<p>I’m currently an MS Civil Engineering student at Texas A&M. I’m looking at PhD programs in the related area of Engineering Mechanics at universities like Cornell, Northwestern, UIUC, VaTech, and Penn State. I did my undergrad at A&M, am bored with my location, and would like to live in a different part of the country/study at a different school. I will have a thesis in a different area than what these programs focus on and hopefully a publication or two. </p>
<p>My main question is, does having a thesis on a somewhat related topic still help show that I can do research in the field I’m interested in getting my PhD in? Will I still have the advantage of having an MS as opposed to a BS, or does the fact that I’m doing a bit of a re-focusing negate that?</p>
<p>BTW, stats:</p>
<p>UG GPA: 3.75/4
Graduate GPA : 4.00/4
GRE Q: 790 V: 550 AW : 4.5
Research: Some undergraduate and working on master’s thesis. No current publications.</p>