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PhD Candidates post Transfer applying for EE allowed as Masters?

A

anuraagmishra

Full Member
Jun 6, 2017
33
11
Hello,
I am a PR holder and my wife currently in Canada as a PhD candidate at a Canadian University. I am avoiding the spousal sponsorship as it’s long and complicated application and she could potentially get the FSW track which is faster. The only thing that is causing a low score is lack of a masters degree to boost the points.

Technically after completing 2 years she will receive a transfer certificate which is equivalent to a masters. But it is not truly a degree as she would need to defend her masters to actually get the degree (which she will do once only when PhD program ends 3-5 years from now). Now would it be okay to say she has received a masters in the EE application post the transfer? What documents do they ask for to showcase a person finished a masters program. Just a score card and credit completion will work or a complete Masters degree certificate is needed? We want to know if someone has been in a similar boat and if they figured a way to apply for PR while in the middle of a PhD.
 
No, you need a diploma or degree certificate to get the points for masters. Completing the credits is not enough.
 
anuraagmishra said:
What about the line item which says completed but no degree or diploma awarded. Would that not give the points?
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She was never registered in a masters
anuraagmishra said:
What about the line item which says completed but no degree or diploma awarded. Would that not give the points?
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She hasn't been registered in the masters program and as you mentioned she hasn't needed to defend it so not sure how you could even say she completed the masters. Did she not have a masters already? It is pretty rare in Canada to go straight into a PhD from undergrad which is much more common in the US.
 
canuck78 said:
She was never registered in a masters


She hasn't been registered in the masters program and as you mentioned she hasn't needed to defend it so not sure how you could even say she completed the masters. Did she not have a masters already? It is pretty rare in Canada to go straight into a PhD from undergrad which is much more common in the US.
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Most universities use an official MSc to PhD transfer and on paper she is undergoing a Master's course on a PhD track. She cannot potentially do a PhD without a masters but to receive a masters diploma you need to defend it. It's more like a free pass to those who are in good standing on their masters and know they wish to continue to PhD, they can just skip the Masters defence as it serves no purpose if your final diploma is a doctorate. The only caveat is, you wont get the diploma for masters. This is sample of Graduate Transfer from Master's to Doctorate.

Anyways, unless there are people who have used this method or know firsthand why this would or would not work, there is no need for a speculative answer. I really need to know if people have been on this boat to comment. But thanks for trying to assist.
 
anuraagmishra said:
Most universities use an official MSc to PhD transfer and on paper she is undergoing a Master's course on a PhD track. She cannot potentially do a PhD without a masters but to receive a masters diploma you need to defend it. It's more like a free pass to those who are in good standing on their masters and know they wish to continue to PhD, they can just skip the Masters defence as it serves no purpose if your final diploma is a doctorate. The only caveat is, you wont get the diploma for masters. This is sample of Graduate Transfer from Master's to Doctorate.

Anyways, unless there are people who have used this method or know firsthand why this would or would not work, there is no need for a speculative answer. I really need to know if people have been on this boat to comment. But thanks for trying to assist.
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The masters to PhD program where your admitted to the PhD program and can roll your masters into your PhD is still not standard in Canada. Most have done a masters and then complete a separate course load for their PhD.
 
canuck78 said:
The masters to PhD program where your admitted to the PhD program and can roll your masters into your PhD is still not standard in Canada. Most have done a masters and then complete a separate course load for their PhD.
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That is simply not true. Literally every university I have seen along with every program inside those universities (albeit a few) have that same page explaining the process as I have listed above. A simple internet search on the term MSc to PhD transfer will show that. Regardless that is not the point of this post. Thanks for trying to help still.

If anyone else has tried this move and it did or did not work please share. Regardless we are planning to apply with those parameters and will post the results.
 
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