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andiedralls

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  1. Hi all, Here's the short version: I'm currently in my third year as an MA student, and it looks unlikely to me that I could actually finish a thesis soon; however, I just found out that the PhD program that was probably my number-one pick has accepted me. My acceptance email informs me that the department there will pay tuition (which my current program doesn't do) and fund me by roughly twice as much. The department is also closer to where my research interests have ended up in the three years since I've been here. My questions are as follows: Can a department rescind an offer after they've extended it as long as I respond in time? How likely do you think that is? How likely do you think academic probation my first year would be? Do I even ~need to earn my MA here before heading for that program? If I don't, then would I count as a transfer student (is there such a thing at a graduate level)? Complicating this matter is the reality that my thesis director got a PhD at the very same program, and I think my thesis director's connections there played a significant role in my being accepted. My guess is that, formally, this would be an entirely fresh start, and informally, word would probably get back to the PhD department and faculty would view me with some skepticism (and maybe hostility). In fairness, I know that leaving my thesis director hanging after s/he bothered to write a letter is a dick move; I wouldn't entertain the idea unless I thought the circumstances were extenuating. That leads to a bunch of information that I think is relevant, but which I'll spare for now, that would answer some questions here that I suspect I might get: "If you're struggling to finish an MA in three years, then what makes you think that you can get a PhD?"; "What do you think will be different if you do move [transfer, technically?]"; "Do you think that your heart is ~really in your discipline?"; "Which factor(s) could have been so extenuating?," etc. I'll be happy to field those if/when they come. I do also have a good sense of the relative disadvantage I'm giving myself by pursuing a doctoral dissertation having not gotten the practice of completing a thesis. I'm aware of the possible (likely?) difficulty of entering the program with a somewhat-sullied reputation if I don't finish here. I have a sense of the human-kind of difficulties that would await me. What I don't have a sense of (after having poked around a bit online) is the more-formal stuff. To reiterate: "Can a department rescind an offer after they've extended it as long as I respond in time? How likely do you think that is? How likely do you think academic probation my first year would be? Do I even ~need to earn my MA here before heading for that program? If I don't, then would I count as a transfer student (is there such a thing at a graduate level)? Complicating this matter is the reality that my thesis director got a PhD at the very same program, and I think my thesis director's connections there played a significant role in my being accepted." I'm afraid that asking the department outright would raise a red flag. I figure since those with only bachelors' can go directly into PhD programs, then I can, too, whether I ultimately earn a masters here or not. I wanted to ask people who'd know better than I do, though, to be sure.
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