<p>Hi everyone,
I graduated from college this year and I want to start graduate school next fall in Higher Ed/Student Affairs. There's a university nearby with a Master's program in Higher Ed/Student Affairs, but it's not really a prestigious school, probably not even in the top 200 or 300. I'd love to get my Master's from there because I could live at home and it would just be so financially convenient, and to be honest, it might be the only option I have.</p>
<p>Right now the plan for my career/academic life looks kind of like this:
-Get MS or M.Ed. in Higher Ed/Student Affairs
-Get job
-Consider a Ph.D. </p>
<p>But, I'd like to keep the option of pursuing a Ph.D. open. I was just wondering if getting your Master's from a university that isn't really ranked (e.g. Georgia State) would keep you from getting into a better Ph.D. program (e.g. UGA)?</p>
<p>First of all, Georgia State’s education programs aren’t really that much lower ranked than UGA’s. UGA is ranked at #43, and Georgia State at #60, according to U.S. News. While I don’t buy USN’s absolute numbers the rankings are helpful for general groupings of schools, so I would say that UGA is like top 50 whereas Georgia State is top 75. There’s not that much of a difference.</p>
<p>You have to remember that graduate program reputation is built on more than just the reputation of the university. A school that may not be well-known for its undergraduate programs, or for a most graduate programs, may have very good programs in certain graduate school areas. That’s the reason that Vanderbilt outranks Harvard in education, for example, and UT-Austin outranks Stanford, and University of Oregon outranks Northwestern (although in real practice, I would just group most of these schools together in a general “top 25” group and say that the real numerical ranking would vary from person to person depending on their needs).</p>
<p>Second of all, no, going to a lower-ranked master’s program doesn’t necessarily hurt your chances of getting into a PhD program. There is of course a floor - you can’t go to a poorly-reputed master’s program, or a diploma mill. But an M.Ed/MA from a place like Georgia State is completely fine for getting a PhD later, even if you wanted to go to Harvard or Vanderbilt, but especially wanting to go to UGA.</p>
<p>I guess the Georgia State/UGA example was poor. I’m actually looking at a school like Middle Tennessee State or East Tennessee State, which I couldn’t even find rankings for. But if I continue in academia, I’d love to get my Ph.D. from a much better school (for obvious reasons). It’s just that right now (especially in this economy) staying close to home while getting a Master’s just makes more financial sense. </p>
<p>Any opinion on smaller schools like East Tennessee/Middle Tennessee? They’re both public non-profit schools.</p>
<p>I currently attend graduate school for Student Affairs. I would say that the rankings do not matter as much for this Master’s degree. The more important factors are aspects such as the professional experience offered and the research component if you plan to get a Ph.D. For example, if the program you’re looking into emphasizes research very little, you may have more trouble following up with a Ph.D. (particularly at a highly ranked institution) than if you attended a research-driven Student Affairs program for your Master’s. It won’t be impossible, but would be a factor to consider. Otherwise, either earning the degree while having a full-time higher ed job or an assistantship is probably the most important part. I’d suggest seeing if those opportunities exist and fit your career goals at the institution near you. Also, you’d ideally want a program that has multiple practicum/internship experiences as well.</p>
<p>This is a little late, but Lauren591 nailed it. I’m in HESA at a school not known for its undergraduate programs, and ~top 70 for Ed. programs. But it emphasizes internships/real world experience, and, like you, it was close to home and make financial sense. This isn’t a field where rankings are the be all, end all, and ultimately how you use your time is going to matter more than where you went.</p>