would I be better suited to apply for an MA or PhD in history?

Graduate School
1

<p>Hello, I've been walking around with a knot in my stomach since I graduate from college about trying to pick the right grad school for me. It's been over a year since I graduated, and I'm trying to narrow down some schools to apply for the Fall of 2011 for in a History program. Thanks for any help anyone can provide. </p>

<ul>
<li>I graduated from NYU with a 3.721 GPA and a 3.63 History GPA. </li>
<li>I received a 1320 on the GRE 620 V/700 Q/ 5 AW</li>
<li>I have a strong research sample paper</li>
<li>Letters of Recommendation is a concern for me, I'm a year out of college and feel I can get a decent letters from 2 professors in the History department, who will most likely attest to my very strong writing/research skills but tend to get lost in a classroom discussion. I can also get an excellent letter from an employer at an historical organization I work with but most programs want strictly academic references. </li>
</ul>

<p>So, is my best bet to apply to an MA program or should I try for the PhD? Ultimately the goal is to get the PhD, and I'll most likely end up applying to both in the fall, but what should my focus be on? How are my realistic chances in finding a PhD program in an upper tier history program?</p>

<p>Thank you again for any help you can provide in these stressful times.</p>

2

<p>What’s your field? Why do you want to get a PhD?</p>

<p>Apply to both MA and PhD- FULLY FUNDED. You can usually find funded MA programs in schools that have MA as a terminal degree, not PhD. There’s little difference in the application between the two tracks.</p>

3

<p>Ok thanks. My field is either Colonial America (social aspects) or 20th C. US Labor, so I’m looking into a few relevant programs. I ultimately want a PhD because my goals are to write and teach History, so my goal is to become a professor at a university.</p>