switching programs?

[applemtnhigh]

hi guys,

 

i am coming here for some advice about a topic i can't get much clarity on. has anyone ever switched or transferred graduate programs? does this even happen? what about disciplines?

 

i am in my first year of a lit PhD. program at a really great university; i'm pretty happy with many of my courses, but i'm getting SUPER involved in my research for some history coursework that i've chosen to do, and i really think i've (always) wanted to be a historian.

 

this works, in a way, in english, because so many departments lean so heavily historicist, and employ folks trained in a variety of ways. still, for some of what i hope to work on, i feel like i'm having to reinvent the wheel, when i know there are other programs where numbers of graduate students do work like i'd like to do, and get highly trained in those methods.

 

i'm also a country gal, with a beautiful dog, and am (very unhappily) living in a major urban center. i'd REALLY, REALLY like to get myself somewhere else, a.s.a.p., because it's taking a big toll on my life and work.

 

has anyone ever switched?

 

when is the best time to do it? now, one semester in to my first year; or next year, when i'll have some more substantial papers and projects behind me?

 

is this even allowed? some programs that i have looked into say (makes my heart sink!) "NO TRANSFERS!"; but perhaps this only refers to the fact that an incoming graduate student can't transfer credit or year-status?

 

ANY advice at all, practical or emotional, would be so helpful! i feel -- perhaps this is wrong -- that this is too sensitive of a subject to share so early in my career in my dept.; i don't want to alienate myself if i do end up staying, and i feel that some of my less orthodox/interdisciplinary styles have already drawn me some negative attention ... how/when should i even bring this up? or is it best to just soldier on and try to "do my own thing," within english? after all, i will have some fellowship in the 4th & 5th years, and could theoretically move elsewhere/work remotely ...

 

(even so -- there are other english/lit programs where i think i'd rather be.)

 

 

thanks so much for any help!

 

 

[jazzyd]

I'm not an expert, but especially if you want to go into another type of program entirely, I don't think you're looking into "transferring" so much as just starting over and applying to history programs.

 

As for whether or not to soldier on in your current program, that's something to talk about with your advisor asap. Yes, there are many historicist literary scholars as well as many literary historians, but some programs prefer to keep a more defined line than others.

[ComeBackZinc]

Whatever you do, solicit the approval and help of your current faculty. Yes, that'll be awkward. But academia is just a brutally small world, and you really risk a lot if you don't. It will be very hard to get into a quality program without letters from your current program. Think about it from potential new programs' points of view: if you cut out on your old one without keeping them informed and being honest with them, new programs will have to worry about your commitment to them as well. This is particularly true because, under a lot of funding schemes, if departments don't reassign a funding line early enough, they can lose it. So tread lightly and get advice and help, even if that leads to awkward conversations.

[applemtnhigh]

thanks, all, for your sweet replies! i agree that a hard conversation is necessary -- it's just a matter of when. i think my bigger question needs to be whether it's that academia in general just isn't for me. i'm hesitant to dismiss this world entirely, because i do get really excited about some research, TEACHING, and the possibilities for greater community engagement and changemaking through history work; but i'm also have some real and substantial difficulties with finding fulfillment in this lifestyle. (also a hard conversation to bring up -- i come from a sustainable farming/farm-outdoor-environmental-experiential ed background, and was used to, uh, living in a little cabin in the woods; so city life and the insularity of academia is really getting to me.) i definitely don't want to ever be an english professor in an english department, so that bit is clear enough ...

 

i'm just trying to get thru the semester at this point; i'll get to mull this over more, i'm sure, over the break. i'm sure my feelings and passions -- and whether this is a good fit (english clearly isn't; i *can* manage to do what i want, but with really no mentors or direct guidance) -- will come more clear in time. i'm going to keep becoming who i am; and that's also going to be clear to my department, who may also come to feel that these all-sorts-of-texts-based, history-y projects are a bellwether for my not being at home here. now i've just got to try not to barf whenever bullshit theory comes up.

 

*gags*

 

 

[ComeBackZinc]

I have to say: with the job market so soul-crushingly terrible, if you aren't sure, you should almost certainly drop out of your program. In the long run, if you aren't really happy or committed, you aren't doing anyone any favors by staying, most importantly yourself.

[April_Green]

Good luck with your decision, country mouse! It does sound like the lit PhD probably isn't for you. But -- do you already have your M.A.? If not, and if there is an option to get it through your current program, you might consider staying on another semester or year to complete it if you can do so debt-free. (Obviously not at the expense of your health or sanity, though!) The degree could be a boon for your next non-academic job search, and a benchmark reached if you should wish to revisit some version of academe in the future.