Comparison of Doctoral and Master’s Degrees

Master’s degrees (MA — Master of Arts; MS — Master of Science)

• 1-3 years in length
• Coursework, exams, possibly an internship or another applied experience, and often a thesis or comprehensive exam
• A focus on learning a broad range of knowledge related to a specific field or academic area
• Generally limited funding

Doctoral degrees (PhD, DEd, etc.)

• 5-8 years in length, depending on the field
• Coursework, exams, and a dissertation (independent research project)
• Focus on learning a wide range of knowledge related to a specific field or academic area AND on diving deeply into a specific topic of interest to the point that you are uncovering new knowledge in the field
• Large amounts of funding generally available because of opportunities to participate in faculty research

Students who do well in graduate school typically attend for these reasons:

• I want to be a researcher or a college professor
• I have a strong desire to be an expert in the field
• I place a lot of value on attaining a graduate degree
• I will have better job choices or a better income with a graduate degree

Students who struggle in graduate school typically attend for these reasons:  

• I don’t know what I want to do after college
• I’m not ready to enter the world of work
• I can put off paying my college loans
• I don’t think there’s anything I can do with “my major in [particular subject]”
  
• My parents expect me to go

If you find yourself thinking about graduate school for any of the second group of reasons, consider making an appointment to see a Piper Center coach.  We can help you think through options.

The minimum GPA required by most universities is a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.  Although grades are of great importance, a GPA that does not quite meet the minimum can be offset with good letters of recommendation, high test scores, and a well-written personal statement or statement of purpose.

If there is a valid reason why your GPA is low (i.e., your first year grades pulled down your overall average, you worked 30 hours per week in addition to taking a heavy course load), you may wish to bring that fact to the attention of the admissions committee.  Before you do so, please (a) speak with a trusted faculty member or career coach about the pros and cons of addressing your GPA in your application and (b) seek advice about how to word your statement.

If you have a master’s degree, your Graduate Grade Point Average (GGPA) will be an important consideration for your acceptance into a doctoral program.

School catalogues will specify whether you need to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), which is the standardized test for graduate school, and schools will often indicate the score that applicants need to be competitive.

Even if you know that you want to go to graduate school, you don’t need to attend right after you graduate from college. A significant number of St. Olaf students go on to graduate or professional school, and many take one, two or more “gap years” in between to gain experience or to clarify their personal and professional goals.

Although many schools accept applicants fresh out of college, others prefer applicants with more experience.  Do research in your chosen field to determine whether your field, and the schools in which you’re interested, accept new graduates or prefer more seasoned applicants.

If your academic record isn’t as strong as you’d like, you may want to take additional courses to strengthen your record. Gaining work experience will also allow you to obtain more familiarity with, and experience in, a field, which will be reflected in your application. Professional experience will also enable you to establish good relationships with supervisors or colleagues who may be willing to write a letter of recommendation on your behalf.  

If you have only recently come to a decision to attend graduate school (you may be a second-semester senior), don’t worry. You haven’t missed the boat! Many people attend graduate school after working or doing something else for many years. These candidates often excel in graduate school because they have a lot of experience and have thought carefully about what field they want to pursue and what a graduate degree can do for them. To prepare for graduate school, you may need to take additional courses, and you may also need specific kinds of work experience. St. Olaf faculty members and Piper Center career coaches can talk with you about how to prepare yourself for graduate school after you leave St. Olaf. 

Many recent graduates, strapped with sizable debt from their college years, do not immediately go to graduate school and look for employment right after graduation. 

One way to help fund graduate school is to find employment with a corporation that offers tuition assistance as part of its benefits package. These programs allow employees to take courses and earn master’s degrees at nearby universities as part of advancing their careers.

Many corporations provide 100% financial support for tuition and fees for courses. Some companies combine the tuition assistance benefit with a “front-pay” option that allows direct billing from the college to the corporation, eliminating the need for out-of-pocket expenses.

• How long will my proposed course of study take?
• What is my current level of motivation? Do I need a break from studying before I start up again?
• How much will graduate school cost? Can I afford to go to graduate school right now?
• Do I know for certain what I want to study? Or do I need to continue my exploration?
• Will the degree do more for me after I have some work experience?
• Do I have other needs or wishes right now that might conflict with graduate study?

Your professors

• Your most valuable resource for discussions about graduate school are members of the St. Olaf faculty — typically your faculty advisor or a faculty member in your proposed field of study. They will have attended graduate school, and they will be able to provide information about graduate programs and what to expect from them.  
• Faculty members also are familiar with your academic work, and they will be writing your letters of recommendation.  
• Hot tip:  talk to faculty members early about graduate school. Don’t wait until you need a letter of recommendation! 

Piper Center Career Coaches

• The Piper Center has career coaches who can support you as you explore the possibility of graduate school. Coaches can share information with you about the application process, deadlines, standardized tests, and financial aid, and they can discuss how best to ask for letters of recommendation. Coaches can also work with you on your personal statement and applications.

St. Olaf Alumni and others in your personal network

• Faculty members and the Piper Center can help you find alumni who have attended programs in which you might be interested.

If the catalogue is not already online, you can request a copy of the catalogue directly from the Admissions Office of the institution that you are considering.

The job of admissions representatives is to find good candidates and to share a wealth of information about the institution and its programs.  First do your research online so that you don’t ask questions to which you could have found the answer on your own.  Demonstrate to the admissions representative that you’ve done your homework.

• Before contacting graduate faculty, you must do your homework. Study their career history; read their publications; find out about their current research or the projects being conducted in their lab. Be ready to answer questions about your research interests, the way your interests connect with the faculty member’s interests, and the research or other work that you’ve done to prepare for graduate school.
• In some instances, faculty with whom you have corresponded or spoken will advocate on your behalf to the program admissions committee.

Graduate school fairs offer an opportunity to gain in-depth information from school representatives that will help you evaluate programs and find the best fit.   

• To prepare for the fair, review the schools that will be attending and choose those with whom you’d like to speak.  Review catalogues, directories and websites to get a sense of the universities and their programs.  Rank the schools according to your preference and prepare a list of questions.  
• Be ready to answer the following questions:  “Why do you want to attend graduate school at xyz university?” “What do you want to study?” “When do you plan to attend?”
• Ask representatives for their business cards. You will then have a contact with whom you can speak to gather further information or to ask questions.

Some schools host an “Admitted Students Day,” and in some cases schools will provide financial support so that admitted students can attend.  In other cases, depending on the location of the school and your ability to pay for transportation, you may want to visit the institution in person, meet with admissions representatives, and tour the campus.

Admission

• What are requirements for admission?  How important is my GPA?  Is the Graduate Record Exam (GRE General, GRE Subject) required?  If so, how important are my test scores?  
• What criteria are used to evaluate applicants?  Is work experience important?
• What are the gender and ethnic representation of students in the department?

Programs offered 

• What specializations are offered? 
• What characteristics distinguish this program from others in the same field?  Is the program nationally ranked, or is it relatively new?  
• Does the program focus on theory and original research?  Or does it stress the practical application of knowledge and skills?  
• Does the program offer real work experience such as practica or internships?
• What is the average length of time that students spend in the program?
• May I speak with students in the program so that I can learn about their experiences?

Faculty

• Who are the faculty and what are their credentials?  Do they hold degrees in fields of expertise from leading universities?  What awards, grants and special recognition have they earned?  What have they published?  What research projects have they conducted?  Do they hold chairs or professorships?  Does the department have nationally or internationally known scholars in the field?
• What are the gender and ethnic representation of faculty in the department?
• Do senior graduate faculty teach graduate students?
• What is the size of the faculty and the faculty/student ratio?

Cost and financial aid

• What are the tuition and fees? For U.S. state universities, what is tuition for non-residents?
• What financial aid is available — loans, scholarships, internships, or work study?
• Are there teaching and research assistantships? How many are awarded annually? What are the criteria for choosing recipients?
• What is the process and what are the deadlines for applying for financial aid? 

Other factors to consider

• Geographic location:  where do I want to live for several years?
• Career assistance:  what career assistance is available? Where are graduates employed? What happened to last year’s graduates?

Housing: Is there campus housing for graduate students or assistance in locating off-campus housing?

The Council of Graduate Studies report on Graduate Enrollment and Degrees from 2007 to 2017 advises that international students “accounted for 20.3% of first-time graduate students in Fall 2017. . . . At doctoral highest research institutions, three out of ten (29.2%) first-time enrollees were international graduate students. Shares of first-time international graduate students were higher at private, not-for-profit institutions (24.2%) than at public institutions (19.0%) in Fall 2017.” https://cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/CGS_GED17_Report.pdf

The requirements for admission to graduate school are the same as for U.S. citizens or permanent residents with the following exceptions:

• You will need to show proof of your proficiency in English (e.g., TOEFL/IELTA) if you are not a native speaker of English

Once you are admitted to a SEVP-approved university

• You will need a student visa — an F-1 non-immigrant visa
• Proof of sufficient funds for the duration of your course of study
• Confirmation of your intent to depart from the U.S. after you have completed your course of study

For more information about applying to graduate schools, please see the following articles:

https://www.topuniversities.com/where-to-study/north-america/united-states/graduate-study-us-guide-international-students

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/studying-in-the-united-states/features/studying-at-a-us-graduate-school

https://www.petersons.com/college-search/international-students-guide.aspx

Please see the general advice on funding in the section above: Funding your graduate study.

If you are an international student, the U.S. government loans and similar funding will likely not be available to you. So where can you find funding? 

• Four top universities for graduate school — Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — provide “need-blind funding” whether you are a domestic or an international student.
• The university that has accepted you may have funding, although you should know that funding is typically available for doctoral candidates and rarely for international students studying for a Master’s degree.
• You can apply for scholarships for international students.
• You can participate in Curricular Practical Training (CPT) as you may have done as an undergraduate, using this work study to fund your graduate work.
• https://www.internationalstudent.com/study_usa/financing/sources/  

The following funding options have been shared by past international students:

1. Prodigy Finance, a global loan service country.
2. SELF-Loan, a loan service for a university in Minnesota that may be open to certain students.
3. International Peace Scholarship, a scholarship for eligible women.

(New items will be added as they are discovered.  Please email piper.center@stolaf.edu to recommend other options.)

If you are interested in attending graduate school outside the United States, the process for applying will be similar to that for applying to schools in the United States, with the following exceptions:

U.S. citizens and permanent residents, as well as international students who are applying to a school in a country that is not their home, will need to do research about the kinds of visas available for international students and will need to be able to demonstrate that they have the financial resources to cover their living expenses as well as tuition. The difficulty of applying for a visa may indicate how welcoming a country is toward international students.     

As in applying to schools in the U.S., researching potential locations, understanding the political, social and cultural climate, and confirming the language skills needed to be successful are a critical part of the process. In addition, conducting thorough research about the likely costs of study — and uncovering so-called “hidden” costs — will enable you to assess whether a course of study is affordable. This is especially the case for certain public universities in European countries like France, Germany, and Norway that either do not charge for tuition or charge only a minimal amount.

The article at this link offers a useful checklist of points to consider when applying to graduate school outside of the U.S.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/articles/2019-10-22/a-checklist-for-earning-a-degree-abroad

For U.S. citizens and permanent residents, aid from the U.S. government may be available to support education outside of the U.S. 

https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/international