Transferring PhD programs after your dream supervisor leaves?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

I'm a first year PhD student working with my dream supervisor. However, they are moving to a different school and I am really not sure what I should be doing - without my supervisor, the university really has just one other person I could work with and they are not in my department.

My supervisor has said a transfer to his new institution isn't possible after asking about it at his job talk/negotiations. He has said it would be possible to be a "visiting student" there and still work with him - possibly going back and forth between the two departments (they are in different cities roughly 7 hours away). The solution seems quite disappointing to me - I am only at this department because he was here, and staying here even if I get to visit his new department and possibly TA there as well does not seem the same as being a student there. I'm sure he could be on my committee from almost anywhere really if that's the case. The cost of living is also much higher in his new city and my funding would still be the same.

I guess my question is how should I approach a transfer to another department? Since it is April now, I wouldn't be able to start in September presumably. I am also not sure how transfer credits work - I have an MA as well and if I transfer for 2026-2027 academic year, would I have to re-start all my coursework again? Should I be applying as a regular PhD applicant or contact a professor I want to work with and explain my situation? Staying here is really out of the question - there is no one in the philosophy department I could work with or even take courses with. Leaving after 2 years to a new department only to start from the very beginning, for another 5-7 year program, seems like I just threw a few years doing coursework (albeit with a stipend so I recognize how lucky I still am).

I'm sorry this happened to the OP. I transferred PhD programs after two years due to similar circumstances (not just one but three faculty I wanted to work with were hired away by Rutgers). In my case, even though I had completed two years, the department that I transferred into only accepted 3 courses (or one semester) of transfer credit, and I had to complete some requirements that I had already completed at my previous program. That wasn't great, and I ended up spending a lot more time in grad school than I imagined I would. In the end, things worked out, but it was far from ideal. I wish I had better advice but the OP, but this at any rate is what I did.

Do any readers have any helpful tips or experiences to share? 

Comments

[Should you stay or should you go?]

No advice, but I'll share my experience for what it's worth. The same thing happened to me during the first year of my PhD. I accepted an offer from a top program in a different country to work with a particular supervisor, only to find out when I got there that he had accepted a position at a different university. I thought it was in my interest to stay, as the university I had accepted the offer from was much more prestigious than the university that my supervisor had transferred to. I ended up being assigned another supervisor who is very well-known in his area, but an outsider to the topic that I was working on. I eventually got through my program, but I really think my work and progress suffered as a result of not having access to a supervisor who worked in my area and who could have offered me more guidance. I went on to a post-doc position afterward with someone who is a leader in my area of study and I benefitted tremendously as a result of her supervision. It made me wonder in retrospect whether I would have been better off switching institutions for my PhD.

[What to do]

If you transfer, you will lose time, there is pretty much no way around it. Depending on where you move to, you might get them to count some of your prior graduate coursework, but that varies by program.

Staying could also raise problems. You say that there is no one remaining in your department that works on your topic. Have you identified anyone who would be willing to be your supervisor if you kept the same topic (and had your prior advisor as an outside reader)?

I was in a similar situation, and after my advisor left, I was told that I would have to change my topic in substantial ways to more closely align with the interests of remaining faculty. I wasn't willing to do that and moved - losing two years in the process. So my advice is not to just assume that you can continue on where you are - spend the next few months figuring out who you could work with, what that would imply about your direction, etc. before deciding whether to apply out in the fall.

Also, keep in mind that next year will likely be even worse for PhD applications than this year was, as schools continue to cut back in preparation for more funding cuts, so moving might not end up being viable - don't burn bridges before you get an offer!

[anon]

If I were in your shoes, these would be the most salient two options to me, plus how I would view them.

(a) Transfer. Means I spin my wheels for a few more years in grad school than planned. But, I might as well take the opportunity of being more professionalized in the early years to get a head start on publishing in my planned AOS. i.e., start doing this now and well before getting into a new program.

(b) Stay put. Change my mind about what the dissertation will be about. As life goes on there will be plenty of time to write about all sorts of things.

Both options leave room for some level of at a distance collaboration with Departing Supervisor.

[couldbeworse]

Could be worse: my dream supervisor died.

[Temporarily Embarrassed Prof]

In light of the unfairness that all involved in this discussion recognize, maybe we should have a post on transfer policies between PhD programs?

And while we're at it, we should discuss the amount of credit those who get MAs first are receiving if they move on to a PhD program. It always seemed to me like they were getting shortchanged too.

[Chris]

On the original question, I agree with anon about how to think about the options. A lot depends on how willing you're able to switch dissertation topics (and, of course, if you can get admitted to another PhD program that is a better fit).

Re: the topic raised by Temporarily Embarrassed Prof about how much credit MAs get - I'm a bit conflicted. Of course I think they should get some credit. But I've also seen cases where students who transferred in got "too much" credit - they didn't have to take any courses at the new PhD program and never really got to know enough faculty in the right way. This did not serve the students well in the long run. Whether taking fewer or no courses at the new program works well can depend a lot on the particular student (and the amount of funding the program has).

Of course there are also programs - such as many in the UK or parts of Europe - where you don't really do any further coursework. If you're really ready to write the dissertation, you should consider those programs too.

[Postdoc]

As someone who has gone through a number of short-term positions after a PhD in the UK, where they typically max at four years, I wish I'd had more time in grad school to be more competitive on the market before finishing. It was only 2-3 years after my PhD that I really hit my stride by having enough experience teaching and publishing, so if I'd been in an American programme for 6-7 years instead, I would've been a lot better prepared when I first went on the market.

Hence, I wouldn't necessarily see it as a problem to transfer to another institution and spend a few more years training before getting out there on the market.

[Emma]

Unlike in the US, here in the UK you have to do a (usually coursework-based) masters (1-2 years) before doing the the PhD (which is usually 3-4 years), so it’s really more like 4-6 years. So I think the difference is exaggerated for the average student. (Of course many do a masters here or elsewhere, and then a PhD in the US, but I do think that is not as common).

[Postdoc]

@Emma: I did a 2-year MA before my UK PhD too, but that is neither here nor there as far as the point in my post goes. Having a 2-year MA plus 6-7 years in a PhD would have been been much better for me before going on the market, and hence not necessarily a problem for a candidate, than a 2-year MA plus a 4-year PhD would have been.

[Assistant Professor]

I am somewhat unclear how the OP was going to complete coursework originally in a program in which their mentor was the only person with whom they could take courses - I worry that the framing of the problem here is in part a strong reaction to this understandably disappointing news, which the OP has every right to be upset about. As What to Do says, perhaps other faculty could be able to supervise a project with more robust outside reader support. Maybe it is worth being a "visiting" student somewhere that the OP could take a few courses in a department that are relevant to their topic that their current department would allow them to transfer in as credits to their degree. So much about one's goals and interests can evolve anyway between Y1 and Y4/5 of a PhD that perhaps being open to creative options (after mourning this change!) is worthwhile since it sounds like the OP will be in their current dept for the 25-26 year whether they try to transfer after that or not.