text:
I want to quit my PhD in year 4 because I'm depressed and unhealthy. How to do it nicely?
I'm an international student doing a PhD in California (UCR) for the past 4 years. This period of time has been nothing but nightmares. At least I got my masters last year, but immediately after I took a leave of absence which has lasted 10 months so far, and I don't want to go back to the same depressed and sickly state I was in. Let me explain: my department doesn't have a lot of funding for us, so I was always stressed about money and in debt, and selling my clothes to pay bills. 70% of my income went to rent. Obviously I had no money or energy to pursue other activities that could counteract the stress and depression (a good therapist, taking a fun class, going out, etc). I live in Riverside, which apart from the university, doesn't have anything to offer. I was extremely lonely, bored, drinking too much and suicidal. And I got sick from all that, to the point I had to get a small surgery.
Obviously I couldn't focus on my actual studies in that state. I talked to my advisors about it, and at first they just said "oh no poor thing. Wish I could help. Just power through it." So I started talking about quitting. I hit rock bottom and just left the country and went back home to heal. Then, they started offering me small grants so I'd come back, and I said I would. In that time, I went to Germany to do a language course that my program will reimburse me for, and even met with my advisor in Berlin for an excursion (another excuse to get some funds for the trip). All that was great and I enjoyed it. They also offered me another grant for Fall quarter, so I wouldn't be so stressed about money. But I still have 2 more years to go. They have told me they really like my research and that I have so much potential, that I'm one of the best of the program, etc, to let me know they don't want me to leave.
However, I don't have a clear idea of where my project is going. And I feel like my main advisor is not happy with some of my interests: he made a rude comment to me about liking feminism (he treated me like a child who doesn't know better).
So, hating the place I live, afraid of going back there and not being able to turn the situation around, and having philosophical conflicts with advisors, I don't think it's worth it.
But, how can I quit without angering them? And, even though I don't know if I'll apply to a different program any time soon...Can I ask for a letter of recommendation for the future?

First off, I am sorry to hear that you are having a hard time at UCR---I completed my own PhD there, and much of what you said resonates (yes, Riverside itself sucks, and there is not much to do, and funding was always dicey).  It sounds to me like you have already made the decision to leave.  If so, I wouldn't worry about "angering" your advisors, etc.  Explain the situation to them (in as much detail as you are comfortable with), and the decision that you have made to leave the program.  I can't imagine that they would hold it against you.

On the other hand, if you aren't 100% on your decision to leave, talk to your advisor and your department.  Be very clear about the fact that you are ready to walk.  I would also make a point of talking to someone at campus health about your mental health---the services available there are not amazing and they tend to focus on undergraduates, but they are adequate.

I’m voting to close this question because it's not a question.

@Xander Henderson: there is not much to do --- With a population of over 300,000 I find this hard to believe, but living expenses are probably insane. FYI, the "(1 full-time year of teaching HS)" I mention in this answer was June 1988 - June 1989 (1988 summer school in this county; lived and taught 1988-1989 in this county). useful reading

@DaveLRenfro Riverside is largely a bedroom community for the LA area (so there isn't actually much to do in Riverside---people commute into LA to have fun), and UCR itself is largely a commuter school (so there isn't much in the way of services for students surrounding the university, as students commute in every morning, and leave in the evening).  There just isn't much in the area for a [graduate] student to do, and what there is is not easy to get to.  What's left is mostly bars, and the question suggested that bars were a bad fit.  And yes, the cost of living is a crime.

Thank you! I did talk to several counselors at  the health center, but they all told me to look for someone outside UCR who could see me more often because of the severity of my situation (they can offer a session once a month, and only 8 times in a year). And I couldn't find anyone who I could afford. Mental health crisis in the US, nothing new.

:(  I'm downgrading my assessment from "adequate".  You might try to reach out to someone in Grad Division to see if they can help you to find off-campus services and/or funding to take advantage of those services.  I was able to get really good services from Kaiser (thanks to my ex-wife's insurance, unfortunately) after my ex-wife filed for divorce during my second-to-last year. Also, because I don't want to clutter the site with way-too-local chatter, feel free to ping me in chat if there is anything else that I can do for you (I can't imagine that there's much... but the offer stands).

The situation you describe is serious, but you have plenty of way out.
First: do not let the sunken cost fallacy harm you. You spent 4 years in this program, but "Just power through it" is the usual bullshit from privileged people when they think they faced similar challenges in their past. This goes well with the paternalistic attitude your advisor showed you afterwards.
It is not worthwhile to spend 2 years of your life in this crappy conditions. Said otherwise: if you manage to spend 2 years of your life in this conditions and you are "succesful", it means that you can spend 2 years of your life in ANY other way and being equally (if not more) succesful (define succesful any way you like) and HAPPIER.
So send your best regards to the advisor, propose them to further pursue your PhD fully remotely, if they say yes and you have a pinch for masochistic things go ahead, if they say no just thank them for their past support. checking if you can ask them a reference letter in the future is of no harm.
Best of luck, you already proved that you can endure enormous stress, unhappiness and insatisfaction, no need to further the pain, a PhD title is just three letters after/before (Dr.) a name, they are meaningless if the person carrying that name have been obliterated (or become a dull paternalistic person telling others to "power through difficulties" ... after years of you already doing that).

While I agree with much of what you have said, I have downvoted this answer, largely because of the tone of the second paragraph.  While it is true that the advice given to graduate students is often "power through it", I don't see any reason to make the claim that this is "bullshit", said by "privileged people" who "think" they have gone through something similar in the past.  You don't know what these people have gone through any more than they know what the asker has gone through.  I see no reason to disparage these folk, and the answer is substantially the same if this snark is removed.

Thank you for your thoughtful response! I agree that it is BS, and in this case, it definitely is coming from a privileged position.

@XanderHenderson no decent human being that went through such a level of insatisfaction and unhappiness would in any way suggest another human being to do the same to pursue a 1% (or less) chance of staying in the academia. Said otherwise, if someone signals you that they are bearing a lot of suffering, and you think you suffered the same (or more) suffering and tell others to harden up, you are an asshole. I am no one to judge OP pain, and surely no one has the right to judge how much pain another person has to endure and "power through it". [1/2]

@XanderHenderson even people that went through savage conditions, where they bore unending degree of suffering and pain, like war or being refugees are not telling other "to strengthen up". Pain and suffering are highly subjective, although their causes are usually very objective [2/2].


text:
What happens when the information of the graduate application and the recommender does not match?
I have applied for Ph.D. positions in US universities (still applying) and I asked one of my collaborators to write a recommendation letter for me. She has my CV. Today she sent me a copy to check if everything's alright (though it was submitted in some universities already). I checked there is a mistake. I mean I have graduated in Chemical biology but she wrote Chemistry.
In this case, what should I do? I mean I can ask her to correct it. But what about the LORs that already has been sent? Will it have a very negative impact on my application?

What did you say what you have studied in your CV? What course did she teach you?

She's a collaborator on one of my research projects.

What was the research project about? Chemical biology? Chemistry?

I mean I graduated in Chemical biology. But she wrote - 'I know he studied Chemistry..'

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text:
No reply from PhD supervisor after meeting
I met up with a potential supervisor two weeks ago and they were very keen on my topic (on literature). They took a hard copy of my draft proposal to read and told me I will be contacted in a week. However it has been two weeks and I have not heard anything. I have sent a follow up email saying if my proposal is not appropriate, I would be happy to start from scratch again. There is no reply to that as well.
I am not sure what to do. If the proposal isn't ok is it not professional to email and let me know? Given the initial enthusiasm of the supervisor and the silence since they took my draft, should I believe my proposal must be horribly wrong and must be binned?

Have mercy on us. We are old we forget things. Moreover.... oh, I forget, sorry. Sherry anyone? thanks. what? Next week? Hmmm. (Sound familiar?)

On the other hand, it is natural for you to feel at risk here and I shouldn't minimize the uncomfortable feelings  you have. But rather than fret at this point, spend what effort you can to improve and extend your proposal so that even if our optimism is misplaced you wind up in a good place. I think "horribly wrong" is not part of the equation here.

Yes, natural for you to feel at risk. Once I handed over a proposal to a potential supervisor, with whom it came to nothing as far as concerned me. But I found out much later that he had got another colleague or student to carry out the experiments that I proposed, and published them, with never a word to me or even a copy of the paper.  I only found it in a later literature search!

So terrible @terry-s !! What did you do to take action after that? Thanks

@Lisa, I'm not expecting an outcome like that of terry-s, but it is another reason to arrange another meeting. If you get a radically different vibe at a new meeting there may be trouble indicated. You can protect yourself first (i.e. NOW), by getting someone trusted, such as a faculty member, to sign and date a paper copy of your proposal.

For more discussion on that, ping me in the chat room for tis site. https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/2496/the-ivory-tower

@Lisa : well, nothing, after I got a brushoff. The matter was too small to spend probably fruitless efforts on, I really just had to move on. Thanks for your reaction.

Given the initial enthusiasm of the supervisor and the silence since she took my draft should I accept my proposal must be horribly wrong and must be binned.

No, that's not a reasonable inference.  Students often seem to think that professors use silence as a form of implicit rejection, but I've never actually seen this, and it would be unprofessional in this context.
It's vastly more probable that she has just been too busy to reply, especially if she had planned to write something relatively complex, or hasn't been able to finish reading your proposal.  (And honestly, your initial response about throwing it all out may have complicated it more, since now she probably wants to write something that will not only express her opinion but also reassure you.)  She may also be ill, out of the office, on vacation, traveling to a conference, etc.  July is a major travel period for many professors.
I would suggest that you try to set up a meeting in person, if possible.  It should be much faster for her to reply to that message, since she only needs to check her calendar, rather than trying to articulate in words her response to your proposal.  And having a meeting scheduled will create a deadline for her to have her response ready.  It's best if you suggest a few times when you are available, to minimize the number of back-and-forth emails needed to agree on a time.

+1. I also think that if the prof was not happy with your proposal that you would likely hear about it fairly quickly. Profs get busy. Profs (especially) forget things. Try to set up a meeting if possible. Not time for  panic. In fact, the prof may just be mulling over your work.

Thank you, I am worried because the professor seemed quite sure about getting back to me in a week. And all my previous emails before the draft submission were all answered within hours. I will still try to email next week and set a face to face meeting. Thanks!

+1, I am in complete agreement. I would like to emphasize that this is an extremely common response for students (and low-level employees, post graduation) to have. However, it's almost always wrong and (in my experience) the result of social anxiety.

@Lisa: I'm a professor, and I can tell you what often happens to me: I promise optimistically to do something by a certain date.  Stuff comes up and I can't get it done.  The person emails me asking for an update.  Rather than respond right away and say it isn't done, I plan to get the task done quickly so I can respond that it is done.  Stuff comes up and I can't get it done.  Repeat.  It's not good, but it happens, and it's no reflection on the person I'm (not) communicating with.

Like so many things in life, time estimates from people are best multiple by three to get to something more realistic. Unfortunately 3 weeks is then long enough to forget about doing something, so it's fair to send a prompt close to the original deadline, again after another week, and then something more direct afterwards (phone, drop by office, etc.)

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text:
What is the proposed penalty for students that paid an essaywriting service to complete their papers for them?
I had noticed a sudden change in the quality of the essays submitted two of my students. When I confronted them, they were quite frank and admitted that due to lack of time, they had assigned their papers to be written by an outside source, an essaywriting service (a booming business that must be).
What is the proposed penalty?
If I take this on an administrative level, they face a pause of educational activities for 6 months to 1 year. But since this is the first incident, I do want them to learn their lesson, but at the same time taking into account that they were honest with me, not being punished too hard.
What do you propose? Is there something I can do to keep this from an administrative level and at the same time punish them?

"since this is the first incident" - if you don't officially report this, then if the students do the same thing in their next course, that instructor will also believe it's their first time. How do you know the students haven't done this before in other classes with other instructors?

In addition, your university will likely require you to report this. (Otherwise, what's the point in setting university-wide penalties?) So I'd recommend you make sure you can legally not report them.

The official punishment already has a fork, being the first time and honest can help them to get a suspension closer to 6 months than to a full year. Also, you can help them get a speedy process, so the penalty starts counting as soon as possible.
It is important that there is an official record of this event, so they can't pull the "it is the first time, I promise" again. They now have a record, and they know it.
This said, I can't believe they didn't know they were doing something wrong, so I don't think one should be very forgiving.

It's also possible that the administration will decide to be merciful.  But you should leave that in their hands; your job is only to report this to them.

If I were you I would give them 3 more assignments and ask them to turn them in within a crazy time-frame and in case they fail to do that; they'll be reported. This way they'll get to learn more about subject and understand that corner cutting can lead you to run several extra laps. After all your objective is to make them learn and not damage their academic career.

If your intention is to turn the students in (as it should), then why go to the length of giving them some crazy assignment? We're supposed to be rational here, not come up with crazy schemes for punishments.

Offer a ceiling grade -- perhaps a maximum possible course grade of B.
They were honest; this would be fair.

Down-voter, please explain...

This doesn't make any sense to me. Suppose the students would have earned a B if they hadn't cheated. You're essentially proposing no punishment at all. Also, your proposal makes it impossible for the university to track repeat offenses.

(And if the students would have earned an A, but are now capped at a B regardless of the quality of the work they submit going forward, you've eliminated the major incentive for them to work hard and do well on future assignments.)

Literally every part of this answer is bad.  A grade ceiling is never an appropriate response to cheating / academic integrity issues.  They were not honest.  They claimed someone else's work as their own: that is literally academic dishonesty.  It would not be fair according to the university's own policies.

This answer would be more reasonable if the ceiling was set at a grade of F.

So a struggling student that worked hard on their assignment and got a C would have been better off cheating for a B.

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text:
At any point during studying, is it okay to just give up?
Is it okay to just say "I know what I know, and I'm not gonna try to learn anymore, because I'm already so exhausted as it is"? I'm asking this because this is basically how I feel right now, and several other times, I don't know if I'm even gonna make any more progress. Has anyone ever been in a similar situation? What do you end up doing? What would you recommend?

Sounds like burnout. What stage of your career are you in? When's the last time you took more than a week off?

Sleep is really important!

Are you talking about short term or long term? If you're talking about "I have a test tomorrow and I'm going to call it quits here," that's perfectly normal. If you're saying "I've feel like I've been stuck doing the same thing last 6 months and I haven't learned anything," then cag51's comment is definitely relevant.

If you cram right up to the moment of the exam you will probably perform sub optimally. You will probably remember only what you studied last, not what you learned overall. Give your mind and body time to decompress before the exam. A day might be appropriate. Your mind won't quit working just because you aren't trying to drive it unmercifully.
In general, take regular breaks if you have a long study regimen such as for a qualifying exam. An hour or so every few hours. Use some physical activity to get your blood moving and to get  you breathing hard. Then you can return refreshed to study.
It isn't giving up. It is just using your capabilities more efficiently.
This sort of thing has been studied extensively.

Hmm, I wonder about the "I don't know if I'm even gonna make any more progress" more than about the being "exhausted". It might be helpful to rethink how you study, well, more than whether it's okay to stop when you are exhausted (sure, but this doesn't mean that studying this way is a good overall strategy, nor that you will pass if you continue to work this way).
It's a trite saying to "work smarter, not harder" but I think this YouTube Video of Marty Lobdell covers this issue well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlU-zDU6aQ0
It's something I wish I would have had during my time as a student.
And hey, given the age of this question — did stopping (or not stopping) work out for you?


text:
Can a paper be submitted to a journal if I submit it to a conference?
I’m interested in submitting a paper for a Student Paper Award at a conference. I’m wondering whether I can submit the same paper to a peer reviewed journal after the conference ends. Does the answer change depending on whether I win the student paper award or not? I’m a student in STEM in the US.

"STEM" is not quite specific enough here. What field?

To give a perspective from the field of chemistry/materials science:
Conference contributions usually are posters and talks. Posters are usually presented by PhD students or younger researchers and often show results that are not mature enough to land a paper in a journal. Talks are usually presented by more experienced researchers or advanced PhD students and often reiterate the contents of a single or several (possibly) published journal papers. So in both cases, having both a journal paper and conference contributions from the same results is perfectly within the norm, and also simultaneous submission of a journal article and a conference contribution is no problem.
Note however that proper conference papers - although they exist sometimes - are rare in these cases. In my experience they are usually filled with some less important data that is of decent quality, but insufficient for a journal paper.

In addition to @Snijderfey's excellent answer, you might consult the website for the specific conference you are considering submitting to. Some directly address this issue. Here's an example from a conference I am attending:

Abstracts will not be indexed in MEDLINE, enabling authors to submit their best work that is destined for future journal publication. Contributions may also consist of abstracts based on work published in peer-reviewed journals in the last year (i.e., publication after March 2019); however, works published as proceedings for other conferences will not be accepted. Citation of the previous work is required.

You will typically find these statements in the instructions for authors or call for abstracts section. This answer assumes that you have selected the conference with the assistance of your mentor.

Please note that some conference are scams, and you should not believe what they say on the website.  A student needs to ask someone in there specific area.

In general, simultaneous submission to different publishing venues is strongly frowned upon. After the conference ends, assuming the paper was accepted, is a different matter.
The outcome would depend on the policies of the journal, but most journals might decline to publish something that has already been "published" in another venue, other than as a preprint. But, in some fields, conferences aren't publishing venues and are rather more informal that in others. But it seems doubtful that a non publishing conference would be giving "best student paper" awards.
If you have a journal in mind, you could ask its editor for guidance. It might actually depend on what happens to the conference paper after the conference itself. Some are published by the sponsor of the conference in a proceedings.
Note that in some STEM fields (CS, especially), conference papers are considered very important. In that case, there would be little need to also seek journal publication.
If the paper is rejected, you are free, of course.
Also be careful about any license you give for a conference paper. If you give a permissive license then a publisher might be less likely to want your paper, since the copyright you give them is already limited. Many would prefer to get "all rights", or nearly all.

But to take the topline question literally, yes, you could possibly submit it. But at some point you will probably have to reveal its history and will have to mention the conference. I think it better to ask first. An editor who spends effort on something that they "can't" publish will be unhappy.

In my field, and i think at least in the humanities generally, it's perfectly normal to submit a paper to a conference and a journal simultaneously, since conference presentations are not regarded as publications. I have a feeling this answer might be CS specific.

@henning, not just CS, but certainly there. Any field in which a conference is a publishing venue as opposed to a less formal "meet and greet" for sharing ideas.

Here is a pure math perspective.
It is not possible to publish the same paper in conference proceedings and a normal journal. However, it is reasonably common to have a condensed version (an "extended abstract") in a conference and still publish the full version (which is expected to have significantly more material) subsequently in a journal. Typically most of the proofs will be omitted from the condensed version (and hence a conference publication which does not ultimately produce a journal publication is essentially worthless, as the refereeing process for conferences does not verify correctness).
If attempting to do this, it is sensible to ask the journal you're thinking of submitting to about their policy before submitting to the conference.


text:
Can I use paragraphs from an already published article in a new article?
Can I use paragraphs from an already published article in a new article?
I want to repeat some ideas as an introduction and there is no point in re-writing them when I already reached my desired precise expression. I have the copyright of the original article (but I guess the journal that published it has rights on its distribution).

No. That's self-plagiarism and most venues will not accept it. It is flagged by plagiarism-detecting software, and is likely to lead to desk rejection.

Then how come some famous authors used and reused their texts? Mario Bunge is an example.

Unless you properly cite the quote like you would from any other paper.

@Kathy But it would look really strange to write an introduction using direct quotations from your own prior work…

@JukkaSuomela You cite any quote. Doesn't matter if it's from you or not. I see papers all the time where authors are building on their prior work and they cite that work. It's only strange if you're self conscious about it.

The only literature where you can self-plagiarize is your own thesis/dissertation

What do you mean by "use", simply repeat without attribution?
If you treat your own works the same as you would anyone else's, there won't be any problem.
If you quoted a paragraph from some other person's paper, you'd provide an appropriate citation for it.
Do exactly the same thing, regardless of who wrote the original.
Many papers are already written in a formal style in which the author(s) refer to themselves in the third person, so treating your own work as if it were someone else's should flow naturally, without your having to mention explicitly in the text that it is your own.

I mean with attribution.

Actually, Yes, under certain conditions. There are two concerns. The first is self plagiarism, which you can avoid by citing the older work in the new where you use such paragraphs. You avoid self-plagiarism in general by citation. But generally it needs to be clear you are quoting the earlier work.
The second concern is with copyright. If you don't still hold copyright for the original because you've yielded it to a publisher, then you have to limit yourself, even in self quoting, to rather short passages and clear quotation. This isn't a problem if you hold the copyright yourself.
Some publishers will give authors a relatively free license to self quote, however. Not every publisher, but you can ask. This would be easier if you are going to try to publish with the same publisher as previously.
But, if you look at the situation of new editions of books, you will find that such copy paste is acceptable in some situations and is condoned by (some) publishers.
An added concern, however, is that you don't avoid the self plagiarism trap by just paraphrasing your earlier work without citation. It isn't the literal words that are the issue, but specifying the original source of the ideas behind the words. The same concern is there for ordinary plagiarism, of course.

Thanks, Buffy. So I just give the reference, of which I own the copyright, and that would be it?

As long as you do it in such a way that it is clear you are quoting. The reason that self plagiarism is an issue at all is that researchers need to know the original source of things, which includes the complete original context - i.e. all refs in the older work, etc. It is a question of how to trace ideas back to the first use.

Ok, so I can write a footnote saying something like "The previous three paragraphs were taken from Surname, A. (2020), Title, Journal, Vol., Number, page numbers." Any better idea?

That might work. It is honest and clear. But a publisher may have the last word on how you do it.


text:
How to address having been plagiarized by senior scholars without ruining the relationship
I recently came across a book written by two senior scholars in my field (anthropology), who cite a paper I published with a colleague two years ago.  They cite us quite favorably and in most places they cite us correctly. However, there are two passages which they have copied verbatim from our paper but without attributing them to us, nor even citing us anywhere on the respective pages.
What should we do about that?  We certainly don't want to ruin our relationship.
What are appropriate steps to be taken?
We have never met the authors in person but been exchanging emails with one of them a few times – all very positive exchanges. He is also supposed to participate in a conference panel with us this year. How to bring it up and what should we expect from them to do?

How large are the passages?

Which field are you in? Which parts of the paper did they copy verbatim? Plagiarism standards vary considerably between different fields.

Could this be an honest mistake?

It is difficult to say if this was intentional or only an oversight - though an improper one. But the fact that they cite you generally, seems to imply sloppiness, not malice. Ask for a correction.
I would simply point out the passages to them and provide them a proper citation for them. Since this is a book, it will likely go through several printings and it may be possible for the future printings to be corrected. Published books often come with an errata page, usually online these days.
You don't need to make accusations, just point out the correction.
If you get a poor response from the authors, then try to contact the publisher, starting with just the same information and request.
But if you get a favorable response, then thank them and, if you desire, say positive things about their work and point again to your own. From a bad situation it might turn in to a good one. But that assumes good will.

Adding to this: If you can bundle this together with a few other errata to make clear that you are genuinely interested in improving the book rather than more selfish motivations.

@Wrzlprmft, good suggestion. Some authors (or at least Don Knuth) actually pay people for reporting errors. Oddly, though, people who get a small check from him tend not to cash it, but to frame it on their wall. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knuth_reward_check

Well, if all academics reacted to errata like this, we wouldn’t need this question.

The OP's message to the book's authors could begin by thanking them for the favorable citations, and then pointing out that citations were apparently overlooked in a couple of places.

Copying verbatim cannot be an oversight.

@AnonymousPhysicist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor You just need to imagine being interrupted. You copy something, the doorbell rings, you go open the door, accept the package, go back to the desk and by the time you get back you are already thinking about the next parts of the paper and continue without ever adding the citation. Is it sloppy? Yes, something slipped your mind. Was it intentional? No. Should the culprit be more careful? Definitely. But that doesn't make it intentional or malice.

@AndreasBlass  Yes, I think that's what I'm going to do.  It does look like an oversight.

@Polygnome also psychologically, some people simply consider text attribution way less important than idea attribution. They might care less about their own texts and they might also not be as careful when attributing text sources. Not saying they shouldn't, just explaining why someone can easily be good and rigorous in some way and a bit sloppy in another without intended malice (e.g. simply because they would not feel affected if someone "did it to them").

@Wrzlprmft  This is a great idea.  Actually, there are plenty of errors.  I'm always baffled by how sloppy some established scholars can be.  In fact, one of the rather funny errors introduced by them copying us was that the copied passage included references to other scholars works.  They did look those up but only by name and year and for one of those, in the bibliography they cited a different paper that that person had published in the same year.  Which has nothing to do wiith the argument being made.

@AnonymousPhysicist to back up Polygnome's point, I've often had to tell my students not to paste text in the first place, as doing so sets you up for this sort of thing.  It's far better to put a few words of summary about what you're trying to write

@Polygnome No, forgetting to add a citation does not excuse copying verbatim.  It would still be plagiarism even if there was a citation.

@ChrisH It sounds like you agree with me; if this was a "mistake" it was deliberately set up by breaking the practice of never copying.

@ChrisH Another good habit is to put quotation marks first, then pasting between them. Even if you somehow get distracted and forget the citation, the quotation marks show that it is quoted from somewhere and it should raise a flag during review so you can go back and add the missing citation.

@AnonymousPhysicist I'm not saying it isn't. Obviously if you copy verbatim you would also need quotation marks. My point was that yes, this can happen by mistake. And if it happens very rarely, one should assume a mistake. Humans are fallible (except you, I presume?) and do make mistakes. If it happens more then very rarely, one should be wary, though. But OP was already cited multiple times, which means the authors do not seem to want to deceive. I do not see what you have to gain from accusing them of malice. If you want the error corrected, give 'em the benefit of the doubt.

Actually plagiarism is avoided with a citation. There may be other offenses, of course, but not plagiarism. Of course it needs to be clear what you are citing.

I have had my own work plagiarized and I know it does not feel good, in fact I was quite upset when it happened. In that case the plagiarism was pretty extensive and clearly done with malicious intent (by a graduate student at another institution), and I acted to inform the relevant people. I also had a mild concern at the time that the timeline of events might lead others to conclude erroneously that it was me who plagiarized from the student rather than the other way around.
In your case, however, it sounds like the incident is really too trivial to risk hurting your good relationship with these researchers over. In a comment you say the book contains many errors and there are obvious signs that this was nothing more than sloppiness on the part of the authors. And it sounds like there is no concern you will be mistaken as the plagiarist. So it’s not clear to me what exactly there is to be gained from correcting the mistake in a practical sense, other than to address your own feeling of injustice (which as I said I completely understand and absolutely do not mean to belittle). I assume that these two passages consist of ordinary, everyday text rather than some masterpiece of human ingenuity that will be remembered for many centuries.
My suggestion is to leave it to readers of the book to draw their own conclusions about the professionalism of these authors. If the sloppiness is that obvious, I doubt anyone will be too surprised or shocked to find two unattributed passages in addition to all the other errors. And it is generally not your responsibility to help sloppy scholars improve their work. So, as much as it may be emotionally difficult to do, the best course of action may be simply to do nothing.

Since you do not supervise these senior scholars and you did not coauthor the plagiarism, you are under no obligation to do anything.


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Is it possible to re-open a withdrawn article on arXiv?
I would like to withdraw an article uploaded on arXiv because the proof contains a fatal mistake and, at the moment, I don't know whether it can be fixed or not. My question is:

Suppose that I withdraw it on arXiv. Is it possible to re-open it in the future, or should I start a new one?

Ps. I am aware that all uploaded versions (including the withdraw) will be always online. That is why I am waiting before doing it.

It might be best to upload a new version that's essentially a note explaining that there's a flaw in the original. Then when you patch the proof (if you patch the proof) you can post the latest version.
Since the flawed original will be there in any case, this keeps all the corrections in one place.

Thanks for the suggestion! Then, I will wait a couple of days, at most, to search for a patch. Just to avoid many undeletable versions. Does it sound fair?

I really like this. It seems to be a major advantage over traditional journals where the note on the error and any correction are usually in another issue. It's very hard to be aware that such even exists.

@puppetsock Luckily, it is not yet published. Of course, the editor will be informed in a couple of days, at most, as well.


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Where can I find the double-blind math journals?
At the moment, I am aware the American Mathematical Monthly  and Mathematics Magazine (from several years) and Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society (from one year, approximately) are using the double-blind review system. I find it very useful, especially for young researchers.
Where can I find the list of similar math journals which uses the double-blind review system?
Ps. Is there some reason why most math journals prefer single-blind review system?
Ps2. An interesting related thread here.

Because basically all reviews used to be single-blind and change is hard...

I know that most are single-blind, but I still do not get a reason to prefer this system to the double-blind one

A specific choice has to be made to change to double-blind, and then the journal processes have to be brought in line with that decision. Change is hard as I said.

In many (most?) fields, double-blind is very laborious or even not feasible at all. It does not always work well in math, either, because the papers are on arXiv anyway. And change requires certain infrastructure in place. Consider a website engine someone would have written for journals in physics - you either could borrow it as-is and do single-blind, or invest into switching to double-blind. Required labor is not free, and sharing resources helps to reduce costs.

For researchers, it would be enough to not post it on arXiv on the very same day that the manuscript is finished (and it could be a mandatory rule for submissions). The benefit for young researchers would be clear, and this would avoid biases in several other cases.
I understand that the change is not for free, but I don't get why almost no math journal adopts this system.

I would argue that at least in part this is because preprint publishing is generally encouraged in math, and forbidding preprints would be contrary to the late trend that emerged to fight the publisher mafia. And no, the suggested benefit for young researchers is also not immediately apparent - if you are alluding to possible reviewer biases with not taking these young researchers seriously, writing likely gives it away anyway.

Change is only useful if there is concrete evidence that change leads to better outcomes. I am not convinced that that would be so.

@Paolo Leonetti "The benefit for young researchers would be clear" The benefit to young researchers is not clear to me at all. On the contrary, young researchers with few publications under their belt benefit the most from being able to disseminate their new work more efficiently. The idea that there is some bias against young researchers seems entirely speculative and not at all congruent with my experience. (Is that what you are suggesting? You seem to take it for granted that it's clear why double blind is better for young researchers than single blind, but it really is not clear to me.)

The side question was discussed in Why don't all disciplines follow a double-blind review system?

@Lodinn What if preprint submission was anonymous during review, too? Would this solve the issues that you point out, at least in part?

@Lodinn The lower bias with double-blind peer review is a well studied effect in other fields, see e.g. https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.02701 . If anything, the speculative opinion is the presumption that this does not apply to mathematics.

@FedericoPoloni Yes, that would help somewhat. My biggest issue is that it is straight up not feasible in some fields: there is only one LHC in the world and groups working on it generally know who is assigned what. From the fields I worked in in any capacity, only bioinformatics seems like something with enough pieces of key hardware worldwide that M&M would not give the game away. The article you linked is still generally inconclusive even for a field without those problems, although I will accept it is surely better than idle speculation.

Theoretical fields and fields with accessible hardware at least can be feasibly double blinded, but I would have to speculate again to guess how prevalent the dependency on something fairly specific is in science (and that can happen in purely theoretical fields as well). All in all, if it came at no additional time cost for me as an author and a reviewer, I would happily roll with double blind, I just don't see enough value in it to spend time every submission scrubbing it clean. Maybe because it takes me an anomalously long time, I don't know.

@FedericoPoloni The problem is that there are too many preprints to read all of them. So you have to advertise your results, e.g. in the form of talks. This you cannot really do without breaking anonymity, as in small topics most potential reviewers attend the same conferences. So with double blind reviews I would have to delay talking about my results for the 1+ year or so it often takes to bring the result from preprint to publication in math. For a young researcher, having recognition of your work delayed by this long, at least to me, seems much more damaging than biased journal decisions.

@mlk I did not suggest refraining from giving talks about one's research. Even if authors can be de-anonymyzed in some cases, I do not think that this would make double-blind peer review useless. There are already other 'tells' such as writing style, topics and tools used.

@FedericoPoloni I am not saying it would be useless, I am just not sure that this would not reintroduce a lot of bias again, e.g. "I have not heard anyone talk about that result at the last conference were all my friends and anyone important was, therefore it cannot be a result that matters." In particular since people with larger names tend to give more talks to larger audiences and are thus more likely to be de-anonymised.

@FedericoPoloni Thank you! Indeed, I think it wouldn't be a bad idea if a nonnegligible subset of journals will adopt a double-blind system. The aim of the thread was to understand what is really the current situation, surely not a "shopping question" as it has been tagged. Anyway, it seems from the comments that there are no other ones.

@AdamPřenosil Honestly, I do not agree, or better, there is some dependence on the field. It happened (and it still happens) that new researchers "add" the advisor or another guy "with a good affiliation" in the list of authors just to have better chances to get accepted somewhere. This sounds completely unfair to me, and double-blind system would avoid these situations.


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What to do when you do not get an answer after 1 year
I am in the situation where I submitted an article 1 year and 4 months ago. I already asked to editors about the status nearly five months ago and they replied they are still waiting for the referee answer and that they were going to ask to expedite the process.
I didn’t receive other news since them, and I don’t know if it will be time to contact them again. Would it be considered impolite? What is your suggestion?

You should contact them ASAP. Considered impolite or not, you have the right for a timely review.

Then you should ask again.  If that doesn't work: http://academia.stackexchange.com/q/16502/19607

You might want to state your field, though in this case this only serves to distinguish between such classifications as very long and outrageously long.

Thanks everyone for the comments; however, it is a rather simple review article in elementary number theory (approx 10 pages), that's the reason why I am a bit disappointed :/ [Probably it is not the case to quote the  journal name]

Ah, math. Reviewers do not like to taint their brain with infectious ideas from others, so they sip the paper only line by line.

Related question: http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/48306/almost-14-months-after-submission-the-associate-editor-informed-me-they-still-di

I don't think 1 year and 4 months is that long for a pure math paper. That is why it should be placed on the arxiv, although if it is a review perhaps that is long (depends on how dense it is and if there are new insights).

@WetLabStudent That is long for even a rather involved math paper.  It is very long for a short elementary article.

Well, now it is more than 2.5 years.

I suspect that if you've not heard anything after a year then either they have a HUGE backlog of papers or they have rejected your paper and did not have the decency to tell you. Sorry. I think we've all been there at least once. :-(

It's happened to me several times.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


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Choosing a degree program with 'low academic standards'
I am not sure if this is the right StackExchange to post this kind of question. If not, I apologize.
I currently have a problem in choosing a undergraduate program to study. I am mainly interested in software engineering, life sciences and mathematics. As a result of this, I have bought multiple undergraduate text books for these subjects to teach myself all basics of these fields. This includes things like programming, theoretical computer science, data structures, algorithms, ... , set theory, linear algebra, real analysis in one and several variables, complex analysis, abstract algebra, ... , zoology, chemistry for biologists, genetics and so on.
Now, when I look at those many different degrees available, I am kinda stumbled. Because all degrees have kind of 'nothing to offer', as I see it. By this I mean that I feel like I already know 66% of the course's content, especially in mathematics. Of course, such programs can offer more things like help from tutors (which kinda became irrelevant due to the internet), field works, expensive laboratory experiments and so on. But I don't think that programs like for mathematics or software engineering have much of such things. And I am not sure if I really want to pay 9000£ a year for such a degree then. So a degree in biology would be the best.
But then again, I am just afraid of taking a biology degree, because I fear people (both in industry and academia) will deny me because this particular degree I have pursued did not include a programming course or fundamental mathematics, even though I did teach such things myself.
Now I have no experience in how people might react when I write in a CV things like 'I might have a degree in biology and not your desired degree in computer science or mathematics, but I do think that I fit your job as statistician very well, because I taught myself modern mathematics, methods of statistics and programming. (even though I do not have a certificate proving any of the listed skills, just believe me.)'

Edit 1 'To the Dunning-Kruger effect':
Well, you can often view course structures and syllabus' for the courses included in your degree online. Let's take for instance the Bsc Mathematics (G100) program from the Imperial College. Under 'Structure' you can read what you'll learn in during this degree and you can even see all the syllabus' for all individual courses, such as for 'Mathematical Methods I'. When you now have different books covering the topics listed plus other sources from the internet (like videos, papers, articles), I do think that you can teach yourself a lot of the degree. You even have people on StackExchange you could ask for help. Despite all of that there is even a list 'Appropriate books' in which the Imperial College recommends you books to read for that course!

I gave an up-vote to this question because I think it's worth while asking. But, I am not clear about "low academic standards". Please clarify what you mean by that. You cannot say a course is low standard just because you already know 66% of it. The other 34% may be more difficult than the 66%.

"help from tutors (which kinda became irrelevant due to the internet)" - I strongly disagree.

@scaaahu I agree that this term might be somewhat unfitting. I simply feel that they do not give me the expected amount of certificated knowledge I might need.

Are you getting any feedback? Is a mathematician looking at your proofs and telling you they are valid and well written? Is another programmer testing your programs and reviewing them for readability and maintainability?

@Patricia Shanahan Not on StackExchange, but there are many free online communities/forums full of programmers and mathematicians that do that with joy.

@PatriciaShanahan I'd also like to add that for proofs that mathematics text books also often have well written and valid proof at the end of the appendix. Compare your solution with theirs, understand it and if not ask online. That should be sufficient. A good programming book should also tell you about readability and maintainability with excellent code example throughout the book. And there also many books dedicating solely to that topic. Compare your code with theirs, understand why it was done so and if you can't, ask once again online.

The difference between a good and a less good place is not just the lectures/education, but also your peers. There may be brilliant people who have nothing to gain from university education, but my experience is that top locations, say, for math, Cambridge, Princeton, Bath, Warwick etc. will provide you what books do not do: not only material, but direction.

Imperial College has an excellent reputation for academic rigour here in the UK, I think the course tutors would be delighted with a candidate who has already mastered the basics when they start the course and would likely be supportive in going beyond the syllabus to more advanced topics. Suggest you ask Dr Colin Cottor on ugmaths.admissions@imperial.ac.uk. It would be worth asking whether, if you do outstandingly well in their admissions test, you would be allowed to skip the first year (suggest you try some past papers first in order to confirm you're as good as you think you are).

Also worth noting that the syllabus you link to, M1M1, says it provides a "firm grounding to A-level topics such as differentiation,
integration, complex numbers and series expansions", which means that they consider this high-school material and expect you to already know it pretty well before you start.

@AE My mathematics B.Sc., awarded in 1970, was from Imperial College. At the time, the rumor was that the Mathematical Methods course was added after they found they had a student with a USA high school education who had a deep understanding of the theory of integration, which they had taught, but who had no idea how to do practical integrations, which they had not taught. They had been counting on students having a "firm grounding" in such topics on entry.

Since the sentiments already appear in your question, let me make this extremely clear:
Modern university degree programs serve at least two distinct purposes: education and certification
I entirely agree with you that a if you already know the material, for the education purpose of the degree it seems redundant to take a course on a subject you have already mastered. But as you have already indicated in your question, employers, graduate schools, and other agencies may choose to use your university transcript as evidence of said mastery. (Though, in some fields, the professional society provides their own certification function. For example, the society of actuaries have their own pathway toward membership. Those fields may be more "friendly" to someone without a formal degree.)
But I do wonder how you came to the assessment that you already know most of the material in offer for the degree programs. The Dunning-Kruger effect is a well-documented phenomenon in which practitioners of low expertise tend to overestimate their competency. While I am not saying that this necessarily apply to you, frequently in a classroom scenario one of the most difficult things is to first break down the students' existing misconceptions before actually teaching the material.
That said:
From your post I gather you are based in Britain. One option for you is to pursue a degree outside the United Kingdom. The liberal arts type education in the United States, for example, give greater flexibility in the choice of coursework toward a degree program, and frequently you can make special placement arrangements to participate in higher/graduate level coursework in lieu of the introductory courses. Additionally, given you interest, maybe you should investigate degree programs in mathematical biology. Modern math bio tend to combine theoretical and computational mathematics (which involve a good deal of programming and simulations) with life sciences.

Well, a graduated student probably would also say he/she knows most of the material in offer for the undergraduated degree program, but not due to the Dunning-Kruger effect. Biomathematics may be an option, however in a 3-year program one cannot teach the same amount of biology/mathematics that would have been taught in a single-degree program for biology/mathematics. So how do I certificate the extra knowledge I might will gather on my own? It's kinda hard to finance a U.S. undergeraduate degree for me, so this might be an option for later graduate degrees.

@ClassicEndingMusic how do I certificate the extra knowledge I might will gather on my own? You can elect to take upper level/graduate level courses and receive good grades. Those good grades will show up in your transcript and certify that you do have good knowledge in those fields that are not usually taught in the 3 year degree program.

@ClassicEndingMusic: let me just give an anecdotal answer to your question about the DK effect. When I started graduate school I was certain I   have mastered the material on offer for my undergraduate degree program. Now that I've held my PhD for seven years, I know I was wrong. // 3 year BSc degrees is also a British/European thing: North American degree programs typically last for 4 years. To summarize my advice: a good portion of your discomfort seem to stem from the structure of the traditional British-style University education. I would argue that what's best for you is to find a place

... which has the structural support for the type of education you want/need. This doesn't have to be outside the UK, as Matt's answer indicates.

You're likely aware of this option, but I thought I'd flag it up just in case. Have you considered taking a dual honours degree?
Although in theory taking a degree is two subjects leaves you a specialist in neither, your dispensation toward teaching yourself suggests you'd be more than capable of making up the shortfall. And besides, the knowledge you miss out on as part of the syllabus tends to be more the cutting edge material, more relevant to specialist research.
If this worries you, perhaps take a look at Keele University. They specialise in dual honour degrees and offer the option to switch to single honours part way through your course if you so wish. Biology and Mathematics are one of the combinations they offer.
Finally, as someone who is themselves a biologist who eventually became interesting in statistics and computing, take a look for universities with active research interests in areas that combine the two like population genetics. It's not a particularly popular topic but if memory serves Trinity College in Dublin and Nottingham University both had a high profile in this area. Other areas of biology with a high amount of crossover into maths and software include Crystallography and Biophysics.
You will likely find that biology degrees at these sorts of institutions have the options to take modules in relevant areas of maths and computing, and you will find staff sympathetic to helping with your broad-based learning interests.
Finally, don't underestimate how much there is to learn. I'm sure you're very clever and competent but modern science is terrifyingly rich in knowledge. You will certainly benefit from learning in a structure, supportive environment such as a university course and you may be surprised how much material there is to get through. It's certainly worth considering, especially given the certification angle that others have mentioned.

I don't have enough reputation for a comment, hence the answer.
I'd like to address this comment of the OP:

Biomathematics may be an option, however in a 3-year program one cannot teach the same amount of biology/mathematics that would have been taught in a single-degree program for biology/mathematics. So how do I certificate the extra knowledge I might will gather on my own?

In software engineering, it's actually relatively easy to show your expertise, namely by having a portfolio in GitHub/GitLab/BitBucket/etc. Not only that, but also on most job interviews for positions where there is coding involved, you will be asked to show your coding skills. But to get these job interviews, you need a degree.
In mathematics and biology, you typically mention any extra knowledge in your CV, cover letter, statement of purpose, etc. And then, if that knowledge is pertinent to the position you are applying for, you will often be given a chance to demonstrate that knowledge in interviews. But again, without a degree, you most likely wouldn't reach the interview phase anyway.
There are also many advantages to going to university, even if you "know" the material.
For example, in university you often make connections (be it with other students, people from academia, people from industry) that greatly expand your options.
You also get opportunities that you otherwise wouldn't be able to get, e.g. internships and such, which are specifically for university students, and these internships not only provide amazing boost to your CV, but often give you invaluable experience that is hard to get otherwise.
And finally, something that a lot of people don't realise, in university you get exposed to many different ideas and points of view, many (I'm actually tempted to say most) of which you wouldn't be able to think of by yourself. And this can be really important.
My advice to you: go to university, even if you think you "know your stuff".


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How do I look for/solicit a move to another university pre-tenure?
I am considering a move to another institution, two years out from tenure. I do have a strong case, but the department has changed in ways that may mean better prospects elsewhere. I am not 100% set on leaving; rather I will be looking. I do think my current department would frown on my looking or actively soliciting a position. Also, my field is small; word will likely get around. How do people do this, correctly and strategically?

To clarify, the only reason you would look for other jobs is because you are worried about getting tenure there?  If you have personal reasons to want to move, I think most people are understanding of that.

@Kimball, I am not worried about getting tenure.  I am simply not sure that my present department the best place to spent the next 10 years of my career. Therefore, the reason for my move is not personal, but a lack of faith in the trajectory of my department. I doubt they would be understanding of that.

It is difficult. Job application lists are supposed to be confidential, and you can mention in your cover letter that you prefer your institution not be notified of your candidacy. In some countries, your privacy is much better protected as an applicant. For example in Denmark, faculty applicants don't give talks and there's no public record of them even having an on-campus interview. Consider applying strategically depending on who is likely on the hiring panel at what types of schools, and how likely that is to come back. Last, it's very normal for faculty to apply to other positions, and even if discovered, may not affect your tenure case or your relationship with colleagues. Good luck.


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How do you discover new papers as a mid-career academic?
As a Professor, how do you identify new papers to expose yourself to new ideas?
Most of what I read now is derivative of old favorites or my own work. Journals in my area don't do a good job of grouping my somewhat interdisciplinary interests. I have found more new interesting work through popular sources like newspapers, Pocket, and magazines reporting on journal papers than any other source in the last year.
I want new favorite papers, unconnected to my present pet ideas. This is hard for me, and for several of my peers, when I asked. How do you do it?
I'm interested in useful strategies (a unconventional search ritual?), services (Pocket for journal articles?), or products (tinder for papers?).  I'm interested in things outside of what a google search about this will provide. Yes, I have heard of researchgate and google scholar.

Why do you think the answer depends on career stage?

CS/AI perspective
I get to them by
a. reviewing (you get stuff outside your field every once in a while)
b. Collaboration with colleagues outside my field (can be really fun but can take a while as you get used to each other’s discipline and its idiosyncrasies).
c. Going to seminars, listening to talks in conferences outside my field.

Go to conferences and go to talks outside your immediate area. Review lots of papers (and do a good job so you get even more reviewing duties). Become an editor of a journal. Offer to come for seminar talks at other universities and talk to the people there.
These are all ways to go outside your comfort zone and see what others are doing.

Checking through "academic social media" like Google Scholar, Researchgate, etc, and apparently Twitter (not sure how this works if you use it not only for work). Sometimes there are interesting suggestions from people I have no connection to (many suggestions are useless though).
Also, following (on the same platforms) people with similar interests, or that share parts of your interest, will allow you to see their work, as well as work they "like".
I also like walking around in poster sessions and having a short look at every poster(title). I see many people following a strict list of posters they want to see - however, I feel that I discover a lot of interesting things just by walking around.


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What is the minimum one can communicate with coauthors
What are the minimal communication points with coauthors necessary for peer-review?
I am faced with a slightly hostile and poorly trained group of coauthors (the latter is not their fault: they are MS level engineers from industry). Each communication costs time and misunderstanding. I do have a desire to do things 'correctly', in general, but especially as I suspect that at some point one may write a letter complaining to the editor. I'm hoping to steer this process to happier places, and fewer exchanges seem to be one important component of this.
Upon submission all authors ratified the draft.  Now I have a revise and resubmit. My plan is not to send the comments around (they will be taken as 'we failed' by this group, not accustomed to academic comments). Instead, I will address them and send around the revision with reply.
Does this seem acceptable. is there a way to minimize even more?

The hostility might be from your attitude. You come across as if you think your industry coauthors are somewhat below you. Just because you are the "academic" doesn't mean you are any better trained then they are. Why would you jump to conclusions that they shouldn't be involved fully in the revision process?

Are we to assume, from the way you have written this, that you did the lion's share of the work to the paper? Or will that turn out to be someone else?

@scrappedcola No chip on my shoulder about being academic vs industry: the hostility comes from these coauthors being assigned by their supervisor to write a paper, which they do not wish to do. They feel that the academic writing process is slow, meaningless, and generally a waste of their time. I am responsible for the individuals assigned being assigned, and they know it.

@solar mike I did around 70% of the work.

I think that, ethically, you have reached the minimum. If their names are to be attached then they need to sign off on the result as published. But it may not be necessary for them to see how the sausage is made. So, I think you are fine in what you suggest.
However, you should expect questions about why you made certain changes and you might, at that point, need to share something of the comments of reviewers that led you to make those changes.
The endless arguments may still occur, but at least you will have an updated version about which to argue, rather than just a lot of disparate comments.

Thank you for that assessment. It's how I'm thinking of it, too. My sincere hope is that they will simply write an email reply like 'Great, glad its done.' and move on to things they value more.


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Accept MA in art history with no funding and massive debt, or apply PhD fully-funded?
I am a very strong graduate candidate in art history with a 3.97 undergrade GPA and excellent research and writing skills. My recommdations are very strong with three professors attesting that I my work is "brilliant" and "exceptional."  Three months were spent intensively researching MA programs in art history, after which I applied to two schools, one very elite, and one excellent but not an elite. The elite school took ten candidates and I was not accepted.  The less elite school courted me and hosted me for a day to meet the department, writing afterwards that they were "thrilled" to have someone of my caliber. I love the program there, and there are two scholars there I want to study with. Great right? No, because the funding the promised for the MA did not come through, and they have no funds except for PhD students.  They were only able to offer me a $1,700 cash scholarship.
This is my new dilemma, I have three options:(1) I can turn down this acceptance, and go to a school whose program and faculty I like less, but a school where I can get full tuition plus stipend at the MA level -- there are six or eight and I will get into at least one; (2) I can accept and sell everything I own and go 70K into debt for two years, plus work part-time off campus, which is not a great option; (3) I can change from a MA candidate to a PhD candidate and they will accept me with full funding -- full ride on tuition plus stipend.  I do not really want to commit to 5 years, but I am already well into dissertation research on a great topic.  I am confused, does anyone have advice ?
I should add as an addendum, that if I am going to apply directly to a PhD program -- which my undergrad advisors feel I am ready to do -- should I then expand my search for the following year, or stick with the school to which I am now accepted?  I am a good "fit" for this excellent, highly competitive program, but I do not have the money to do their masters with almost no funding.

Seems like only you can decide; you’ve laid out the options well. Though: you haven’t said what you want to do after you get your MA in art history; this seems like a key consideration.

Also: are you sure it is five years? I don't know your field, but in general, it is not impossible for very strong candidates to finish in 4.

I'm a bit confused. Did you apply for a doctoral slot but were offered a masters instead? And, is this in the US as I assume?

Some universities in Europe will grant you an MA if you drop out from a PhD early yet write an MA level dissertation. If that is an option in your case, then you more or less have the dilemma sorted out.

@Buffy I applied for the masters, not the doctorate. But you are correct that in the US this is an issue -- U of Chicago does this often, the offer rejected PhD candidates an masters program that they must finance, it is a cash cow for that school, and worse, the MA students do not have the same professors, they get adjunct.

@cag51 It is hard to do the Art History PhD in less than 5.  Harvard says 6.  It might depend on the dissertation topic and now esoteric it is,  and the college, but generally they have told me 3 years classes, 2 years research and writing -- while teaching.

I vote for option 3 (fully funded PhD). Sufficient funding for academic studentships matters not just logistically, but also has huge benefits for mental health (it did for me). Academic work is challenging, and if you can step back every now and then and treat it like a job (that is paying you) then it is more mentally manageable (in my opinion).
I highly recommend that you don't go for option 2 - that debt will follow you around for years and you may resent what got you into it.
Ask yourself why you are considering option 1 (other masters programs), when the next sequential step from option 1 is the PhD in option 3 (if you want to stay in academia).
I understand that you don't want to necessarily commit to ~5 years, but find out what happens if a PhD is dropped halfway through. In some countries, if you've passed an evaluation exam part-way through your studies, and then drop out, then you could still achieve a 'Masters' degree.
Finally, regarding your last question, only you will be able to answer this, and only after you've spent some time in the program.
Good luck! --From a professional (in a different field) that had a fully funded PhD

Thank you so much. I have a mentor who went to Princeton on a full ride PhD and only completed enough for masters. I did not really have the nerve to ask him how that all went down, but as an example, I guess it does sometimes happen.  Interestingly he did a MA in another field and never a PhD. I appreciate your candor.  I am so glad I posted this.

Heavily consider getting a PhD.
Only consider #1 and #3.
If you feel you'd be a great fit for a program, then getting funded as a PhD is probably in your best interest.  Most people with Masters degrees go on to get PhDs.  What is your plan for the MA, your career?
Option #1 has one big downside - "Clicking" with your department is much more important in grad school than undergrad.  It can be the difference between a great experience that can launch your academic career and dropping out.
Option #2 - You'll end up in debt with a very expensive degree that doesn't qualify you for a high paying job.   Don't pay out of pocket.
Option #3, switching to a PhD this year.  It sounds like it's a top program choice for you.  You say you did months of research on these programs.  If the program you were accepted to would still be top 3 choice for a PhD, it's probably not worth waiting a year and reapplying, there is a high probability you'd end up there anyway.  Especially since most people with Masters go on to get a PhD, I feel this is your best option.
If you decide 5 years is too long, you can usually graduate with just a masters, but don't plan on doing this.  This is university specific.

OP would have to check that it is possible to switch to masters at that particular university.

Excellent advice thank you!  And yes, thank you for reminding me of the specificity of the programs, you are right of course, the MA will not lesson the time I would have to spend doing a subsequent PhD and a new school.  I have read so much of he work of the scholars at this school.  I'll write the grad program director about #3 as an option.  We have excellent rapport so I will see what he says. Thanks again this is helpful!

@sevensevens I'd be very surprised if most people with a Masters in art history go on to a PhD. Over the span of only 3 years I personally taught probably 120 Art history master's students. Only a very, very small number of them have gone on to PhD. A PhD wasn't the goal of most of them, rather they wanted to in museum and art market careers.

Speaking as a kinda-sorta Art Historian (or at least someone who was 25% in Art History on a joint appointment for a few years), 1 vs 3 depends on what your goals are from graduate level study (for the reasons others have stated, don't do 2).
You say that you are not ready to commit to 4 years of PhD, which is totally fine, but then what are your career aspirations? Do you want to become an academic? If so, PhD is your only option and there isn't a lot of point in doing a Master's. If your goal is to work in museums or generally on the art market (or the likes), a PhD is likely totally unneeded and isn't something that will allow you to get a foot in any door, it would just be several years away from the type of experience you need to land the job you want. A Master's may be needed however as a minimum requirement for some jobs.

I am more interested in writing than anything else, although i am also interested in curation.  I have a book topic in mind which focuses on developments in Post ww2 abstract art and it's relationship to "reality" as a bridge between post war nihilistic ennui and capitalist materialism.  it is hard to put in a sentence but focuses on two major 1960s exhibitions on New York and London.


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List of approved Competency-Based Education schools
Does the US department of education publish a list of universities that they've approved for Competency-Based Education?  I've only discovered articles where they've approved a couple schools at a time.  I'd love to find a complete list so that i can do a thorough comparison prior to choosing a program.
Competency-Based Education can be generically described with these bullet points:

Classes do not have a set end date.  They end as soon as you're able to pass the necessary assessment test(s) for that subject.  This could be in as little as 2 days if you're already knowledgeable on the topic.
You don't pay per class.  Rather, you pay a flat fee for a block of time (typically 3 or 6 months).
You're able to take as many classes as you want within the 'subscription' timeframe.  The only requirement is that you pass the assessment of class1 before starting class2.
Competency-based programs are typically in an online-only setting and do not require any time to be spent on a campus.

One benefit of this style of program is that efficient students can acquire a degree in a much shorter timespan than if they enrolled in a typical structured program.  The end cost also has a high probability of being significantly cheaper than a structured program.  Competency programs are commonly between $6000-$9000 per year.

"the department of education" - unless there is a global institution I am not aware of, could you specify which country you are referring to, please? Without that information, your question is unanswerable, given that there are probably hundreds of national departments of education around the world.

Sorry, i meant the United States.  I just added US into the question.

Would you please clarify what is "Competency-Based Education"?

A quick summary is that you pay a flat fee for a set amount of time and can take as many classes as you're capable of. You need only to pass certain assessments to prove you're competent on the subject and then you may move onto the next course.  http://www.ed.gov/oii-news/competency-based-learning-or-personalized-learning

Approved for what? This? which doesn't seem to mean much. The US Dept. of Education doesn't approve schools for anything that I know of.

Here's an article (there are many more) that indicates the Dept of Ed approves schools for this new style of education.  https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/13/feds-move-ahead-experimental-sites-competency-based-education

@BillTarbell: Given that the last link you posted says "Competency-based education and prior learning assessment have been around for a long time.", I'm not sure whether "new style of education" is a fitting description, in particular as the option to "can take as many classes as you're capable of" appears to be much the "natural default" unless the university specifically prevents students from doing just that. I suppose some decisive details are still unclear here.

Western Governors University started the trend in 1999.  Additional schools have been adopting the non-structured programs since, but it's a slow pace.  I've currently only amassed a list of roughly 35 schools.  I'm hoping to discover a complete list somewhere.

@BillBarth But the Department of Education does approve accrediting bodies who approve programs and schools.

@dmckee, accrediting bodies don't approve programs and schools in a way that is required by law in order to operate. The question seems more about whether DoEd is putting the government stamp of approval on anything, and it's not.

There's a preliminary list here of experimental sites with programs participating in the DoE's Competency-Based Education experiment. (Via this page about current DoE experimental initiatives.)
The list is watermarked "Preliminary" and is dated 4/16/15, so keep this in mind in how you use it - it may not be completely reliable or up to date.

One main benefit to being a participate in the experimental sites through Dept of Ed is access to financial aid for students. This is something that was not mentioned in your answer

Currently, there are over 200 universities in the US that offered Competency Based Education. The challenge is that the majority of these programs are not approved by the Dept of Ed, which means that students cannot apply for financial aid through many of these programs.
The main obstacles to approval involves

Receiving credit for life experiences
little interaction with faculty
Issues with credit hours

Therefore, as of now, you have many choices in terms of where to study but you would probably have to pay yourself until the Dept of begins approving these programs.

This totally doesn't answer the question. The question asks where one might find a list of those few programs that have been approved.

@ff524 Thanks for the positive feedback. Comp Ed programs do not require approval. The only benefit of formal approval is access to financial aid. The link for the number 200 provides options. BTW I always enjoy your comments

-1 for not being an answer. Whether or not approval is necessary is beyond the scope of this question.

authors: ยุทธศักดิ์ ใจทัศน์


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How can I convince my students to speak louder?
Freshers sometimes speak almost inaudibly, even after asking them to speak loudly. Now, with facemasks, it's even worse, I am not allowed to approach them too much, and it demands a lot of energy to be able to hear them sometimes. What strategies do you suggest?

What sort of answer are you expecting besides "Ask them politely?"

Anything beyond that. Like techniques

@AzorAhai--hehim Having frequently experienced the same issue, I usually ask politely two times, but when they still don't raise their voice, I raise mine and become much less polite. Usually this is enough ;-)

Publicly thank the students who do speak loudly, every time they speak.

@Massimo Ortolano I don't think I would go a long way by not being polite...

@JeffE I like that... You just need one to start!

I simply tell them I cannot hear them and ask them to repeat it louder, until I hear it. Usually at the 3rd time it's loud enough for you to understand and I thank them for getting it right (cf. @JeffE). It's a shyness that they have to overcome and they have to get the feedback that they are not exaggerating.

I've told my students, "I'm old and deaf; please speak up so that I can help you."  It works.

+1 Wow! The downvoters are out in force. What's wrong with this question?

#Bob Brown Nice! I'm going to try it.

A colleague suggested the following: a silly exercise to help them loose up their voices during the first or second meeting, like asking them one by one what their favourite fruit is. But I worry that it might look too silly/unserious, what do you all think?

If students do not speak loudly when directly asked to speak loudly, it probably means they do not know how to speak loudly.  This is not intuitive because most people think everyone knows how to speak loudly naturally, but I suspect many people misunderstand the mechanics of speaking loudly.  In particular, people think they speak loudly by moving their ribs, when actually the need to move their abdominal muscles.  Show your students where those muscles are and have them practice moving them to make a loud sound.  This will help students control their volume.
You might also ask the music or theater department for advice.

+1 (I'd have written something along the same lines, but worse.) I'll add: The OP doesn't mention the context, I think asking/answering a question is assumed in the above answer. In the OP's position and in the context of the above answer, I'd suggest doing a demo. Of a one-to-one private conversation at the front of the room (or with yourself for covid safety). With someone in the front row. With someone in the back row. To the whole room. Perhaps ask students to raise their hands when they can hear. Ask a couple of students to give it a try.

I'd perhaps open the demo with: "Sometimes I struggle to hear some of you. Now, that might be my old age. <> I really want to hear you all, so I'm going to demonstrate how our voices travel." By assuming responsibility for the problem, students that talk too quietly will feel at ease and won't blame themselves, whilst understanding the need to project their voices. (Or they just assume it's your problem, not theirs...)

Program your laptop computer or smartphone to continuously plot over the last few minutes the loudness (in decibels) of the sound heard by its microphone. If a student says something you can't make out - bring the app to the foreground, show that the sound wasn't loud enough, and ask them to repeat so as to reach the desired level on the plot.

This sounds like a great way to get students to stop asking anything for fear of embarrassment.

@David Scott Oh, good point, David.


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Is consistent disregard for students' time "normal" in undergraduate research?
The title has my primary question. My research professor whom I have known since the beginning of the calendar year has quite consistently canceled on meetings last minute, most often due to personal reasons or last-minute department meetings. Despite the difficulties this causes with my own and my research peers' schedules, it's somewhat understandable. But there's rarely any follow-up for makeup meetings; if there is, it never moves past us giving our research professor our alternative meeting availabilities.
As an undergraduate, I wonder if this is simply to be expected at some level when doing research with a senior professor- is it? I enjoy the subject matter of the research quite a bit so I do not prefer to leave the team. Any advice is welcome on how to navigate this situation, if it is to be navigated at all, or instead accepted as is.

To be clear, is the professor actually consistently canceling last-minute? Or forgetting about it, or canceling more than a couple minutes after the meeting should've started?

If the department is frequently scheduling meetings last-minute, then they share some of the blame.

More likely theory: Very few people in academia know how to manage time.

Complete disregard for students' time is normal period.  Hasn't homework taught you this by now? :P

What is your location? This might be heavily culture dependant.

I am not familiar with undergraduate research - I am not sure what discipline would have such. But I am familiar with postgraduate research and these disruptions can be incredibly common depending on the supervisor

@Acccumulation the professor can choose to not attend department meetings

Have the meeting anyway without the professor is the most obvious plan B. Get what help you can from more senior members of the research group.

Some level of disruption is normal. The more intense the environment, the more disruption is likely to occur. As you note, much of this is unavoidable. Things happen in our personal lives that must be attended to (illness of a child, for example) and last minute meetings are outside the advisor's control.
But, you don't need to just go idle when there is disruption. If you have a good working plan with team members then you can probably carry on when a meeting with the advisor gets cancelled at the last minute. Have a five minute "conference" on how you can make immediate progress. The do that. Or... Make a list of questions that need to be answered before you can continue. Things like that.
When you do get to talk to them, ask for advice they might have on how to continue effectively when meetings get cancelled.
You ask if this is normal. Some of it yes. Some of it is also exacerbated by the fact that it is a senior professor who has lots of time consuming and constraining demands. I hope you aren't their lowest priority, of course. But learning can occur in any case if you just figure out how to keep the team moving forward.

I dispute that "last minute meetings are outside the advisor's control". Yes, important stuff can come up at the last minute. But the question sounds as if this was not a one-time occurrence, but a regular pattern. If the professor regularly has "last-minute" meetings come up that mean that scheduled meetings have to be canceled, then the professor is overextended. Basic courtesy demands the prof should scale back on her/his commitments.

@StephanKolassa, "prof should scale back on her/his commitments". Ah, if that were only possible. In reality we make do. But I hope, as I said, that this student group isn't the lowest priority.

@Buffy That's just an excuse for bad planning and having to fear no consequences for badly treating others. Yes there can always be emergencies and professors are busy people, but so are many other professionals who somehow still manage to be on time for most of their meetings - so do most professors I've ever known.

No, it's not normal. You deserve respect like everyone else. Canceling on you repeatedly at the last minute is disrespectful. "Personal reasons" can happen once in a while, sure. (Although at some point you have to wonder what's real and what's an excuse.) However, department meetings are never planned at the last minute. We are all extremely busy, and if you plan something last minute, the answer you will get from 50%+ of potential participants is "I can't, I teach/have another meeting planned/am not even in the country that day". Me and most of my colleagues try to adhere very strictly to already-planned meetings, and those who don't acquire very quickly a reputation of being unreliable. If a professor has scheduled a meeting with you and decides to go to a department meeting instead at the last minute, it's insulting.
There are at least two possible reasons for the professor's behavior.

The first is that he has abysmal organizational skills. This can happen. Talking about it can sometimes help, but you have to be careful about how you phrase this. It's possible that the professor does not even realize that canceling last minute is terrible for your own schedule; some people are just self-centered and have a lot of trouble putting themselves in another's shoes.
The second is that you are so low on the professor's priorities, and the professor values you so little, that he doesn't care about inflicting this kind of behavior on you. This is not the kind of person you want to work with. Being busy and senior is not an excuse for being an asshole. But you are now reaching the point where you have to choose your battles. Do you want to complain to the professor and risk retaliation? Do you want to switch advisors and also possibly face retaliation or bad will, or work on something that is less interesting to you? Etc. There is a huge power imbalance between an undergrad student and a professor, so unfortunately I have to advise you to tread carefully.

You can adopt palliative tactics such as the ones described in Buffy's answer. But overall, no, it's not acceptable for someone to do this to you, and in an ideal world you would not put up with it. But we don't live in an ideal world. Academia has a bigwig personality complex, and many (not the majority fortunately) believe that they live on a superior plane of existence, wayyy above commoners, students, and underlings.

Buffy gave a solution and you gave a useful analysis of the situation. I do think it comes down to realism and not idealism as you said though. With many things, it is a balance between both being understanding as well as not putting up with poor interpersonal skills that impact my life. I believe the solution in the meantime is to take the extra step to organize more team meetings without the research professor with the hope that this will both reduce the lack of efficiency of not having a super interactive research professor as well as maybe even encourage the professor to take the reins.

Please note that you assumed the professor is male despite no gender being given in the OP. This is a manifestation of our implicit gender biases, which we all have to work to overcome in order not to perpetuate discrimination against women.

@GregMartin From Wiki: "In such cases a gender-specific, usually masculine, pronoun is sometimes used with a purported gender-neutral meaning;[3] such use of he was common in formal English between the 1700s and the latter half of the 20th century" Please note that you assumed the answerer was assuming gender, when for many of us, the generic he was simply part of our grammar studies.

@Mars The root of this English's language rule in itself is discrimination against women though.

@GeorgeM That's ridiculous. There are no clues to user114701's gender, so this is a perfect example of sexism being pointed out when the asshole behavior is not assumed to come from any one gender.

@IEatBagels I'm not learned in linguistics, so I will not argue that. But that is irrelevant--I merely pointed out that Greg Martin was making a baseless accusation. There are many possible explanations for why user114701 could have used "he," without presuming that the professor was male.

@GregMartin: in my native language (German), the word "professor" is exactly the same, but for men, whereas for women, it is "Professorin". So yes, I admit that my brain understood "professor" as "male professor". But perhaps you should check whether your own biases do not lead you to discriminate against people with different origins (especially those with a different native language), or people who received a less than stellar education (correlated with familial income etc) and do not have as good a command of English, by holding them to the a relatively higher standard, here or elsewhere

No, it’s not normal, and your professor’s behavior is disrespectful and unprofessional. The fact that you are an undergraduate is not an excuse and does not justify treating you this way. I would suggest looking for a different research project to work on under another professor who treats you with the respect due to a junior colleague and a fellow human being.

It's pretty normal imo for professors to cancel meetings with undergraduates when more "pressing" departmental meetings are at hand.

@Parever canceling meetings on rare occasions is one thing, but what OP is describing is a pattern of “consistent disregard for students’ time”. That is not normal in any academic environment I have experienced.

You should address your concerns to the appropriate representative body and ask them to raise them with the faculty.
Important
You need to establish clearly if this pattern of behavior is typical or atypical for people with similar responsibilities in the institute.  Ask other groups for their experience.  If at all possible try to get some stats together to support your case.
If there is no (student ?) representation body that can deal with this then, as a group you need to formally contact the head of the department and assert the need for this issue to be addressed without delay.
It's for them to work out a strategy to do that.
The initial suggestion will (at a guess) be that you "talk to the professor".  This of course is just a way to avoid responsibility.  You have no authority to negotiate with this individual and they seem not to be able, for whatever reasons, to handle their workload.  It's the department which needs to shoulder this responsibility.
If the department refuses to act then you may need (again ideally via a representation group) to address this matter to a higher authority within the institute.
No, it's not reasonable for this to consistently happen.  The purpose of that institute is to teach and research.  Mentoring is not an optional extra, it's a core function.  The issues here are simple :

Meetings cancelled at last minute because other last minute things crop up

This (if true) is departmental chaos in operation and while you might expect the occasional meeting to be cancelled for these reasons, they're not running a crisis management center for the police, they're running (or not running well) an institution where student requirements ought to be an integral part of the working day.  There should be time allotted to this and that allocation should be respected.  Exceptions happen, consistent issues should not.

Meetings cancelled for personal reasons

Well this happens, but if it's happening a lot then, again, it's a departmental issue to properly cover the work.  It's quite unfair to students (and others) to have someone whose personal life consistently interferes with core working responsibilities.  Again it's a case of occasional being normal and a high frequency of these issues being a real problem that needs a real response from the department.

But there's rarely any follow-up for makeup meetings; if there is, it never moves past us giving our research professor our alternative meeting availabilities.

This is another sign of either departmental chaos or individual chaos.  There's a clear issue here that needs to be addressed.  When you were taken on it was to mentor your development.  If this is consistently not being done properly then it's a departmental level failure (at least).
Very, very important.
Lastly in fairness to the individual you need to note that they may be severely overloaded by an institution that is happy to exploit them (and as a result, your group).  Do not seek to assign blame in any contacts with the institute - this sets up a confrontational situation they will feel (right or wrong) they should defend to the hilt.  This is why a representational body, which likely has people more experienced in resolving these issues, is so important.
You are not going to war, you are seeking a solution or solutions.  That will almost certainly involve compromise.