Mar 19 2009
Unfunded PhD?
I still haven’t heard any good news from MAs in my program trying to move into a PhD. I’ve just heard about a number of additional rejections, and those are just the ones people are candid about. “Have you gotten into a PhD program?” is becoming an increasingly undesirable question, so it’s hard to get information. I never ask it and I cringe when I other people do.
I haven’t heard any ambiguous news either, which is interesting. What I mean is, I expected to hear about people getting into PhD programs but with limited funding. Instead, most schools seem to be dealing with the economic crunch by accepting fewer PhD candidates but granting them normal financial packages. I did just hear, however, that Stanford is going a different route. According to my information – let me know if anyone can confirm or deny this – they accepted around 20 candidates… but only funded half of them. I understand that the current climate necessitates creative solutions, but there is no way that this is a good idea. Schools already have to deal with the divisions that can split MAs and PhDs, or the bitterness that can arise when students who received more prestigious scholarships don’t live up to that potential. Believe me, I’ve seen both, even though I think my program deals with those issues better than most. How much worse would it be to have a PhD class split into paying and non-paying, for students on both sides of the divide? Instant camaraderie killer. And how are the unfunded students ever going to climb out of those years of debt? A good job upon graduation is never guaranteed, and even the best ones don’t pay a lot right away. Unless you are already independently wealthy it seems like a horrible idea to go into a PhD program without guarantee of funding. At the same time, I can see why people might decide to go anyway. At least they were admitted, right? And it’s not like they’re passing up on a fantastic current job market. I’m just glad I don’t have to make that decision.
Sorry that my more recent posts are such downers, but that’s what I’m seeing around me.
Then again, if it’s Stanford, they can do pretty much whatever they want to. A Ph.D from there will instantly be more hirable than I am, who got an exceptional doctoral education, but from The University of South Carolina.
The problem is that, in higher education, budgets are being cut, so they are offering fewer incentives to students, accepting fewer students, and cutting back on classes. Unfortunately, as history has shown and the real world is now illustrating, people in a bad economy turn to higher education, and enrollment picks up. But if those people trying to return to school can’t get classes and can’t get accepted anywhere, they can’t spend their money at the college, and increase the college’s income.
The supply needs to rise a little to meet the demand. We are suffering a teacher shortage here in my state, yet teaching programs are being cut back. I recently heard U. Washington received over 300 applications for their teaching program, and could allow only 12 students in. Pathetic, if you ask me. Twelve teachers isn’t enough to fill the deficit.
Cogent post. I’m going to bookmark you. And good luck on finding a doctoral program that DOES fund you.
You’re entirely right Shakespeare. The system is hindering itself in the long run. And as much as everyone keeps trumpeting education as one of the few fields still hiring along with medicine it’s less rosy in reality, or at least in my reality. A large school district near where I’d like to live is in a hiring freeze, even though there are empty positions that they really need to fill for the good of their school, their students, and their teachers. Instead they aren’t hiring but are overloading the current teachers, beyond the limits of their contracts even, but no one can complain because no one can afford to be out of a job. Once again the system is injuring itself - by trying to solve financial issues in a way that hurts the teachers and the students. It’s so depressing to see the financial downturns leading to so many vicious cycles, especially in such a critical field.
Sure seems like an awful lot of people on waitlists or offered only unfunded admissions this year…. I’ve been hanging out in the grad cafe and both of those outcomes are more than a little depressing.
I also can’t get over the number of people who applied to 12 or more places and still haven’t received a solid offer. OUCH!
I haven’t heard from my second choice…but since my first wants me, I’m not inclined to care too much about that.
Sure do feel for all of the people who are still waiting though.
By funding, do you mean scholarships? Having never gone beyond a bachelor’s, I have no idea how the higher degrees work.
I can’t imagine that funding half the applicants and not the others would be a big mistake. Sure, people will probably still accept the opportunity, but it is going to create a lot of hard feelings–and a lot of pressure on those who are getting the money. Ack. I don’t know why they wouldn’t just split the money evenly and have everyone be partially funded–or maybe only fully fund the top candidate as a reward for excellence or something.
Best of luck to you!
P.S. I just realized I’m signed in under my TV blog, but I found you because you commented on my Shrine to Actors blog.
Thanks for visiting me!
By funding I mean scholarships or fellowships; basically the majority of PhD students are fully funded (and sometimes given insurance and other perks) though sometimes their teaching is part of this arrangement. I’m not sure exactly how it all works out either, however, since I’m an unfunded MA and have only talked to PhDs about funding from a few institutions. In the past professors would tell their students not to accept a PhD offer unless it was fully funded, but with the economic downturn it seems like that perspective is likely to change. I still wouldn’t go with absolutely no funding, however; 2 years of that was quite enough, thanks!
Oh and MAs are traditionally unfunded, in case that part was unclear, though a few get lucky and land a well-paid TAship or something. And some institutions already give their top PhD candidate a larger financial package or special scholarship that gives them money beyond the cost of tuition. The system was all a little flexible and confusing already, and now it’s just incomprehensible as institutions all scramble to implement their own bright ideas to save money. I have given up trying to decipher what is happening and am just being grateful that I decided to wait a year or two before applying. Maybe things will have settled down by then? I can hope…
Congrats again Flit! And yeah, the climate is generally depressing. I heard about a (yet another) 0 for 15 applicant today. Ouch indeed!