Will graduate courses taken as undergrad transfer to a PHD program?

1230wc

I can graduate a semester early or stay and take some grad classes.
In the later scenario I want to transfer them to a PHD program (in statistics).
However some PHD programs say transfer credits must be taken with graduate status; or they don't accept transfer credits period.

In that case, what happens if I still place out of a core class?
Do I have to take a more advanced class in its place usually?
How are previous grad classes handled in PHD programs in general?

Thanks!!

fss

What do you mean by "place out"? If you take a placement exam and demonstrate that you don't need to take a certain class (as well as having taken a similar class in undergrad), your institution will probably work with you in such a situation.

If you can't test out, you might need to take your graduate institution's equivalent. Depends on the school.

If they are taken as credit towards an undergraduate degree they are generally not counted towards a graduate degree.

1230wc

So is it worth it to take grad courses for a semester rather than graduating early, not knowing if they will transfer?
Money isn't a huge issue for me.
Thanks.

Vanadium 50

You should be asking the question whether it's something you would want to learn where you are.

Dr Transport

you need to ask the school you are going to about their transfer policies....I had an MS be before going to a different school for my PhD, they allowed credit from only 2 classes to be transferred and if they didn't like the previous grades or didn't have a corresponding course, they would not allow it.

1230wc

I do really want to learn the material in the grad classes.
I just don't want to take additional coursework to satisfy the PHD requirements in case they don't transfer.

fss

So you want to get a PhD and devote the next 5-6 years of your life to Statistics, but you don't want to risk going above and beyond for an extra semester or two on the grounds that it might not "count" ? Perhaps you should re-think your academic goals. Even if they don't count for credit you should be able to get something out of it.

1230wc

IMO taking classes is very inefficient.
I'd much go through a textbook and its exercises on my own rather than having to worry about homeworks/tests.

Do most biostats and stats PHD programs allow you test out of classes? That would be ideal...

Simfish

You could just skip them (and just ask fellow grad students for things the prof mentioned that aren't in the textbook). And I don't think grades in graduate school matter that much at all, as long as you pass them.

twofish-quant

Generally the answer is no. However, you'll find it much, much easier to get through a class when you've taken it before.

They aren't. Ph.D. programs usually require you to go through a set of classes. However, it's really to your advantage to have taken the class before because everything should be familiar.

I'd say take the classes. It's good for you.

hadsed

It'll probably add something positive to your academic CV as well, so it couldn't hurt (unless you do poorly of course, but you shouldn't if you're planning on graduate school).

story645

*shrugs* It also depends on how the school handles quals. In my dept. even the masters students who've already taken the core classes can't get out of taking them again because the profs who teach the class write that section of the quals. Other depts. don't require a set list of courses, so they're probably more flexible on credit. This is so insanely department specific that you've gotta call up the places you plan to apply to.

I'll agree. I asked a prof about this and he said that the people who do the best in the classes are often the ones with master's degrees in the fieled and that's in large part because they've already seen the material.