Hi all,
I’m finishing my masters in mechanical engineering and am looking at continuing with a PhD in the US. How heavily are applicant’s undergraduate grades considered compaired to graduate GPAs? My undergraduate GPA is a little low at 3.01/4.0 but my masters GPA is higher at 3.87/4.0.
Also, how common is it for US PhD students to get a master’s degree prior to their PhD? In Canada it is expected but, from what I’ve been reading, it seems to be less of a requirement in the States?
Obtaining a master’s en route to a Ph.D., while not especially common, is definitely not unheard. I would contact admissions representatives for specific programs to see what they say. Regardless, your high graduate GPA will definitely open a lot of doors.
Thanks for the reply. Getting a masters before a PhD is standard, and usually required, in Europe and Canada (where I’m from) so the US system feels a little weird to me.
@TheCoffeeSloth I totally agree.
Departments are used to this, they generally have different criteria for those with the BS vs the MS, and different criteria for how they balance them. Usually they will look at the most recent as being the most relevant. Usually.