PhD funding

[bigpsychguy]

Wanted to get some input. I just started a PhD program at an R1 and am having some issues w the financial support, want to see if it's normal or worth being worried about. Essentially funding was misrepresented in the interview process, there is no consistent funding, our department has very few GTA spots that are only awarded for a year or two at a time seemingly if you're lucky enough to grab one. There are some large campus labs that employ some of my department doc students as GRAs but they're not returning my emails at all (6 mos of trying). I'm currently paying tuition and working an assistantship position designed for masters students that (1) doesn't pay enough for my COL and (2) won't fit when I begin practicum next year. I don't feel secure with the funding, bad situation there. The program itself is great and the training seems to be what I'm wanting out of my doc program, but not sure if can/should excuse the (from what I can tell) really bad financial support. I know paying for a PhD is not recommended. Any suggestions?

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[bigpsychguy]

Also worth noting on addressing my concerns, no one in my department returns emails. I don't hear back on any emails from my advisor, dept chair, or potential PIs that I want to work with. They just ignore all communication it seems. Super nice, supportive when I can manage to catch them in person but it's radio silence otherwise. Is that normal or a problem?

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Anecdotal = that doesn't seem normal. Most R1-type programs I applied to and/or heard about back in the day guaranteed funding for at least the first few years, and made it relatively easy to find funding thereafter if it wasn't technically guaranteed (e.g., assistantship in the university psychology clinic or some other research or clinical setting). I only remember one person in my program having a little stress when it came to finding funding, and I vaguely recall there being extenuating circumstances (e.g., they maybe couldn't travel to the available assistantship spots, or they'd been around longer than anticipated).

The universal radio silence is also a bit unusual. It's not atypical to sometimes have trouble getting in touch with some professors and/or administrators. But usually someone will return emails, whether it be your advisor, the director of clinical training, or the department chair. Although if emails aren't working, I'd try calling and/or showing up in person, which it sounds you've done to an extent. Professors can be notoriously bad about responding to emails.

Given that everything else about the program lines up with what you're wanting, that's a tough situation. My knee-jerk advice is to do your best to stick it out, and to just continue emailing/calling/discussing in-person to see if you can try to proactively line up funding as much as possible.

There are sometimes university-wide or national fellowships as well; you could see if you qualify for any.

 

[bcliff]

Agree with AA - It definitely is odd. Feel free to PM if interested in chatting more specifically...

A few questions / thoughts: Were you brought in with a specific mentor / PI? Is your funding supposed to come directly from their lab? Is it departmental? Your DCT, PI / mentor, department head / chair, and ombudsperson would be on my short list of folks to be staying in close communication with. In graduate school, I often increased the frequency of my emails / communications, etc., to weekly (and then daily...) messages when I was inappropriately confronted with prolonged radio silence, which usually prompted some sort of a response - I would specifically mention my intent to increase the frequency of my messages until receiving a response (negative reinforcement can be a powerful tool, LOL). Are you required to do any work in exchange for funding; e.g., teaching, clinical work, research, etc.? If so, consider discontinuing that work until your funding is more secure. Are your cohort-mates in a similar situation? Is the program new? Consider applying for staff / RA positions at your own university as well as other universities in the area, regardless of whether or not your program precludes external employment (since they're not paying you).

ETA: What does your offer letter say? I'm not an expert or lawyer, but if funding was guaranteed in your offer letter, then that will likely help your case. My cohort years ago was promised something in our offer letter that the university attempted to revoke shortly before our first year began, and our DCT made a case to the university administration that what had been promised in that letter could not (should not?) be revoked, which worked.

What a frustrating situation - Wishing you the best of luck!

 

[PsychPhDone]

Wanted to get some input. I just started a PhD program at an R1 and am having some issues w the financial support, want to see if it's normal or worth being worried about. Essentially funding was misrepresented in the interview process, there is no consistent funding, our department has very few GTA spots that are only awarded for a year or two at a time seemingly if you're lucky enough to grab one. There are some large campus labs that employ some of my department doc students as GRAs but they're not returning my emails at all (6 mos of trying). I'm currently paying tuition and working an assistantship position designed for masters students that (1) doesn't pay enough for my COL and (2) won't fit when I begin practicum next year. I don't feel secure with the funding, bad situation there. The program itself is great and the training seems to be what I'm wanting out of my doc program, but not sure if can/should excuse the (from what I can tell) really bad financial support. I know paying for a PhD is not recommended. Any suggestions?

Another vote that this is unusual. I'm not aware of any R1-based programs that don't include a tuition waiver. Something isn't right here. What does the admissions site say, especially in the table outlining costs? What does the program handbook say? Your offer letter?

Do you have regular meetings with your mentor during which you can discuss this? I'm not sure how long your emails have gone unanswered for, but it's pretty standard for students to meet with their mentor weekly. You should have the opportunity to discuss this.

 

[Ollie123]

Yeah, this seems exceedingly unusual. Sometimes it is a bit chaotic finding funding for everyone but the default assumption - especially at R1s - is that you will be covered barring very exceptional circumstances. Not necessarily fully covering COL may or may not be normative depending on exactly where you are, but not having a clear process for this is nearly unheard of.

Aware of any financial troubles with the broader university?

 

[summerbabe]

Agree with what others are sharing.

My DCT was super proactive and hands on about both securing/maintaining funding as well as how to allocate those positions based on student need so this seems odd.

One question: is this impacting you or everybody in your cohort? The whole program?

A lone voice is much easier to ignore but a host of voices might result in greater transparency, problem solving, etc.

Good luck!

 

[msc545]

There is something very wrong here. You need to find out what is going on quickly. This speaks to the health and longevity of the entire program.

 

[Zazulator]

Just chiming in to also vote that this is unusual. I am also at an R1 institution and we are guaranteed waived tuition for at least the first four years, as well as placements that provide stipends (not quite enough to live on, but definitely a significant help). Also, while funding isn't guaranteed at my institution past four years, everyone I have known who has stayed longer has been funded. The department is proactive in sending out funded placements and helping match students with placements that will fit for their needs. I hope you are able to find out what is going on - I am sorry that you are in this position!