Many students want to apply only to masters programs. This may be due to low gpa, lack of preparation to take the GRE, fear of the GRE, lack of confidence in their ability to complete a doctoral program etc. Some students want the quickest route to a practitioner license, usually a Marriage & Family Therapy license. In my opinion these are not great reasons to enter a masters program. As mentioned above a good reason to pursue a masters is to be better prepared to enter a doctoral program. Hopefully, by planning in advance, students can be prepared as undergraduates to go directly to a doctoral program. However, if you choose to complete a masters degree as preparation for getting into a doctoral program there are some things to consider:
- Make sure the program you enter has a good track record of getting its students into doctoral programs. Many doctoral programs only accept students with a bachelor’s degree. They don’t like to accept students half-trained by another institution into their programs. Some masters granting programs have good reputations for turning out well-prepared students. Many of these programs are known to doctoral granting programs. Make sure you go to one of these programs.
- Make sure your program is clearly understood as a terminal masters. What this means is that your program only gives a masters or is clearly separate from any doctoral programs at your institution. This is important most doctoral programs will give failing doctoral students a masters when they are kicking them out of the program. You don’t want to be applying for doctoral programs and be thought of as someone who flunked out of another doctoral program. This is the ‘kiss of death’ and your chances of getting into a quality doctoral program will be very low. (If you have been kicked out of a doctoral program but still want to complete your doctorate you need some counseling and advice on strategy. Your situation is not impossible and there is still hope! One of the best and smartest psychologists I know survived being driven out of his first doctoral program. He was able to get into another program where he did exceedingly well.)
- If possible choose the thesis option to complete your masters degree. Some programs will give you a choice between writing a thesis and taking a comprehensive exam. Writing a thesis is a great opportunity to work on your writing skills. Not only will you get to improve this valuable skill, you will have a long written piece of work that might be publishable in some form. Having a written thesis and/or some published work will make you look good to doctoral programs.
A personal anecdote: I did a terminal masters in psychology at Sonoma State University in California. The reason I chose to do a masters was that my undergraduate degree was in biology. I had taken only one class in psychology as an undergraduate and wanted to do the masters as a bridge between disciplines. This is a good option for those who have non-psychology undergraduate degrees but who want to go to graduate schools in psychology. Many psychology masters degree programs, like the one I attended at Sonoma, require very little in the way of undergraduate psychology prerequisites.
The masters program at Sonoma was very good. Nevertheless when I was done, I found many doctoral programs did not want to accept me because they only took students with a bachelor’s degree not a masters. I tried to get a job with my psychology masters and ended up painting houses for a living. This was a clear demonstration of the employment options for psychology masters degree holders – a situation that unfortunately has not likely changed over the years. However, I had written a thesis, published a conference paper, and graduated from a known terminal masters program with a good reputation. I persevered applying to doctoral programs and eventually made it into a decent program. I can still remember the day I climbed down from the ladder on the side of the house I was painting to check on my doctoral application status. I made my way to a pay phone in my grungy overalls and called the program office. When the secretary told me I had been accepted into the doctoral program I could have floated back up my ladder!