You should plan on doing this anyway. In most (not all) disciplines, it’s a disadvantage to get your MA at the same institution as your BA university. There are exceptions*, but that’s a good rule of thumb, because it works to your advantage to study with different mentors across the discipline. Moreover, you’ll have to apply for entry to your MA program even if the program is at your undergrad institution, and admission is not a guarantee. For all these reasons, chances are you’d end up someplace else.
- Exceptions: if your BA-granting institution is especially high-ranking in your field, if you’d be moving from one division of the university to another (i.e., the college of arts and sciences to a professional school) and therefore working with different people, if you are training in a profession for which it’s an advantage to get a local license or certification, and your BA-granting institution is in a desired location and has a grad program, or if you’re in a discipline in which intellectual cross-pollination is not as much of a priority.