Which Master's to do?

[UFRalo]

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So I am one of those students that is going to start a Master's next Spring. Due to some extenuating circumstances, I have to graduate this semester. I have applied to 2 degrees and feel fairly confident that I will get into both of them.

I applied to an MPH program and a non-thesis MS in Microbiology. I am having a hard time deciding which one I will do once I get in...

The Microbiology is good because it raises my science GPA (which needs some help) and will only take 1.5 years so it will be perfect for applying next cycle. No real drawback other than the high cost.

The Public Health one is good because it is a real Master's degree that would allow some creative research as well as some neat dental-related courses to be taken. Drawback is it will take a minimum of 2.5 years to complete but is cheaper.

Opinions about which one to do?

 

[doc toothache]

Choose the one you might want to use should acceptance to ds not be in the cards.

 

[noles]

where is this non-thesis MS in microbio? i would like to check this program out myself

 

[UFRalo]

hey noles.

It's at UF. Not really advertised so no one really knows about it. They said that they don't like to take Master's students, but the coordinator encouraged me to apply. He said that as long as the GPA is ok and the GRE score is good that they have allowed students like me to enter the program.

The only thing is there is no financial support available. Sucks, but the classes are neat and a few are actually just undergrad courses with grad-level course numbers.

http://microcell.ufl.edu/Students/graduate/index.shtml

 

[noles]

thanks. I actually know someone in this program and was talking to him about it the other weekend i was in gainesville for the tennessee game. He is doing a thesis and also on the website it says a thesis is required. Is there another option that allows you to take graduate courses but you dont actually receive the MS or something along those lines? Regardless it looks like a great program

 

[Bonanzio]

I would go with MPH.

 

[UFRalo]

Though the website says a thesis is required, there is the non-thesis option. I spoke with the graduate coordinator about it a while ago and he said that it is for people like us trying to get into medical/dental school. The school does not advertise this option, but he was very encouraging when I asked him if I should apply for it.

If I were you, I would email the coordinator and ask him about it. I also had asked about the thesis option, but I think the faculty are very reluctant to offer spots in their labs to MS students over PhD students.