Depts Usually Like This?

[Morely]

Hi all,

I've been in a PhD program for almost a year now, at what is supposedly a top-ten school in the field (engineering.) I really like my PI, my lab mates, and our collaborating labs outside of the department. Unfortunately, my experience with my department has been less stellar. It seems to be full of profs who don't give two shoots about students. Other students agree with my frustrations. I don't know if this is the normal "grad students are treated like crap" experience or something more troubling.

• Told on two days' notice at the end of spring semester that we had to get our thesis committee in line/they all had to sign stuff "for our own good." (The previous year it was the end of the first summer.) 
• Three months in, the dept failed to pay my monthly stipend. They paid me 3 weeks late with only 50% of my pay. The balance was paid in full in the next month without apology. And they consistently obfuscate why they "have" to pay us a lower stipend than other grad students in the same school. (Surprise, it's really only a lack of willpower on their end.)
• Dept expected me to put $2000+ of conference expenses (to be reimbursed about a month later) on my credit card 4 months in. I have limited credit history and a low limit, so I couldn't. Eventually, another student paid for the hotel half of it up front (since we were sharing a room). 
• All 1st years are required to take ~20hrs/week of "core" classes the first two semesters. They have been terribly run and the dept knowingly lets a vaguely racist, terrible teacher, memorize-my-papers-from-1989 professor run one class because "no one else wants to.' Prof in charge of other class would hand out 50% scores on final assignment based on reading the first page of 20-page report (very obvious in at least two cases.) Same prof is hugely dismissive of students to the point of not even letting students finish a sentence without interjecting his "correct" opinion, wouldn't admit when he was factually incorrect about a freshman-level statement. 
• They're moving/have moved all core PhD classes online to make more money off of online master's student without having to teach the PhD students. 
• No one comes to department seminars except for the 1st years who are required to. Dept seminar speakers has been a list of chairs from other departments, presumably so my department can increase their reputation/ranking. 

What initially seemed to be a welcoming, well-run department has become a drag on my research and happiness. I've been doing what I can to give positive, constructive feedback (course evals, grad student org, reaching out to profs) where possible, but it's an emotional drain and I am not sure I'd want to be associated with this department in the future. I definitely wouldn't tell anyone to come here. 

I've talked to my PI and he agrees with my concerns and backs me up when necessary, but doesn't want to make a fuss about anything. (He is senior faculty.) 

Should I suck it up? Try to transfer departments? Are there comparable complaints at other institutions? 

[TakeruK]

This sounds very bad to me. Since it sounds like you want to find out if this is "normal", I'll respond to each complaint one by one:

Thesis committee thing: In theory, these guidelines should be posted online anyways so you could have found this out yourself. It's crappy of them to only give two days' notice, but as long as there were no actual consequences for those who couldn't get it done on time, not a big deal. This kind of disorganization isn't ideal but it's not a dealbreaker, for me.

Failure to pay: This is a major issue. I haven't ever heard of this happening elsewhere without actual consequences for the school (however, most of the places I were at had labour unions representing students, so if a school pulled something like this, they would be in breach of contract so the school takes it very seriously). Also, I don't get why they "have" to pay you a lower stipend than other students. That sounds like BS.

Reimbursement: Unfortunately, departments tend to operate this way and they are often not understanding of the fact that not everyone can pay upfront for big costs like this. I think this is something academia in general needs to be more aware of, but unfortunately, it's a problem common to many places. The Graduate Office at my school provides loans to help out with students who can't put the money upfront. Also, sometimes there are ways to minimize the impact on yourself. For example, most hotels don't charge you until you finish your stay (it's weird that you had to pay upfront). And, sometimes the price difference between "early registration" and "late/onsite registration" for grad students is very small ($10-$15 in my field) so registering late can delay the amount of time between paying and getting reimbursement (although make sure that this is okay with your advisor). I've only been to one school where they have a good solution to this---students can get a $1000 advance on travel expenses, but US schools seem to be reluctant to do this.

Core classes: 20 hours per week of lecture time or total time? Our program is 9 hours per week of lecture and 27 hours per week of total time on coursework. Poor instruction in grad classes is kind of a norm, but your description sounds on the really bad side, especially the professor you describe.

Online classes: This seems pretty unreasonable but it could be okay depending on the details.

Seminars: The fact that they invite other chairs or prominent professors is not a bad thing in general? I think it's actually a good thing! In my department, the primary goal of seminars is to expose our students to other researchers and help us build our network. That's why they set up meetings with these speakers and students take the speaker to lunch and dinner. However, from your description, there must be something wrong if only first years are going to the seminar. No one forces anyone to go here, but we all know that the department seminar is the one thing we all "should" do together and we do it. It's mostly good speakers though (the 3rd year students invite the speakers and set it up).

---

Now, what should you do about it? I'm really not sure. I am not sure how much you are able to change things and whether it will be worth your time. You could try to make some changes but if you are really unhappy, perhaps leaving with a Masters and going elsewhere would be better for you personally and professionally! 

[St Andrews Lynx]

Doesn't sound completely "out there". The conference expenses at most places are paid on a reimbursement basis. 

Things like badly-run core PhD classes and poorly-attended seminars can be found at other schools too, in varying degrees. In general I don't think that grad schools put much effort into classes for the PhD students - at some level you're expected to have done most of your learning as an undergrad, and the classes are more about ensuring that everyone in the program is up to the same level. 

The administrative issues (payment delays, not communicating PhD program requirements promptly) are much more of an issue. In a good dept, the admin will hum along in the background and be so smooth you hardly notice it's there. Never under appreciate a good admin team! 

***

My advice? Stick with the school and focus on your research.* Classes and seminars don't matter - the most important thing left after your PhD will be your research and relationship with your lab mates & PIs. If the admin are flaky then it is important to be proactive and read all the documents/websites about PhD requirements at a departmental and university level. If you don't have a union then I wouldn't waste your energy on changing things in a Dept that no one has an incentive to change. You're here to do research, not get dragged into battles you can't win. 

[Eigen]

I've been mispaid at least once per year all throughout grad school. At big places, it happens. It also has nothing to do with the department, it's someone in Payroll Management who screwed up. 

Different programs at the same university frequently have different stipends. 

Paying up front is normal, and will be throughout grad school. 

The problems with the classes and faculty might be a bigger deal, but it's honestly hard to tell how much relative to your general since of dissatisfaction with other small things.