22: Postbacs, Master’s and PhD Programs

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

Happy Friday everyone. I hope you're all doing well. Recently, I put out a poll on my Patreon account- and also on my Instagram- asking you to choose between three topics to see what you wanted me to cover. The three topics were talking about a gap year and the pros and cons, talking about the differences between postbacc programs, master's programs and PhD programs, and then creating a grad school application timeline. I received a good number of votes on each of them, but the one that did receive more votes than the others was the one on postbaccs, master's and PhD programs. I figured I'll talk about that today, and I'll definitely cover the other topics later on.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

We'll get started with, what are these programs? What is a postbacc? What is a master's degree? What is a PhD? A postback program- and it's interesting to me to talk about postbaccs because I don't think that they're spoken about enough. At least I never heard about them when I was an undergrad. Since they're called post baccalaureate programs, they are programs that you complete after graduating from a BA degree. You can enroll in a postbacc for different reasons. A lot of people enroll in a postbacc because they're interested in switching fields, and maybe they want to get more foundation on that field that they're switching to. Maybe you got your BA in one major, but you want to go to grad school in another. Some people do it because they want to get a certificate of specialization in something before they go on to apply to master's or PhDs. Some people do it because they want to take coursework that maybe wasn't represented in their undergraduate transcripts.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

But more often than not, actually, the reason that I recommend- and I don't recommend postbaccs for all of my students, just FYI. I recommend it for specific students that have substantial gaps on their record. In this case, I recommend it to the students who are struggling with their GPA. To be completely frank, I recommend it to the students who have GPAs that are below a 3.0. The same goes with students who maybe, they didn't score very well on the GRE. They weren't even within the average range. They were far below average. They completely bombed the GRE. If they bombed the GRE, and their GPA is not the highest in their field, I'll recommend a postbacc. Then also, like I mentioned earlier, one good reason to recommend a postbacc is for students who are switching fields. Again, they got their BA in something, and they want to go to graduate school in something else.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

Postbaccs are really great, actually. There are not that many of them, but they're really great because they are there to prepare you for a PhD. Unlike a master's degree- a lot of times master's degrees are very career oriented. They can be terminal masters- you go out with a master's and you go straight into a job. Postbaccs are really good for students who know for sure, they want to go to a PhD program. But they're not very competitive this time around. They need something to help strengthen their profile. Then a postbacc is great for you. Some postbacc programs actually provide GRE prep. They not only provide you with coursework, and research experience, and a network with professors- sometimes even put you in cohorts where you get to interact with PhD students. They're there walking you through the graduate school application process. It's part of the program to help you apply to PhD programs. And some programs - well, most of them have high rates of getting their students into PhD programs, but some of them will actually guarantee. They'll say after completing this one to two year postbacc- usually it's two years- we guarantee that you'll be admitted to at least one top ten program in your field.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

What's even better about postbaccs- which again, they're great programs if you know you want to get a PhD, but you don't think you're gonna get into a PhD program right out of undergrad. The great thing is that postbaccs provide funding- a good number of them do. Now, just a fair warning, there are more postbacc programs in STEM fields than there are in the humanities and social sciences. Unfortunately, that's just the nature of how things are in academia. I am always incredibly frustrated at the fact that there's always more funding, more programs, etc., going towards STEM. A lot of times, social sciences, and especially the humanities, are undervalued. That doesn't mean you shouldn't look for them.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

I know I had- oh, excuse me. Give me a minute. All right, thanks for hanging in there. I got another cough attack. This cold season has been relentless, and I feel like something else maybe coming in. I have a bit of a sore throat.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

But anyway, what I was talking about is that I had a student who applied to a number of postbacc programs in sociology only just a year ago. And she's actually in a really excellent postbacc program now at Stanford, and it's paying her a living wage. Actually she's making more than any of the students that I know that are currently in PhD programs right now. In fact, I had heard about this other postbacc, this Kellogg program postbacc at Northwestern that was paying 50k a year to each student. That's over double what you would make as a PhD student. That's wild. But just again, this is just to let you know that postbacc programs exist. They're really great for students who are trying to fill a gap, and they are funded, and sometimes provide GRE prep as well. Definitely look into them if you feel like you're one of those students who has a few gaps that you want to account for.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

Now, a master's program. A master's program is also a program that you get after completing your BA. It's for folks who want to advance their knowledge. Maybe they're required to pursue a master's degree to move up in their field. Maybe they're not 100% sure that they don't want to pursue a PhD. Or maybe they feel like their track record isn't as competitive for a PhD, or don't feel prepared yet for a PhD so they want to go the master's route. Now, let me talk a little bit more about why a master's versus a postbacc, or a PhD. For master's programs, similar to postbacc programs, it's one to two years. Master's programs are really great for students who, again, don't think that they have the track record to get into a Ph.D. program right away. Or again, they maybe are switching fields. Master's programs don't always provide funding. So for that, you have to be very careful. I always say just apply. Go ahead and apply. Don't worry about funding until after you've been admitted.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

But master's programs are great because they provide you with a lot of professionalization. You're allowed to work on a thesis. In general, I highly recommend it for students that maybe feel like- maybe their track record isn't- they don't have huge gaps. Maybe your GPA is on the lower end, but it's not below a 3.0. Maybe you didn't score so well on the GRE, but didn't completely bomb it. Maybe you have some research experience in your field, but not a lot. You haven't been doing it since your freshman or sophomore year of undergrad. If that's the case- or maybe you're just second guessing yourself, and you're just not sure that you want to commit to a five, six, seven year PhD program. If that's the case, a master's program is for you.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

Again, don't worry about the funding until you've been admitted. I've seen all kinds of things happen with master's degrees. I've seen people get into highly competitive master's degrees that are paid for. I've seen some people get no funding, so then they don't go. I've seen people get partial funding, and then apply for TA ships, research assistantships, jobs on campus that provide tuition and fees and they're able to walk out with a master's degree with little to no debt. So I don't want to discourage you. I think master's degrees are excellent. In some ways, I'm envious of people who get to have a master's degree because I didn't. So I felt very unprepared when I got into my Ph. D program. A master's would have helped me feel like- it would have just made the transition much more smooth. So master's degrees are great. Again master's, some of them are professional master's degrees. Some of them are terminal master's degree. There's no expectation for you to go on to a PhD. In some cases, like for some companies, for some positions, even university positions, you will not be able to move up unless you have at least a master's degree. I'll let you know that for my position- I'm the Assistant Director of McNair- you have to have at least a master's degree and a PhD is preferred. The person who had that position before me had a master's degree, and now I have a PhD. Again, they wouldn't have considered me if I didn't have one or the other. So keep that in mind. Master's are great opportunities for career advancement too.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

Now a PhD. So why go on to pursue a PhD? Well, this is the Grad School Femtoring podcast, and in actuality, the whole point of this podcast is for me to encourage you to pursue higher education. Why am I so passionate about it? I'm passionate about it because it has completely transformed and changed my life. Yes, getting a PhD was hard. Yes, it was a struggle to try to write a dissertation, contribute something new to the field, and self identify as a scholar. But also, here are the things that I got out of it. The main thing that is intangible- that is priceless- that I got from my PhD is that I have this sense of consciousness building, this concientizacion of who I am and my place in the world, my sense of identity. There's a sense of self confidence and achievement that you get after having completed a PhD. So for me, especially in my field theater and performance studies, I learned a lot about race, gender, sexuality, etc. Now I feel very comfortable with my identity and my positionality in the world. That, nobody can take that away. Nobody can take away that paradigm shift that I went through in grad school. To really understand how society works, to understand structures, and the different forms of inequality and how to fight against that. I think I wouldn't have had that with just my BA degree. Yes, I would have had some extent of that, but in grad school it's just much more. You're grounded much more in understanding everything because you just go in so much more depth with the readings. That's not to say you won't- I don't want to say that, oh if you pursue a PhD in a STEM field, you're not going to get that. I think there is a certain degree of skill set and lived experience that you get- even if you're getting a PhD in STEM- that is still part of that consciousness raising of understanding, as you're moving up professionally, understanding yourself and where you are. So that's reason number one.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

Reason number two is just thinking professionally about the skill set that I gained in graduate school. I think I developed a strong skill set through a number of different experiences. One, obviously, doing the research, writing the dissertation, teaching. All of that provided me with a skill set. I learned about lesson planning. I learned about public speaking. I learned about developing new ideas, and how to articulate them, how to defend an argument. Those are things I learned just from my PhD program alone. Then also I worked multiple part time jobs as a graduate research mentor, as a scholarship advisor. That's where I learned about grant writing. I learned about essay writing. I learned about how to get money and funding and paid- the ins and outs of all of that. Those are skill sets that have helped me get to the career that I have now. Hopefully in the next year or two, I'll become a director of a program. That is the goal. But I wouldn't have learned about project management and time management and stress management if it hadn't been for those experiences in grad school, and so I'm really grateful to them.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

I think that the last reason why I encourage higher education- and again, I don't want to say that a PhD is for everyone, because I do think there are some folks who are genuinely not interested and not as curious, and maybe don't have as many questions. But if you are that person who's always questioning things, who's always wondering, who's always looking things up, and you just have this inquisitive, curious nature to you, a PhD makes a lot of sense. If you are interested in pursuing a career in research, if you're interested in a career in academia, if you're interested in a career where you can use your academic skill set to help others- both within and outside the academy- you should probably pursue a PhD.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

So who gets to apply to PhD programs, right out of undergrad? I would say students who have been preparing from their junior and senior year. It is incredibly hard to get into a Ph.D. program, even with that training. Even if you are a McNair Scholar, or a Mellon Mays fellow, it's hard to get in. I'm not gonna lie about that. It's even harder if you don't have that understanding, and you don't apply, you know, fall quarter or the fall term of your senior year. But you don't have to be in McNair Scholar or Mellon Mays fellow to get into a PhD right away. If you pursue research, freshman, sophomore, even as late as your junior year, and you've been doing that consistently. You've demonstrated a track record of conducting research, developing relationships with two to three professors who are going to be your recommenders, and maybe you've presented your research at least on one occasion. Maybe you're thinking with your professor of submitting something that you've written to get it published. You're already kind of starting to get acquainted with the academic culture and what's expected. What's going to look good for a PhD programs. You have a really strong shot at getting in, because how are you going to get in if you don't know everything that you have to do to prepare? How are you going to get in if you don't know that you have to study and take the GRE before you apply?

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

These are things that obviously some people get through PhD preparatory or preparation programs, and other folks get it because they're go getters. They reach out to their network of folks, and they learn just from the advice that they're getting from others. I know right away actually, when I interview students for the McNair program, who's going to go to grad school with or without my help. And that's wild, because some students I know, they have no idea what they're getting themselves into, but they know they're definitely passionate about their topic. And I have this strong sense that they're so passionate about their topic that they're definitely a perfect candidate for graduate school, but maybe wouldn't go right away without our help. Then I know of the other students who just- maybe they're not low income, first gen. Maybe they're just URM. Or maybe they are low income and first gen, but they have been doing the work since their freshman, sophomore year of interacting with folks, learning as much as they can, and they know what's next. They're gonna go to grad school with or without my help. It's just the help will help them in the process, will make it a little less bumpy. The road will be less bumpy with our program. So yes, a PhD. If you've been preparing in undergrad for it, you can definitely apply right out of undergrad.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

If you're taking a gap year- and let's say you're taking a gap year, and you didn't have as much research experience. I would recommend going with a master's degree first. I would say masters, as opposed to a postbacc, unless again- you're switching fields or you have a substantial gap in your record. If that's the case, go for a postbacc. If you're not 100% sure about a PhD, again, a master's is great. In some fields, just FYI, a master's degree will not get you very far. I'll just put it out there. For those of you who are humanists like me, a master's in history, a master's in English, unfortunately is not going to get you very far. So if you are in those fields- in a humanities field and you're interested in a master's degree- odds are you're most likely gonna want to continue on and finish the PhD while you're at it. If you're doing a terminal master's in a very professional program, where it's part of the curriculum to provide you with an internship to get a job right out of graduation, then great. You know there's an outcome right after the master's degree. You're gonna get a job. You're gonna get paid more. Go ahead and do that. But if there isn't that set curriculum for your master's degree, you should plan on having to apply to PhD programs while you're finishing up your master's degree.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

I think that's all I want to share about postbacc programs, about master's degrees, about PhD programs. I definitely wanted to make you aware about postbaccs because again, I hadn't really heard about them much. I don't know about you, but I had the feeling that you may not have heard about them either. A lot of times when I mention it to my students, i's the first time they've heard about it. So definitely look into them. Look into masters. Look into PhDs. The more you know before you apply, the better off you'll be now. Thank you so much for bearing with me. I feel like every week, there's something. I've got a cough attack, or just last time I had a stiff neck, or I've got a sick child. That's just the reality of being open and honest and upfront with you. I am all about transparency. I appreciate you for listening and for bearing with me and I will talk to you all next week.