How Does Undergraduate GPA Matter For PhD If You Have Master

[Emre Yucel]

Hello Dear PhysicsForum members,

I am mechanical engineering MSc student. My undergrad gpa is 2.68/4 and my master gpa is 3.79/4. I would like to apply for PhD in USA to modest universities (not top one)Do you think my master gpa will offset my undergraduate gpa if i get good scores from GRE,TOEFL and LOR etc. and what do you suggest me to which universities i should apply for ?(I also have two and half years job experience related to my field)

Thanks​

 

[mpresic]

I think your master GPA will be given heavier weight as long as your school providing your Masters is on equal quality as the school where you earned your Bachelors degree, and you are applying to a doctoral program in mechanical engineering and your earlier degrees are in Mech E.

 

[Choppy]

Read the fine print at the schools you're applying to.

In principle, yes, it should offset your undergraduate work. You did better when presented with more advanced material, which is something that admissions committees will be looking for.

But a lot can depend on the details of how the school assesses your application. Some schools may specifically assess undergraduate work only. And since you were less than a 3.0, you won't get to the table where your master's GPA will be factored in. Some schools will simply count your MSc work into a weighted average of all post-secondary course work up until this point. Some schools will look just at your most recent two years - so you're MSc work would carry all the weight there.

 

[Emre Yucel]

Thanks you for your replies.In fact yes,my bachelor and master are from same university so i assume that the commite will not think my master grades are inflated.Choppy,yes as you said,many universities emphasize undergrad gpa as 3.0 even if you have master with 4.0 for phd aplications.some say undergrad and master gpa will be weighted while others say your most recent gpa is important and we will not calculate your undergrad.By the way, which grad schools i should apply for?i will be pleased to your suggestions.i'd like to apply for North Carolie State University as the top one on list and i will drop to university of texas san antonio or lehigh university.Is it good choice?