Considering 2 Routes, Which is more viable?

Graduate School
1

Deciding between: PhD to do research related to Implications of Social Capital (Econ, Socio, Psych, Education, idc which program but I am considering future job market) OR MAT in Math and boost GPA (both high areas of personal interest)

Background: Currently a raising 5th year senior, expecting to get BBA in Finance in May 2019. Multiple relevant leadership & internships (ex. President of business organization, summer analyst at super-regional bank). I have financial need and am first generation, have worked every semester since sophomore year, and had extreme family issues for the past year (resulting in low Major GPA mentioned below). Learning R on the side.
Current 3.29 (111 credits), but major GPA is 2.0 (9 credits), planning to retake 6 major credits this summer. Could graduate in December, but delaying to take Multivariate Calc 1 & 2 and possibly retake other 3 major credits or take another class (only math taken so far is College Algebra and Intro Statistics).
Also currently working on an independent research project, will continue regardless wheather or not I find a professor to assist (But I will likely have a few willing to review multiple times).

Assuming > 325 on GRE, which PhD program would you recommend (if you recommend one), and what could I expect from it? How competitive migh I be against other relevant PhD applicants?
If not competitive enough for a high-demand PhD, then is it a viable option to get a MAT in Math (and taking much higher level classes, if funded) to boost my GPA and apply afterwards?

2

If your background is in finance, you are not competitive for PhD programs in sociology, psychology or education - unless you’ve got some significant coursework in those areas that we don’t know about. Generally, PhD programs prefer applicants with the equivalent of an undergrad major in their field; otherwise outstanding applicants with the equivalent of a strong minor are sometimes competitive. But if you have no coursework in those fields, you are unlikely to be admitted.

(Also, psychology is not really the right field for this kind of question. Maybe a behavioral economics program.)

And if the only math you have taken so far is college algebra, you are not competitive for economics PhD programs either. Usually those programs like to see 2-3 semesters of calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, and often real analysis. (There are econ people more knowledgeable than me here and I learned from them.) Economics at the PhD level is a highly quantitative field.

With a bachelor’s in finance, why would you not want to get a PhD in finance? You can study social capital from a finance program. PhD programs are pretty flexible, so at the right university you could take relevant classes in economics and sociology. Frankly, a PhD in finance also gives you the best job prospects: you can do research and teach finance at a university as an academic, which is one of the few fields where there are more openings than applicants, or you could enter industry as a researcher or in another role.

Quite frankly, though, I would also expect a finance PhD to be highly quantitative and to want you to have more math than you plan to take. Stanford, for example, asks students to have three semesters of calculus (MATH 51 on their list is essentially multivariable calculus and linear algebra in one class), linear algebra, and two semesters of calculus-based statistics (usually offered in the math or statistics department).

https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/phd/fields/finance/requirements

These programs also usually require or expect to see a couple years of experience assisting professors in research. A business PhD may expect less, but the social science programs will certainly expect to see ~2-3 or more.

Why would you get an MAT? Do you want to teach? If you want to go to an economics program, I would recommend getting an MA in economics and take some math and computer programming classes while you are there. If you wanted a sociology program, I’d say get an MA in sociology. And if you wanted the PhD in finance, I’d say get an MS in finance (or an MBA, but the MS will be more academic/research-focused).

3

First off, thanks for the insight! I didn’t realize how behavorial finance could align with my interests.

Assuming I pursue a PhD in that, do you see any issues with my GPA (and/or Major GPA) that I should address? By that, I mean, might it be an issue that my GPAs are where they are, or that I’m needing to retake some upper level classes - and if so, can you suggest how I might deal with it to remain a competitive candidate?

And I’m interested in a MAT because I want to teach Math at the high school level (I am a substitute HS teacher now, and definitely want to continue, soon or later in life). With an MAT in Math, I’d plan to do maintain a 3.75+ Graduate GPA and use it when applying to PhD programs to make up for my undergrad GPA & that I could take more math courses & paying for the extra courses might be easier (via math ed scholarships & loan forgiveness program). What do you think of this route?

Thank you again!

4

You need to carefully evaluate the courses included in the MAT program. Often they are entirely teaching methods, ed psych, educational theory, etc. it is unlikely that there would be any additional subject area content classes. Once teaching, you would of course need to keep taking classes in order to retain and upgrade your state license, so a content area MS or MA could be something you could work toward. But this is a long pathway to set yourself onto.

5

Oh, somehow I managed to miss the GPA! Yes, your overall and major GPA will be problems both. A 3.29 GPA is low for a PhD program, but it could be forgivable if you had a higher major GPA. But your major GPA is far too low for a PhD program. You’d want at least a 3.5 especially if your cumulative GPA is lowish.

Also, independent research projects without professor assistance/oversight are not well-regarded in PhD admissions. The general tack is that you need someone to teach and guide you how to do research in your field correctly, someone with years of experience and the grounding in the field to do so.

I think I misread your original post and didn’t realize that you were deciding between the MAT and the PhD route. I thought you were thinking of the MAT as a stepping stone to the PhD.

I think your decision should be based on what you really want to do for your career, and what you’re passionate about. Do you want to be a researcher, or do you want to teach K-12? They are very different career paths (even though researchers do often teach college classes).

The MAT is likely the path of least resistance. If you wanted to go the PhD route, there’d be a lot of prep you’d have to do - getting an MA in the correct field to show higher grades and get research experience. You could probably gain admission to an MAT program now, or maybe in a year or so.

6

I see. If I retake one course (6 credits), it would replace my current grade in the course and raise my major GPA to a 3.33 (expecting an A when I retake) - and I still have 12 credits in my major that I have to take. Do you believe I could become competitive for a post-baccalaureate program under these circumstances?

7

Probably, some post-baccalaureate program. A 3.33 is still lowish but probably good enough for a post-bacc, which is designed to take students who aren’t quite ready for doctoral admissions and prepare them for that. You could probably also get admitted to some decent MS programs in finance, where you could gain more research experience.

8

I see, thank you so much!!!