<p>I'm graduating summa cum laude with my B.S. in Biomedical Engineering this May. Next year I'll be attending Northwestern University (NWU) for my M.S. in Biomedical Engineering. My biggest reason for attending NWU is for the high quality of the research facilities and how well it is ranked among my future career path. My plan is to finish my M.S. then go straight to my PhD.</p>
<p>My question is this: should I do an MS with a thesis (2-3 years) or without a thesis (1 year)? While I'd much rather pursue the thesis option, my financial situation after 2-3 years will probably force me to work for 4-5 years before pursuing my PhD. With the non-thesis option, the probability of going for my PhD. without having to work is very high.</p>
<p>I've been reading through forum posts saying PhD. programs would much rather a thesis M.S. over a non-thesis M.S. However, even the top-tier schools like John Hopkins accept students with a B.S. for a direct PhD. program. I plan on applying to JHU, GIT, UCSD, Duke, and MIT for my PhD. </p>
<p>Do you think the thesis option will improve my application that much when weighing in the fact that I'll have to work to keep up with my loans? Thanks ahead for any responses.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for a PhD program, it’s better to go the thesis route. It shouldn’t take you 3 years.</p>
<p>But if you go the non-thesis route, that doesn’t mean you won’t get into a PhD program. Especially if you spend 2-3 years working in research, you should be okay.</p>
<p>But if you’re planning to go directly from the 1-year master’s into a PhD - note that your application won’t be that much stronger in the fall than it is right now. If you apply in the fall of 2014 for fall 2015, then you’ll have been in your MS program for 3 months and can’t really get letters or research experience to put in your app.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for a PhD program, it’s better to go the thesis route. It shouldn’t take you 3 years.</p>
<p>But if you go the non-thesis route, that doesn’t mean you won’t get into a PhD program. Especially if you spend 2-3 years working in research, you should be okay.</p>
<p>But if you’re planning to go directly from the 1-year master’s into a PhD - note that your application won’t be that much stronger in the fall than it is right now. If you apply in the fall of 2014 for fall 2015, then you’ll have been in your MS program for 3 months and can’t really get letters or research experience to put in your app.</p>
<p>That’s something I hadn’t considered juillet. I’m meeting with some professors tomorrow for some advice but that’s definitely an oversight for my application.</p>