Advisor is leaving. How bad is it?

[maxmarx]

I'm just finishing my third year of my graduate program at a top 30 school (between 20 and 30).  I came here to work with a certain faculty member and have just been informed that he is leaving after this summer.  I actually turned down a higher ranked school (ranked 15-20) to come here largely because of him and I feel deflated right now.  He's currently the chair of my Master's committee (which is optional in my program), but i won't finish it until this summer or fall due to data access delays.    I developed a good report with him and am currently funded on his NSF grant for this school year, which I hope will still result in publications.   I'm just about to start my desertion work at the beginning of next year.  I should mention that I am also working on a couple of other projects with highly regarded senior faculty, but I'm not nearly as close to them.  I just feel so down about this, worried that I won't be able to get that R1 job I dream of.  We are also losing another faculty member (didn't get tenure) in the same area of interest, which means that we have 1 faculty member who will be serving about 8 students.  I was just curious if any one else had gone through something similar?  Am I blowing things out of proportion?  Is there any bright side to this?       

[gilbertrollins]

There are vanishingly few graduate students whom have been in school longer than you on this board, and only one faculty.  I would discuss it with the professor you're close to, discuss potentially moving with her, and discuss it with the other faculty you're working with.

[oilandvinegar]

While I was visiting schools, I met a number of people leaving or considering leaving their current PhD program because the faculty member or advisor they were working with leaving. Some were following the faculty member, some were reevaluating as their interests had changed since they started their program. One was following a faculty member to whom their funding was tied (this person was not their advisor). I am sure there are people who continue their current program as well.

I definitely think you have options, and I would also recommend speaking candidly with your current advisor about your decision. 

 

My sympathies for your situation, though. That is rough.

[iphi]

I know 3 grad students (2 advisers in question) who have changed schools to follow their adviser. Is that not an option for you? Ostensibly your adviser is moving up or at least staying in a similarly-ranked school.

Edited April 8, 2013 by iphi

[FertMigMort]

First, I'm very sorry about your situation. There's no way around it, that sucks.

Second, I concur with the things that have been said here. I would start by talking to your professor and seeing if there is any way that you could move with him. At this point, there is a week before the April 15th deadline and there is still some chance you could move (depending on the funding situation in his new department). If that isn't an option, look at where you are in the program. Have you taken your qualifying exams? Are you done with classwork? If you are, then your best choice is probably to stay where you are at. Some professors will continue to work with students even when they've moved away and some schools let you have an outside university member on your committee. Explore those options.

Third, if you still have a ways to go, I would consider applying to another program. The downside of this is that you'll probably have to wait a whole year to start somewhere new. Schools are also hesitant to admit more advanced graduate students. Make sure that you detail your circumstances in a new personal statement.

Best of luck to you.

[gilbertrollins]

If that isn't an option, look at where you are in the program. Have you taken your qualifying exams? Are you done with classwork? If you are, then your best choice is probably to stay where you are at. 

I've reassured myself that I can transfer out of X program if I pick the wrong one, by doing well on quals and switching around year 2 or 3?  Are you arguing that it would be precisely the poorest time to switch?  And if you're absolutely married to a project you're working on with an adviser you're infatuated with, who is going to help you build strong work, isn't it kind of a no-nonsense decision to move with that person if there is any opportunity to?

 

I want to qualify for OP again that what I'm saying here is pure speculation.  I know a guy who's transferring this year with his adviser, and it was a no-nonsense decision with him.  I wouldn't doubt that the program brought the student in with the adviser, in the same way they would consider a spousal appointment.  The student is virtually guaranteed to graduate honorably and smile on the school's placement record.  Extrapolating there a bit, potentially unreasonably.  

 

I really think this is something you need to discuss with all your potential advisers -- I just talked to a buddy today in our math PhD program who is hitting bumps and I really just pushed him to talk to his adviser.  They're human beings, and almost always appreciate honesty from students, I think.

Edited April 12, 2013 by fuzzylogician
edited to remove offensive language.

[rising_star]

I totally agree with everyone about seeing if you can either move with your advisor or if he can still serve as advisor while at the new university. If neither of those pans out, then you need to seriously evaluate your situation and employment prospects given who would become your advisor, the amount of advising and assistance you would receive, and whether that will lead you on the trajectory you want. If the answer is that you can still get where you want, then you'll be fine and should stay where you are. If the answer is that you won't be able to get what/where you want, then you probably need to find a new program.

[random17]

I agree with everyone who suggests talking to your advisor about what your options are.

 

I'm in a similar position in that my supervisor is moving to a different university this summer, but he's been very open about my options and supportive of my choice to remain at my current institution rather than moving with him. In the end, he's keeping an appointment here, which means that he can stay my supervisor and I continue to work on my current projects that are funded by his grants.

[FertMigMort]

I've reassured myself that I can transfer out of X program if I pick the wrong one, by doing well on quals and switching around year 2 or 3?  Are you arguing that it would be precisely the poorest time to switch?  And if you're absolutely married to a project you're working on with an adviser you're infatuated with, who is going to help you build strong work, isn't it kind of a no-nonsense decision to move with that person if there is any opportunity to?

 

I want to qualify for OP again that what I'm saying here is pure speculation.  I know a guy who's transferring this year with his adviser, and it was a no-nonsense decision with him.  I wouldn't doubt that the program brought the student in with the adviser, in the same way they would consider a spousal appointment.  The student is virtually guaranteed to graduate honorably and smile on the school's placement record.  Extrapolating there a bit, potentially unreasonably.  

 

I really think this is something you need to discuss with all your potential advisers -- I just talked to a buddy today in our math PhD program who is hitting bumps and I really just pushed him to talk to his adviser.  They're human beings, and almost always appreciate honesty from students, I think.

I was talking more from the perspective of being on an adcomm. Faculty members on the adcomm were very wary of students who had finished coursework and quals and wanted to transfer. I know people who have done it, but they have had to repeat coursework and/or quals.

Edited April 12, 2013 by fuzzylogician
edited to remove offensive language from quoted text.

[phillipspaulding]

Advisors leave/move, and students still move through the program.  

 

First, I would speak with your DGS or Chair about the department's policy on allowing individuals outside your department to remain on your committee.  If they allow the faculty to do that, you're fine.  Second, I would speak with the faculty members to see if a.) they can take you with them (which is unlikely) or b.) if they are willing to remain on your committee.  Typically, faculty interested in bringing students with them negotiate those details with the department before they accept the position.  If they did not, its likely the faculty member didnt expect to bring you along with them.

[juilletmercredi]

First of all, there's not that much difference between 20-30 and 15-20, so don't get too depressed about turning down a higher-ranked program.

 

Is your advisor retiring or is he leaving for another institution?  If he's leaving to go somewhere else, can you go with him?  Senior professors recruited to other universities often can negotiate bringing their graduate students, and you are just in the stage where it can still make sense to go, especially if you are funded on his grant.

 

If your advisor is retiring, or you don't want to go to the university he's leaving for, there are two possibilities: you can stay where you are and work with someone else (perhaps collaborating with him remotely if he's open and communicative) or you can try to transfer to another university where there may be someone whose interests overlap with yours.  There is a grad student in my cohort who came to my program after his advisor left his original PhD program; he was actually a third year there, too.

 

Econosocio, I would say that after quals is exactly the wrong time to transfer.  Few programs will want to take you then, and even if they do, they will probably want you to retake coursework and pass quals in their program.  For transferring PhD programs (without the advisor moving), this is most easily done in the first 1-2 years when you are still in the coursework phase.  It's different if your advisor is moving because a coveted senior professor can negotiate the terms of your transfer for you, but even still, most of the people I know whose advisors left when they were already in the dissertation phase just stayed put and got advised remotely.  If my advisor left my university, that's what I would do.