Penalities for switiching from PhD to Masters?
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- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue Jul 01, 2008 12:42 am
Penalities for switiching from PhD to Masters?
I'm not currently a grad student, just a prospective looking around. Some schools I've looked at emphasis that they only enroll or will fully fund students who plan on pursuing a PhD, not just a masters. Some grad students I've talked to said enrolling as a PhD student isn't that bad, because if you realize getting a doctorate in physics is too much for you, you can walk away from the university with at least a masters. However this seem counter intuitive to me. How can a school let you walk away from the program with a masters and the money they invested in you without some sort of consequence? Is a master in physics just not worth a lot compared to a doctorate? How do they keep students that only want a masters from getting a free ride? High admission requirements?
Re: Penalities for switiching from PhD to Masters?
You can walk away because the school's "investment" in you has already paid off in your service as a TA to the department. Or if you are an RA, the investment has been paid by the work you did for your research group. That's the deal, you work for the school, they pay your tuition. You can walk away at any time, within the limits for the contract you signed when hired. So the school doesn't really lose anything.
Re: Penalities for switiching from PhD to Masters?
Yes, 30 lashes.