<p>Okay, I know this is a controversial topic, but I just wanna clarify some questions I have before I jump in on this. I am relatively confident that I'd like to apply to the graduate schools for Stanford and Harvard and possibly Berkeley, and I will start working if I don't get into either. I wanted to ask if I can dropout of the school after my third year or so, right after I satisfy the requirement for a master's degree. Will I still get my masters if I dropout before completing my entire phd program? When do they hand out these masters degrees, do they do so together with the phd diplomas after the completion of the program or do they hand it out once you've satisfied the requirements for the masters and applied for it?</p>
<p>Before I answer this, I just want to say that I think that planning to go to a PhD program when you only want an MA is a bad idea. It’s harder (emotionally and academically) to exit a PhD program than most people think, not to mention the psychological impact of being in one when you only want a master’s. (Disregard if you’re just asking because you’re not 100% sure that you want a PhD, and you want to be sure that you can walk away with something. I think that’s important.)</p>
<p>With that said, yes, you can do that in theory. The MA is conferred on the conferral date after you complete the requirements, not at the end. So for example, I was in a PhD program that allowed you to earn an MA along the wOur university has three conferral dates - October, February, and May. I started in 2008. I completed the requirements for my MA sometime in February 2011 but I had missed the application deadline for the May conferral, so my MA was conferred in October 2011. Had I not missed the deadline, though, I could’ve gotten my MA in May 2011. The vast majority of schools that let you earn an MA along the way do it like this; I’ve never heard of a program where you get them all together at the end.</p>
<p>So yes, you can in theory stay in a PhD program that grants MAs just until you complete all of the requirements for the MA, and then drop out.</p>