Advisor Leaving Program. Call me Orphan Annie.

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I know there was a previous thread about this topic, but it's such an individual issue I figured no one would mind a new thread.

I was accepted to my program to work under one of the best researchers and professors in the department. And today he meets with me to tell me that last minute he applied for a new position at a different university and plans to accept the resulting offer. I haven't even begun the program yet.

He seems very willing to support me and kept saying he wants to do whatever he can to help me be successful but I'm just at a loss. Total shock and readjustment. Unfortunately, he still has yet to find out all the detail or even make an official announcement to the department, so everything is still up in the air and out of my control until I have more information.

Based on what I do know so far, it seems the best option for me would be to try to hook up with a new mentor in the department since my acceptance and funding remains stable and guaranteed for the duration of my time with the program. I think I may be able to join the lab of a recently hired professor as she doesn't have many students yet. I just pray that the fit will be there and I won't be miserable in this program now that my original mentor is leaving.

Mostly I'm still grieving my original plans and bemoaning the unfairness of the situation. As you all know, you work so damn hard to get to this one place and it's just unfathomable to me that after everything something so devastating can happen. Life is ridiculous.

Anyway, any input, recommendations, or condolence is most welcome. I'll be crying intermittently and trying to distract myself for the rest of the day.

Sorry to hear about your predicament! Did you speak with your advisor about the possibility of taking you along for the ride?

Originally Posted by Ya Ya

Sorry to hear about your predicament! Did you speak with your advisor about the possibility of taking you along for the ride?

We discussed it but there are several barriers.

His new program only accepts students with masters degrees. I don't have one.
He begins the new job in August and I've already signed a lease and set up roots in the current location.
The funding at the new program would not be as good.

Bleh.

Originally Posted by Tesseract18

We discussed it but there are several barriers.

His new program only accepts students with masters degrees. I don't have one.
He begins the new job in August and I've already signed a lease and set up roots in the current location.
The funding at the new program would not be as good.

Bleh.

You have unfortunately been caught in the cracks of this system. If your leaving advisor had been thinking about leaving, they probably should not have accepted a new student this year. If the program is run under the mentorship model, it is a huge shift. Some places mentor more in groups and require you to work with different people...but even still you often go wtih someone in mind to work with primarily.

Now I am sure that they will do all that they can to accommodate you and find a good fit for you, but you have plenty of reason to be upset, particularly if you turned down other offers. I'll be curious as to how they will try to reconcile this with you.

Is the advisor taking anyone with him? I am curious because I've seen this happen in my program and not one person got to go even if they had masters degrees.

Originally Posted by Pragma

You have unfortunately been caught in the cracks of this system. If your leaving advisor had been thinking about leaving, they probably should not have accepted a new student this year. If the program is run under the mentorship model, it is a huge shift. Some places mentor more in groups and require you to work with different people...but even still you often go wtih someone in mind to work with primarily.

Now I am sure that they will do all that they can to accommodate you and find a good fit for you, but you have plenty of reason to be upset, particularly if you turned down other offers. I'll be curious as to how they will try to reconcile this with you.

We do follow a close mentorship model and he was quite literally a perfect fit for my research experience and interests so it certainly is a huge shift. I suspect I'll be picked up by the faculty person I previously mentioned (God willing) but I, too, will be curious to see what they do with me and how the situation is reconciled. I'm very upset but at least I'm not halfway through the program like a couple of his other current students. I hope I will get a chance to talk with them about this development at some point soon. I'm so disheartened, I can only imagine how they feel.

No wise words, but wanted to send condolences. I hope you can look back on this in a few years and be happy with where you are and where this unexpected turn in your path has taken you. Hang in there!!

Take it as an opportunity. Everything happens for a reason. Things will work out.

HUGS FOR YOU!

I will keep my fingers crossed that the other potential advisor will take you under his/her wing. Your advisor shouldn't have taken a student if they knew this was a possibility!!

At least your funding is staying put, many students who lose their advisor also risk losing their funding (fair or not). I would definitely lean hard on the advisor and the program director, as you were accepted by the advisor....but also by the program. You should do your part to try and find a match, but they really should share a large portion of the grunt work given how last minute this all occurred.

Thank you, everyone. I know I'm fortunate in many ways even though the situation pretty much sucks. I'll be sure to post an update once I know more from my advisor and the department but I'm anticipating that they'll do right by me. Fingers crossed. Love the support SDN provides!

Originally Posted by Therapist4Chnge

At least your funding is staying put, many students who lose their advisor also risk losing their funding (fair or not).

I'm sorry but in what universe would that be fair? It may be inevitable but not fair.

Originally Posted by iwillheal

i'm sorry but in what universe would that be fair? It may be inevitable but not fair.

+1

Originally Posted by Iwillheal

I'm sorry but in what universe would that be fair? It may be inevitable but not fair.

Some professors fund their grad students through research grants that are tied directly and irrevocably to that faculty member. It would be nice for the department to pick up funding (GA/TA, etc) for those students caught when an advisor moves and takes the funding with them, but that isn't always possible, as some departments bank on having professors fund students personally (this is more typical at research-heavy programs/schools, I think).

OP, I'm really sorry to hear of your situation! Hopefully, the new professor will be a good fit both research and personality wise. Did your would-have-been advisor have any collaborators at the university (within or outside the department) who do similar research and with whom he could put you in contact? That might be a way to continue your hoped-for research line despite this sucky upset.

Originally Posted by Iwillheal

I'm sorry but in what universe would that be fair? It may be inevitable but not fair.

Originally Posted by futureapppsy2

Some professors fund their grad students through research grants that are tied directly and irrevocably to that faculty member. It would be nice for the department to pick up funding (GA/TA, etc) for those students caught when an advisor moves and takes the funding with them, but that isn't always possible, as some departments bank on having professors fund students personally (this is more typical at research-heavy programs/schools, I think).

That was what I was getting at, though I was thinking about a scenario where grant funding was cut and the faculty couldn't fund their own work or a student's work, so they found a university that could back them. It isn't that it is "fair" to the student, but often times faculty are beholden to their grants and if they dry up they are left between a rock and a hard place.

As someone who has just recovered (yes, recovered) from your experience, I can certainly understand how confusing and strange this must feel. At the very least, be thankful that it happened now, as opposed to a year or two into your program. I felt very close with my advisor of 2 years and the transition has not been easy. Granted, I had the option to go but (due to a variety of barriers you are likely familiar with) did not. Even though staying was my choice, it absolutely feels like abandonment. You'll be fine though. You're in a program and the application process was harder than usual last year; just be thankful you have guaranteed funding!!! Find another advisor and stick with them. From my experience, when advisors leave, new advisors and other faculty are very understanding that the student was accepted under different circumstances. You shouldn't feel forced to "switch" your research goals to fit this new professor. Just try to keep going as if your old one were still in the same city :-)

Originally Posted by froggie064

As someone who has just recovered (yes, recovered) from your experience, I can certainly understand how confusing and strange this must feel. At the very least, be thankful that it happened now, as opposed to a year or two into your program. I felt very close with my advisor of 2 years and the transition has not been easy. Granted, I had the option to go but (due to a variety of barriers you are likely familiar with) did not. Even though staying was my choice, it absolutely feels like abandonment. You'll be fine though. You're in a program and the application process was harder than usual last year; just be thankful you have guaranteed funding!!! Find another advisor and stick with them. From my experience, when advisors leave, new advisors and other faculty are very understanding that the student was accepted under different circumstances. You shouldn't feel forced to "switch" your research goals to fit this new professor. Just try to keep going as if your old one were still in the same city :-)

It's great to know that someone else has gone through this and thrived on the other end! Thanks for replying. I'm definitely hoping that once I get more information and am able to begin approaching faculty that I'll find someone willing to and interested in wedding interests. It's so disappointing to watch one, seemingly idyllic, version of your dream fall apart but here's to hoping that the new circumstances will be optimal in the end.

OP, it seems that the primary concern is funding and mentorship within the program to which you've committed, which is completely understandable.

But in terms of your future career (not sure if you've clarified if you're going the academic route or strictly clinical), has the advisor who is leaving indicated any openness to mentoring you despite the change in institutional affiliation? Perhaps things work differently in your field, but in mine it's not uncommon to have committee members from other institutions, or at the very least outside readers and collaborators. I wonder if there might still be some opportunity there, despite the recent change.

We've unfortunately had a number of students in our programs "lose" their advisors. They pretty much did as was recommended by one of the previous posters. Kept on trucking with their same research ideas with a different advisor. I think it helped that many/most (?) of these folks already had well-developed ideas and discussed these with other potential advisors in the program, so for the most part it was a smooth transition.

I think the only whining I've heard came from one/two individuals who were forced to work with someone else (advisor did not necessarily leave the dept, but medical issues forced students to work closely with other faculty) who may have changed the way they felt things should have gone with their projects, manuscripts, etc. These faculty had really different styles, so I can understand the frustration involved.

But, for the most part, faculty have been really supportive of all students in these transitions.

Originally Posted by wigflip

OP, it seems that the primary concern is funding and mentorship within the program to which you've committed, which is completely understandable.

But in terms of your future career (not sure if you've clarified if you're going the academic route or strictly clinical), has the advisor who is leaving indicated any openness to mentoring you despite the change in institutional affiliation? Perhaps things work differently in your field, but in mine it's not uncommon to have committee members from other institutions, or at the very least outside readers and collaborators. I wonder if there might still be some opportunity there, despite the recent change.

Yes, there is the possibility of some "remote" mentoring although I don't know how long he'd be willing to maintain such a situation. I'm hoping to work out a hybrid type of arrangement where I'm connected officially to a new mentor but where I can still work with and consult my original advisor at various points for additional input and direction.

I am interested in a more academic route (which is one of the reasons why this situation sucks, he's well known and has many connections in the field) and I'm worried that my new mentoring situation may not end up being as ideal for that direction. In terms of research fit with mentors (old and new), I had a very firm background and interest in my original advisor's particular area, but I hadn't specifically begun planning projects with him yet. I'm assuming it will be a good thing that I hadn't had my heart set on one particular research idea since (in theory) I may be more able to adopt a new advisor's area and try to combine that with the area I originally planned to work in. Eh, I don't know how it's going to work. I just wish I had more information and was able to begin reaching out to the department to resolve this issue. Alas, I must wait for my advisor to get his ducks in a row.

Good luck. I really feel for you. I've had some of these issues (changing advisors; research area shifting by necessity, not inclination) and am sending good vibes your way.