I think that a lot can be said for project skills in terms of PhD work, however. My understanding is that it's becoming increasingly important to have more than just research and writing skills, and if you can produce a project that has a strong written component, has strong relevance to your intended PhD path, and/or have a paper from one of your classes that is comparable to a thesis in terms of showing off your research and writing skills, then the project option is fine in terms of pursuing a PhD. Especially if you intend to follow a more applied or public path. Actually, a large project could also help prepare you better than a paper depending on the type of research you intend to do for a PhD. Of course, I believe that scholarship is/should be presented in more than just written form, and that other forms should be valued in academia on par with written work. I'm pretty sure that not everyone will agree with me :)

I chose the project option and added a strong written component to it. I'm still thinking about pursuing a PhD, but I made sure (by discussing with an advisor in my potential PhD field) that the project option wouldn't put me out of the running. She felt that the amount of work I did was actually more than for the average written master's thesis, and that the project (a conference) had academic relevance that would make my application competitive. That said, no matter the option I chose, if I went on to get a PhD, I would probably have to get another master's/take catch up courses just to cover the theory specific to my intended field (because it's a different field than the one in which I got my master's degree). 

Shana

On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 10:11 PM, Elizabeth Clarke <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Garet,
For what they're worth, here are a few thoughts.  As a former academic, my understanding is that the purpose of the masters thesis is to teach a person how to conduct professional level research within a discipline.  I would say that anyone wanting to pursue a career in a research oriented field would only benefit from the experience of writing a thesis.
Although I don't know what the option would be in your program if you choose not to write a thesis it puzzles me that someone who opts out of writing a masters thesis would consider doctoral studies. A doctoral program is a research program.  It would certainly be an advantage to have the experience of a successful thesis before tackling a dissertation.  Or, conversely, if you don't enjoy research enough to do a thesis, a doctoral program would probably not be of interest either.
kind regards,
Liz Clarke, PhD



From: Garet Bleddynn <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, September 9, 2009 10:35:09 AM
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Question for the Professionals

Good morning, everyone,

I have a question I wanted to fire off. I am a Master's Candidate at
MTSU. This past year, our program changed to allow a non-thesis option
for the Public History Grad Students. The thesis option is still
present as well. I know several of us have debated the pros and cons
of each. I am just wondering what you, our mentors, would say
regarding this choice.

If you went for a thesis, did it really shape your professional career?

If you went for a non-thesis program, do you felt that hindered you
professionally or if you chose to pursue a Ph.D. at some point?

Thanks for your time, and I hope everyone has a great day,
Garet

--
M. Garet Bleddynn

========================
It is the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to any pursuit.


========================================================= Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).