I have recently graduated with a BS in mathematics as of December 2022. I am not currently planning on going to grad school at the moment, but I know the possibility of going several years down the road is still there. I did my undergrad part time and took eight years to complete my bachelor’s (although one of those years was a gap year where I wasn’t taking classes). I had to go part time due to learning differences. Anyway, my question is, is there a specific time limit to complete a master’s. Can you take breaks in the middle of a master’s degree and come back and finish later. I know these things are possible in an undergraduate program, but I was wondering if these these things are still allowed in graduate programs. I know that I would have to do it part time if I went for a master’s since I already couldn’t do undergrad full time.
It is probably best to ask the program directly because every degree and school is different. What might your masters degree be in?
My daughter’s graduate program does not allow part time studies, but some other schools offering the same degree do.
My daughter’s masters program does allow students to take a leave of absence for a year, but there is very specific documentation required. I do not think they extend it beyond a year, but other programs might.
My other daughter was able to get a masters part time over several years if she wanted.
My guess is that every masters degree program has its own policies and it is best to ask directly.
Are you a US citizen or permanent resident?
If you are, then it is up the university that you are attending. I am pretty sure that it is common for people to stretch out a master’s degree by quite a bit.
If you are not a US citizen or permanent resident and are from a different country, then another issue is how many classes you need to take to maintain a student visa. When I was studying in the US on a student visa, I am pretty sure that I needed to be considered a full time student to maintain the visa. There is a bit of latitude. I am pretty sure that I could have stretched out the bachelor’s degree for an extra year or the master’s degree for an extra quarter (except that at the time my budget would not have approved).
When I got my master’s degree, there were definitely some students who took 4 classes at a time instead of 5, and just took one additional quarter to complete the requirements. I do not think that there was any problem with this other than the need to pay for the additional time in university.
This is my understanding also.
Every degree program does have its own policies. At my university, a masters degree required a thesis. It took 7 years to complete because of several unforeseen circumstances. My study involved human subjects and that takes a toll on your timeline, as well as paperwork and approvals.
Also, two of my committee members had passed away, unexpectedly (young professors), and we had to find members who were not only interested in my study, but were also experts in the field.
At my university, you had a limit of 7 years to complete the coursework and thesis, and I just made it under the timeline.
You need to ask your university. My question to you is why you think you need a masters degree. If it is going to take you a while, going part time, you will miss a lot of information from your university. Things change rapidly over time, and the research changes with it.
What do you hope to accomplish with a masters degree that will take you years to finish?
At the most 10 years (for PhD, but may be 7 for masters) but you should check with each school.
The answer is…it depends.
I attended my masters program on a fellowship. The program was one year long at the time (now it’s two). I also did a thesis as part of my program. My fellowship was for one year. I could have stayed longer, but that would have been on my dime totally.
So…if you are fortunate enough to get into a funded masters program, you might find the time limit is limited to the number of years it usually takes to complete the program. You will need to ask at every college.
I do think it may depend on whether your program requires a thesis, and if the advisers who sponsor you are willing to let it go beyond the time. My daughter is defending her thesis this week, one semester beyond the ‘normal’ two years. However the extension wasn’t at her request but at the university’s, as in her second year they asked her to work on a specific program that had to go through last summer. They also extended her funding for the extra semester, and all she’s done this fall is work on the thesis. I think she had to switch out one adviser because that person wasn’t on campus this semester (but I might be wrong about that).
It really is going to depend on the program and what is required, whether you want/need a TA program to fund you, a thesis, etc.
My daughter is required to do a thesis for her masters, and she must complete the degree within 2 years (unless given approval to take a leave). I agree that it depends on the program.
It does vary by masters degree program.
Most typical time limits that I see are 3 years and 5 years for non-cohort based, non-thesis masters degree programs.