Hello, this is one of my first posts. Say you are interested in pursuing an md/phd in neuroscience and gpa is not so hot ect, and one goes for a masters degree first. Now if would it make sense for that person to pursue a masters in neuroscience, or would this be a waste since they will relearn the material to get a phd? would it make more sense to obtain a masters in something else, say biomedical? Thanks.
Getting a Masters first?
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I earned a master's degree in neuroscience before heading into my MD/PhD program, and I have a few thoughts on the matter.
1) If your GPA truly is low, a MS probably isn't the best way to improve your application. In my case, I earned the masters as a way to spend a condensed year and a half constructing, researching, and defending a thesis. I found the research immersion invaluable, and I found that the research aspect was what MD/PhD programs cared about - not my graduate GPA. That being said, I would only suggest a MS if your GPA is already solid, and you can find a program that will allow you to complete a thesis outside of the classroom.
2) If you attempt a MS, attempt it in your field of interest. If you ultimately are accepted to an MD/PhD program at the school that granted you your masters, you have essentially saved yourself a year or two of PhD work. Similarly, many other schools may be willing to exempt you from certain classes or allow you to test out of them. Pursuing a different field for the sake of diversity alone is probably a waste of your time.
3) It can be very difficult to apply to MD/PhD programs while finishing a MS. You will have to miss graduate classes, journal clubs, and seminars - you will have to rearrange your lab schedule, and you will probably annoy your committee at least once. It's not impossible, but you need to be aware of the difficulty before trying it.
4) There are a few other things to consider when it comes to a MS. They are not cheap, and if you are involved with both classwork and a thesis project they can be panic-inducing due to the fixed end-date. They can provide excellent exposure into grant writing, working with a committee, and the process of proposing and defending a thesis, but they are not the best way to improve your GPA or gain research experience for the first time. If you GPA is lacking, try a post bacc. If you want more basic research experience, find a job as a tech and save yourself some cash.
1) If your GPA truly is low, a MS probably isn't the best way to improve your application. In my case, I earned the masters as a way to spend a condensed year and a half constructing, researching, and defending a thesis. I found the research immersion invaluable, and I found that the research aspect was what MD/PhD programs cared about - not my graduate GPA. That being said, I would only suggest a MS if your GPA is already solid, and you can find a program that will allow you to complete a thesis outside of the classroom.
2) If you attempt a MS, attempt it in your field of interest. If you ultimately are accepted to an MD/PhD program at the school that granted you your masters, you have essentially saved yourself a year or two of PhD work. Similarly, many other schools may be willing to exempt you from certain classes or allow you to test out of them. Pursuing a different field for the sake of diversity alone is probably a waste of your time.
3) It can be very difficult to apply to MD/PhD programs while finishing a MS. You will have to miss graduate classes, journal clubs, and seminars - you will have to rearrange your lab schedule, and you will probably annoy your committee at least once. It's not impossible, but you need to be aware of the difficulty before trying it.
4) There are a few other things to consider when it comes to a MS. They are not cheap, and if you are involved with both classwork and a thesis project they can be panic-inducing due to the fixed end-date. They can provide excellent exposure into grant writing, working with a committee, and the process of proposing and defending a thesis, but they are not the best way to improve your GPA or gain research experience for the first time. If you GPA is lacking, try a post bacc. If you want more basic research experience, find a job as a tech and save yourself some cash.
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You can either get paid ~$35k/year to be a lab tech or pay ~$45k/year for a master's. Many schools will give their employees a free grad class/semester for free, too.
45K per year for masters? I am paying roughly 5K per year for masters and I'm getting 20K stipend. I'm not sure whether your info is accurate. I would assume that the masters would help. It gives you significant research experience, letters of reference from potentially big supervisors, and the chance to publish first author papers which would be unlikely to do as most PIs put grad students/post docs as first author and techicians as the middle author if at all.
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I imagine that the financial aspect varies a bit from one school to another. My old school charged about $1,000/credit hour for master's students, and that built up fast when you consider that 30 credits and a thesis were required for graduation. Not all schools may be like that, but it was my impression that the vast majority of masters programs are steep in price.
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Sorry if I'm naive--but aren't most graduate programs be free (funded) at least for the first year, before you get a GRA?
I will have a philosophy degree this december, and this summer I am doing research. My school also has a program that leads to a B.S in clinical laboratory science with a one year training program in different labs to "analyze patients' specimens to determine causes of diseases and to monitor medical treatment. " This sounds relevant to an md/phd application, but is working in a clinical lab the same as research?
Hi John316, if you don't mind me asking, where are you getting your master's from? It seems like most master's programs don't offer stipends or tuition waivers; at least this is the case for the ones I have been looking at.
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In general, getting a graduate or professional degree is not a good way to get into MD or MD/PhD programs, especially if it is to make up for poor academics. It doesn't matter what field the degree is in, either. Would some of the MS transfer into the PhD? Maybe - you might get a semester or a year shaved off of classes/lecture, but that's it.
Hi,
I'm currently doing my masters at university of British Columbia in vancouver. Here, we pay roughly 5K for tuition, and we get 20K for stipend. The stipend may even be higher if the student gets external funding.
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Firstly I would like to thank everyone for their questions and replies..I have got admisson to a MS program amd am very confused😕..should I take it up or reapply next year to the PhD since there are a lot of chances that I will get through?
Will a Masters degree translate to any research job before a PhD ,also If I decide later to shift to a PhD will I save time having already done a Masters?
Thanks in advance
Need help and fast🙁
Will a Masters degree translate to any research job before a PhD ,also If I decide later to shift to a PhD will I save time having already done a Masters?
Thanks in advance
Need help and fast🙁
If the masters will only take a year, then do that and then apply PhD. The masters should count towards the PhD if you stay at the same institution.
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Sometimes the lecture portion will transfer over. The closer your MS and PhD departments are, the more classes that will transfer (Chem MS -> Chem PhD, a most or all, Chem MS -> Art History PhD, none). Research or lab time will not transfer.
