A student at one of the top terminal M.A. programs in philosophy writes:
"Much of the talk about grad school on your blog and on the gourmet site focuses on PhD programs and I just had some thoughts about choosing an MA program-
"1) It is important that MA students realize how short the MA program is. One will likely apply to PHD programs in the autumn of the second year. This means that most of the important 'getting to know the faculty' stuff will occur in the first year. If you are going to Tufts to work with Dennett and he is gone or not teaching in one or both of your first semesters, then it is not clear that Tufts' distinguished faculty will be of much help to you. (Just an example; I know nothing about Tufts or Dennett)
"2) I am not sure, but I suspect that reputation of faculty plays a different role in an MA program. While the PhD student should certainly work with a well-published/ famous professor, the MA student might be just fine working with a young professor who is well connected and whose recommendation will be trusted at a number of institutions. I am not sure about this, but I see the possibility that working with a famous professor at an MA program might be less important than in the case of PhD programs. Prospective students might consider where the younger members of the department have taken their PhD from/ who they worked with at that institution.
"These are just a couple of thoughts that occur to me, but my more general concern is that there is not much "advice" for students thinking about entering MA programs. I think a public discussion about this in one form or another could be very beneficial."
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