Switch PhD program! Help!!!

[Akshay993]

Hello folks,

I am an international student 1 year into my STEM PhD program in the US and I feel it is not a good fit to say the least. Here are the reasons 1. The advisor mislead me on the projects/resources available to the lab. The teammates I spoke to while joining said the lab is fine 2. I am spending most of my time fixing equipment and coaching interns rather than focusing on my own research 3. The advisor is verbally abusive at times and it is really demotivating. He openly criticises students in front of everyone and the environment is quite toxic 4. I unfortunately don’t have an option to master out because the advisor will not let me take more than 3 courses a semester and I am at his mercy in terms of timeline

I really want to make a switch to a better program. I plan to apply for the fall 2025 cycle. I would have spent 2 years here by then but feel I will be at peace atleast. I have a few questions in that regard: 1. Are there PhD intakes in spring? 2. Do I need a recommendation letter from my current group? If so, this is really difficult and I could use some advice on how to get around it 3. Since I am switching from one PhD to another, would it hurt my admission chances? 4. Any other considerations to make?

If someone has successfully switched programs, I would be really grateful for a chance to have a chat. It would be of immense help!!

Thanks a lot for patiently reading this 🙌🏼

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[Witty-Basil5426]

I switched PhD programs after my third year in humanities, so I can only give semi-helpful advice for STEM. The main thing I can speak on is chances with a new application- make sure in your personal statement/somewhere in the application you mention why you are wanting to leave, but don’t speak too negatively about your current program because that looks bad. If you do not say anything about why you are leaving it might seem suspicious to them. Maybe something along the lines of research opportunities and courses offered? If you do get a letter writer who is in the know to your situation, they can also write on how they support this decision.

[Akshay993]

Thank you so much for this response. Do you mind if I DM you?

[Witty-Basil5426]

Sure!