GRaduate School...where?

kittynh

Penultimate Amazing
K
Joined
Dec 18, 2002
Messages
22,634
I'm really interested in if you went to grad school where you were an undergraduate...

Some people have said it's a big no no. What are the plusses and minuses.

My theory is that if it's free you can go to grad school in Outer Mongolia.
 
Part of me wishes I went to a different Uni for my Masters, just for the experience. The advantage of going to the same University is you probably have better knowledge of the professors and don't have to worry about get a dud of a supervisor.

I've also heard it is a disadvantage to do your grad level at the same place. If I ever choose to do a doctrait I will probably go somewhere else. (And I probably won't do engineering)

Walt
 
I am currently working on my Master's Degree at the same university I attended for my BS. My university specializes in aviation related studies and I work for Naval Aviation so it is just a perfect fit for my career goals. They also offer classes right here at the Naval Station so it is very convenient. I want to teach undergraduate classes here part time in the future so I plan to stay involved.
 
My opinion is that unless you have a good reason to remain at your undergraduate institution, it's better to attend a different university for graduate school. In most fields I would imagine that it's to your advantage to get the broader range of experience. Also, supposedly it "looks better," whatever that means.

I went to UC San Diego for undergraduate studies and am now in the Ph.D program at UC Santa Cruz. Although both are part of the University of California their physics departments have different focuses and strengths.
 
good Quark. I think Kitten should go to a different grad school, but right now of course where she goes is "so cool". Plus, they have been wonderful to her. She has lots of time though.
 
good Quark. I think Kitten should go to a different grad school, but right now of course where she goes is "so cool". Plus, they have been wonderful to her. She has lots of time though.
 
QuarkChild said:
My opinion is that unless you have a good reason to remain at your undergraduate institution, it's better to attend a different university for graduate school. In most fields I would imagine that it's to your advantage to get the broader range of experience. Also, supposedly it "looks better," whatever that means.
Click to expand...

Yeah, as a general rule, you shouldn't do your grad at the same place as your undergrad.

However, if you have a good reason, then that rule doesn't apply. I'm doing my PhD at the same school where I did my undergrad. In my case, my undergrad institution happened to have the absolute best program in Canada in my field of study, and for various reasons I didn't want to/couldn't go to the US. My undergrad program was also the best match in Canada for me based on my research interests as well. So it made very little sense, for me, to go to an institution with a significantly lower quality program just to avoid doing my PhD at my ugrad school.

I'll probably wind up doing a post doc somewhere else just to broaden out my experience a bit once I have my PhD, although that will depend on how the job market is when I graduate - if I can get a job immediately, I'll take it.
 
I'd like to fill in a bit of detail on why it "looks better" to get a "broader range of experience". Some institutions may have pet viewpoints or bias. Getting around a bit gets you out from under that bias.

Suppose, for instance, you were studying nuclear energy and a couple of the prominent faculty members in your undergraduate department were fans of cold fusion. It would do you a world of good to continue your study elsewhere. Or suppose you were in the nursing field, and key members at your school were big on thereapeutic touch. These are extreme examples, but biases may be more subtle than this.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom