Master vs. Ph.D?

Question

I am graduating this year from collge. I am deciding which program to apply. My dream school is Stanford. But each person is only allowed to apply for one program. I am a math major. I wonder which one is easier to get in, the master's program or the ph.D? The Ph.d is tuition free( you get grant as long as you get admited), but it takes 5 years. The masters is 1.5 years and costs around $40,000. Do most grad students prefer ph.D programs? Does a ph.D guarantee a good career? I am confused. Give me some opinions. Thanks!

Answer 1

Stanford does not offer a MS in mathematics. They do offer a master's in financial mathematics -- which is not the same thing.

Most of the top universities do not accept master's students for academic programs. They accept PhD students. They will usually grant a MS or MA to students who fail to complete the program -- almost as a booby prize. There are a lot of schools that do not offer PhDs but do offer an MS in mathematics. These schools are not as good as those offering PhDs.

The top schools will offer terminal masters degrees in professional fields. These are usually MBAs, MFAs, MS in engineering or MA in teaching. A number of schools have recently added a new professional degree -- a master's in financial engineering. Some schools. like Berkeley. offer it through the business school. Others, like Princeton, offer it through economics. Still others, like Chicago and Stanford, offer it through the mathematics department. It is designed for people who want to work for investment banks designing financial models.

If you want to do real mathematics at Stanford -- then the PhD is the program you want. You should only get a PhD if you really want to spend your life doing research. If you want to work in Finance, then an MBA from a top school may open more doors for you than a masters in financial mathematics.