They're almost like a place to be vetted. They step into an M.A. program, and after a year, they say, 'Forget this. This world doesn't suit me. Actually, many of them are. MAPH offers only a handful of half-tuition scholarships.
Most students pay their own way, and the price tag can be steep.
Places like Chicago need every penny of it. Given the dismal academic job market, even the most reactionary doctoral programs are scaling down. But the loss of tuition-paying Ph.D. students can be offset by new M.A. candidates. And because most of the new programs don't hire additional professors little is spent on overhead. But the university is in a bind.