<p>I have heard that you can directly apply to PhD programs right after you get your BS in engineering. Is this true? Do you have less of a chance of getting accepted than masters students?</p>
<p>Most admission sites that I've seen say that you need a masters before PhD so how do you get your masters along the way?</p>
<p>If you are sufficiently qualified you can apply directly to PhD, they will defer you to masters if they don’t want you</p>
<p>How do you get your masters along the way? You get it along the way.</p>
<p>A masters degree is not required for a PhD. I know people in my department who are a semester away from graduating with a PhD but never bothered to fill out the paperwork to get an MS.</p>
<p>I’m getting my MS next week because I filled out a two page form. I took me about 15 minutes since I needed to write in every class I took and when (why I couldn’t just attach a transcript from my own school is beyond me).</p>
<p>So I am ultimately interested in a PhD.
People told me, because my GPA is only 3.2, I should apply for an MS and try to do my best there, then apply for PhD.</p>
<p>So what you guys are saying is, if I ultimately want a PhD I should apply for PhD and automatically they will consider me to MS if I don’t make the cut? Or will they see i’m grossly unqualified for PhD and just throw my application in the trash? Or maybe they’ll deny me for PhD and not consider for MS?</p>
<p>I dont know about being automatically considered for the MS if not admitted for the PhD. Mabe that depends on the school.</p>
<p>But with MS admissions, the most competative part is finding funding. So if you got your GPA up a little bit and had an otherwise strong application, you could probably go to a decent school. But you will probably have to pay your own way. Then if you perform well, have good grades and do excellent research, you could probably get into a good PhD program.</p>