2 ms·

Similarly empty classes can be found in plenty of undergraduate programs, especially those taken primarily by atheletes at D1 schools [1]. Or even by students t

• mattkrause 9y ago
  The scale is not even remotely close. My undergrad thesis "course" was a single credit for a single semester. I took 4-5 other courses at the same time, all of which were "real". In contrast, "Dissertation Research" was essentially a placeholder for the entire semester. As it happens, my brother was a D1 athlete. None of his courses were fictitious like this either.
  • tabeth 9y ago
    I don't disagree with you. However my point, just like how your undergraduate experience varies with others, is that the majority of graduate programs are not funded, therefore said tax break is irrelevant. Even when you count PhD programs, there's a substantial discpreancy between the physical and non physical sciences [1]. And I never claimed all classes D1 atheletes take are fictious, however, they can be found, just like how the parent said they found fictious graduate courses as well. Unless you have evidence to show that these "placeholder" classes are numerous both in quantity and breadth, mentioning it is basically just irrelevant anecdata (you even suggest this yourself in the grandparent post) [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/phd-programs-have-a-dirty-secret-student-debt/283126 https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/phd-pro...
    • mattkrause 9y ago
      I don't really know how to "prove" this to you, but you can do the math. Virtually all PhD programs require students to take a small number of courses (on the order of 10), front-loaded towards the beginning of grad school. They also require students to be registered for something the whole time. Thus, the "dark matter" of these classes. Actually, here are the actual directions from Yale: https://registrar.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/GSAS_Registration_Instructions_Fall2016.pdf https://registrar.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/GSAS_Re... Here's an analogous thing from Stanford. https://registrar.stanford.edu/students/graduate-degree-progress/terminal-graduate-registration-tgr-status https://registrar.stanford.edu/students/graduate-degree-prog... Here's something from Georgetown (see section 4, about midway down): https://grad.georgetown.edu/academics/policies/graduate-student-bulletin-2014-15/sec-II https://grad.georgetown.edu/academics/policies/graduate-stud... How many more do you need to be convinced?
      • tabeth 9y ago
        Hmm, I think there may be a misunderstanding. 1. I don't disagree with you. 2. I'm not trying to take away funding from PhD students, nor am I trying to make them pay more. I simply advocate for undergraduate students to have a similar advantage like graduate students, e.g. they should be able to take pre-tax income given to them by the college (if they have a job) from their tuition, if they choose. 3. Top programs, like you've listed are funded, which weren't really the examples I were using (better to use small schools, which aren't funded at all).