apply for a Master's, already holding a PhD in a similar field If one has a PhD in a similar field and goes apply for a Master's, will that hurt his/her chance of getting accepted? In the Statement of objectives, one can argue for some slight nuances between the PhD obtained and the desired Master's. Other reasons could be that the Master's school is a top school or wanting to move to the area the Master's is located in.
MS programs can be money-makers for the university, and already having a PhD in any other field would not likely be a problem for you in getting accepted to a program. On the other hand, were you hoping to apply to a similar PhD program, that would be prohibited by many top schools.