Letters of Rec: Am I sunk?

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SplitScreen

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Thanks to everyone who shares their knowledge on this forum. I've learned a lot reading past threads!

Here's my situation, and thanks in advance for any advice:

I graduated college with a degree in sociology and subsequently went directly to grad school into a PhD program. I thought sociology would allow me to help be an active agent for positive change in the world. I was passionate about helping people and working closely with students to educate people about social justice. Boy did I found out I was in the wrong place!

My program was a terrible fit for me. I was told not to spend anytime on lesson plans, and that anyone with a passion for teaching was seen as someone who wasn't working hard enough of research, which is what "really matters." I was also advised to give up on activism, as there was no time for that if I wanted to be a successful academic. Along with other disappointments, including having a hard time getting a willing adviser for my 2nd year thesis (equivalent to a master's thesis), I exited the program after two years.

Near the end of my time there, even though I had finished my 2nd year thesis, I had to essentially beg my professor to sign off on my master's degree. He told me it had nothing to do with the quality of my work. He'd rather not grant me a master's degree since that often enabled unhappy students to leave the program, and he wanted to see all his students stay for their phd. The program did not *officially* offer a terminal master's degree, though you could fill out the paperwork to get one. It's just that allowing students to complete that paperwork was frowned upon. Finally I cajoled him and took a leave of absence for a year, and he agreed to sign off and allow me to be granted a master's. After that year off, I declined to return.

He contacted me after that year and asked me to send him my thesis so that he could add to it and submit it for publication. I told him I was not comfortable with this, as it was my intellectual property, and he reacted quite badly. He eventually offered to put my name on the paper as a coauthor if I would also contribute further to the paper, and I declined telling him that my interests were no longer with that vein of research and that I had no interest in pursuing it further. He responded with an angry email in which he said he was "puzzled and disappointed" by my "obstinance" and that was the last I heard from him.

All this said, I feel I pretty much burned my bridges at my last graduate program simply because I wanted to escape what wasn't a good fit for me.

I've since done quite a bit of research and talked to folks I know who are doing social work programs, and that seems like a much better fit for me. Social workers seem outspoken and committed to affecting real change, rather than just locking themselves up in an ivory tower. I'm interested in pursuing an MSW with a focus on becoming a practicing therapist.

I would guess that any graduate program that saw my transcripts would either really want or would outright require a letter of recommendation from someone at the last school that I attended. But I can't think of a single person there to ask. I certainly cannot ask my old adviser, and its my guess that any other professors I TAd for there might have heard my story from him and would also be unwilling to write me anything positive.

This train of thought's got me feeling like I'm out of options for future education and career change all because of this poor experience I had in my phD program.

Anyone ever dealt with this themselves? Any advice on what to do here? Is it possible that a grad program would overlook the fact that I had no letters from my previous program?

Thanks for reading my lengthy post. I would appreciate any feedback.

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Another note here: I've taken some psych courses at the local community college and am going to start volunteering in the fall as a crisis counselor on helpline. Two of the psych courses I took from our community college were online, so I'm not sure if that will be looked down upon either...
 
That's a really tough situation. What I would do is contact a highly respectable program that you are not applying to and ask a counselor there for advice on how to approach the situation. Then follow through when submitting your applications to the schools of your choice. You do have the option of attaching a letter of explanation, but sometimes it is much better to say nothing. Why acknowledge a problem area that would otherwise, have not been revealed, you know? Since you have been out of school for a year, do you have other people who could write professional recommendations? If so, I would use three professional and say nothing in terms of the academic recommendation. Regardless, I think a MA in Sociology would be looked upon more positively than you think, and the lack of a recommendation would quite possible be overlooked - you were clearly qualified enough to gain acceptance into a PhD program, and earned your MA. Try contacting some schools for advice on how to approach the situation.
 
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In my opinion, MSW programs are going to be less interested in academic references than references that attest to your character, interests, and background -- i.e. volunteer supervisors, etc. As far as academic references, what about undergrad professors? I'm not so sure I'd worry so much about not having a reference from your prior program. Besides, what's done is done so best to focus on what you can do with what you've got.

I would suggest that you explain in your personal statement why you aren't pursuing sociology vis-a-vis the evolution of your interests toward applied activism, etc (which turns it into a good thing).. but I would not go into the dispute with faculty at your prior program. If the admission committee is truly concerned about your shift, they'll ask you about it in the interview. Either way, I would just emphasize how sociology was a vehicle which led you to the realization that you want to help others more directly.
 
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Your responses were so helpful. Thanks to both of you!

I'd been feeling kind of trapped, like there was no hope, but I appreciate the indication that my dispute with my old program doesn't necessarily sink me.
 
To be honest, they probably won't notice that you don't have an academic reference. If you have the grades and have shown them you are capable of performing well at graduate level courses, then you'll be fine. [And it sounds like you are.] Hotline volunteering and other relevant experience will set you over the edge in terms of positives for your application.

If you feel the need to talk about why you left that PhD programme, do so in your personal statement just be sure to skirt around the negative issues and talk more about WHY you want to make the switch.

By the way, you're the second person I know that has started a PhD programme in sociology and quit in lieu of an MSW. :) I briefly flirted with the idea myself of going for a PhD in sociology since I got my BA in it as well.

I have a feeling that you'll like social work. There's constant talk about advocacy and facilitating change, whereas sociology was more of a just sit back and see what's going on in the world kinda approach. If you still have the research bug, run with it. Your professors will love that since most MSW students are that keen on conducting their OWN research.


You said you weren't interested in publishing that article; however, you could contact a NON-TENURED professor at another university to see if they would agree to help you publish it. They're constantly looking for new topics and chugging away at obtaining tenure and would love to take the opportunity. More importantly for you, it would be an excellent resume builder and accomplishment.
 
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You said you weren't interested in publishing that article; however, you could contact a NON-TENURED professor at another university to see if they would agree to help you publish it. They're constantly looking for new topics and chugging away at obtaining tenure and would love to take the opportunity. More importantly for you, it would be an excellent resume builder and accomplishment.

Um, I strongly strongly strongly advise against this. If the prof who originally wanted to help you publish it were ever to stumble upon this publication, he might (rightly) take it badly. Plus if he advised you on the project originally (including making any contributions to the topic, ideas, methodology, analysis, or interpretation), this would be incredibly bad form (you would effectively be stealing his intellectual property).
 
Um, I strongly strongly strongly advise against this. If the prof who originally wanted to help you publish it were ever to stumble upon this publication, he might (rightly) take it badly. Plus if he advised you on the project originally (including making any contributions to the topic, ideas, methodology, analysis, or interpretation), this would be incredibly bad form (you would effectively be stealing his intellectual property).

Assuming that we are talking about a student publishing their OWN work and not work added to a professor's piece, they should be fine. The professor would only take it badly if their work was used. If they contributed anything, it could be removed and replaced by someone else's contributions. I in no way suggested that they publish someone else's work. Don't make it appear as if I said such a thing.
 
Assuming that we are talking about a student publishing their OWN work and not work added to a professor's piece, they should be fine. The professor would only take it badly if their work was used. If they contributed anything, it could be removed and replaced by someone else's contributions. I in no way suggested that they publish someone else's work. Don't make it appear as if I said such a thing.

But the student's work originated as a Master's thesis in Sociology, when (s)he had an advisor. And the advisor later offered to work with her to publish it, which she declined. Going elsewhere to work with someone else to publish it would be at the very least odd, if not dishonest.

Anyway, it doesn't seem that the original poster has any interest in publishing this work, so this is likely a moot point.
 
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