sometimes an institution will give an ms as a consolation prize for time spent not being able to finish a phd [0]. in those cases they can be upwards of 5 years, but they certainly aren't industry driven

[0] often a leadership or personality failure of the PI

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lokar 42 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

My program had an exam after 2 years. You could fail completely, do well enough to leave with a MS, or fully pass and continue to a PhD.

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mathisfun123 an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Why do people do this kind of "well actually" thing? Yes you're correct but it has nothing to do with whether the degree itself is intended for that.

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smelendez 35 minutes ago | parent [-]

I mean, how common is a terminal master’s program in STEM fields?

I imagine there are departments where it’s more common to get a master’s by dropping out of the PhD program early than through any other path. Especially for people with a bachelor’s in the same field.

	▲	mathisfun123 11 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		> mean, how common is a terminal master’s program in STEM fields? Lololol extremely. They're cash cows because of foreign students paying full price and not getting tuition waivers. > Especially for people with a bachelor’s in the same field. Lol bruh an enormous number of schools have 4+1 programs to enable students getting terminal MS even easier.