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[leopard]

I tried the search function but didn't find much on the topic of transferring in grad school so I hope my questions are not too repetitive.

The situation:
I've been in my program almost 2 months and I fear it's not the place to stay for both fit and funding reasons. The funding at my current institution is worse than what I was told last spring. While I am funded for this year and the funding source should remain viable in the future, the position is outside of my department and contributes little to my professional future. In the face of the current funding situation, I am frustrated by my department's inaction and, frankly, somewhat irresponsible actions (knowlingly admitting more students than they can fund).

As for fit, on the one hand, my advisor's interests and mine don't exactly mesh. On the other hand, my advisor (let's name said advisor "Professor Lion") is incredibly supportive -- vocally supportive of my intellectual ideas as well as helpful in clearing administrative hurdles. I am grateful for Lion's support and that makes this whole idea of transferring even more confusing to me since I know a supportive advisor is key to completing graduate school in a timely and well-done fashion.

My questions:
It seems that transferring between graduate schools is not particularly common, but I assume it does actually happen. Is this assumption correct?

What is the etiquette in applying to transfer? How do I approach very supportive Professor Lion about it without burning any professional bridges? Will I need a letter of recommendation from Lion? Lion has only known me (or, by the time it's all due, will have only known me) for less than a semester? I would think that the faculty elsewhere would want confirmation that I'm not just adrift or failing out, but it seems really awkward to ask Lion for a recommendation (at the risk of, no pun intended, hurting Lion's pride) to leave Lion's guidance for others? Having only known Lion a short time, I'd venture to say that Lion is professional about things but that Lion has enough of an ego that a desire to leave might be taken poorly. In addition, it seems to me that former professors' recommendations would be more detailed as all the conventional wisdom suggests they should be? What to do???

What are the application standards for applying to transfer? How much do I say in the statement of purpose about the reasons for transferring? I'm guessing that I need to acknowledge where I currently attend school and why I want to leave, but how should I do this without sounding whiny? In addition, I understand that some schools/programs don't really take "transfer" students in the sense that coursework does not transfer. This is fine with me. I'm working on the assumption that I'll have had an extra year to read a lot of books and get in the mode of graduate school work. Should I say this?

The writing I will do this semester is all coursework based (none of which will involve my own research). Do I send my old writing sample, a new one from this year that's inevitably will be responding to a class assignment, some combination thereof?

I never expected to do this, so any guidance out of the maze would be helpful.

[silverseaweed]

The search can be tricky but this is definitely something that's been discussed a lot!

PhD students transfer all the time. I did. In my case, my advisor left for another university. Following her wasn't the best choice for me, and neither was staying in the original program, so I transferred to an entirely different school.

Your first step should be to talk to Lion but my advice is to keep all negative reasons for wanting to make the change to yourself. You don't want to burn any bridges. Just explain that your interests have shifted and you've found a better fit somewhere else.

It's a good idea to get a letter from someone in your current program, if only to show you're not leaving on bad terms. If Lion supports the transfer then definitely ask him/her for a recommendation! He/she can at least speak to your current work, research interests, etc. Get your other recommendations from professors who can offer details about you and your work. If you have an MA degree, can you ask your MA advisor? If not, go back to your undergraduate professors if you have to.

Keep all negative details about the reasons for transferring out of your statement of purpose. Slamming your current program to the new one will make you sound like a potential problem rather than an attractive candidate. Instead, just say your interests have changed and focus on the strengths of the new program and how it would be a good fit for both of you.

You might want to make sure the programs you're looking at will consider transfer applicants! I called the grad chair and discussed the possibility of making the change before I submitted my application. I knew they'd consider transferring some coursework but didn't find out exactly what would be transferred until after I got here. The time you're spending in your current program will likely end up being a "lost year" if you move but I don't think you have to mention that in your statement of purpose. At least I didn't. It's entirely up to you.

The writing sample you send should be your best work. I don't think it matters whether it's from this academic year or last. I sent a chapter from my MA thesis because it was based on original research and I thought that was better than sending an historiographical paper (I'm in history) I'd written for one of my PhD courses.

Good luck!

[imawakenow]

PhD students transfer all the time. I did. In my case, my advisor left for another university. Following her wasn't the best choice for me, and neither was staying in the original program, so I transferred to an entirely different school...

While I think seaweed gives some good advice based on personal experience, it's one thing to transfer because one's adviser is going to a different school and another thing entirely to decide after two months you want to leave.

This is my fourth year in my program and we've had exactly two transfers at the Ph.D. level. One was a girl who was accepted at a university in her home state but came here because she got a better funding offer. After one year here, someone at Home State U dropped out and she transferred taking his funding slot. The other is someone who transferred because her adviser was hired away from another university.

Anyway, whatever you do, do NOT say that this year was a practice year (as you intimate in your OP). You need to develop a coherent rationale to present to the admin committee for why you fit into their program--and the rationale needs to be strong enough to overcome any initial worry about a transfer.

[leopard]

[quote author=rusleeping link=topic=41836.msg681370#msg681370
While I think seaweed gives some good advice based on personal experience, it's one thing to transfer because one's adviser is going to a different school and another thing entirely to decide after two months you want to leave.
[/quote]

Thank you to both seaweed and rusleeping for your thoughts. I agree that transferring because an advisor is leaving is radically different than my situation which is what I'm trying to figure out.

I did not mean to suggest that this year is a practice year. I guess my point is that I'm not sure how to approach programs (and I'm thinking of one specifically) that say they don't take transfer students. I have no problem applying as a regular candidate but the truth of the matter is that I'm not a senior in college or finishing an MA or out working, and therefore I don't know what the correct way to say to them "please consider me even though I am already enrolled in another program" is.

rusleeping, I'm curious about the girl who transferred to Home State U. Did HSU offer the slot without her applying? If not, do you have any idea how she applied there again -- did her advisor at your university support her?

Finally, for any faculty out there, any recommendations for approaching my current advisor and enlisting support? How can I frame the desire to leave in a professional way?

[imawakenow]

rusleeping, I'm curious about the girl who transferred to Home State U. Did HSU offer the slot without her applying? If not, do you have any idea how she applied there again -- did her advisor at your university support her?

I know she kept in contact with the prof in the department who she wanted to work with during the year she was in our program. She didn't tell me whether she just asked at the end of the year if there would be additional funding the next year or if the prof told her about the new funding. She just said that funding was available because someone had left the program.

To be honest, I think everyone was fairly indifferent when she left. She made it pretty clear to anyone who listened that she had chosen our program over Home State because of funding. So, it wasn't like she had deep roots or commitment to our program.

[ursula]

I actually did transfer after the first year of my PhD.  The funding at Oh-So-Pretentious University was far worse than I'd been told, the city was unpleasant (and occasionally downright scary) to live in, and the department itself was in the process of imploding.  After a couple of months my advisor told me I was too good for their programme, and she called my advisor from my MA school and together they wrote me some terrific letters.  It helped that I had a conference presentation that winter, and the two advisors took me to lunch with people from Not-So-Snooty U., and got things set up.  I entered NSS the following September, transferred my credits from OSPU, and was given a class to teach because of my experience (apparently having your soul sucked out and stomped on sets you up to be a good teacher!).