Masters after BS or straight to PhD (math) for advanced student

Graduate School
1

<p>I am a new college parent and was hoping those with more experience could answer some questions.</p>

<p>My son is a freshman at our state flagship majoring in math. (decent school, not a top school but ranked 50-100) He is an advanced math student, having already completed most of the undergraduate math courses through dual enrollment. He has been approved by the dept head to enroll in graduate level courses for credit next semester (he is currently auditing two of them). By the time he graduates with a BS he will have completed enough graduate courses for a masters degree and then some. He has aspirations for top level graduate programs in pure math, something in the field of algebra (he's told me the specialization, but I'm not a math major and didn't really understand what he was talking about!). He has been looking at the programs at Harvard, Stanford and Berkeley, I believe, due to their strength in the field in which he is interested, and some of the faculty with whom he would like to work.</p>

<p>We have the option of paying for the graduate courses at the undergrad rate and he will receive credit only toward a BS. Or we can pay the graduate rate and he can receive graduate credit if he stays on at the flagship for a Masters. My question: Is having a Master's a benefit for acceptance into these high level grad programs? I would prefer he obtain only a BS at this school and then apply to grad school since the grad programs would be funded and we wouldn't have to pay any increased tuition. However if it gives him an edge then maybe it would be worth it.</p>

<p>I know he will get advice from the department over the next four years, but I'm curious now about how this works.</p>

<p>Also, he is several years younger than the average college freshman and will be young when applying for graduate school. Would this be a factor in this decision?</p>

<p>Thanks for any wisdom!</p>

2

<p>From what I have seen, it doesn’t matter for admission whether an applicant has a Bachelor’s degree or a Master’s degree. The only thing that matters is his mathematical background and his mathematical potential as evidenced by his references and external accomplishments (e.g. publications or Putnam performance). If your son has the same opportunities and resources as an undergraduate student as he’d have as a candidate for a Master’s degree (e.g. the opportunity to write a substantial thesis), I don’t see an advantage in paying for a Master’s degree.</p>

<p>For what it’s worth, I had audited almost all of the graduate courses I had taken and my only evidence was the word of my references. That was good enough to get me into every single PhD program I applied to. (I am now a math PhD student at Stanford.) </p>

<p>For national fellowships, the Master’s degree is actually a disadvantage since many fellowships are only awarded to beginning graduate student. While it’s not crucial to get external funding, having it makes graduate life a bit more pleasant. PhD students on departmental funding typically have to TA and TA duties can exceed 20 hours/week at some universities. (Berkeley comes to mind as a top PhD program with a relatively high teaching load, for example.)</p>

3

<p>Thanks B@r!um and those that pm’ed me. It appears that our original decision to complete just the BS and then apply to a PhD program makes the most sense. And thanks for the remark about fellowships, I had not considered that angle.</p>