Featherless Biped

Looking for advice. I'm winding up the first year of a Ph.D. program in philosophy and feel disappointed with the program. The sources of disappointment are as follows: (1) Limited choice of coursework. There are few courses offered by my department each semester and my program has strict distribution and minor requirements (essentially mandatory courses). Satisfying these requirements requires me to take 15 or 16 classes. Given both the small number of courses offered, and the distribution and minor requirements, I have very little control over what I study, and am being made to study a lot that I don't care to. In a word, I'm not getting to study/learn the things I feel I came to graduate school to learn and study. (2) Lot's of TA work. My program requires us to teach every semester from the start, through to the end. I'm finding it very time consuming and it prevents me from engaging with my coursework in a satisfying way. (3) Difficult location. Frankly, I don't mind where it is (though I don't love it), but my partner is following me here and the location is a tough sell for them. Particularly, they are concerned about being far from family and finding work. (4) Horrible job market. Of course, I knew the job market was bad going in, but I thought "well, I still want to study x,y,z, and it feels important to me to study these things. If I go, I'll get to study these things and then I'll reevaluate whether pursuing an academic job/finishing the Ph.D. is something I want to do." The trouble is that I'm not getting to study xyz and given the stringent distribution and minor requirements, I'm unlikely to. Do I (A) drop out, because the program is not helping me meet my educational goals and unlikely to help me meet my professional goals, (B) pursue a transfer to another program, or (C) tough it out and try to make the program work? My primary consideration in favour of (A): I'm turning 27, and feel it's time to pursue something that will yield a reasonable career instead of floating around in/in between graduate school(s). My primary considerations in favour of (B) and (C): It feels important to me to study xyz in grad school, I enjoy academic work, and find it very stimulating. I LOVE the conversation. Further, I worry that pursuing other paths will not be as intellectually fulfilling as this one; I'd like to milk graduate school for all I can, while I can (but not if I have to accept problems 1-4). Moreover, getting a professor job, even if unlikely, would be a really wonderful outcome and I'm reluctant to rule it out. But then, how do I determine whether (B) or (C) is the right course? Thoughts? What should I do?

Has anybody heard anything? I applied directly to the agency but have not heard anything beyond an initial confirmation that they received my application, back in the fall. Good luck everyone!🤞

In the past, there has been some discussion concerning issues with the culture and a lack of funding/support for Ph.D. students in the philosophy department at UT Austin. Can anybody comment on what the current situation is like?

I'm sorry to hear that! I was denied as well (as a Canadian applicant). They said I am under consideration for their MA though. Good luck with the rest of the cycle.

I'm not sure why U of T would take only a single American. After all, I imagine many (if not most!) of their most promising applicants come from the states. I've heard it's true that most Canadian programs have fewer spots open for international students on account of the fact that international students are charged higher tuition and are, therefore, more difficult to fund. However, unlike most Canadian programs, I believe U of T charges nearly the same tuition to both domestic and international students, precisely so that they can more readily attract and fund international talent. Of course, there could be other factors at play here that I am ignorant of. I won't pretend to have much of an understanding of how this mystifying process works. ?‍♂️