ashley4111

Hello, I am currently enrolled in a 4 year Ph.D program that has experienced some hard times in the past. I am straight out of undergrad, so I am earning my masters in Spring 2016/Ph.D Spring 2018. When I committed to this program, I committed based on a old version of their course catalog (most recent that they had at the time), that had classes listed that are no longer offered. As it stands now there are 0 courses offered in my specialization area (I have been taking general core course) and I don't have a great fit with my advisor. I voiced my concern to the department, they said they will be trying to bring someone on, but they tried all of last year as well. If this does not come to fruition by next fall, I would like to apply to some other schools and see how things go with the process. However, I would be applying during fall 2015 for enrollment in fall 2016. I will not be done with my M.A. until Spring 2016, so if this happens I would have overlap. My question is, what is the norm here? If they are unable to bring someone on and I approach my advisor fall 2015 and state my reasoning do you think the department as a whole will give me their blessing to apply to other programs and look for a better research/specialization fit without dropping out of my current program? I am afraid they would view it as me trying having my cake and eating it too. However, I believe I could make a compelling case and regardless, they have a whole year to try and bring someone on. What are your thoughts, have you ever had to handle a similar situation? How was it handled?