Deciding between nonfunded UCSD M.S. in Bioengineering and a funded Bioengineering Ph.D. at UC Davis

Graduate School
1

I am trying to finalize my decision in choosing a nonfunded M.S. in Bioengineering at UCSD and a funded Bioengineering Ph.D. at UC Davis. I completed my undergrad at UCSD in Bioengineering. I am wondering which one I should take. It is hard to let go of the funded PHD at UC Davis, but I like SD more as a city and their research is more interesting. I am hoping that I can attend UCSD MS and secure a PhD after the first year, but that is not guaranteed. Let me know what you guys think! Thanks

2

Well I’ll follow the money. But seriously I don’t know this field really well.

3

IN ALL CASES, follow the money!

4

Seems like UCD is the lower risk option – you would not be spending any money, can complete a PhD there, but if you do not find the research there interesting enough to do PhD research in, you could leave with an MS and try applying to other PhD programs or seek industry employment.

5

I could be wrong, but I would think it’d be difficult to apply to other PhD programs after using one to fund an MS. Unless there is a good reason to do so, I can’t see the profs providing strong recommendations if they believe the student only chose their school for the money with no intention of staying. Although I have heard of it being done before; OP could use their undergrad recommenders, I suppose.

If your goal is a PhD, perhaps taking a year off and then applying next year might be a better option. You can work to improve your application where needed (refine your personal statements, gain more research experience, etc.), and see if you can find a better research fit with a funded offer next year. I don’t know your stats, but if you’re competitive for some decent PhD programs, I would suggest going directly into a doctoral program rather than paying for an MS if you really don’t need it.

6

If you plan to get a PhD at either place, follow the money unless Davis’s program is viewed much less favorably in your field. Did you apply for the PhD program at USC and they chose not to fund you?

7

That’s true if the OP is using the PhD program as a way to get a no-cost MS and is blatant about it. But people leave PhD programs all the time. As long as they attend in good faith and do good work there - if OP decides to leave because the research isn’t a great fit or their priorities or needs change, most professors will be relatively sympathetic to that and you can get at least one letter, I suspect. I know a couple of people who have transferred from one PhD program to another (“Transfer” being a loosely-used word). Usually it’s because their research interests changed or their PI left or something professional like that.

For me, there are two major questions:

  1. What do you want?
  2. If you want a PhD, is the PhD program at UCD going to get you where you want to go?

First of all, do you even want a PhD? I’m assuming that you do because you applied for a PhD program, but maybe you applied on a whim and really you wanted an MS. If your goal is to get an MS and leave to go to the workforce afterwards, then I honestly recommend taking the MS. It’s harder to leave a PhD program than people think (mentally, professionally, emotionally) because the program is not designed to help you finish after 2 years and get a job; it’s designed to teach you to be a scholar and a researcher.

If your goal is to get a PhD, then you should ask yourself why you are hesitating at the UCD program. Does the program have a good reputation in your field? Where are students placed after graduation? What kinds of jobs do they get? You say that the research is more interesting at UCSD; is the research at least very interesting at UCD? Do you want to spend 5-6 years doing it? Are there good faculty and resources there at UCD? Basically, the idea is to find out whether the UCD PhD will help you get the kinds of post-PhD jobs you want to get.

If you don’t think that UCD will get you where you need to go, but you really want a PhD, I would advise reapplying next year to see if you can get into some better PhD programs. I wouldn’t necessarily go to the UCSD MS hoping that you could start the PhD program after the first year, unless you speak with someone in the department and they tell you that it’s possible AND that it has happened before.

Location is a minor concern; that’s something to think about if everything else about these two places is equal and you just need a tiebreaker.

8

If the OP went that route and was not blatant about it, it could still be stressful working in a program they believe they will be leaving if admitted to another program. As stated, there are some emotional attachments and ethical complications. It’s easier if a student went into a PhD program believing they would finish there, and then decided it wasn’t a good fit for any number of reasons later on. Going in with hopes of using it as a stepping stone to a preferred program, or as a funded MS, may (or perhaps may not) create some friction depending on how the OP responds to those feelings. And then if OP isn’t admitted to UCSD and is “stuck” at Davis, how will that impact morale? Everyone is different in this situation, so this is something OP needs to consider. Of course, this is assuming OP is only looking to follow the money and isn’t genuine about accepting Davis, which they didn’t state, so just a thought.

I agree that if the research at UC Davis is interesting enough that you can spin your own interests off of it, then go for it - but not with a plan to leave, but a plan to commit. If situations change and you see it in your best interest to take another path, then do so.

9

Trust me, I totally agree with you. What I meant was that I don’t think OP will have problems getting recommendations from professors to move to another program if he decides it’s not the right fit after 2-3 years, but there are other problems that come with attending a PhD program that you’re not 100% sold on.