• Question: How long do you have to go to university for a Ph.D, or a Masters Degree?

    Asked by darkmatterkid to Angus, Christian, Hannah, Laura, Simon on 20 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Laura Roberts Artal

      Laura Roberts Artal answered on 20 Jun 2013:

      Before you can do a masters degree, or a PhD you’ve got to do an undergraduate degree. They can vary in length, but are usually 3 or 4 years (unless you study medicine or veterinary science, which are longer).
      A masters degree usually takes a year, sometimes two.
      A PhD varies between Universities, but usually you get between 3 and 4 years to complete it.

      Something to keep in mind is that the length of time you’ve got to spend at uni depends on the country you study in. It takes 2 years to get a masters in Europe, and on average 5/6 years to get a PhD in the USA.

    • Photo: Angus Ferraro

      Angus Ferraro answered on 20 Jun 2013:

      A PhD usually takes 3 years, but they can be longer or shorter than that. I get some money to help me pay rent and pay living expenses. I can ask for money for an extra six months after my 3 years is up (which is what I am doing!) so I can spend some more time on my work. In my university, if you take more than 4 years you get kicked out!

      A Masters degree usually takes one year (after you have done a Bachelors degree, which is usually 3 years). I didn’t do one but I hear they are pretty intense. You have to cram a lot of work into a single year!

    • Photo: Simon Holyoake

      Simon Holyoake answered on 20 Jun 2013:

      Laura and Angus have this one pretty well covered, I will say that some people study part-time when they have to work, or look after children or relatives, I think a Bachelors degree takes 5 years part time, a masters takes 2, and a PhD can be anywhere from 5 to 10 years or more!

    • Photo: Christian Maerz

      Christian Maerz answered on 20 Jun 2013:

      Laura is absolutely right, it really depends on the university and the country. It took me about 5 years to get my Diplom (equivalent to a Master’s degree), and another 3 to get my PhD. Pretty standard in Germany, but really short compared to the USA.

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