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  1. I am currently an undergraduate student in Asia. In my university, there's this unique program where students can pursue their bachelor's and master's degrees in 5 years instead of the normal 6 years. Is this program worth pursuing? or should I continue my graduate studies separately?

  2. I have a plan to get a Ph.D. in the US after I complete my undergraduate studies. Will getting a master's degree be advantageous to me? or is a bachelor's degree enough?

Anonymous
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  • Engineering programs with a 5-year BSE/MS are not that unusual here in the US. But for many engineers who wish to do engineering, a masters degree is a pretty standard advanced degree for many engineering firms. How it impacts PhD application will depend on the field and particular university and how they view the program. – Jon Custer Oct 29 '21 at 17:45
  • See this canonical answer about applications in US. https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/176908/how-does-the-admissions-process-work-for-ph-d-programs-in-country-x/176909#176909 – Buffy Oct 29 '21 at 18:09

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If your plan is to go into industry, a 5 year option to finish with a master's is a no-brainer. You should absolutely do it. Hiring managers in industry often have master's degrees and they like hiring people with master's degrees. Engineers in industry often change jobs every 3 to 5 years. Over a career of 45 to 50 years, that's likely 10 to 15 times when a master's degree might help your resume stand out to a hiring manager and perhaps help you get the job or negotiate a better salary, title or assignment. You might as well start getting that advantage as soon as possible and this is the quickest possible way to get it done and out of the way. Next best is a regular full time program that usually takes two years. Part-time has the advantage that your employer may pay for it but takes years.

If your goal is PhD, it's a different story and one big reason is you usually pay for a master's but they usually pay you for a PhD. It's a small stipend but it's something. On occasion, students drop out of a PhD program but it's not unusual for them to cash in whatever credits they've earned on a master's as they leave. (Universities never ask for the money back.)

If you have a PhD, no one will think less because you didn't bother with a master's along the way. Browse the CVs of tenure track faculty at top universities and you'll notice they all have PhDs, but lots of them do not have a master's. Many of them skip it.

Perhaps the biggest reason I've heard why someone whose goal is a PhD might decide on a master's is if they're hoping to improve their record and get them into a better program. But I'm not sure how well that works as a strategy. I suppose it depends on whether you actually do that much better.

Is there an option where you might begin the 5 year program while also applying to PhD programs? Could you drop out with the bachelor's you'd need if you get accepted into a PhD program you like or stick it out and get the master's if nothing better appears?

Nicole Hamilton
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