This is just getting a PhD at a less prestigious school. Advisors there know most of their students won't stay in academia and mentor them accordingly. Ultimat

This is just getting a PhD at a less prestigious school. Advisors there know most of their students won't stay in academia and mentor them accordingly. Ultimately I don't think there is a need for something between a masters and a PhD. Any attempt to make an alternative PhD will just become "PhD-lite", and the best students (whether they want to stay in academia or not) will still funnel into the more prestigious traditional PhD program and will be more desirable hires in industry because they come from a more elite pedigree.