do an MA in the meantime before I apply again to PhD programs. </p>

<p>In Canada, this is rather normal. The progression is usually BA to MA to PhD, whereas in the U.S., at least in philosophy, the BA to PhD progression seems to be the norm. It should be added, though, that apparently American students will earn an MA on the way to their PhD while in the PhD program. </p>

<p>With this in mind, I want to know, especially from those familiar with the philosophy admissions game and philosophy profession in general, whether it matters if one does one's BA and MA at the same institution? Is this kind of "academic inbreeding" a serious matter when it comes to the BA and MA dynamic? What about the MA and PhD dynamic? Again, this seems to be a problem more for Canadian students because it is not uncommon for Canadian graduate students to do their MA and PhD at different institutions because in Canada, from what I know, students in philosophy PhD programs do not earn an MA on the way to earning their PhD. In some departments, an MA might even be required for admission into a PhD program, I'm not sure.</p>

<p>My question is rather specific but any general information on this phenomenon of academic inbreeding is appreciated too. I take it y'all know what I mean by academic inbreeding? It's the lack of exposure to new ideas that can result from getting all of one's education at the same university. </p>

<p>So, thoughts on this?</p>

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<p>I may not be of much help. I am studying fine arts, and was strongly dissuaded by all of my undergraduate professors from attending the same school for graduate studies (even though they tend to offer better funding to alumni). Art is very similar in this idea, where you not only want to be exposed to as many new ideas as possible, but you also want to be weary of schools who tend to not encourage new lines of thinking. The tell-tale sign is when students work looks strikingly similar to their professors visually and conceptually. Probably harder to determine this in your major, but you should be okay in a university that encourages new ideas I guess. :)</p>

3

<p>Is it a really good school, U of Toronto or McGill?</p>