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Comment by dnautics | Hacker News Reader

sometimes an institution will give an ms as a consolation prize for time spent not being able to finish a phd [0]. in those cases they can be upwards of 5 years, but they certainly aren't industry driven

[0] often a leadership or personality failure of the PI

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My program had an exam after 2 years. You could fail completely, do well enough to leave with a MS, or fully pass and continue to a PhD.

that is one way things can be structured, yes.

Why do people do this kind of "well actually" thing? Yes you're correct but it has nothing to do with whether the degree itself is intended for that.

I mean, how common is a terminal master’s program in STEM fields?

I imagine there are departments where it’s more common to get a master’s by dropping out of the PhD program early than through any other path. Especially for people with a bachelor’s in the same field.

> mean, how common is a terminal master’s program in STEM fields?

Lololol extremely. They're cash cows because of foreign students paying full price and not getting tuition waivers.

> Especially for people with a bachelor’s in the same field.

Lol bruh an enormous number of schools have 4+1 programs to enable students getting terminal MS even easier.

there are departments where it's the only way to get a masters, and it's nothing to do with foreign students paying, and i suspect more to do with lawsuit evasion for exploitative working cobditions and mutual nondisparagement

because its good to have people not be misled by absolute statements like this "No MS lasts 3-4 years" that are simply incorrect.

do you enjoy being a source of misinformation?

What percentage of all MS awarded would you wager are intended to be 3-4 years?

the verb you used was "lasts" not "intended".

> There’s already a 3-4 year advanced degree

What do these words mean to you? To me they imply the degree is intended to last 3-4 years. The English is very clear here.

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