Monday, April 16, 2012

Getting To The Bottom Of The Doctoral/Masters Degree Question

Incumbent graduate school students have a number of degrees to select from. Students gravitate to the masters degree and doctoral degrees. However, what is the difference between the two?

Students will tell you that whether it is a masters or a doctoral degree, you will need to commit a lot of time, work and energy. Taking on a graduate degree can get competitive and overwhelming at times. If a student intends to continue working while studying they will find this to be especially true.

The chances of getting a raise at work though are improved by a masters degree since it has a stronger career focus. For research-based careers though, a doctoral degree is the better choice. It is basically a mandatory requirement for professors to have a PhD.

Masters degrees do set people apart from those with bachelor's degrees. This degree is beneficial to those who have been in a career for a while and seek to expand their expertise. It is incorrect to think that a masters is required before a doctorate can be pursued.

Doctoral degrees have the power to create knowledge. New information is added to the particular field by students who will be required to perform original research in their doctoral degree. Those who love their studies and get excited by the potential contribution of meaningful information should then pursue doctoral degrees.

It takes notably longer to complete a doctorate than it does for a master. It can take a typical student two years to complete a masters degree if they do it full-time. A doctorate degree takes much longer.

You can expect to pay more for a PhD in terms of tuition and education expenses since the degree takes longer to complete. The good side, however, is that doctorate degrees yield higher salaries upon completion of the degree. With these kind of benefits, students prefer the doctorate degree in terms of planning for the long term.

There are also different financial aid offerings for the two graduate programs. Although both degrees allow help when it comes to paying educational costs, masters degree students receive less financial help if at all. The programs that receive full scholarships most often PhD programs.

The best thing about both degrees is that they allow you to concentrate on areas that really interest you. While the graduate school workload is high, this work is enjoyable because the subject is of interest. Perseverance is an almost natural result of this enjoyment.

There are fewer PhD programs than there are masters degree programs online. Doctoral degrees are ideal for people who enjoy study and learning in a specific field. The masters degree is the better option for people looking for promotions at work or career advancements.