Potential college students making use of to Baylor’s philosophy program ought to know that the college simply eradicated funding for sixth years. My understanding is that that is university-wide, or at the very least impacts all humanities departments.
Baylor boasts a 71% placement fee, one of many highest within the nation. It’s an enormous draw for potential college students; in spite of everything, who doesn’t need the perfect possibilities potential at touchdown a job? However the circumstances underneath which that was made potential have modified now. Previously, the overwhelming majority of scholars took benefit of a sixth (and even seventh!) 12 months of funding. Whereas solely 5 years of funding is assured, the division has had no bother securing extra time and funding for anybody who wanted it, and it’s been typically understood that our positions are safe if the job market doesn’t work out in our fifth 12 months. This extra 12 months+ allowed grad college students to get extra instructing expertise and focus the vast majority of their job looking out efforts after intensive dissertation writing was accomplished.
What’s extra troubling is that this information was introduced final week, and impacts everybody. That means, if you happen to’re presently in your fifth 12 months and never able to defend, you’re in fairly a pickle.
The choice the administration has prolonged is to proceed as a grad scholar in your sixth 12 months by way of adjunct funding. That means, whereas our friends proceed to obtain elevated funding (as much as $26,000/12 months in 23/24), we’d educate twice the load for $18k/12 months. Price of dwelling in Waco goes up, as it’s in all places, and I don’t suppose anybody goes to have the ability to survive on that.
My guess is that the administration desires our funding to look good on paper–they’ve been fairly involved with appearances for his or her R1 standing–with out truly rising the finances devoted to grad college students.
So, if you happen to’re pondering of making use of to Baylor, I’d bear in mind that the 71% placement fee could also be in jeopardy. We’ll see how issues play out however it appears doubtful that they will do such good work with out the help of the administration. And I’ll add, it does look like the administration at fault right here; I don’t suppose that is one thing the division chair is ready to affect a lot. Nonetheless, with document undergraduate enrollment, it doesn’t appear to be Baylor is hurting for money that could possibly be used to help grad college students extra.
