Hope you're having fun visiting grad schools! Quick question about grad programs in the US - Does anyone do a Masters degree in Chemistry or other physical sciences? I often hear people talk about doing their PhD in Chem in the USA, but rarely MSc. It makes me worried that there are gonna be tons of PhD's in Chem that could have gotten by just fine with an MSc (that's an opinion though). Your thoughts? Also, what draws you to a PhD program over an MSc program?
Yep, Master’s programs in chemistry are totally still a thing here, but less.Just out of my friends and people I know, I noticed a lot of other sciences tend towards a Master’s (biochem, biology, computer science, etc) but a lot of chemists tend towards a PhD. The difference here is the research you do. In a Master’s program for chemistry, you mostly do classwork and have a little research. As we all unfortunately know, in the US you have to pay for your schooling, and most of the time for a Master’s program you also have to pay to attend school. Chemistry PhD programs here PAY your tuition (~$40-$50,000/year) AND give you a salary (in my experience $20-$35,000/year) to attend the school and earn your PhD. I think that’s a HUGE draw. If you can get paid to earn a PhD and feel competent, why not?
he first two years in a PhD track program you are taking classes as well as research. At the end of those two years you have to have some kind of exam of the research and progress you’ve made so far. If you pass, you get to be an official PhD candidate and just work on research until you’re allowed to graduate. If you fail too many times (sometimes they give you ore than one chance) you have to leave with your master’s degree. Research is also what funds the schools, so schools like PhD students more, and so there are more PhD track programs offered for chemistry than MS programs.
I like research a LOT so far, so I want to go to the full PhD. Also, for the jobs I know I’ll want to have, they require a PhD instead of a MS. Not going to lie, getting paid to get an education is also sweet. I do think we’re getting more and more saturated with chemistry PhDs, which could become a problem for job opportunities in the future, but I don’t think the field is really THAT more saturated than a normal job market. And more people getting higher education as a whole is still an awesome thing!