Grad Advisor Leaving, biological anthropology student needs advice!

[anthrogirl86]

Hello, all!

 

I am a first year grad student (working on PhD) in biological anthropology and I just found out that my graduate advisor got a job offer at a different institution and is leaving in the fall. My advisor is the reason I came to this school in the first place, and the institution she will be moving to does not have a graduate program, so she cannot bring her grad students with her.  My department only has one other bio anth faculty member and her interests do not align with mine at all. I'm thinking of reapplying to the other programs I liked in the fall, but I'm not sure how it will look if I'm already in a program and planning on leaving it.  I don't want to look like a shifty grad student, but the department I am in now may not really be a terrific fit for me anymore.   

[fuzzylogician]

It sounds like a legitimate reason to leave and reapply. If your SOP explains things that way and you get strong supportive letters of recommendation from your advisor and other professors at your current school, I think you shouldn't have any trouble because of this issue.