Change of plans...switching labs, programs, leaving EEB.

A couple of things to note to visitors of this page:
1) You're not alone. The majority of grad students think about changing their plans at some point. You might feel like you're the only one in your program/lab that isn't smart/capable/strong enough to stay, but we assure you that someone else in your lab/program/core class feels the same way right now!
 
2) This is your program whether you're thinking about switching labs, switching programs, or leaving, just remember that it's your choice and you have to do what's best for you! While the department and other graduate students would love for you to stay and have a fulfilling time here, if that's not possible for you, no one will fault you for prioritizing your needs. 


Switching labs
 

Q: When is it appropriate to switch labs?

A: Grad school has difficult patches for everyone, and it is normal for advisors and students to not always see eye-to-eye, so some friction does not necessarily mean moving on is good. If you are in a situation where you do not trust your advisor, if your advisor is belittling or yelling at you, or more, it could be time to leave (as well as, in some situations, reaching out to OED, department leadership, the ombuds, external advocates, or others about filing a complaint). Listen to what your friends and family say – if they are saying this does not seem like a healthy environment for you, pay attention.

 

That’s not the only potential reason for switching. A perhaps more common reason is that as a student develops in grad school, their interests may change, perhaps so much that their interests no longer align well with the expertise of their advisor. One fruitful way to deal with this is having a committee member with the relevant expertise, perhaps even adding them as a co-advisor. But if the interests are different enough, maybe switching entirely could be important.

 

Another potential reason for switching advisors is if your advisor leaves for a position elsewhere. Students have been successful being remotely advised, and the department will work with you to make sure it works well, but at least having a local surrogate advisor to have a lab to hang out with, someone to bump into in the halls, and so forth can be helpful.

 

Q: How do I switch labs?

A: You can reach out to others for advice about the situation – maybe it is an issue where the ombuds could mediate, there’s something the advisor or you could change that will make it successful, and so forth. If you do decide to switch, you need to make sure your recipient advisor is willing. If they are, work with the DGS or someone else in department leadership (for example, if one of the faculty involved IS the DGS) to draft a quick letter saying you are switching advisor from Dr. A to Dr. B. The receiving advisor must let the DGS or other leadership know they agree. You will also need to file a committee change form if you have already turned in a committee form to the grad school. Importantly, the department procedure does not require your previous advisor to agree, but it can often be good if they’re involved in the process early (though this is not always possible or advisable). For example, there may be a discussion of how publishing work with the previous advisor will work. If a student was going to be supported on a GRA controlled by the former advisor, they will have to work with the DGS and new advisor to figure out funding, too. The department has a finite number of GTAs, and so there might not be one available immediately or even in the next academic year, depending on when during the admissions cycle for new students the switch is made – reaching out early can reduce issues, even if you have not committed to this course of action.

 

Q: How will this affect my previous advisor? 

A: Grad students are expensive (albeit underpaid), whether funded by a GTA or a GRA, so the department accepts a limited number, and only those who are argued for by potential advisors. In a research group with 1-4 students, losing just one can have a meaningful effect, including on lab productivity. Successfully graduating students is also one of the things looked at when making decisions about faculty tenure and promotion. The advisor may also have invested time into training you, intellectual capital in suggesting project ideas or providing datasets, limited research funds to support your work, and more. They may also have a grant that requires a certain amount of work that was supposed to be done by a student, and replacing a student is not always possible. So oftentimes faculty are not overjoyed at losing a student.

 

That said, good faculty want students to be successful, even if it means them moving to other labs. For promotion and tenure, sample sizes are small, and so loss of a single student is not taken as a bad sign (though a pattern could be troubling). Institutionally, one reason the department admits students to the department, rather than to a lab, and has lots of support via GTAs, is to allow students this flexibility. It is harder in departments where student funding is tied to a faculty member’s research grant – there, a student could switch, but then would lose support.

Switching from PhD to MS / from MS to PhD

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Q: Why would I want to do this?

A: Switching from a PhD to a Masters can be a way of leaving a program early while still getting a credential. It could be that this is no longer a place the student will be happy or successful (due to scientific interest changes, conflict, family reasons, or more), or it could be that the student is now considering going into a career where a PhD is not needed or even detrimental. Switching from a Masters to a PhD could be good for a student who was thinking of doing a PhD eventually but decided it was better to do it here than to move to a different place, or for a student who was thinking of a Masters as a terminal degree but who is now considering going into a career where a PhD is useful. There are also opportunities here that let you get a Masters in another subject, such as statistics, while enrolled in a PhD program but not if you are in a Masters program.

 

Q: How do I do this?

A: Fill out the change of program form: https://gradschool.utk.edu/forms-central/change-of-program/. However, talk to your advisor and DGS first. If the advisor does not support the change (especially from a Masters to PhD) it could be a problem. The Masters to PhD change also could affect funding: with finite TA lines, if you decide in April to switch to PhD rather than graduating in the summer, there are unlikely to be GTA lines available.

Leaving the program

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Q: How do I know if this is the right choice?

A: See the section above on leaving the advisor – it is similar, with the extension that you are not seeking another advisor in this department. If this is not the path for you, then it might not be to your advantage to remain. If it is due to obstacles that make this path hard, but it still is your goal, reach out for help early and often to many people. There can often be creative, or even standard, solutions to issues that seem insurmountable from the perspective of an individual student. Advisors can be changed, new research projects proposed, obstacles waived, connections made to people who can help fix issues affecting you personally, accommodations made to adjust for newly discovered disabilities, misconduct investigated, and more. There is also a leave of absence possibility. This is ultimately a decision of what is best for you, by you, though.

 

Q: How do I do this?

A: Formally, reach out to One Stop and withdraw (this has an effect on fees owed, final grades, etc.); also tell the DGS. In practice, it is often a good idea to talk informally to your peers, the DGS, your advisor, other people in the department, the ombuds, and more well in advance of making this decision. Also, consider what is useful to you that you can salvage from your experience in grad school. For example, if you are a PhD student with at least one chapter nearly done, perhaps you could turn that into a thesis and emerge with a Masters.

Q: I'm really not sure what to do, is there someone I can talk to?
A: YES! Check the flowchart on the homepage for more information, but the DGS, Brian, the Ombudsperson, other grads, professionals at the counseling center would all be more than happy to listen to what you're thinking and help you make a plan that's best for you.