<p>I graduate from Purdue next spring with a BA in English. I'm interested in finding a program that will allow me to skip my masters and begin my PhD immediately. From what I understand, upon the completion of the PhD program I should receive a masters also, right? I know that Purdue does not offer this option. Besides asking my adviser, how can I find out which schools offer this option? If there is such a book that will tell me this information, I'll gladly purchase it. I feel like I'm wasting time going to individual schools' websites and scrolling through their grad section. Thanks!</p>
<p>ALSO, what exactly are the benefits of skipping my masters in favor of a PhD? I know that some programs require coursework for several semesters and then research for a year or two. In that case, it is basically just like going for a masters and then a PhD. So why should I do this? I am interested in the following career paths: travel writer, acquisitions editor (with a publishing house), and Eng/Lit professor. I think that the only reason I should even consider getting a PhD is if I decide to pursue a professorship position. Thoughts on this?</p>
<p>I am also in the humanities and my only option to find out about schools and their programs was to visit the web site of every single school I could think of. Our professional association publishes a directory but it was several years old at that point. Info on applying to grad schools is much more scarce than for undergrad, especially for the humanities. “Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student’s Guide to Earning an M.A. or a Ph.D.” by Robert Peters is very helpful.</p>
<p>That said: some schools offer just a master’s (called a terminal master’s); some schools offer just PhDs; some schools offer both. Of the schools that offer just PhDs, you may or may not be able to get a master’s degree along the way.</p>
<p>You would skip a master’s and go directly to a PhD if you are certain that you want and need a PhD (i.e. to become a professor). </p>
<p>Schools that have PhD-only schools tend to be the better schools (Ivy League, etc). In general, if you apply for a terminal master’s, you are less likely to get funding.</p>
<p>What’s your intended field?</p>
<p>MA vs PhD…</p>
<p>masters students rarely get full funding. many don’t get any funding at all. PhD students will often get full funding, and many people will advise you to reject any offer of admission from a PhD program that doesn’t include full funding. basically, if you know that you eventually want the PhD, going directly into the PhD program saves you from putting yourself into debt. you do NOT want to go into debt getting a humanities degree because it will take 25+ years to pay it off.</p>
<p>you definitely don’t need a masters to be a travel writer. you probably don’t need a masters to (eventually) become an acquisitions editor. you can just get a job in a publishing house after your BA and work your way up. if the publishing house at some point decided they wanted you to have an MA (before a certain promotion or something), they’d in all likelihood pay for your degree. so applying for only masters programs and doing the PhD afterward isn’t really in your best interest.</p>
<p>however, it may be a good idea to still apply to a few MA programs just to hedge your bets because you want to make sure you get into a school somewhere. many students have been able to leave small/lesser known MA programs and get into top-ranked PhD programs, but this usually comes with a price and a few more years of coursework.</p>
<p>MAs require coursework and PhDs require coursework. if you do the combined MA/PhD, you will only have 2-3 years of coursework to complete before moving onto your dissertation. if you get an MA first (2 years of courses) and then go for the PhD separately, you may not be able to transfer all (or any) of your MA credits to the PhD program. that would mean you’d need to do another 2 years of courses for the PhD, totaling 4 years of coursework before you get to the dissertation phase. there’s the risk of burning out if you do your MA and PhD separately and can’t transfer credits or don’t take time off in between the degrees.</p>
<p>if you enter a PhD program right out of your BA and complete 2 years of coursework, you will usually be awarded an MA degree. they just mail it to you, it’s nothing fancy, but if for whatever reason you don’t finish the PhD, you don’t leave empty-handed.</p>
<p>of course, there are exceptions to everything i just mentioned. every school is different. unfortunately the only way to know which school does what is to look at each individual department website. also ask your adviser. there is no book that lists all of this information, you’ve got to dig for it yourself.</p>
<p>also, one thing to remember in general… out of every 5 students in a humanities PhD program, 3 never finish. one will earn a tenure-track position after graduation, and the other will not. maybe they’ll teach as an adjunct, and maybe they’ll just do something else (like travel writer, or editor, or any number of great jobs other than being a prof). and this was when the economy was good. this year many schools have called off their searches for new hires. you sound like you have a lot of alternatives already in mind, and that’s excellent. if you really love english and really want the PhD, then just go for it, don’t get yourself into debt, and you’ll have a 20% chance of becoming a professor. otherwise, you’ll get a few years of (paid) learning in before doing something else that interests you.</p>
<p>This is incredibly helpful.</p>
<p>So basically for the fields I’m interested in I should just find employment after graduation and then work on my masters at a later date (as opposed to continuing with grad school immediately after the BA)? That is, unless I decide to pursue the professorship option.</p>
<p>Unless you’re absolutely sure you know what you want to do grad school, don’t go. Take time off to figure out what you want to do- even if you think you want to be a professor. Most students and professors I know have at least taken some time off to take a break from the academia. 2 years isn’t going to get your tenure to come faster anyway.</p>
<p>it’s up to you, really. you only need a PhD if you want to be a professor, but grad school itself can be really rewarding and fulfilling, and if you get full funding from a school, that’s basically a guaranteed job for the next 5-7 years. not too shabby. there are worse places to ride out a recession than in graduate school.</p>
<p>if i was in your position, i’d apply to some PhD programs and look for regular jobs at the same time and just see what comes my way. maybe a dream job at a publishing house will get offered to you, but if your job search comes up empty, you might still get a position at a grad school.</p>
<p>edit: i do agree with tickle, though. apply to schools, but don’t actually go to grad school unless you’re sure it’s something you want.</p>