弱问Texas Austin econ master和北卡教堂山econ master

barrydeanUID：2564897

请教各位前辈：
我在德州奥斯汀和北卡教堂山的网站上查看econ master的信息，发现这两所学校的master program与PhD program有很紧密的联系。
德州奥斯汀While the department does not run a separate master's program, it offers two master's degrees to students enrolled in the PhD program。
北卡Most (>90%) of our Masters students have previously been admitted to a Ph.D. or professional program at UNC. Keep in mind that we do not offer separate courses for Masters and Ph.D. students.  Thus, Masters Students must have the background to do Ph.D. level course work.
请问可以直接申请经济硕士吗？还是意味着经济硕士只是PhD过程中的一个过渡学位？
谢谢