<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Seemed to me that there aren't many master students in this forum who applied for PhD admission.... but I'll ask anyway...</p>
<p>I am going to be working on my master degree in EE @ USC for the next year and half (I was not able to get into a PhD program directly), and I was wondering how best to prepare for PhD admission during my master study. Clearly besides good gpa, research work will definitely be a plus; but given USC professors seldom take in master students for research, this seemed a bit difficult. Will having no research work be a huge disadvantage for master applicants?</p>
<p>Any advice is appreciated..!</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I was in a similar boat - I got my masters (no research) part time while working. My recommendations:</p>
<p>(1) Maintain/Improve your GPA - most schools give the strongest weight to your most recent degree, so if your gpa slips (mine did a little - work came first) you can put yourself in a worse position.</p>
<p>(2) Get a new LOR - it is better to have at least one LOR from someone who knows you well at the time of the application.</p>
<p>(3) Get involved in the field - if not research, then projects, conferences, etc.</p>
<p>(4) Do SOMETHING research-like - if not a formal program, then talk to prof’s and volunteer your time to something. If you do not require salary, people will take you up on it. Having nothing like research in your resume is worse for someone with a masters, because the transition into research will be faster than if you just had the BS.</p>