Bridge M.A. Program
The Bridge MA: An Alternative to the Two-Year Predoc
If you are weighing a two-year predoctoral position to strengthen your file before applying to a PhD program, we would like you to know about another option first: Northwestern's 1-Year Bridge MA.
This initiative targets a small number of applicants — two a year — who show real research potential but whose formal background doesn't yet look like a conventional PhD applicant: perhaps thinner math preparation, a non-economics major, coursework from a program we don't know well, or a research interest that a transcript alone can't capture. The usual advice to applicants in this position is to spend two years as a predoctoral research assistant and then apply. We think that advice is often too time-consuming, and — as we say elsewhere on this site — a predoc doesn't reliably improve your application.
The Bridge MA is meant to attract talent, with unusually high potential but not yet ready for a top program application.
How it works:
- You are admitted as an MA student and take the same first-year coursework, taught by the same faculty, as our incoming PhD cohort. This is unlike other MA programs, which offer a separate or lighter curriculum.
- At the end of the year, you will be evaluated against exactly the same progression requirements that first-year PhD students must meet.
- If you meet them, you will be admitted into our Ph.D. Program after submitting a pro-forma application, ready to take second-year field courses.
What to know before applying:
- This is a small, selective program, it isn't a general terminal-MA option; it exists specifically as an alternative on-ramp to our PhD program.
- Unlike the PhD program, which is fully funded, the MA year is tuition-based.
- There is no separate application form. When you apply to the PhD program, indicate that you'd like to be considered for the Bridge MA if the committee feels it is a better fit for your file than an initial PhD offer.
If you think your file might fit this description — strong upside, less conventional preparation — we encourage you to apply to the PhD program directly and note your interest in this option, rather than spending a year or two on a predoc first.