Offer with funding to join research group of one professor, yet it's TA?

[maru58]

Hello,

 

Recently I got an admission offer with funding and tuition waiver from one of my top schools for PhD program. I was contacted by a potential advisor asking if I'm interested in his research. I said I am and a few days later I got the offer with funding from the department.

 

However, it says in the offer letter that I will have to report to another professor, not the professor contacting me, even though it mentions that he was the one recommending my application. And my assistantship is TA not RA while I thought I would have a chance to work as an RA in his lab. The letter does specify, however, that the TA is for the first year then it might transition to RA in the second year subject to performance satisfaction and fund availability.

 

My questions are:

 

1) Should I approach the professor who contacted me and ask him about the second year? (such as when I could join his research team, as his research areas are very much aligned with my interests and I'm more interested in doing research to have papers published than TA-ing, and also about a chance for summer research?)

 

2) Is it normal to be asked to join the research group of one professor but have to report to another professor (who I didn't contact and didn't contact me)?

 

3) Should I ask the professor about funding for the second year and beyond, as I'm concerned about the "subject to...fund availability" part? I'm afraid to be cut off after the first year because of lack of fund. If that's possible then I'll be more likely to accept offers from other schools that guarantee funding me for 4 years for a certain project.

 

Thanks very much in advance for your help!

[GeoDUDE!]

The explanation of your situation is a bit unclear, so I'll give it my best shot. My guess is you have misinterpreted your situation. 

 

Your teaching supervisor and research advisor can be different people. A RA is a different paid position than your dissertation work or a TAship. A RA might very well have you work on different research than your dissertation, though, in most cases that work overlaps because it makes the most sense for the student and the advisor. 

 

I think its more common to TA for a class your advisor isn't teaching than is teaching, at least in my department.  In fact I'm doing that now! 

 

Also, they might just have a generic advisor for all the first year students. In my program, even though we have a major research advisor, we all have to have various meetings with the graduate program director ( a professor).  

 

1) you should establish who is going to be your dissertation advisor if you do accept. 

2) you should establish how many years of guaranteed funding (RA or TA) you have. 

3) you should talk to your dissertation advisor about RA funding, in general 

4) you should ask what types of classes you will be expected to teach, and what kind of training they provide. 

 

Of course, it could just be really weird and then I have no idea whats going on hahaha. I would contact the person you want to be your dissertation advisor regardless just to see whats up with the offer. 

Edited February 8, 2015 by GeoDUDE!

[maru58]

Thanks very much for your response, GeoDUDE! I might very well be misunderstanding my situation, which is more often than I can count tbh. I did RA for my Master and never TAed before so I really did not know how it works.

 

I will contact the professor who recommended me I guess, since he asked me to join his research group. I'm just surpised that I was offered a TA rather than an RA since he sent me a long email explaining his current research projects and wanted me to work with him on said research.

 

[GeoDUDE!]

 

Thanks very much for your response, GeoDUDE! I might very well be misunderstanding my situation, which is more often than I can count tbh. I did RA for my Master and never TAed before so I really did not know how it works.

 

I will contact the professor who recommended me I guess, since he asked me to join his research group. I'm just surpised that I was offered a TA rather than an RA since he sent me a long email explaining his current research projects and wanted me to work with him on said research.

 

 

 

Funding might not have come through, or, hasn't been decided yet. There are many reasons why it could have been a TA over a RA. But he will know!