Unfunded PhD

[John12345]

So a couple of weeks ago I get an e-mail from my top choice saying that they have admitted me into their PhD program (Ecology/Evolutionary), with the caveat that admission does not guarantee financial support. This wasn't much of surprise as all applicants are told the same thing at this school when initially. During my visit, my potential advisor talked a little about this and he assured me that with my credentials that it shouldn't be a problem.

This morning, however, I open an e-mail from the school which states that they will not be able to offer any financial support. Apparently, they a few current grad students are coming off of some fellowships and they overestimated the number of TA'ships that would be available. Of course, they were also kind enough to suggest that if I came and paid my way for a year, that it could positively influence my prospects for funding in the future.

Seriously? Has anyone else encountered this? I realize there isn't a lot of money floating around for ecology, but I have never heard of an unfunded PhD program in biology. What sort of school chooses to conduct business in this manner? And what sort of department chair, fully aware of the job market within academia, suggests that a student incur debt with no guarantee of future funding.

Now, granted, after doing some reading, I've heard that sometimes that offering an unfunded PhD is a polite rejection. However, if that is the case, wouldn't it make sense to notify the applicant that they would be unfunded from the get go? Also, I am being put up for fellowships at better ranked schools with whom I have a worse report, so I would think that I would be a viable candidate at this school.

Anyway, I am just wondering if anyone else has come across anything like this before and how you responded.

As for me, I now have to decide whether I should commit to a PhD program at a school I am not crazy about or MS at a different school and then try to springboard into an even better program 3 yrs down the line. Advice on that decision would also be welcome.

[spew]

What school is this? We'll storm their administrative office with pitchforks and torches.

You're exactly right - it's essentially a rejection and any respectable program wouldn't offer admission w/o allocating appropriate financial resources to incoming students. Don't fall trap. This school is dead to you.

[Pitangus]

I'm sorry that you've been put in this awkward situation. While it seems no one promised you anything, it's still unfortunate to feel led on by a program.

I would personally be very reluctant to accept an offer with no financial support, and I'm not trusting enough to be swayed by a "maybe next year" claim.

Have you talked to your POI about this? Does s/he currently have a big grant project going, and if so, has s/he mentioned the possibility of an RA position for you?

You say that you have been nominated for fellowships at other schools, so does this mean you have been accepted or at least could be accepted to these schools?

I would only take an unfunded offer as a last resort. Honestly, I would rather wait and apply again than take an unfunded offer. But of course I am not you, so I don't know if no funding is the deal breaker for you. Could you support yourself with no funding? Would you have to take out loans, and if so, would you be willing to? Only you can decide if the program is worth it to you.

[coonskee]

You could maybe ask if you'd be allowed to defer admission for a year and wait to see if some funds open up? I know taking a gap year isn't ideal, but maybe they'll be able to work with that.

And I agree with the above - unfunded should be a last resort. I've spoken to numerous researchers and many say never to accept an unfunded offer - it's going to be very hard to pay off the debt.

Good luck!

[John12345]

yeeaaah, I'm not giving out any school names, it's way too small of a world.

Paying my own way is definitely out as is an RA'ship.

Deferring is a possibility, but I am checking on what that would do to my funding prospect (whether or not I would have to compete with new students or be assured a position before any new students).

However, I do have other options (a MS program and PhD program), so I am still very wary of this. I'm just not crazy about either. However, I guess if I did the MS first, it could open up some better schools 3 yrs down the road...

[Pitangus]

I know as with anything this probably varies among schools/programs, but the faculty I've talked to have viewed the MS favorably. In fact, my POI at one school suggested a preference for applicants with MS degrees because of the greater experience and publications these applicants often have.

So if you already have substantial experience and publications coming out of undergrad, then the MS might not do much for you. But if not, it's something to consider.

Why are you not crazy about your MS or other PhD offer? Is the research fit not as good as at the unfunded program? Is the unfunded program ranked higher or in a more appealing location?

Again, I would be very reluctant to take an offer without guaranteed funding. I would rather attend the lower ranked program or live in the less ideal town, but then I am assuming I didn't apply to any programs I wouldn't seriously consider attending in the first place. But if something changed so that I now knew I wouldnt fit in at the other programs, I would either defer at the unfunded program or apply again next season.

Actually, you could probably do both if it turns out the unfunded program will stay unfunded; I think it's not uncommon for students to defer and then end up not attending. You'd have to see if you would need to sign any contracts about attending.

[John12345]

The main thing with the MS is that the professor is heavier on physiology opposed to ecology. He's also a new professor, though I suppose he is well published for his age. I don't know him really well (I actually was applying to a different lab at the school, but they ended up not being a position to take on a student), but he does seems like a decent fit personality-wise.

The other PhD program is with a more established professor. He blend physiology and ecology, but considers himself a ecologist. All of my phone and e-mail conversations have been good, but he comes across as standoffish in person. His lab also has a high-drop out rate which is alarming.

I suppose the MS isn't that bad of fit. However, I was pretty set on this other program having just been accepted only to find out there isn't any money. Granted, it wasn't a perfect either. I knew I didn't like the department (a little thin and, obviously, poorly run). However, the professor was a great fit.

[Eigen]

I wouldn't say not having money for all the admits makes a department poorly run, even in the sciences.

But you are definitely right that it is a polite way of saying that you're not very high on their list. We've had this happen a couple of times in the last few years, mostly after visits. We don't do interviews, but sometimes you see red flags during post-acceptance visits that didn't pop up before that. These individuals have received straight-up admissions offers with no funding offers.

Since funding decisions are almost always made after admissions decisions, it's not completely unheard of to receive an admit somewhere and then later not receive funding for it, for a variety of reasons- including, as you mentioned in this case, more acceptances than the funds can cover for the next year. A great many departments give out more admits than they expect to receive acceptances from, based on past trends- ie, if they know they get about a 60% return on offers of admission, they offer admission to 60-70% more students than they expect to have accept (and usually more than they can fund). If an abnormally large group accepts, they might not be able to give funding offers to everyone. Another thing that often plays a role is university wide fellowships- if the department usually has good success with their nominees winning fellowships, they count on that additional funding from the university for their incoming class. If the competition happens to be exceptionally stiff, they might have to use departmental funds to support those students, reducing the number of other students they can fund.