Criteria -- PhD decision -- would love your help!!

[PHpolicynerd]

Hello! I'm lucky to have been accepted into 3 public health PhD options, and I WOULD LOVE your advice on how to go about this decision.

My options are: 1) University of Washington with NO FUNDING, 2) the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities with full funding for two years (no work the first year), and 3) the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill with full funding for two years, dependent on working part-time.

I figure I could graduate with minimal debt from UMN and UNC, but might have to take out $50,000-100,000 of loans and/or work long hours if I went to the University of Washington (in-state tuition). The top ranked program of the three is UNC, but the other two are both seen as tier 1 public health schools. My goals after the PhD are to become a government researcher, academic researcher, or work for a public policy research firm.

My Qs

1) I've listed a number of criteria below. Which are the most important, from your experience? Is there anything I'm missing?

2) Should I completely rule out the University of Washington because I was admitted without funding, even though I love its urban setting, research, and it's closer to family and my SO? I am middle class and will be paying for all of this myself. Have some savings, but would burn through it all if I attended.

3) What should I ask/look out for as I visit the schools "in person"?

Major criteria

1. Funding (tuition waiver and living stipend)

2. Advising

3. Program/faculty reputation

4. Location (distance from significant other--who lives in Oregon-- and family)

5. Research focus areas and opportunities

6. Weather / Climate

7. Work opportunities near the school

8. Recreational opportunities near the school -- I love urban areas and nature!

9. Student atmosphere -- students support one another, and students are supported in their studies

 

 

[GradSchoolTruther]

As an unfunded student, your advising and research opportunities with faculty may be limited. Departments will favor those with funding, since they are investing in their skills. 

Edited March 22, 2016 by GradSchoolTruther

[COGSCI]

Go to UNC, you can apply for grants for during your first and second year. If you do an unfounded program, you will be busy applying to grants, doing course work and making money all at the same time. 

I had to turn down a higher ranked school because I received full funding from another institution. As long as you can do the research that you want to do at UMN or UNC, I would consider those schools

[rising_star]

UMN Twin Cities sounds like a great option to me, especially because you'd have the first year to concentrate on your studies and getting some research experience. That said, I'm assuming a public health PhD would take more than two years so, what do your funding options after the first two years look like at UNC and UMN?

[PHpolicynerd]

On 3/23/2016 at 8:52 AM, rising_star said:

UMN Twin Cities sounds like a great option to me, especially because you'd have the first year to concentrate on your studies and getting some research experience. That said, I'm assuming a public health PhD would take more than two years so, what do your funding options after the first two years look like at UNC and UMN?

Thanks for your thoughts! UNC and UMN say that virtually all their students are able to find part-time RA/TA positions (that include a tuition waiver) in their 3rd and 4th years. UNC is a four year program, but UMN would likely take 5 years. I don't see myself going into debt in either program, given that these positions are as plentiful as they are made out to be.

[juilletmercredi]

Public health is my field. I also went to a public health program that only offered funding for the first 2-3 years and then expected students to find their own - it's quite common in the field. I got fellowships that covered the rest; most students did find TA or RAships or grant aid to cover the rest. (I'm also skeptical about UNC's program being a four-year program - I would ask for average time to degree.)

1) What's most important is going to vary from person to person as well as your goals. Personally, I think funding is the chief concern, followed closely by advising, research focus/opportunities, and program faculty/reputation (in that order). Student atmosphere, work opportunities near school, and location/weather/climate all come next - although in what order I think will depend on your personality. Before doing graduate school I would've said location doesn't matter. Having finished graduate school, I have changed my mind on that, and I think it's important to be happy during your grad school years. Work opportunities also changes in importance depending on what you want to do. If you know that you want academia 100% then they're less important, but more realistically speaking most PhD students should prepare a Plan B. So I think opportunities for internships, consulting, and part-time jobs nearby the school are really important - particularly in public health. I firmly know that my experiences helped me get a non-academic job after graduating with mine.

That said, all three of your locations have good solid offerings in most of the important areas (Minnesota's climate may not be quite so desirable, though).

2) Yes. I don't think it makes sense to go into six-figure debt when you have two funded top 10 offers.

3)

• Average time to degree. How long do students take to graduate? What's the range?
• Post graduation placement. Where do students end up after they graduate? Academia? Government? Private sector? Ask about short-term and long-term. (If they don't know, that's a red flag IMO. Advisors should at the very least know where their students have gone.)
• Casually ask the students about their perception of post-second-year funding and the ease of getting this. Ask several different students to get different perspectives. Sometimes the faculty have an inflated view of how "easy" it is to get funding after the second year, OR they think arrangements that are unacceptable to students are perfectly fine. The converse can be true, too, though.
• Take note of the student atmosphere yourself and ask the graduate students what they feel the atmosphere is like. Do they all seem to know each other? Do they interact positively with each other? Do they collaborate with each other on research projects and studying for exams? Where are the advanced students (years 4 and up)? Do they disappear from the department or are they generally around until the end? (One thing I didn't notice when I visited my program that I learned quickly is that 4+ year students tended to go ghost - because they were working, writing at home, sometimes not even living in New York anymore. This can create a void in your department when it comes to seeking peer mentorship.)
• Ask the students about their opinion of the professors in the department and their mentorship. Is the department more "sink or swim" or is there more guidance? What is faculty teaching like?
• Ask both students and professors about their professionalization and career development opportunities in the department - both from your potential advisor but also at large. What you want to listen for is 1) what do they say is offered, but also 2) is there a big discrepancy between how much career development the faculty think they are doing and what the students feel like they are doing? That's at least a yellow flag.
• How much flexibility do you have in taking other courses outside of public health? For example, if you wanted to do a concurrent MA in statistics, or a certificate in computer science, or take some French or Wolof classes, how hard/easy is it to do that?
• How is work outside the department actually perceived? What about non-academic work? Do professors frown on you doing an internship with a nearby think tank? What about a private sector company? Are they academic purists who believe the only worthwhile work is university teaching? If you would like to explore non-academic work you should avoid places like that, or at least know that you have to keep your interest on the DL while you're there.

 

3) What should I ask/look out for as I visit the schools "in person"?