@iTutorMath Read the post from @juillet carefully. Very good points in there.
You don’t mention what field you’re studying, but since the PhD is fully funded I’ll assume its science or engineering.
In the direct-to-PhD programs, leaving with a MS is a nice synonym for failing out of thr PhD program. (Or that’s how it’s interpreted.) Yes, I have some friends who went into the PhD and changed their mind, and left with a MS even though they were absolutely on track to finish their PhD if they wanted to. This was during the tail end of the recession, so maybe some of them only went to grad school because they didn’t know what else to do, but that’s a story for another time.
In any case, you don’t go into a PhD program thinking you’re going to leave with a MS. People can tell. And professors can tell. One guy I knew was really indecisive about what he wanted to study and was more interested in MS-level work/careers. Not a single professor would take him into their lab, and so he was forced to leave with a course-based masters. And no rec. letters other than from the instructors he TAed for. He does not have a “great job in industry,” and certainly does not have a research-related job.
At a PhD program, coursework is generally minimal. Your learning will take place in the lab. Your advisor will give you a project, and it will be of a scope that will take at least 5 years to reasonably complete. And that’s if you’re diligent, a smart and efficient worker, and motivated. And working 50-70 hours a week in the lab, excluding time for courses and teaching resposibilities. It’s a tough enough environment that it can drive people out with a MS, but of course, those who drop out with the MS don’t get the good recommendation from their advisor. You only enjoy a PhD program if you truly deeply love what you’re working on and studying. And if you do, it can really be the best time of your academic life.
“Mastering out” of a PhD program (that’s the term generally given) can take a long time, as juillet mentioned. Anything from 6 months to 7 years from the cases I know about. If you want to leave on good terms with your advisor, usually it will take 2.5 to 3 years because for most PhD programs, you don’t technically reach MS status until you pass candidacy. Candidacy exams are generally scheduled in year 2 or 3. In some programs, the advisor decides when you go up for candidacy, and that can be as late as 1 month before your final PhD defence. And if you get a MS after candidacy, it will be a research-based MS, which means you need to submit a thesis.
If you want a MS, and you want to feel good about yourself, go to a MS program. MS programs are usually designed to prepare you for more practical/applied aspects of your field and therefore have value to particular employers. If you go to a PhD program and leave with a MS, you might feel like you failed, and employers might think you left because you’re not good at research.
One more point: of the people I knew who left with MS degrees, the people who left by choice got jobs based on their BS credentials, and the MS was just counted as work experience for the employer - they were hired in jobs where the requirements were ‘BS in X discipline with 1-3 years experience in Y techniques.’ The people I knew who failed out still really wanted a PhD and started their PhDs again at lower-ranked schools, then got good industry jobs in research/development. Think about what you really want to do with your degree. Maybe you don’t even need that MS degree.