3 ms·

> I left my philosophy PhD program (without a PhD), I still have massive student loan debt In humanities fields, if the department thinks you belong in the pr

> I left my philosophy PhD program (without a PhD), I still have massive student loan debt In humanities fields, if the department thinks you belong in the program, they pay you to attend. They'll give you fellowships, TAships, and RAships. If they don't give you those, they're telling you not to attend. This is a harsh truth.

lapcat 2y ago
That's not generally true. I attended a state university, and the department simply didn't have the funding to pay for its graduate students. However, I did in fact receive some TAships and lectureships while I was there, and even a dissertation fellowship. They didn't pay well though.
- DiscourseFan 2y ago
  >That's not generally true. I attended a state university, and the department simply didn't have the funding to pay for its graduate students. I mean, maybe? I know a number of state schools, certainly not all of them, but plenty that can afford paid spots for PhD students in the humanities that are certainly enough for someone to support themselves on. It doesn't pay as well, nearly as well, as jobs that humanities student with a good GPA from a good university can get in the private sector, but its not bad at all.
  - lapcat 2y ago
    Some departments have money, and some don't. Simple as that. I find it very odd that people are trying to deny my experience here.
    - DiscourseFan 2y ago
      We're wondering if you were perhaps mislead somewhat, because in our experience its quite rare for a department not to have any funded PhDs with stipends.
      - lapcat 2y ago
        > We're wondering if you were perhaps mislead somewhat I wasn't. But I'm not going to write an autobiography here. I already regret revealing personal details in this thread. > in our experience its quite rare for a department not to have any funded PhDs with stipends. Who is "our" and what is your "experience"? Are you referring to Telemakhos and yourself? Are either of you even former humanities PhD students? And how many departments have you surveyed such that you can make a judgment of rarity?
        DiscourseFan 2y ago
        I'll be very honest with you, I've never met a humanities PhD student without funding who should've been pursuing a PhD, and if the department you were in was so poorly funded that it couldn't give out stipends, then it's likely that you would've never found a job in academia afterwards anyway. Look, its not your fault, some people don't end up in the right undergraduate programs, they don't meet the right people, make the right connections, and get into good PhD programs with funding. In any other case, if you don't have a lot of money and time to waste, its almost always a bad idea.
        lapcat 2y ago
        > I've never met a humanities PhD student without funding who should've been pursuing a PhD 1) In your entire life, how many humanities PhD students without funding have you met? Perhaps you think that, somehow, you've magically met most of them, since you seem to believe there aren't that many. 2) It's just your opinion whether an individual "should've been pursuing a PhD". > if the department you were in was so poorly funded that it couldn't give out stipends, then it's likely that you would've never found a job in academia afterwards anyway. My former department has placed many tenure-track positions.
        bumby 2y ago
        I think what may be going unsaid is there are some predatory practices that puff up the idea of a PhD to get people to attend a department that is otherwise struggling. It sounds like what you describe is rarer in better programs. That shouldn’t be taken as personal or an immutable law, just a general observation.
    - BeetleB 2y ago
      They're not denying your experience. They are, however, pointing out you didn't do your research Well when picking programs to apply to. I've been in different universities and the experiences for the same departments very considerably. You specify on your application whether you want your admission to be conditional on funding. One communications department for example would typically admit only 2 to 3 students per year on funding. I thought it was very competitive to get into. But of course if you tell them you're willing to pay your own way admission becomes much easier. Other departments may not be that upfront with the deal but all people applying to grad school should understand these Dynamics.
      - lapcat 2y ago
        > They are, however, pointing out you didn't do your research Well when picking programs to apply to. That's presuming a whole hell of a lot, and it's insulting. You know absolutely nothing about me or my history except what I've already said, which is not much. I'm not here to be second-guessed by anonymous rando strangers.

lapcat 2y ago

That's not generally true. I attended a state university, and the department simply didn't have the funding to pay for its graduate students. However, I did in fact receive some TAships and lectureships while I was there, and even a dissertation fellowship. They didn't pay well though.

DiscourseFan 2y ago
>That's not generally true. I attended a state university, and the department simply didn't have the funding to pay for its graduate students. I mean, maybe? I know a number of state schools, certainly not all of them, but plenty that can afford paid spots for PhD students in the humanities that are certainly enough for someone to support themselves on. It doesn't pay as well, nearly as well, as jobs that humanities student with a good GPA from a good university can get in the private sector, but its not bad at all.
- lapcat 2y ago
  Some departments have money, and some don't. Simple as that. I find it very odd that people are trying to deny my experience here.
  - DiscourseFan 2y ago
    We're wondering if you were perhaps mislead somewhat, because in our experience its quite rare for a department not to have any funded PhDs with stipends.
    - lapcat 2y ago
      > We're wondering if you were perhaps mislead somewhat I wasn't. But I'm not going to write an autobiography here. I already regret revealing personal details in this thread. > in our experience its quite rare for a department not to have any funded PhDs with stipends. Who is "our" and what is your "experience"? Are you referring to Telemakhos and yourself? Are either of you even former humanities PhD students? And how many departments have you surveyed such that you can make a judgment of rarity?
      - DiscourseFan 2y ago
        I'll be very honest with you, I've never met a humanities PhD student without funding who should've been pursuing a PhD, and if the department you were in was so poorly funded that it couldn't give out stipends, then it's likely that you would've never found a job in academia afterwards anyway. Look, its not your fault, some people don't end up in the right undergraduate programs, they don't meet the right people, make the right connections, and get into good PhD programs with funding. In any other case, if you don't have a lot of money and time to waste, its almost always a bad idea.
        lapcat 2y ago
        > I've never met a humanities PhD student without funding who should've been pursuing a PhD 1) In your entire life, how many humanities PhD students without funding have you met? Perhaps you think that, somehow, you've magically met most of them, since you seem to believe there aren't that many. 2) It's just your opinion whether an individual "should've been pursuing a PhD". > if the department you were in was so poorly funded that it couldn't give out stipends, then it's likely that you would've never found a job in academia afterwards anyway. My former department has placed many tenure-track positions.
        bumby 2y ago
        I think what may be going unsaid is there are some predatory practices that puff up the idea of a PhD to get people to attend a department that is otherwise struggling. It sounds like what you describe is rarer in better programs. That shouldn’t be taken as personal or an immutable law, just a general observation.
  - BeetleB 2y ago
    They're not denying your experience. They are, however, pointing out you didn't do your research Well when picking programs to apply to. I've been in different universities and the experiences for the same departments very considerably. You specify on your application whether you want your admission to be conditional on funding. One communications department for example would typically admit only 2 to 3 students per year on funding. I thought it was very competitive to get into. But of course if you tell them you're willing to pay your own way admission becomes much easier. Other departments may not be that upfront with the deal but all people applying to grad school should understand these Dynamics.
    - lapcat 2y ago
      > They are, however, pointing out you didn't do your research Well when picking programs to apply to. That's presuming a whole hell of a lot, and it's insulting. You know absolutely nothing about me or my history except what I've already said, which is not much. I'm not here to be second-guessed by anonymous rando strangers.