[butterthebuddha]

For PhD students, the masters is integrated into the 5 years they spend doing their PhD. They are expected to take courses as a "pre-candidate" and do primarily research after they pass their qualifying exams and become candidates.

[mrtranscendence]

This is usually true but not always. I attended an economics program with a terminal master’s offering, and we spent a year and a half as master’s students before moving on to PhD work.