Is it really that bad to attend the same university for your BA and your MA in psych?

Graduate School
1

<p>I have been told by a few people that getting a BA and MA from the same institution is generally frowned upon (presumably due to the fact that it seems to mean that you have only learned from one faculty/one perspective), however, I do know a few people who did go that route and ended up successful in their fields. Before you tell me the general pros and cons of doing this, here's an explanation of my current situation for clarity:</p>

<p>I am currently an undergraduate senior at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, which I believe to be an amazing university because each and every one of our professors is highly qualified (PhDs are required), and we have smaller and much more intimate/engaging classes than most universities. I am a psychology major with two minors; one in music, and the other in German, and I should be graduating within a year (providing my last few required classes don't have conflicting timeslots). I plan on going all the way through to a PhD, but I'm considering doing my MA at the same institution, and then attend another institution for my PhD. I'm really interested in staying where I am for my MA because it is close/convenient, it is a great program with good course offerings for my major and both of my minors, and there are still plenty of professors that I have yet to take classes with that teach a lot of our graduate classes. (Thus, if an admissions counselor looks at my transcripts thorougly when I apply for my PhD down the road, I would assume that he/she will probably notice that I studied under a variety of professors/perspectives over my two degrees, rather than sticking to the same ones over and over again.) Another huge reason--perhaps the biggest one--is that I have two great jobs through the university as well. I am the manager at our college radio station, and I also have a job doing SI (Supplemental Instruction) for our intro psychology students. </p>

<p>If I do choose to go to another institution for my master's, not only am I abandoning a great faculty and program, but I will also have to move to be closer to the new university and give up my two wonderful jobs at UM-D. (Which is a real bummer, because SI gives a huge pay raise if you continue doing it after you graduate.)</p>

<p>What I'm thinking is that even though it is typically discouraged to do grad and undergrad at the same institution, it would probably look great on my resume if I did stay and do my masters here because I could continue these jobs. They are both great resume builders, so the longer I am able to continue doing them, the better I'd imagine they'd look on my resume. Especially considering they are both leadership positions, and one of them is in my field.</p>

<p>Part of me feels like I should leave, but most of me feels like it might not be the worst idea to stay for my MA as long as I get my PhD from a different institution. But I really am somewhat torn on what to do...</p>

<p>Is it really that bad of an idea? And is it also true that universities generally don't like to re-admit their undergrad students into their grad programs? If my chances of acceptance are slim because of that, that could be the deciding factor that makes me leave and apply elsewhere, even though I really don't want to.</p>

<p>As you can tell, I am pretty torn between my options here.. If any of you could provide an outside perspective for me on this, I would greatly appreciate it!</p>

2

<p>Many students get their masters from the same institution as their bachelors, and then go on to another university for their PhD. I wouldn’t worry about it</p>

3

<p>No, it’s not bad, especially if the university you attend has a really strong psychology department. Nobody would frown on someone getting their BA and PhD at Stanford or Michigan (in Ann Arbor). There are other ways to learn from different perspectives, like collaborating with others or doing a postdoctoral position somewhere else.</p>

<p>However, if you intend to do a PhD, I wouldn’t do an MA first and then go elsewhere for a PhD. Most psychology programs will make you start over anyway, so the MA won’t shave any time off your PhD. And if you are a sufficiently good applicant, you won’t need the MA - most psychology doctoral students don’t have one. An MA in psychology is rarely necessary - only if you have a really low GPA and need to prove you can handle graduate-level work. Plus, there’s no point in paying for the MA if you can get the PhD free of charge.</p>

<p>However, if you are adamant about doing your MA first before getting a PhD, there’s nothing wrong with staying at Dearborn.</p>

<p>As an additional note, for applications for a PhD in psychology, being manager at the college radio station won’t be impressive. It’s unrelated, and academic grad programs don’t care about leadership positions. They care about research experience. Being a TA may, depending on the program - top psychology programs may note it positively but it won’t be a big note in your favor. Mid-ranked programs or programs with much more emphasis on teacher training may view it more positively.</p>

<p>Whether or not universities re-admit their own undergrads depends on the department. Some departments love to admit their own undergrads and some push them out of the nest.</p>

4

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<p>Some doctoral programs will award a masters en route to the PhD, usually after the 2 years of coursework is done. Some students drop the PhD program and still have the masters degree, although this is generally frowned upon and a less ethical way to obtain a cheap masters degree.</p>

<p>Most grad programs will be “small and intimate” as well, even if the undergrad programs are large. Many programs only admit 1-5 PhD students a year, depending on space in the department. Each professor only has a few students to advise for research and dissertation.</p>

<p>I agree that getting a masters degree before a PhD is a waste of time and money, especially since many PhD programs may award a masters in the process. You can still obtain research experience with your professors after graduation if you do not feel you have enough, and then apply to PhD programs the following year.</p>

5

<p>No. I don’t see that as I know some students that get a dual masters and bachelors, and that is a benefit. How that helps towards a PHD, I don’t know, I don’t know if some programs will shorten the time and process for those with a masters already in a PHD program for psych. I personally know some math/computer science folks that did get PHDs after getting a masters with the BA, and they did go a shorter course, but they were also incredible in their fields, true masters in their field, no pun intended. </p>

<p>I also know that some schools frown upon what they call “inbreeding”. Some outright will tell you so. Some don’t have any official policy but most schools do like diversity in their faculty just as they do with their students, but at the same time can give extra consideration to those they know best. It all depends on the situation.</p>

<p>Some of my great friends from colleges are still working there and have BA, MA, PHD, MD from the same school and are now top dogs there. They were very very good at what they did so the in breeding didn’t make a whit of difference. In every school I’ve known, there are “lifers” and those who have gotten a lot of degrees from the school and have benefitted from the association. </p>

<p>Do research what those with masters from the program/school you are considering getting it end up getting and doing afterwards. My friend’s daughter is working on her psych PHD, was just conferred her masters after 2 years in the program, and though she is in a top national program, she well knows that her employment chances in this field are really not good, especially in terms of making money. She’s doing this because she loves the field and just hopes to find something that will make it a go. She did find decent employment in the field right after getting her BA. so that was encouraging, but she is well aware of her prospects. I also know some very disillusioned, bitter, down in the dumps and unemployed young people who took this sort of gamble and are without jobs, can’t make money. This is a reality in an oversubscribed field.</p>