Can you jump from Bachelors degree to Doctorate?

I was talking to someone who graduated from a RA school in Marketing. She told me that her professor suggested that she could just go into a PHD program and skip the Masters degree. Has any one ever heard of this? Is this something new on the horizon?

What's Up!

 

This is quite common in the UK education system. If one is graduated with first class honours or second upper honours in the UK undergraduate program, one can study PhD direct. However, some universities may request students to study Mphil first (if the student's undergraduate result is not outstanding).

 

It is not unusual in the US system either. Typically a Master's degree is still awarded at some milestone in the program (such as passing qualifying exams or being advanced to candidacy), whether or not the student wants or needs it.

 

The University of Sarasota has a doctoral program that is 60 credits long. As a default, you are awarded a masters.

 

It has been a long standing policy at Boston University (my alma mater). A person with bachelor degree and very good grades can skip the master and go directly for PhD. However the number of prerequisite courses to take is higher.

 

Jumping from bs to phd. There are many colleges with residence programs designed to do that. Usually they are 4 to 5 year programs. U.Mass Amherst has examples in the science programs. A 4 to 5 year chemistry bs to phd program. Brown U. has a similar program in math. Notice that we are talking 4 to 5 years in residential programs. Most will allow someone to "bailout" with a masters degree.
If the on-line/distance school is offering to give you credit for "life experience" to be the equivalent of a masters degree be cautious. Graduate Credit for life experience is all too often a ploy of a degree mill.
The other thing to look at is the timeline. There does not seem to be any legitimate program that cuts the time corners (in its written descriptions). 2 years for a masters (or equivalent) and 2 to 3 years to advance to the phd seem to be industry standards. The Brit research model, So.Africa, and Australia all seem to say around 4 years to a phd. When you are able to make personal contact with a "mentor" or "faculty advisory" they may be able to help with shortcuts based on their knowledge of the system and your skill level.
happy hunting! irat