rift

I don't think so, but I'm sure some things on my CV would be odd for a non-thesis MS student to have done (publications, research grants, undergrad research). If you read between the lines, you could probably guess at what happened.

Thanks! It is good to know that lack of funding is a decent reason to change things up. Also that I can turn complaints about my department into reasons to attend other schools!

I had arranged the TAship separately; the grant that was funding me has disappeared. I think my advisor is applying for more grants, and I've got some fellowships to apply for, but that's another thing added to what was already a full semester.

I'm 1.5 years through my PhD (started Jan 2014) at the same school where I got my BS. I mostly stayed because my undergrad research advisor is great and had a nice funding deal (3 years tuition + stipend and guaranteed TA/RAship for 2 more years after that). Passed my quals early, but got bogged down trying to wrap up a huge survey paper she's had in the works for too long (5ish years, maybe?). Everything was pretty OK up until about two days before this semester started. I have three different stories of what actually happened, but the long and short of it is that that the money paying my tuition and stipend is gone. Fortunately I had a GTA position lined up already since I wanted to get some teaching experience in, so I'm not scrambling for money this semester. I'm pretty unhappy with my department, too. I was on the fence when I started, and it's gone downhill since then (incompetent chair, good professors leaving, almost no 6000 level classes offered that are interesting/relevant to me). I don't feel very intellectually challenged here. Also, the general response I've gotten from people in it when discussing my funding situation is "shit happens", which isn't exactly what I was hoping to hear from them. Another complication is that I'm married; my wife is an undergrad but recently started working full time at the university to pay for her education. While she likes being self-sufficient, she really regrets taking the job because it's a clusterfuck of mismanagement. Also, this university doesn't offer a degree in exactly what she wants to study. All this to say: I'm considering leaving with an MS and continuing my PhD elsewhere. I could arrange to take a couple classes next semester, which would complete my MS coursework requirements and I'd be all lined up to start at a new school in the fall of 2016. I could also switch majors at this point. Of course, if I leave, I effectively have to re-roll the dice on getting a good advisor and department. I also have a decent amount of stuff (small home shop, cars), so moving is a little pricey for me, but I have enough savings to afford it. Questions: 1) Is one of these options clearly better than the other? Are there other options I'm not seeing? 2) How do universities tend to look on people who leave a PhD program with an MS to go elsewhere? How do I write that up in a personal statement? 3) How do I approach this topic with my advisor? I understand that she has a vested interest in keeping me here and can be quite persuasive.