next »

[stangoldsmith]

Now that I've been in the phd program for awhile and qualified and am abd I feel I could transfer to a more prestigious university given my acquired contacts and knowledge about how the system and the game works.

Since the end product seems to be getting a job and there are very little out there and those that are out there hire (or even interview or consider) phds from prestigious universities why don't more people transfer and what are the hazards of even doing so?

I would predict offering a search committee a reason that the new school had a more relavant committee body or something like that and if I in particular were to do this I know my chair would back me and even continue to provide feedback on my work.

Should I do something like this or even consider it?

Wouldn't Yale look better on my faculty profile than Uni #2 for wherever I might end up working?

Just seeing what ya'll think.

[scampster]

Except that I am not sure that any school that I know of will let you transfer ABD. I could totally be wrong, but typically you will need to take a certain number of course credits there and retake qualifying exams and redo your preliminary exam. So you will no longer be ABD if you enroll in a new program. I have had friends who moved to a new school with their advisors and they still graduated from the old school because they would have had to start over essentially.

[nanoputian]

Chime.

I don't have years of experience outside of my (admittedly very narrow) area of expertise, but I know that my current institution would not allow a candidate to just "transfer" ABD without profound extenuating circumstances. If there was some reason that it was allowed, they would be required to retake comps at a bare minimum, and probably coursework to satisfy university requirements.

I can't say for sure, but they would also probably be required to go through some sort of formal application process, as there are only so many people that they can have in the program at any one time, and there wouldn't be funding unless someone else had dropped out or they brought it with them. I would think that a fully funded spot at #2 might be better than unfunded at #1, but that might vary depending on discipline?

I guess the bottom line is that transferring might raise more questions than it would answer, if it cold be done at all.

[macaroon]

Since the end product seems to be getting a job and there are very little out there and those that are out there hire (or even interview or consider) phds from prestigious universities why don't more people transfer and what are the hazards of even doing so?

You can't transfer.  You apply to another program and start over.

I would predict offering a search committee a reason that the new school had a more relavant committee body or something like that and if I in particular were to do this I know my chair would back me and even continue to provide feedback on my work.

If "a more relevant committee" is something you need, you can invite people from other institutions to serve on your committee.  It's not an unusual arrangement, so search committees would expect that rather than a "transfer"

[southerntransplant]

Since the end product seems to be getting a job and there are very little out there and those that are out there hire (or even interview or consider) phds from prestigious universities why don't more people transfer and what are the hazards of even doing so?

Don't underestimate the importance of fit in determining who gets hired. If there's a candidate whose expertise is in an area the department wants to expand, the alma mater might not matter as much. If the candidate is in an area already covered by the faculty, chances are the alma mater won't matter at all, be it Podunk U or Harvard.

[madhatter]

Your ability to transfer at this point is between slim and none, with none the heavy odds in off-track betting.

Most Ph.D. programs that I'm familiar with allow transfers of up to six graduate credits. That's usually two courses. I know one program that technically might allow up to 12 credits. That's four courses. So, you could apply for another Ph.D. program, but your best scenario is that you would be basically starting over ... minus one semester's worth of work.

[systeme_d_]

The only way to "transfer" grad programs is to move to a new institution when your advisor does, and asks you to accompany her/him.

Even the MA-only grad program I direct won't allow transfers.  Nor do we accept course credits from elsewhere.  The structural integrity of our program is a guarantee to PhD programs (or employers) that our students have been provided with a certain educational experience that is not simply an interchangeable equivalent to another program.

[dellaroux]

The part I'm not understanding is, how did you get to be ABD and not know this?

It's always been pretty standard knowledge among any graduate students I've ever known, let alone their faculty, after all.

[macaroon]

The only way to "transfer" grad programs is to move to a new institution when your advisor does, and asks you to accompany her/him.

I've seen this happen, but in all cases that I've witnessed, the student remained enrolled at the first institution and graduated from the first institution.

The part I'm not understanding is, how did you get to be ABD and not know this?

Oh, I don't think it is that silly.   It's common for undergraduates to transfer because the new institution has an interest in obtaining the tuition dollars of transfer students.  Undergraduate programs try to make it as easy as possible for students to enter after their freshman year.   With grad students, though, the incentives to allow this type of transition just isn't there.   

[systeme_d_]

The only way to "transfer" grad programs is to move to a new institution when your advisor does, and asks you to accompany her/him.

I've seen this happen, but in all cases that I've witnessed, the student remained enrolled at the first institution and graduated from the first institution.

My two pals that did this earned their PhDs from the institution to which they transferred.  They were ABD when they moved with their advisor, but their diss committees were comprised of faculty at their new university.

[macaroon]

The only way to "transfer" grad programs is to move to a new institution when your advisor does, and asks you to accompany her/him.

I've seen this happen, but in all cases that I've witnessed, the student remained enrolled at the first institution and graduated from the first institution.

My two pals that did this earned their PhDs from the institution to which they transferred.  They were ABD when they moved with their advisor, but their diss committees were comprised of faculty at their new university.

That certainly would be more convenient than what I've seen!  The committees were at the old schools, and this meant that the advisor and student had to travel for committee meetings and the defense.

[scampster]

Maybe there is a science humanities divide here because my experience has been similar to macaroons.

[voxprincipalis]

Now that I've been in the phd program for awhile and qualified and am abd I feel I could transfer to a more prestigious university given my acquired contacts and knowledge about how the system and the game works.

If you think that this is even an option, then I would suggest that your knowledge about the system and the "game" is not nearly as advanced as you seem to think it is.

But I look forward to hearing about your attempts to do so. Please report back, at length, on the replies you receive to your inquiries. Oh, wait, we might hear about them from people at the schools you attempt to "transfer" to. ("Hey, guys, get a load of this one...")

VP

[stangoldsmith]

You guys really think you are something huh?  lol.  I'm eternally amazed at the level of undeserved pretentiousness rampant among some academics.  It's certainly the most laughable quality of this website.  Why not instead of the insults just say "no, this is something that is impossible."  Obviously I wouldn't be asking it if I thought it was completely insane.

Why is it such a dumb question though?

1. There are no jobs

2. The 2 jobs that are out there are going to Ivy League grads

3. Why not transfer to an Ivy League school to finish?  If you need to spend a couple more years taking courses also why not?

The responses:  Oh my god you must be dumb.  (Hahahaha!).

It seems that psychologically I post occasionally to get my yearly abuse from you people who seem to have nothing better to do than bash everyone else who comes on here.

I guess I am dumb!  Thank you so much!

[janewales]

I direct a graduate program, and have (very occasionally) had students request to transfer into it. For us, it's not going to be simply a matter of doing some more coursework (though as some people have noted, you should certainly expect to have to do so). We would also expect you to go through our own pre-candidacy process; in other words, you wouldn't be ABD any more. It would probably take you less time to do whatever courses we required, and whatever examinations/ papers/ defences we required, than it would take a brand-new student, but it would still take a significant commitment.

And that leads to the next question: how would you pay for it? Programs vary in the kinds of support they offer, but many, including mine, would find it difficult to accommodate a student who wasn't brand new-- we work by multi-year packages and funding formulas, and while I have cut a financial deal for a transfer student, it was tricky, and I wouldn't do it routinely. That student was willing to start almost from scratch, which made it easier.

Institutional prestige is of course helpful on the job market, but not as much as you'd think-- at least, not directly. One of the reasons that there's a strong correlation between high-end programs and job market success is that some (not all) of the high-end programs are better at connecting their students to the kinds of opportunities that make a CV appealing-- networking and publishing. You've already made a considerable investment at your current location. It might make more sense to direct your energies into those kinds of activities. Make an effort to get to the major conferences in your discipline and meet people. Publish. And get the dissertation done. At this point, I would think these sorts of things would be a better use of your time.