<p>My 60 something year old physics prof had both of his degrees from Berkeley. Maybe he is the exception.</p>
<p>There are many exceptions. Many of the philosophy Ph.D holders from Harvard also have B.A.s from the same school</p>
<p>I'm sure it's something that's pretty variable by field. I should have clarified that my experience has only been with biology programs, where academic inbreeding used to be highly taboo and now is not so forbidden.</p>
<p>I'm actually going back to my alma mater for grad school..after working for 2 years..</p>
<p>It actually best matched my interests and had the most funding available. I was in the business school for undergrad and I'm pursuing a Masters of Public Administration. Because they are totally different departments, I will still meet new professors.</p>
<p>I would recommend applying to your alma mater, in addition to other schools. Make your decision on whether or not the programs are best suited to your needs.</p>
<p>It depends on the case...</p>
<p>I'm finishing a BA in chemistry at Cornell, but want to do grad work in Science and Technology Studies. Cornell is one of the few schools that has programs in this area, and its a really good program, so the only negative about staying here is more Ithaca weather. Transferring from the chemistry department to the STS department lessens the effect of staying at the same school because they are completely different fields.</p>
<p>Alternatively, chem undergrads here are BARRED from applying to the PhD chemistry program. So you wouldn't be allowed to go to grad for chemistry if you were an undergrad in chemistry at Cornell.</p>