<p>There is this one program that I would like to pursue. The location is perfect but it only accepts PhD students and I only want a Masters. Can I apply for the PhD program and once I have all the requirements for a Masters, drop out? Is this done a lot by students?</p>
<p>It would depend on the program.</p>
<p>Theoretically, you could. Most PhD programs offer an MA along the way, and will award it to you after completing certain requirements for the program.</p>
<p>In practice, though, this is not something that you should go into a PhD program doing. First of all, the program is not designed to award you a terminal master’s degree, so it may take you longer than 2 years to earn the MA you expect. For example, the priority for terminal master’s students in my department is to have a DONE master’s thesis so they can graduate. But when I was working on my master’s thesis, the priority was to get it into a publishable quality paper so I could get it on my CV, which takes longer. I also spread out my coursework a little more so I could focus on research, and you may be expected to do that, too. As a result of that plus application deadlines for the MA, I didn’t get my MA until the October after I had completed my third year (otherwise known as the beginning of my fourth year).</p>
<p>Also, PhD students are expected to get involved in research projects and sometimes teaching assignments. So not only may you get stuck doing some things that you don’t want to do, by the time you are ready to finish you may be tied up in some project you’re expected to finish and it may be difficult to leave.</p>
<p>Secondly, it requires you to be duplicitous. When you apply to the program, the intent is to bring in students who want to finish the PhD and go on to be academics or researchers. You’ll have to lie in your statement of purpose, mislead your advisors and mislead your fellow students. If your plan becomes known, you may burn bridges, and if you ever want to continue to a PhD later then you can’t count on recommendations from your advisors there. Your advisors may also encourage you to apply for national fellowships and grants - because that’s what PhD students do - and how are you going to get out of doing that without being untruthful about your intentions?</p>
<p>Thirdly, it’s emotionally more difficult to leave a PhD program than most students anticipate. Especially if your time is dragged out longer than you expect (i.e., it takes you 3 years to get that MA).</p>
<p>Fourth, PhD programs are designed to produce scholars and researchers, not practitioners - except in a few fields (like PhD programs in clinical psychology, which do both). You won’t get the kind of professional development support that you will want in an MA program. For example, many MA students do a professional internship in the summer between their first and second year, and may hold an internship during term-time for experience and networking. You won’t be able to do that as a PhD student, though, because your advisor will expect you to do research in his/her lab during those times. It’s not impossible for PhD students to do non-academic internships, but it’s really advisor-dependent and funding dependent and more often than not, they don’t. And you’re not going to have the kind of professional development you want and need as an MA student. </p>
<p>And fourth - and this may not matter to you, but it bears mentioning - it’s a bit unethical. You’re taking a spot, and funding in a PhD program that could’ve gone to someone who actually wanted a PhD. And you’re taking up resources that are supposed to be dedicated to producing researchers.</p>
<p>If they don’t offer a Master’s how do you know what constitutes the requirements for a Master’s? Some U’s offer a Master’s as a matter of course on the way to the PhD, like the CS major at University of Wisconsin-Madison, some only offer it under special circumstances that you would have to justify academically and have permission in writing for like the CS PhD at University of Texas-Austin.</p>
<p>The doctoral student handbook for the department should tell you, OP.</p>