Funded MS/MA programs for doctoral prep/backup

[Autumn Plains]

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Firstly, my apologies for making this topic twice. I posted about this a few days ago at this thread (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/funded-ma-programs-for-doctoral-prep-backup.1047231/) but realized afterward that I may have been unnecessarily restrictive by asking for MA programs only.

As I said before, I'm just finishing up the last of my doctoral applications and am starting to look at funded Masters programs with a strong research emphasis that can serve as both backups and a way of further bolstering my credentials. I'm ultimately going for PhD study in clinical psychology, but I understand that general/experimental MA/MS programs are usually the way to go if you want funding and a strong research background. So far, I only know of two programs, plus a few more that were mentioned in the other thread:

College of William and Mary
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth (tuition is waived competitively)
University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
University of North Carolina, Wilmington
Missouri State University

Again, thank you for any input!

 

[LisaLisa86]

Villanova also offers tuition remission and half/full stipends, but only to some of the incoming class (you find out with your offer). They also don't do interviews. BC also does, but when I applied, I heard that they took PhD applicants for the master's class (the class is very small), and didn't even consider the master's pool (not sure if that is true or not, just a rumor).

I actually chose an unfunded MS over a funded one, because I felt like the opportunities, experiences, and connections would be a lot stronger at the unfunded one. I also really liked the professor's research (it was a mentor-based 2-year master's) and felt like I couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with him. It ended up working well- I worked through the department, got a scholarship, and commuted from the suburbs to minimize debt. I graduated with about $20k in federal student loan debt, which in my opinion, is not bad for a 2-year full-time program. (I also didn't have any debt from undergrad). I ended up getting into a great PhD program, working with well-known people in the field. I know for a fact that my master's program- and my professor who mentored me- were more than instrumental in my acceptance. If I had gone to the funded program I was accepted to, I know it would have been a very different story.

Anyway, my point is, you might want to check out some unfunded programs as well. Most of them are money suckers, like BU, but there are some quality ones that give you great experiences and opportunities, and there are ways to minimize your debt. If you're interested, feel free to message me and I'll tell you what program I went through and would definitely recommend.

 

[LisaLisa86]

PS I know there have been tons of these threads over at GradCafe in the past year or two- you might want to search on there too.