<p>Hi everyone!!!
I am an international student from the UK and I am currently applying for a MS in Aeronautics An Astronautics at MIT. The idea of PhD is quite appealing, however, the time involved scares me and I am worried that I would be "trapped" in the academic environment forever. Although I am undecided, in a previous application (Caltech), I read that they prefer those applicants interested in pursuing a PhD degree after the MS and I therefore tried to cautiously express such desire of doing so in the SOP. Now, MIT asks me what is my final degree objective...If I put PhD as my final aim in both the application and SOP, would this provide any benefit for admission?
Thanks!!</p>
<p>I’m a grad student from Berkeley. I was admitted to MIT, Berkeley, Michigan and Wisconsin so I hope my advice works in your case: always apply to the PhD even though you just want a Master. Most schools (Princeton is an example) will reject Master application right the first place unless you’re willing to pay for your education or have funding from somewhere. Grad students are paid by professors to work on their research projects, thus 1-2 years is too short to get any serious thing done. Besides, fellowships are mainly reserved for PhD students.</p>
<p>So, put down on the applications (and make the admission committees think with your essays) that you’re desired for a PhD eventually. After you get in, you can always change your mind and get out with a Master. Nobody knows for sure what will be in the next 1-2 years, there’s no penalty for doing that, any people do that all the time, everywhere. However, be careful, don’t make any professors think you will stay with him for PhD if you don’t mean so. After you’re admitted, you have time to shop around, approach a professor and ask him to let you join his group. You can do things that completely different from what you put down on the essays, nobody will judge you. Approach the guy who needs master students, try to maintain a healthy relationship. Actually, you can get a Master with a thesis, or take more courses, most departments cover tuition for the first year so if you quick you can graduate in 1 or 1.5 years.</p>
<p>Some fields and programs follow a sequential MS-PhD model, so applying to the Master’s program might be the only option. Not sure if OP’s fields is one of those. </p>
<p>But - if you have the option to apply straight to the PhD - I agree with hoangt that you should apply directly to the PhD program. The only reason not to do so would be because your application has obvious gaps, e.g. no meaningful letters of recommendation. (In such fields, Master’s degrees are typically not funded and hence easier to gain entrance to.) </p>
<p>If your programs happen to be structured sequentially, yes, totally say that your final goal is the PhD. Not just cautiously but explicitly and with conviction. Research-oriented departments (like at Caltech and MIT) don’t want to bother with graduate students who are not interested in research! You can always change your mind later…</p>