<p>Hey everyone, I've been seeing a lot conflicting sources on this question lately.</p>
<p>I'd always been under the impression that you had to get a masters before getting a phd in nearly every field. But I've read in numerous places lately, that within many scientific fields it's a waste of time. I've read of many instances where people have said that you're better off going from your undergrad, straight to a doctoral program. Is this true? I've always been under the impression that this wasn't optional...I thought that a masters was required for any doctoral program, outside of specific fields like med school etc.</p>
<p>I'm in a community college right now, majoring in physics...and planning on transferring to UIUC to finish my bachelors as a double major in physics and math. So... after finishing undergrad, do I have to get a masters first? If it is optional...is it advisable to skip the masters and go straight to a doctoral program?</p>
<p>Most people in STEM fields don’t get a MS by the time they’re applying for a PhD program. Often they will get their MS as part of the program on the way to their PhD. Some students that didn’t do well for undergrad will use an MS as a sort of springboard for grad school, but it’s not the way most students I’ve known have gone the grad school route.</p>
<p>I see. That’s what I’ve been reading in a few different places lately. I had always been under the impression that a masters was a mandatory prereq for a doctoral program…good to know that I won’t have to get it first, that’ll save me a decent chunk of time…and money.</p>
<p>I thought the same as you did, but recently I found that top colleges like Stanford actually require only a 4 years UG degree before their PhD degree (which should take approx. 4 years as well). Good luck!</p>
<p>These days most PhD granting universities in physics only accept students into their PhD program, and award master’s degrees to students who either fail out or decide to leave before they’re finished. You’ll still find master’s programs in physics at smaller universities, but the state flagships are pretty much in the business of producing PhD’s.</p>
<p>Plan on spending five or six years working toward the PhD, though, not four. The good news is, grad school in science is not like college where you rack up huge tuition bills every year. You’ll get a teaching or research stipend that will pay your tuition and fees and leave you enough left over to live on (cheaply).</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. I had planned on roughly 5-6 years for the doctoral degree…that seems to be the norm for physics. Being able to skip the masters will be great, because that’ll knock two years or so off of my time spent in grad school. From what I’ve been seeing too, a doctoral program shouldn’t cost too much in physics either, assuming that one has the credentials for it.</p>
<p>No, you can go straight for your Ph. D. My dad went straight from undergrad to grad school at Notre Dame to get his doctorate in physics. Although like others have said, I would expect more than 4 years. It was 7 for him, and it will vary depending on the field of physics you choose. Physics doctorate students also tend to get significant scholarships. Most seem to get full tuition and extra cash to cover food, books, and housing expenses.</p>
<p>That’s what I’ve been reading quite a bit too. It seems like physics majors going into grad school tend to get pretty sweet deals. From what I’ve seen/read…most physics majors can get into a doctoral program without having to pay a dime. Tuition is covered through scholarships/grants…and research/teaching assistant positions, with reasonable living stipends awarded as well.</p>
<p>Well, it depends on your background I think. My background will be in Applied Mathematics and Statistics since I could not double major at my university for physics. I’m taking a minor and loading up on physics classes during my senior year and will be applying to master’s programs to use that to get into physics grad school (might have to take some undergrad courses to get up to speed while doing MS). If you look hard enough and have decent grades you can find MS programs that gives financial support, sometimes free tuition + a stipend. It took a while for me to find ones I’d actually want to go to (with FA) plus for the kind of stuff I’d like to research. I won’t say they’re like the most reputable universities ever but these are the ones I’m considering for instance:</p>
<p>University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, Montana State, etc. </p>
<p>Although one of my friends at Montana State did her bachelor’s in pure math at some unknown school and got in there for Economics for PhD and then switched to Civil Engineering PhD there. </p>
<p>I haven’t read too much about how grad admission people look at people who switched fields from undergrad to master’s that are applying to PhD.</p>
<p>Also, I think a master’s would be helpful if you don’t have a lot of research experience.</p>