# If you could have a Masters and PhD in any subjects/areas, what would you want? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 17, 2016, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955 "2016-05-17T01:33:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/1 "2016-05-17T01:33:59Z")
Let’s say a magical being comes to you and says “I tell you what…since you’re a person with a highly above average intelligence, I think giving you not only a PhD and a Masters degree in something, but also all of the knowledge that comes with getting them, is well deserved. So name the area you’d like each in and I will make it so.” So yeah, you will two degrees…a Masters in one and a Doctorate in another. **The two cannot be in the same area of work, however** …so if you want to be a Doctor of Medicine, you have to choose the Masters degree in something other than medicine. However, you will not only get the degrees, you will also–automatically and magically–learn, know, and remember all of the knowledge and information and learnings of those areas of study; basically, _all of the stuff you’d have had to know if you were to earn those degrees the normal, long ways._ What do you choose to have the PhD in and what do you choose to have the Masters in? Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! Well…! I’d choose to get a **Doctor of Medicine** degree and all the knowledge that comes with it. That was an easy choice. As for Masters…wow, so many choices. The world is wide open here. I think, after much thought and looking over the list for a bit ([here’s a list of all the things you can get a Master’s degree in](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_master%27s_degrees)), I’d go with\*\* Master of Music _or_ Master of Library and Information Science.\*\* ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/2 "2016-05-17T01:40:09Z")
Masters in Psychology, Ph.D. in Folklore and Mythology. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/3 "2016-05-17T02:40:44Z")
Man that’s a tough one. I’ve already got an MBA so I’m not sure what I would want a second masters in. I’d want the Ph.D. In natural resource economics. I’ve been thinking on going back to school to get that any how. I think the changing landscape in natural resource management is going to be fascinating over the next 30 years and I’d love to be on the forefront. I guess for the masters, especially if I don’t have to go to school I’ll take Chemical engineering. The one part of my distillery that I don’t have a deep knowledge of is the chemistry. Wether it’s the thermodynamic properties of my still or the organic chemistry of my fermentations. There is a ton of stuff that I’d love to understand better and Chemical Eng. is probably my best bet to get there. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/4 "2016-05-17T02:53:47Z")
If it comes with all of the associated knowledge, then it’s kind of redundant to say that they’d be in different fields: The knowledge and prestige of a doctoral degree completely subsumes that of a master’s. That is to say, if you were to choose the doctorate in basketweaving, taking your master’s also in basketweaving would gain you nothing at all new. Which also complicates my decision. I already have a master’s in physics, and would like a doctorate in it, too… but that would come at the opportunity cost of a much greater knowledge gain in some other field. And what’s separating me from the PhD right now is more a matter of drive than of knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/5 "2016-05-17T03:28:41Z")
I’d also go with the Doctor of Medicine. I’m tempted to go with a Master of Laws degree which would make me a Doctor/Lawyer, which if I’m not mistaken also gives me telekinetic powers. But I decided I’d rather go with a Master of Mathematics. It’s apparently not a degree awarded in the United States, so I got my imaginary Masters at Oxford. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/6 "2016-05-17T03:54:24Z")
Masters in Fine Arts Ph.D. in Music ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/7 "2016-05-17T03:55:37Z")
Geoengineering. Before we can save the world, we need to understand it. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/8 "2016-05-17T04:01:03Z")
I would not want a PhD in Mathematics. Can I have 8 years it took me to get it plus two years job searching plus six years of unpaid internship back? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/9 "2016-05-17T04:02:36Z")
Master’s in TESOL education or financial accounting. PhD in aerospace engineering or some field of medical surgery. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/10 "2016-05-17T04:51:19Z")
I’d take a Masters in Medieval History and a PhD in International Political Economy. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/11 "2016-05-17T05:24:10Z")
Doctor in Medicine? As a PhD? I would love an MD without doing any of the work. Do I get to keep the degrees I already have? If I were to help current job prospects, I’d do statistics for sure, and the other one maybe physics? Either direction, though I think a physics PhD is much better than a MS, while stats MA/MS is pretty decent. I always never really liked the actual study part of physics, but if I could skip all that. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/12 "2016-05-17T06:26:53Z")
Math! Yay! Especially orbital mechanics, and I’d go to work for JPL and guide probes to Uranus. Um, Neptune. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/13 "2016-05-17T10:21:57Z")
PhD in physics please. That’s it, I suppose I would choose the masters to be in a related field. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/14 "2016-05-17T10:27:23Z")
… can we make it “the magic being changes a what-if point of your choice and the new one leads to a PhD”? Because I’d like to trade in my “PhD dropout Masters without Thesis” for a PhD in Theoretical Chemistry, pretty please, which in turn would require my graduate advisor never making the decision to steal from his foreign students. He gets a better life, I get a different life (although I don’t know if better), and we all sing kumbayah. As for the Masters, hm… heck, can I keep the other ones I have? I kind of collect, it’s a family thing 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/15 "2016-05-17T17:54:28Z")
Masters in Music Theory, please, with a PhD in Recreation and Leisure Studies. Then I would change my screen name to “Doctor Ahhhhh”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/16 "2016-05-17T18:16:44Z")
Tough one. I’d probably pick a Masters in Architecture and a PhD in Paleoanthropology. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/17 "2016-05-17T19:07:19Z")
Masters in accounting. PhD in Economics. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/18 "2016-05-17T19:08:37Z")
A foreign language, maybe Russian or French. Do I get to know anything about the subject, or just have the degree? Can it be an Honorary Degree? ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/19 "2016-05-17T19:17:45Z")
Assuming i get to keep the PhD I have, I’ll take a PhD in physics because I’d really really love to understand all that stuff I gave up on after undergraduate. For a Masters, I’d take Linguistics I think assuming that’s what I need to know about ancient languages and their evolution. I presume that comes with the ability to read lots and lots of languages. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955/20 "2016-05-17T20:45:17Z")
Masters in Information systems M.D. Become unholy terror in medical information systems. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-have-a-masters-and-phd-in-any-subjects-areas-what-would-you-want/754955.md?page=2)