<p>im a 3yr bio- engineering student. i'd like to pursue ph.d. i am wondering if i should participate in my school's (5 yr) BS/MA combined program in engineering.
i know that i can apply phd program right after an undergrad. but i am not sure if i should give up getting MA (with thesis) in one extra year (and extra workload in my senior year + summer internship/research). </p>
<p>basically would BS/MA have an advantage over BS only candidate when it comes to ph.d. program? i like to get into a top program (mit/duke/jhu/stanford). therefore extra one-year for MA, if it would allow me to work with top notch professors of my interest, isnt a problem. i havent taken GRE yet, but my gpa is somewhat good (top 10%). my research experiences are neither top-notch nor focused (work in here and there). should i, say, build up research experiences during that extra year??</p>
<p>i hope you understand my concern. because in my head, professors prefer students with MA since they know more and are probably more focused.
but i have no idea how phd program admission works.</p>
<p>ps : do people that matter take a notice of difference between bioengineering, biomedical engineering, medical engineering, and biological engineering? if so, what are they?</p>
<p>If you have a MA, you will be considered for the phD directly whereas if you have a BS you will be considered for the MS and then must reapply for the phD. Therefore if you have a MA, they expect alot more out of you in terms of research and publications for phD admissions.</p>
<p>No, not true. Though that may be true at some places, many places (most?) in the US accept people direct from BS graduation without MS, and people can "pick up" the MS along the way.</p>
<p>I have heard the "if you have a BS/MS, then you get compared with MS people who have had more time to get research/publications". I have no clue how true that is.</p>
<p>"No, not true. Though that may be true at some places, many places (most?) in the US accept people direct from BS graduation without MS, and people can "pick up" the MS along the way."</p>
<p>depends on the school. Certainly NOT the case at certain structural engineering schools such as stanford, texas, berkeley, columbia.</p>
<p>i know that students with BS can get into phd. right away.
i guess, i am just wondering, if getting a master (let's just say not too extraordinary but okay master works) would increase a chance of getting into a good program.</p>