Very good read…. thanks

In this article … Just lots and lots of reverse rationalization of what is largely whorish behaviour.

How’s this for a stat (feel free to use google to reach th e source) that >80% of marriages where neither partner has previously had intercourse are successful. While the drops to <20% for those who have had 14 or more partners before marriage.

Now place this in the context of off-spring mental health and I am sure somewhere you will see the evolutionary reason for the Hymen.

Good thing is that the population of those who share your belief set is steadily declining and should be wiped off over next 100-150 years.

It'd be a shame if this does not get published.

Regards,

Happy Naysayer to your BS.

I’ll be taking a MPhil program at Cambridge starting in October – so, I’ll be far more qualified to answer this question in a year from now, but I’m going to take a stab regardless. (And make some terribly large generalizations.)

There are some fundamental differences between how the degress are structured (in the US vs in the UK) and what they intend to accomplish, and I think these feed into how they’re respected/recieved.

SHORT ANSWER:
- UK Master degrees (in subfields of Anthropology) are (more likely to be) academic.
- US Master degrees are more likely to be targeted at a straight-to-workforce group, with a greater focus on vocational training and career prep.

This difference stems from the fact that US PhD programs do not expect incomng students to have already undertaken a Master’s course – in fact, they don’t treat students with a Master’s differently than those coming directly from undergrad – while UK PhD programs do tend to prefer that their incoming students have arleady completed a Master’s course.

(There are, of course, exceptions. There are plenty of UK Masters programs, in things like Heritage Management and Museum Studies, that are intended as a final degree. And PhD programs will welcome students with only BA/BS degrees, if they have specific research goals or research experience.)

I was advised to take a Master’s degree, rather than applying directly to UK PhD programs, by my personal tutor at Bristol as well as every lecturer and postgrad student that I spoke to, and I was told that this in no way reflected on my academic competence or the rigour BA course that I had completed. The structure of the British academic system makes it a good idea to get the broader background that the Master’s would provide, before committing to the specialization of a PhD.)

Additionally, there are two types of UK Master’s degrees: Taught and Research. (Taught meaning that you attend lectures and seminars, research being often entirely self-led and independent.)

In terms of which is worth more, or better resepcted: I really think it depends on what you intend to do.

- I don’t think that a UK Master’s is worth any less than a US Master’s (I may be biased here, and that statement should take into consideration all the different courses and universitites, and what research you get involved with, etc). BUT, it might be more useful in PhD admissions, rather than a job hunt.

- If you have the opportunity to apply directly to US PhD programs, and to expect funding, I don’t think you would be hurt (intellectually) by not having a Master’s. (Academically, I’m hoping that mine might give me an edge for admissions.)

- If you’re considering switching countries between undergrad and PhD, I’d say go for the Master’s – regardless of which direction you’re moving, it will help bridge the gap. US universities look down on UK undergrad degrees as not broad enough (as UK transcripts demonstrate a much lighter courseload without any general requirements – for an Arch/Anth student like myself, that means that I haven’t taken any math or bio while in uni) while the UK looks down on US undergrad degrees as being not deep enough (less classes within the department).

- If you’re considering applying even further abroad for your PhD (Max Planck Institute in Germany, etc) – you might be required to have a Master’s!

(All of that being said, I think that there is also a hesitancy on the US side to encourage students to go study in the UK, so they tend to downplay British courses. I wouldn’t exactly say that the UK is more welcoming of American students than vice versa, but…)