I really want to become a professor at a university. I have my BA in American Literature and Culture from UCLA, and I just got into a really cool program at SFSU for an MA in English Literature. This program will allow me to dually take classes at Berkeley, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. Also, I want to get my PhD from Berkeley, and I think taking classes there and building relationships will help me with my applications for the program. They also have a great track-record of students going to Berkeley for their PhD’s. I chose this program because I thought it fit me better than the other ones I was looking into. I could have applied for a program that offers a Masters and a PhD at the same time, and that would’ve saved me 2 years time and maybe a couple grand. But I ultimately chose this program because I believed my chances of getting into Berkeley (assuming I do well during this MA program) would increase.
So here’s my question…Does it matter where I get my Master’s degree from if I also want to get a PhD? In other words, does going to a state university hurt my chances of eventually becoming a professor?
You say yourself that this CSU has a great track record of students going to Berkeley for their PhDs. So clearly, people from this program get into Berkeley quite often. And once you get a PhD, people will not care much where you got your MA from - your application for academic jobs is going to be based largely on where you got your PhD from.
The one thing I will say is it’s best not to get fixated on one particular doctoral program, especially in competitive humanities fields. Build a list of several programs at which you’d be really happy to end up.