lumbarmoose

Thanks for the feedback! DsMarjeeling, I have talked a bit with advisors each department. My anthro advisor essentially said "Too bad, you should have expected this when you signed up for dual degrees, deal with it." He also tried to claim that I failed to tell them about my plans to do the dual degrees when I applied- I double checked my personal statement and I definitely talked about the two degrees. The other department has pretty much said "Yes, people don't finish on time, but our part of the degree is very lock-step so when people take longer its not OUR fault, it's usually the other departments." Sounds like I've found myself caught between two departments who did not seriously consider the implications of offering such a program. MsDarjeeling, out of curiosity, what school do you go to? I think it may help my case if I can point out other schools with similar programs and talk about how they put more effort into getting people out in 3 years.

Hi all, I am a second year graduate student dealing with some issues and I'm having a hard time deciding just how mad I should be and how aggressively I should fight this. I thought that getting some outside opinions would be really helpful for getting a better sense of whether I'm overreacting or if I'm in the right. Basically, I am in the 2nd year of a 3 year dual masters degree program. I came here thinking, “Wow, an MA and MBA in three years, what a great idea!” The first year was great. I took a heavier than average course load, maintained a 4.0, and started work on my thesis- but then, this fall, things took a turn for the worse. I was surprised to learn that my MBA and Anthropology departments- the departments that I had assumed were collaborating to make such a program possible- were each offering a required class in the exact same time slot. I would only be able to take one, and the class that I had to sacrifice wasn’t being offered again for 2 years. My 3 year program had turned into 3 years plus one semester. At the time, I wasn’t phased. I knew that I was one among many graduate students facing an extra semester to fulfill all the necessary requirements, and it didn’t seem like a big deal. Now, halfway through the fall semester, I recently turned my attention to registering for spring. Upon reviewing each departments schedule, I was horrified to realize that a required class in each department is once again being offered the same time and day, with no other options available. Now, my graduation has been pushed back even further and I am facing four years (at least) for my dual degree. I know not many people graduate on time these days, but I am not happy, and there are a few reasons why: An MA and MBA are each supposed to take two years individually. The number one benefit of the Dual Degree Program is that, by doing the two concurrently, your completion time is reduced to three years. I came to my university specifically for that program, but now that my time frame is exactly the same as it would be to do the degrees individually at any other university I am essentially signed up for a useless program. This is through no fault of my own. I took 9 credits rather than the recommended 6 both semesters of my first year, I deliberated over my schedule, I made sure to communicate with my departments and get everything approved by my advisor, and yet here I am. I am not graduating on time because there simply is no way to graduate on time. They promised me the impossible, and I bought it. So basically, I feel like the victim of bait and switch, and I'm really unhappy about facing a 4th year that I did not plan for and am not sure I can afford. Hopefully this all made sense- it's difficult explaining the ins and outs of a program like this. I would truly appreciate any opinions on how I should be handling this, as at the moment I am feeling quite lost.

Thanks a ton for all your responses- they've all been very helpful. I will be seeing him tomorrow, and it will be interesting to see if we can sit down and have a real conversation or if he will be distracted/scattered again. I did also email two other professors in the department and express interest in meeting with them to discuss what I phrased as "general career/advising questions." Tomorrow I will also be getting coffee with one of my advisors older students. Interestingly enough, the same day that words were exchanged with my advisor she contacted me and said that she felt like she hadn't been as helpful as she should have been during my first semesters in the program and that she "wanted to make it up to me." Of course, this makes me suspicious that he may have said something to her, which (if I am correct) makes me further doubt the condition of our professional relationship. Anyway, we shall see...

At this moment, I am not planning to continue with a PhD. It's not out of the question in the future, but since I am working on two masters degrees I don't want to rush into a PhD immediately afterwards. Unfortunately, I don't know of anyone in the department who has switched advisors, which makes me worry that it is frowned upon. However, our department handbook does allow for it so I imagine it MUST come up occasionally. I do hope to talk to him about this more, but he is difficult to pin down or communicate with. Thanks for your response!

Thanks for your insight. I'm sure you are absolutely correct that I took this too personally and that is definitely a flaw of mine in general. I think part of my reaction is that, to be honest, I don't think he is particularly committed to me as an advisee. As I mentioned in a previous post, it is hard to get him to take the time to discuss my ideas and plans- the conversation we had today only happened at all because he had me follow him to lunch in a spare 20 minutes he had before class. I feel pretty disrespected that he picked a moment where he was wolfing down his lunch and about to run out the door to tell me that he doesn't think I am committed- it didn't allow me to ask him to elaborate OR defend myself. I also think you hit the nail on the head with the issue of my thesis topic. It's true, I am NOT 100% enthused and I honestly feel like I may have accepted my offer under somewhat misleading pretenses. When I interviewed with him, he told me that I would be able to do a field work with him and have a particular focus. Now, that is not panning out and I am not being given the research opportunities I thought I would be. I think I will take your advice and seek out the advice of another potential advisor. It sucks to admit this myself, by I think my advisor and I are just a bad match in general- both in terms of research interests and in terms of personality.

Thanks for your response! It was indeed a discussion rather than an email which leads to one of my other issues with him- he is always rushing around and rarely takes the time to sit down and talk with me. This particular conversation happened while he literally had me follow him to pick up his lunch with 20 minutes to spare before he had to teach a class, so it wasn't a great moment for an involved talk that allowed me to respond to his comment at length. I think it was very unfair to drop a bomb like that on me while he was eating his lunch and checking his watch to see when he needed to leave for class. I am committed, but I am taking a route that does not lead directly to academia, as I'm in a rather unconventional dual degree program. I get the impression that, for him, not wanting to go into academia means not being committed to the discipline. If I'm right about that then I'm not really sure how I can convince him otherwise. If a 4.0, positive reviews from other professors, serving on a committee, and attending almost every departmental event doesn't demonstrate commitment to him then I have no idea what would. I wish I were of the "prove him wrong" personality type, but I don't think I am.

I am a first year MA student in the social sciences and I thought that my graduate career was off to a great start. I finished my first semester (in which I had a slightly heavier than average course load) with a 4.0 and in my first semester review I was told I am making "excellent progress" and that one faculty member noted that I show "exceptional promise." However, today my advisor told me that he doesn't think I am showing commitment. It stung, but I honestly saw it coming, as I never really felt like we clicked or understood each other particularly well. I am quite upset and unsure what to do. Changing advisors is allowed in my department, but is it bad form to do so? Also, is spring of my first year in a masters program way too late to make such a big change? Its hard to imagine pressing forward with my current thesis idea now that I know my advisor doesn't think I am committed to it and doesn't see me staying in the discipline. So I guess it comes down to this: do I jump ship and see if someone else will take me (it's worth noting that I THINK I know who said I show exceptional promise...)? Or do I try to show my advisor that I AM committed? I'm feeling slightly crushed here, and any feedback/reassurance would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone, I too will (most likely) be at Boulder this coming fall! I've been accepted into their dual MA Anthropology and MBA program. I've begun looking into housing and it's daunting to say the least. Is anyone else considering on-campus graduate housing?

Not bad by Boulder standards! How did you go about finding roommates? I'll be conducting the entire housing/roommate search from another state so I'm still trying to figure out how exactly to go about all this!

I did look at the ones through the University and those prices seemed fairly reasonable (though still high) to me. However I was scanning some apartment listing sites for off campus complexes and I saw studios going for as high as $1400 a month. Yikes!

Also, if anyone is on the hunt for a possible roommate, shoot me a message. As I research apartments I become more and more horrified by the prices!

I assume many of those giving advice have attended CU Boulder, and I'm wondering if anyone has any words of wisdom about graduate housing through the university. I've glanced at the website and it certainly seems that it might potentially be cheaper than living off campus, but I'm a little suspicious of what the quality of graduate housing might be like. Any thoughts/warnings/experiences to share?

I have no words of wisdom but I just HAVE to comment on Anthrogeek's awesome typo and its layers of meaning =P Ah, higher education and the gradual accumulation of doubt AND debt!

' I emailed them a few days ago and haven't received a response. They're the only school I haven't heard from yet so I hope we hear soon- I need to start making some decisions!

Ouch. Thanks for the heads up, at least now I know.