PhD/Prelims Question

[twistedmango]

Hello folks,

 

I have heard that some schools use peer-comparisons to limit the number of students who pass the 2nd year prelims.

I was just wondering for those that get cut, do they reapply to other business schools? If so, would they have to start as a 1st year all over again at the different school or is there a way to "start" as a 2nd year? Would phd credits transfer?

 

Thanks.

[XanthusARES]

I have heard of some people moving schools. In general, I've heard that yes you have to start over as a 1st year and take classes all over. I imagine, though, that this is program, school and person specific. Perhaps there is someone on here who has gone through the process. The people that I know who didn't pass prelims, most of them just left their programs and when back to industry.

[Mandalorian]

In the STEM fields, people "Master Out" ie: leave with a Master's at that stage if they fail the prelims.

[BCB]

I know of one case of a student who didn't pass prelims and transferred programs. They effectively had to start all over again (and ended up being very successful in the new program). I know of another student who passed comps at their first school but transferred anyway to a much higher ranked program. In that case, they also had to start over again as well.

I think the only example I can think of where a student was able to transfer programs without losing their credits would be if their advisor switched schools and chose to take the student with them. I have met a couple of people who have done this and their experiences have been across the board.

As Mandalorian mentioned, many programs allow students to "master out" if they fail comps. However, not all schools have this policy (my school does not).

I would suggest chatting with current students in the program to get a feel for the environment there. Some schools admit very few (2 or 3) students each year with the assumption that they are all capable of passing comps whereas others will bring in larger cohorts with the intention of weeding them out later on. I much prefer the former, but it really depends upon what you are comfortable with. I am sure some people thrive in a more competitive environment.