PhD/PsyD Need help.

[serenamoon]

Hello Everyone.

I need some help an I was not sure where else to go. I am currently a first year student at a Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology. However, there have been several issues, since before I started the program, such as being misled about funding, stipend amounts, assistantships, teaching positions, tuition prices, as well as the interests of faculty members in my area of interest. We also do not have the traditional mentor-student system, with no real advisers or guidance. All of this has made it difficult to be successful in this program, but I was planning to just stick it through. However, it has been made known to the university that our department plans to cut at least two but up to five professors while another two professors are leaving at the end of the summer term. We barely have enough professors as it is to cover the core classes, but cutting so many without plans to hire new faculty will seriously affect the accreditation status of the program. I am seriously considering applying to other programs, but I know how difficult it is to get into an APA accredited program in the first place. I also know it is even more difficult to get into another APA accredited program, if you are trying to leave a program that still has accreditation. I need some guidance about what to do or how I should explain my circumstances to potential programs I might apply to.

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[StellaB]

The world of clinical psychology is pretty small. If you do decide to apply to another accredited school, I think you could simply state that the faculty with your research interests are leaving, and you are seeking a more appropriate interest fit. I wouldn't necessarily go into the other gory details, because it might inadvertently make you look bad. If the situation is as bad as you say, the programs you're applying to might have already heard about that through the grapevine, and will understand where you're coming from. If they haven't heard about how bad it is, they will probably understand your need to find a better research fit. This is probably easier to try and pull off after your first year than if you were deep into the program. Also, you will probably end up having to do at least some of your first year coursework again, depending on what program you switched to.

 

[Justanothergrad]

The world of clinical psychology is pretty small. If you do decide to apply to another accredited school, I think you could simply state that the faculty with your research interests are leaving, and you are seeking a more appropriate interest fit. I wouldn't necessarily go into the other gory details, because it might inadvertently make you look bad. If the situation is as bad as you say, the programs you're applying to might have already heard about that through the grapevine, and will understand where you're coming from. If they haven't heard about how bad it is, they will probably understand your need to find a better research fit. This is probably easier to try and pull off after your first year than if you were deep into the program. Also, you will probably end up having to do at least some of your first year coursework again, depending on what program you switched to.

This is all solid advice on how to handle it.

Also, were you misled in writing about exact funding promises or were they framed as 'we may have..'/'we expect that you will have...'? Going back on written contracts is very different from just the poor ethic of exaggerating probability.

 

[serenamoon]

They were very careful about how they worded things when we were discussing these things on our interview days, using phrasing similar to your examples. However, the price of tuition was definitely a lie, since those on my interview day asked specifically about it. When it was pointed out to them, they chalked it up to a mistake in the paperwork, even though we asked for clarification. It ended up over tripling the price we were told.

I really appreciate the advice already given and look forward to reading any other advice that anyone can offer about how I should proceed.

 

[foreverbull]

Yikes, that's a bad situation. @StellaB offered really good advice...make sure that when applying and interviewing elsewhere, you frame it carefully as goodness of fit issues based on research interests/faculty of choice leaving your program unexpectedly. The other issues, egregious as they are, may potentially reflect negatively on you if you share all of the details (some folks might interpret it as complaining and showing a lack of follow through), even though those concerns are absolutely valid. Much safer to leave those details out.
If you know with 100% certainty that the professor spots won't get filled, and meanwhile your tuition is 3x higher than told initially, AND you don't get to work with an advisor, AND your APA-accreditation status will most likely be revoked, I wouldn't want to stick around to see what happens while you accrue a ton of loans. It is a real bummer to have to start over and reapply, but better now than later. In the meantime, just make sure your grades are good so that they will see that you were doing well in the program.