Is it possible to triple master or triple doctorate?

Vedicdude · 08-23-2006, 08:26 AM

Since you can triple Bachelor, could you perhaps take your three bachelor degrees to the Masters level or even the Doctorate level? I'm not going to try this per se, I'm just curious. It sounds like it would be extremly difficult.

Or whatever number of bachelors you take, whether it is 2,3, or 4, can you take all your bachelors to the next level, all at once or not?

WilliamC · 08-23-2006, 11:04 AM

Though there are a few combined programs like Law/MBA, in general grad school is all about specialization. So no, when you go to grad school you're doing it because you have a passion for ONE field.

Take a look at a few departmental websites in the graduate sections. What you'll find is something like this:

Year 1 - full time classes
Year 2 - full time classes
Year 3 - fewer classes, begin research, teach
Year 4 - research, teach
Year 5 - write dissertation, teach

And that's a "perfect" schedule for a perfectly prepared student. In the real world the average time to PhD is more like 8 years.

Keep in mind too that to be admitted to grad school the adcoms are looking for preparation in ONE particular field. So if you're thinking of grad school, you'll want to start focusing your studies as early as possible - not spreading them all over the place. (Which is not to say that a double major is bad - but it should make comelling sense for the field you plan to enter.)

Drew00 · 08-23-2006, 03:18 PM

It would take nearly 30 years to get 4 PhDs. I don't think it's very common to take more than one subject to the "next" level. But you definitely can, my philosophy TA is going to grad school for Comp Sci and Psych.

Vedicdude · 08-24-2006, 04:54 PM

What if your passion is education

.

BTW, how rich is your philosophy TA Drew00? It seems like it would take a lot of money to get 4 PHDs.

huskem55 · 08-24-2006, 05:21 PM

in my field, the phd student is busy 40 hours a week, not including homework. theres no time for anything else

Drew00 · 08-24-2006, 05:47 PM

"BTW, how rich is your philosophy TA Drew00? It seems like it would take a lot of money to get 4 PHDs."

Well, PhD programs are fully funded, you don't pay to get your PhD. Also, he's only planning on going to grad school for Psychology and Comp Sci. I'm not sure if he's even planning on a Phd he might just go for his master's, I don't really know him too well.

mol10e · 08-24-2006, 08:25 PM

Where you generally see two doctoral level degrees is the combination of a applied professional degree, the MD or JD, and a Ph.D. in a related field. some MD's will have Ph.D.'s in some branch of biology or chemistry and some JD's will have a Ph.D. in the social sciences such as economics or psychology. It is rare to have two Ph.D.'s because first it is so time consuming and difficult to master two unique subject/research areas and second it is often unnecessary. If you want to work in a different discipline than the one you have your Ph.D. in, you can usually find a university with an interdiscplinary program that would suit your need.