Changing departments?

[RedPanda]

I'm in the second semester of my first year of a PhD program. When I was applying last cycle I was really torn between going the geoscience route or going with microbiology (I'm interested in how microbes interact with / shape the environment they live in). I ended up going with geoscience but it has become increasingly clear that I should have gone the bio route, and I've recently come to realize that what I really want to study in the long run is human gut flora. I don't know if it makes sense to slog through to get a PhD in geoscience when it feels so wrong, but I'm already an older student (29 next week) and I don't want to set myself back another two years if I can avoid it.

 

Do any of you have experience with changing departments one year in? Will it mean dropping out and starting the whole application process over from scratch? Should I just suck it up with the geoscience department I'm already in and wait until I have the degree to go off and do the work that I really want to do? I'm going to talk to the career counseling center on campus tomorrow and possibly broach the subject with my advisor at our next meeting but if anyone has experience with this sort of thing I'd absolutely love to hear it.

 

Ta muchly,

RedPanda

[uromastyx]

If you have a good relationship with your advisor then do bring it up with her/him.