Transfer MA to PhD

[lakewood]

How commonly do PhD programs accept transfer credit from an MA? Assuming the MA is at another institution, how much does this typically shorten the PhD program, if at all?

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[Therapist4Chnge]

I wouldn't think any....as MS classes aren't equivalent to Doctoral classes. Maybe if the program itself would accept the MS--> Ph.D. classes within their program, they my accept it from another university. It is always worth a shot to ask, but I wouldn't expect to transfer many classes (if any).

 

[Anon15]

Some programs will let you transfer up to 12 graduate level (MA/MS) credits. Others will let you bypass the PhD second year (i.e. your masters) project IF you did a thesis as part of your masters and your PhD program accepts it.

 

[myelin]

it usually varies by university. through my research on programs (as I am going MA --> PhD as well) most programs won't let you transfer hours from your MA program. the programs that i've seen that do let you transfer in hours state that you can only transfer in a certain amount of hours (usually around 12) and you must have permission of the department, your advisor, and the professor teaching the courses you want to transfer. reading between the lines of all of that says to me "yeah, you can do it, but we really don't want you to."

 

[paramour]

As with everything else in this process, it depends. Some programs will allow you to transfer a limited number of hours for certain courses. Others tell you up front that they will not transfer anything.

I was able to transfer ONE class and I am retaking everything else. They want students to take their courses for a variety of reasons, so it doesn't matter whether or not you come in with prior coursework. I was also able to obtain credit for my thesis; however, I am still required to complete a "pre-dissertation/interim project" (aka, master's thesis) before I can start my dissertation. Sooo, in the end I'm doing just about the same amount of work as everyone else, but I don't get another master's degree in the process. Saves me the stress of proposing and defending though--so I'm not complaining too much. Yet.

 

[JockNerd]

Some students I know who came into the PhD program with an MA got a bunch of required classes waived, so even if it doesn't count toward your degree you can at least take new things.

 

[Ollie123]

Some students I know who came into the PhD program with an MA got a bunch of required classes waived, so even if it doesn't count toward your degree you can at least take new things.

I think this is more common. Say you've already taken multivariate statistics. You would still need to take another stats class but could take, say, factor analysis in its place.

 

[myelin]

This article is quite useful for those considering MA --> PhD.​

http://www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/article_90.asp​

4. If you first get a master's, then decide to get a PhD, you will have to start over. None of your work will transfer. An allied view is that getting a master's first will hurt your chances of getting into a PhD program in the future.

Whether the foregoing statements are true or not depends in large part on which doctoral program one might later attend. A survey by Tarver, Mesecke, and Actkinson (1994) of all doctoral-granting programs in the Southwestern Psychological Association region found a wide variance in the number of transfer credits accepted. A majority of schools responding (67%) would accept at least 15 hours in transfer. Thirty-three percent accepted 30 or more hours. One school required the master's for consideration for the doctoral program.​

For most schools studied, having a master's would be worth about 1 year off of the doctoral program time, but since this varies so widely, students who plan to obtain a doctorate later need to check with the school(s) to which they might later apply. Perhaps another key question would be how soon after they finish the master's will they be entering a doctoral program? The question of transfer obviously has more relevance if the transfer is to be immediately after completing the master's than if it is to occur 5 or 10 years in the future.​

In terms of master's training hurting acceptance, we have found primary criteria such as grades and GREs to be stronger predictors than master's training. Several of our graduates from the UMHB master's degree program have applied for admission and been accepted to doctoral programs. One recent graduate of our master's program was accepted to six doctoral programs, including APA clinical ones. Apparently, obtaining the master's first was not a hindrance. Further, in some cases, graduate work may show evidence of increasing maturity and help offset poor undergraduate grades.​

 

[luvpsych4ever]

This article is quite useful for those considering MA --> PhD.​

http://www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/article_90.asp​

4. If you first get a master's, then decide to get a PhD, you will have to start over. None of your work will transfer. An allied view is that getting a master's first will hurt your chances of getting into a PhD program in the future.

I've heard quite the opposite. After visiting PhD info sessions at various colleges, they recommend that you get a master's before even applying. They say they typically do not accept students directly from undergrad and it's only those "exceptional" undergrad students that get in. They said that they only admitted 1 undergrad student a year-if at all.

 

[paramour]

I've heard quite the opposite. After visiting PhD info sessions at various colleges, they recommend that you get a master's before even applying. They say they typically do not accept students directly from undergrad and it's only those "exceptional" undergrad students that get in. They said that they only admitted 1 undergrad student a year-if at all.

That's interesting, since a number of universities explicitly told me that I was not as desirable because of my degree. They'd rather accept someone without it. Most people I know in PhD programs were accepted straight from undergrad. However, there are also those numerous students who were not accepted directly out of undergrad. This does not mean they have a master's degree. Most of them went to work on research projects, etc. and then reapply without any additional coursework or degress in that extra 1-2 (or insert other number) years.

 

[myelin]

I've heard quite the opposite. After visiting PhD info sessions at various colleges, they recommend that you get a master's before even applying. They say they typically do not accept students directly from undergrad and it's only those "exceptional" undergrad students that get in. They said that they only admitted 1 undergrad student a year-if at all.

I'm curious to know which colleges you are speaking of. Thanks.