Comparing A Master’s Degree With A Doctorate Degree

No matter if you choose a master’s degree or doctorate degree, there will always be a huge investment of time, money, and resources into each. Before you decide on which one to go after, you should understand not just what you need to get into the program, but what it would take to complete it, also. Here is what a master’s and doctorate degree consists of:

Master’s Degree

Master’s degree programs are widely available, and you can master’s degree versions of various degrees online, such as business, marketing, and life experience degree programs. In order to be eligible for a master’s degree, you must first complete a bachelor’s degree program. A master’s degree typically takes one to three years to complete, with in between 36 to 54 credit hours, depending on the degree.

Master’s degree programs consist of three different types of courses: First are primary courses, which are courses you cannot complete the program without taking. Second are electives. As you may guess, these are courses that are considered complementary to your degree, and there are a certain number of them to choose from, but you do not need to take all of them. The final type is the thesis or capstone course. This is the final course you take in order to obtain your degree, and involves writing a research paper that expresses everything the student has learned throughout the program.

Doctorate Degree

You can be content with a master’s degree, but if you are aiming for a doctorate degree, you will need to obtain a master’s first. A doctorate degree will take a student between three to seven years to complete, with in between 58 to 120 credit hours, depending on the degree.

The courses in doctorate degrees work differently from master’s degrees. There aren’t necessarily types of courses, but four sections that make up this program. First is the main coursework, which are advanced courses that you need to partake in. Research is the second part that puts your analytical skills to the test. The comprehensive exam is the third part of the degree, which tests a student’s comprehension of key concepts that he or she has learned through the coursework. After the exam is passed, then the final part begins, which is dissertation. During dissertation, you will work with a committee to choose a research topic and write a research paper based on your research and analysis.

There are factors to choosing whether to get just a master’s degree or a master’s and a doctorate degree. These factors are as follows:

Institution

Your degree program, its length, and well as tuition will vary depending on what institution you plan on going to in order to get it. The cost of tuition will be affected by the university’s physical location and reputation.

Graduation Time

You can take as many courses in a semester as the school allows, and that will affect how closer you will get to graduation. If your degree requires more courses to complete than others, however, it will typically take longer than you would expect, regardless.

Transfer Credits

If you have certification or have earned credits from a previous institution, you may be eligible to transfer credit towards your degree. This will allow you to reduce the time it takes to complete the degree as well as save money.

Summary

Master’s and doctorate degrees are high level educational degrees that are very different from one another. The time, money, and resources required to complete a degree depends on the institution that you go to for your program.