Hi everyone! I’m currently a junior majoring in mathematics, and I’ll be graduating in May 2026. After speaking with a few advisors, I’ve realized that I want to pursue a PhD—I’m especially interested in Decision Sciences.
My question is: is it normal or okay to go straight into a PhD program right after finishing a bachelor’s degree?
I currently have a 4.0 GPA and am very active in my department. I’m a tutor and a Supplemental Instruction (SI) leader, where I teach additional sessions for Calculus students. This summer, I’ll also be gaining business and analytical experience through an internship I was recently offered.
I truly feel like I thrive in academic environments, and I’m a very hard worker. However, since no one in my family has gone this far in higher education, I’m feeling a little lost about the process. I know I’ll need to take the GRE and start applying to programs later this year, but I’m unsure about the exact timeline or how to best prepare.
If anyone has advice, insights, or personal experiences they’d be willing to share, I’d be incredibly grateful. Thank you so much!
Comments
Depends on location and field, but it’s not uncommon in North America, at least.
It’s not unusual in the USA. Masters first is more common in Europe. go for it!
It’s common. In practice I’ve found that PhD trainees with some experience in a “real job” tend to have better success in graduate training than those that I refer to as “professional students.” Perhaps your internship will fulfill that role.
In the US it’s quite common to go directly into a PhD. In some other countries like Canada it would be more typical to do a Masters first. There are arguments both ways. I went directly into a PhD, but I was extremely focused already at that point. It can be good to do a Masters first to help you refine your focus, and to figure out if you really like doing research at a graduate level. It’s really up to you.
Going straight to a PhD is done, particularly in certain countries. My impression, 20 years ago doing my PhD in Scotland, was that it was the norm there – people simply didn’t go off and get a master’s first. I don’t get the sense that it’s changed much, either, because the conception of a PhD has not changed: it’s to learn to conduct research, to structure it, obtain funding for it, formulate it, lead it. That’s not the conception everywhere, e.g. the US where it’s much more about learning content (from what I understand). In a system which is about acquiring knowledge of the subject area, a master’s first would make some sense. One in which the content is somewhat secondary would prioritize you getting in there and becoming a researcher, with the knowledge to come a bit later perhaps.
Do it if you want to do it. I did it and no regrets, You sound like you enjoy academia so why wait?
What you need is letters of recommendation, a personal statement, an academic focus. I see no problems there. Grades won’t get you in but bad grades might keep you out – you are obviously fine on grades.
Good luck!
Yes. Even I did it.
It’s normal, but I don’t think it’s generally a great idea. I’ve noticed a pretty big difference between students who straight from college to grad school and those who didn’t, unfavorable to the former.
I think one of the major benefits of doing this is that you don’t lose your work rhythm. I took three years off between my BA and PhD and the first year was harder on those of us coming from work than on my straight-through cohort members.
Very common in the USA. Most people I know who did PhDs went straight from undergrad to PhD.
(Location: US) It’s worth thinking about going straight to a PhD for financial reasons. Many masters programs are expensive. Depending on your discipline, you can paid to get your PhD. Idk what the standard is in decision science, but in Econ, if they want you in the program, they will pay you to be there (full ride for tuition plus some sort of fellowship for working as a research or teaching assistant). Maybe look at behavioral econ PhDs. Many Econ PhD programs will also let you leave with a masters if you end up not passing the qualifying exams or not wanting to finish the PhD. In that case, you got a free masters. You will likely get into an Econ PhD program as a math major with good grades
The negatives of going straight to the PhD are that you will be a little behind people who have masters degrees (which is not insurmountable), and you might not get into as highly ranked of a program as you could with a masters
Also, a lot of schools have a box you can check on their PhD applications to be considered for their masters program if you don’t get into the PhD, which is kinda handy if you want a backup option. When you’re ready to do apps, pick around 10 places that span a wide range of rankings