Quote from jasonbraswell:
No, if you poke around the U of C website, it says the degree granted is a full Master's.
At virtually every department at UC the Master's students and PhDs have the same course/exam requirements, at least that's how I remember it. I think even a business PhD has to get an MBA first.
But from the CS web site:
1. Should I apply to the Ph.D. program or the Master's program?
If you have a strong background in computer science, mathematics, or a related field such as linguistics and you wish to do independent research in computer science in a highly competitive world-wide research environment, we encourage you to apply to our Ph.D. program.
If you are a computer professional or a novice to computer science and wish to gain a formal understanding of the principles and techniques of applied computer science, our Master's Program may be the right choice for you.
. . .
3. Do students in the Ph.D. program receive a Master's Degree?
Upon successful completion of the Course requirements and the presentation of a research-oriented Master's Thesis, students in the Ph.D. program receive a Master's Degree. This concludes the first phase of their work toward their Ph.D. and is expected to take two years.
4. I don't need a Ph.D. but I'd like to get the Master's Degree in the Ph.D. program. What do I do?
We do not offer the "Master's Degree in the Ph.D. program" as a separate program. Only students admitted into the Ph.D. program are eligible for this avenue toward the Master's Degree. If you are not interested in Ph.D.-level research, you may want to consider our Master's Program .
I was in the MA statistics program at Columbia and it was explicitly stated that the course level was not what a PhD would take. If you wanted to get a PhD you would have to start all over again. I paid a lot of money for the brand, but at least the faculty was the same.