Wisdom-Lover Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 Hi! So, I have accepted Purdue University as they have kindly offered me a TA-ship, but I have now been offered a fellowship in place of the TA-ship. The fellowship requires that I take 8 or more hours of credit per semester. This will be my first year as a graduate student, and I will be teaching in the later years if I maintain the fellowship. Therefore, I will still have the opportunity to gain teaching experience, which I want. I am leaning towards the fellowship because it would give me the first year in grad school to adjust and acclimate to the new environment (moving in from out of state into a city when I'm from a suburb area), as well as be able to focus on my studies more for the first year. Which one is preferable to graduate students? Both are incredibly wonderful opportunities and will be blessings whichever way I decide, but I would like to choose the one that is most optimal and more preferred. Thank you so very much for your help!
Maziana Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 (edited) Is the fellowship equal to the TAship in terms of amount of funding? Edit: how many credits do first year students usually take? You may find that they normally take 8 already. I would personally go with the fellowship, because of the reasons you mentioned (focusing on studies; time to acclimate; later opportunity to teach). Edited April 10, 2014 by Maziana
Wisdom-Lover Posted April 10, 2014 Author Posted April 10, 2014 Is the fellowship equal to the TAship in terms of amount of funding? Edit: how many credits do first year students usually take? You may find that they normally take 8 already. I would personally go with the fellowship, because of the reasons you mentioned (focusing on studies; time to acclimate; later opportunity to teach). It is about equal, if I understand the two letters correctly. The stipend is a bit less for the TA-ship over the fellowship, but not terribly less. I am not sure about the tuition-paying portion (I'm not sure about terms in this sense; forgive me). I believe the fellowship offers a larger scholarship part (the tuition-paying part). I am asking my graduate correspondent. (Does that answer the question at all?)
Maziana Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 Yes, it would make sense if the part that covers tuition is either the same or more for the fellowship. I would definitely say go with the fellowship! I am guessing that they offer everyone (or nearly everyone) a TAship, but they offer fellowships for people they want to support more. I would guess that most first years take 3 classes (3 credits each, 9 credits total), and that the fellowship will be in effect as long as you take the normal amount of classes. If first years normally take 2 classes, or something less than the minimum number required to have the fellowship, then I might reconsider, based on how able you think you are to take and do well in multiple classes. I'm not a grad student yet though, so if anyone else has advice, feel free.
Voulez-Vous Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 A fellowship is usually more prestigious. You will be able to teach later. babybird and Mechanician2015 1 1
Wisdom-Lover Posted April 11, 2014 Author Posted April 11, 2014 Yes, it would make sense if the part that covers tuition is either the same or more for the fellowship. I would definitely say go with the fellowship! I am guessing that they offer everyone (or nearly everyone) a TAship, but they offer fellowships for people they want to support more. I would guess that most first years take 3 classes (3 credits each, 9 credits total), and that the fellowship will be in effect as long as you take the normal amount of classes. If first years normally take 2 classes, or something less than the minimum number required to have the fellowship, then I might reconsider, based on how able you think you are to take and do well in multiple classes. I'm not a grad student yet though, so if anyone else has advice, feel free. I assume that the norm is three classes, at least earlier on to finish sooner! Thanks for that! I'll definitely keep that in mind. A fellowship is usually more prestigious. You will be able to teach later. Prestige is good. Since I have the teaching opportunity later, it sounds like the fellowship is the way to go!
Rolling Circles Posted April 11, 2014 Posted April 11, 2014 You're probably better off with the fellowship. Also you should take note of how long the fellowship lasts. Say it is 4 years and you take 5 to complete the degree. I admittedly know next to nothing about philosophy, but a fellowship is nice if you want to avoid undergrads.
Wisdom-Lover Posted April 12, 2014 Author Posted April 12, 2014 You're probably better off with the fellowship. Also you should take note of how long the fellowship lasts. Say it is 4 years and you take 5 to complete the degree. I admittedly know next to nothing about philosophy, but a fellowship is nice if you want to avoid undergrads. Haha! I can't avoid them forever (and I can't say I want to) because I want to be a professor of philosophy! Thank you for that, though. I will definitely use that as a decision-making factor!
juilletmercredi Posted April 13, 2014 Posted April 13, 2014 The purpose of the fellowship isn't to avoid the undergrads (as you pointed out, if you want to teach you can't avoid them forever - plus, they're rather pleasant) but to give yourself some time to adjust, finish up some intensive coursework and figure yourself out before you teach. Teaching takes up a LOT of time and your first semester teaching can be stressful. You don't want the stress of being a brand-new instructor added on top of the stress of being a brand-new grad student. Personally, I think it's kind of cruel when PhD programs require brand-new students to TA in their first year - especially the first semester - but most of them do it anyway. I had a research assistantship my first year and that was far better than TAing - it takes time, too, but the time plays into your requirements because you can use your research to write seminar papers and get publications, as well as prepare for your eventual dissertation. The RA work I started in my first year ended up being the basis for my dissertation later. So yes, take the fellowship! You can always teach later - trust me, they'll be beating down your doors when they need teachers. I've never been supported through a TAship (only RAships and fellowships) but I have had plenty of opportunities to teach, and always for extra money. knp and rising_star 2
rising_star Posted April 13, 2014 Posted April 13, 2014 I was in a similar situation way back when and I took the fellowship. Why? Because it's nice to be able to take extra courses early on and use the freedom of not having to teach to get yourself acclimated academically and socially to your program.
Rolling Circles Posted April 13, 2014 Posted April 13, 2014 One of the reasons I chose my program is because there are no teaching requirements on first years
Wisdom-Lover Posted April 14, 2014 Author Posted April 14, 2014 Thanks, everyone! I opted for the fellowship at Purdue!
clinicalpsychphd20 Posted April 16, 2014 Posted April 16, 2014 Go with the fellowships. You don't need THAT much teaching experience. Not teaching will allow you to focus on what matters (research!)
Wisdom-Lover Posted April 17, 2014 Author Posted April 17, 2014 Go with the fellowships. You don't need THAT much teaching experience. Not teaching will allow you to focus on what matters (research!) Well, I want to teach, so I'm hoping for some experience... But I understand what you mean! Research is certainly a major component! haha
Claire20109 Posted April 14, 2015 Posted April 14, 2015 fellowship all the way! Fellowship is so competitive and hard to get. I'm sure if you really want to teach, TAing can be arranged on top of it. Did they say that they for sure will not let you teach?
babybird Posted April 14, 2015 Posted April 14, 2015 A fellowship is usually more prestigious. You will be able to teach later. Ugh my fat finger hit the down arrow when I met to up vote this. Sorry! Anyway, I agree with you and the other posters who have echoed this.
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