In Australia, I managed to cut a year off my university studies by foregoing a Masters degree and pursuing an Honours degree instead. The usual route to the PhD

In Australia, I managed to cut a year off my university studies by foregoing a Masters degree and pursuing an Honours degree instead. The usual route to the PhD was a 3 year Bachelors, 2 year Masters, and then into a PhD program. However, if you did a research intensive Honours year (50% coursework, 50% thesis) and managed to get something published in a peer-reviewed journal, you stood a good chance of going straight into a PhD program. For me, this allowed me to get a taste of research (if still at a sub-PhD level) and quickly learn what it means to move through peer-review in a journal. In my case, I think the ‘shortcut’ made sense and it paid off. In the author’s case, it doesn’t seem clear ot me what the benefit to finishing early is. Perhaps a cost saving (community college courses are cheaper than a 4 year college?) but otherwise, why?