system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Applied for a PhD at Graduate Institute of Geneva, got a response that I should (re)do a Masters with them first... is it legit?

I applied to do a PhD in International Relations at the Graduate Institute of Geneva. I received this in response: "Based on your previous studies, the Admission Committee believes you do not yet have the level necessary to start your PhD studies at the Graduate Institute at this time. However, the Committee strongly believes that you have the capacity to attain the necessary level relatively quickly and thus would like to admit you to the Master programme with the possibility to pursue a PhD through the fast-track option." 


The only thing is that I already have a Masters degree... I wanted to do something completely different from what I did with that Masters (go from soft power as peace making to Internet Governance) so I can understand if they feel I need to bolster my grasp on the subject matter. 

Basically, their fast-track program is to cram a 4-semester Masters into 3 semesters and then if I do well enough, I could jump into a PhD a semester early. I really wanted to go to this institute, because it's literally next door to a lot of IGOS, NGOS, etc., and it would be great for networking.  HOWEVER, I don't know about funding yet and it would be very expensive to get either on loans... would the networking be worth it anyway? Is this drop down to another Masters shady or actually something that's done? Should I be devastated or excited?
gpt
Legitimate, yes. But there are two possibilities here.


1. They like your application, but have concerns about your background and want you to add more work before going to the PhD.

2. Less likely, but possible: They may like your application, but currently have an idea of who they want to accept in now and your application isn't 100% to them. Putting you in the MA lets them keep the spot open in the PhD, but also keeps you in their program.