What is the process to transfer to a new PhD program for next year after starting a PhD program this year?

[transfering_question]

Hi! I am in a situation where my SO just started her first year of her PhD on the west coast. We met right after she applied to schools (nearly a year of dating), and I am on the east coast. So now the geography has made dating difficult and we are both older. For those of you who have transferred or know of others, we are curious of the timeline:

1. Do you have to apply to a brand new program fresh in the fall to transfer?
2. Can you apply to transfer at the end of the first year (spring) to look to transfer and start a new program in the fall? Or is this not likely?
3. Will having funding from fellowships like NSF / NDSEG enable you get into a program easier? Let's say she does not apply to a new school in the fall but instead gets an NSF / NDSEG fellowship. Can she then reach out to schools in the spring and let them know she has funding to potentially start there (maybe with a streamlined app)?

Would be great to hear from anyone has done this what they successfully did and any tips. Thanks!

[John Watson]

I'm not familiar with this scenario, but I think it largely depends on the policies of the target school to decide whether there could be a transfer between different PhD programs from different schools. First year of PhD is generally based on coursework, so maybe the course credits can be transferred if you're lucky.

PhD programs at decent schools do have early deadlines. Even if you want to transfer, you should still observe the deadlines, which are mainly in Decembers.

Fundings have tricky conditions and are dependent on the funding body who provides the funding. If you have an external funding, it will be reasonable to reach out to your funding provider first to see whether you can still hold the funding after you change schools and programs.

One side note is that, if you start a new application, then you will need letters of recommendations. I suggest you contact your previous, undergraduate letter writers for help, as your current supervisor will be very unlikely to help you with a positive letter, provided that you're going to leave their program on an entirely personal basis.