text:
Do US English departments still teach formal elements of literature?
I am currently an undergraduate English student at an Ivy-league college and thus far have been disappointed at how few classes focus on my interests. Most seem skewed toward popular culture (genre fiction, television shows, etc.) or the study of race, gender, socioeconomics, etc. It's hard for me to say at this point whether this is due to genuine interest on behalf of most professors or an attempt by the university to pander to undergrads. For what it's worth, most teachers I've met who are interested in the things I'm interested in seem to be grandfathered in, i.e. have not been hired in the past twenty years or so.
I am not looking for anyone to pass judgement one way or another on the way English is taught at the undergraduate level in most colleges. I'm just wondering whether there will be room at the postgraduate level for someone who is purely interested in studying the formal elements of literature, or I will be squeezed out?

What year are you? This would seem strange if it were a general thing over an entire curriculum.

I am far from an expert on the state of English literature as an academic field, so I may be wrong about this. Still: 1) This looks like a shopping question, that solicits answers evaluating the state of the subfield literary theory (?) and its career prospects, albeit indirectly. 2) Could it be that the aspects you are interested in are mostly done and this is like mourning the lack of classical mechanicals in current physics research? […]

[…] 3) Has literature ever not been about political and social issues? The Nobel Prize in Literature even has an idealism criterion. 4) If you want to ask about the current state of literature research, this may be more suitable for [literature.se].

@Buffy in a question 3 months ago a rising junior.

" For what it's worth, most teachers I've met who are interested in the things I'm interested in seem to be grandfathered in, i.e. have not been hired in the past twenty years or so." Good for you! Stick around, you have good chances for replacing the dinosaurs, the timing is on your side :D !

What are the "formal elements" that interest you?

I edited the click-baity title (also postgraduate and graduate education is the same thing).

I'll note that there's an issue here - if the focus of the departments is going more "political", and no one with your interest set has been hired in the past 20 years, and that's something that's true in general across institutions of higher learning, rather than just being at the places that you've had direct experience with, then you can probably still find graduate advisors just fine, and you may be able to find some manner of post-grad work, but getting a full professorial position may have some severe difficulties.

There are programs that focus on writing, of course. Even poetry specifically. Warren Wilson College, for example.

@DanielHatton Oh, interesting, what was the difference? I have no idea how to read that page.

@Cleanthes301 My advice is for you to double-check in advance if a given university officially supports the Chicago Principles, and how well-ranked the university is in FIRE's rankings. These two things should give you a good chance of finding a department that is not obsessed with applying interpretive frameworks (based on reductive identity categories) to everything living under the sun. Also, be sure to cherish your older professors, and learn as much from them as possible before they retire.

This is why it's important to check the content of the curriculum before applying/accepting a place at a university!

I think departments in the humanities (at least in the United States) are changing in a way that generally reflects your experience. In the field of history for example, themes that you name like race, gender, and socioeconomics are being studied more often. Whether this is “political” as you ask is difficult to say. In the US, these things have become popular topics of conversation on the news, internet, bars, and in classrooms, just to name a few. I think that universities are reflecting this change. Whether it is because of orders from on high to change curriculum, because people think it makes them look better, or because professors have a more genuine interest in these topics, for me, is impossible to say.
In my experience with history departments, the “grandfathered in” faculty also have interests that are less likely to mirror this change in US social climate.

I'm just wondering whether there will be room at the graduate and postgraduate level for someone who is purely interested in studying the formal elements of literature, or I will be squeezed out.

There’s always room, but you may have difficulties going against the grain. I have found success studying under those older grandfathered-in professors because not only will they be able to pass on their knowledge, but they can give advice for how to study your interests. I’ve had to design my own course of study at the graduate level, which has been a lot of work but has also been rewarding. If you can find one or two professors who can support you and give you advice, I think you’ll be in a good place to study your interests at the graduate level.

40 years ago race, gender, and socioeconomics were normal topics to address in English at the collegiate level. For the record, Faulkner is chock full of such topics (just one example).


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What are the (dis)advantages of holding two positions at different institutions?
Multiple affiliations are not uncommon in academia but often the second/nth affiliation is in name only. My question is about double affiliation where a person has active employment in both institutions to some degree (e.g., 70-90% at Institution A and 30-10% at Institution B). What are advantages/disadvantages of such arrangements?

(My hypothetical situation involves positions in different fields at Institutions A and B (both in EU but different countries) that have a positive view of such arrangement, but I would be very interested in reading answers of a more general setting, too.)

Perhaps your situation is different, but when I've encountered people with these sorts of "split" appointments, it isn't as if they were weighing as options two alternatives: full appointment at A, or split appointment at B+C (where A could be the same as B or C) and considering the advantages/disadvantages of a split appointment. Rather, the split was solving some problem or fulfilling some otherwise unachievable goal. The advantage, therefore, is that it solved the problem; any disadvantages are secondary to the problem that is solved, and are mostly issues of convenience.
To give some examples from people I've worked with (and some of these circumstances are quite common and apply to multiple people):

The primary salary is paid by a hospital or similar clinical organization, and is a clinical-only role. Research is performed under a separate appointment with a university. There are no other options to do both clinical work and research at those institutions.

A separate appointment is required to have access to some particular facilities important for research such as medical imaging equipment, clinical staff, or data. The latter is particularly relevant for large, institutionally supported research studies where there is no realistic alternative to do the same work somewhere else.

Someone has a grant for a multi-year project, and is hired to a new position elsewhere they would like to take. The only way to maintain their previous grant and comply with institution/grant agency guidelines is to keep a partial appointment at the old institution, possibly in another country.

A dual appointment is necessary to supervise graduate students in the other program/department/institution. This may be similar to the previous example, where an appointment is maintained in order to complete supervision for some students at a previous institution, or it may be forward-looking, especially for separate appointments within the same institution.

In these circumstances, there may certainly be an institution that acts as the "primary" one, but I would dispute the "in name only" characterization: even the non-primary institution is an important association that is necessary for all or a substantial portion of the researcher's work.
For your case, I'd ask myself: what goal are you trying to solve? Is solving that goal worth the additional administrative demands on your time, keeping two "bosses" happy, possible conflicts of interest, etc? I think the specific disadvantages are too situation-specific to name. It's likely if the goal is sufficiently important, none of that other stuff will matter in comparison. If it's unimportant or a mere matter of convenience, all the extra inconvenience will add up quickly.

Upvote for the idea that such arrangements typically arise as solutions to a problem. However, the arrangement might still provide additional benefits beyond solving the problem, and consequently become more long-term after the original problem has been solved.

Very good points but - to me - this answer is more about the "why" and not the (dis)advantages.

@Aolon I think the disadvantages are too dependent on the particular situation; they are not general features of holding two positions. The advantages are primarily that they solve some problem, such as the examples I give. I don't think it's really possible to separate "why"s from "advantages" - the most important advantages are the "why" in making a decision.

I am sorry but I disagree, the other replies mention quite a few such as tax issues, handling grants and affiliations, dealing with the bureaucracy of two departments, etc. Actually, you also mention a few in your last paragraph such as conflicts of interest.

Advantages:

Potentially higher salary. In Europe, it's generally possible to hold more than 100% worth of positions at one time (e.g., 100% at institution A and 20% at institution B would be fairly common). In such an arrangement, one advantage would be higher overall salary.
Being able to apply for grants in two countries. Being affiliated in several countries can give access to more funding opportunities. That's especially the case as funding agencies often limit the number of grants that one can apply for at one time.
Being able to supervise students at all levels in two institutions. Students from the two institutions might have complementary skill sets and could be used interchangeably for projects (e.g., sending students from A to B for their thesis projects).
More networking and collaboration opportunities. Typically, both institutions would expect that you spend some amount of time there in person (for the downside of that, see below). Spending time at your home institution naturally leads to interactions, which could strengthen one's network and lead to collaborations.

Disadvantages:

Travel overhead. Typically, both institutions would expect that you spend some amount of time there in person. Two issues with that: First, traveling and accommodation may be expensive (but the institutions might be willing to cover that). Second, traveling may have a non-monetary cost (harder to maintain a satisfying personal life as one is "living in two countries").
Being a frequently absent supervisor. Supervised team members (Ph.D. students, post-docs) at the "second" institution need to arrange themselves with having a frequently absent supervisor. While regular online supervision meetings can make up for that to some extent, some students clearly prefer a present supervisor, especially at the beginning of a Ph.D. project or post-doc, where there might be more need for guidance and informally bonding with the supervisor (e.g, having lunch together).

I think this is the most useful answer, though each answer has something great. This one is missing tax issues (Scott Seidman), potential conflicts of interest (Bryan Krause), bureaucracy of two departments and affiliations (EarlGrey).

If you are not a full-time employee in the US, there might be benefits issues involving things like health insurance, retirement contributions, tuition benefits, ....
Earning in two countries may also involve tax considerations.

The stated 70-90% should be more than enough to triggle benefits at most US schools.  But this is certainly something to look out for.

Good catch. I forgot about the benefits. Medical is a big item here. In Europe it might be or not, though social insurance is generally much better there. I don't know how it works for partial contracts, but in Germany, self employed people pay a lot of taxes but don't get all the benefits (older information - may be obsolete).

Good point about the benefits and also about the potential issues in the US. I think in many European countries, benefits depend on the % of employment (e.g., employees get some benefits only if they are employed x% or more).

@Aolon, this all means you need to know these issues before signing on the dotted line, unless you're In a situation where you can roll with whatever the answers are.

Completely agreed and I have scheduled appointments with HR and the Tax Office to discuss the options. I am just hoping that all the experience of SE contributors might help me catch potential drawbacks I did not think of.

Towards other people, one possible disadvantage is the order of the affiliation is important, in papers' affiliation one may think that the current affiliation is the last one.
In general, one writes "now at" to explicitly state that ... but people unfortunately make a lot of assumptions.
Regarding private matters, if the funding is coming from both institutions, the overhead due to bureaucracy regarding holidays, HR matters, IT accounts and so on can rapidly grow to being from an annoyance to unbereable.
Therefore, I would suggest you to find a way to be employed by only institution A, while B pays your salary (+ overhead) to institution A. This way you keep the affiliation with B (it must be explicitly written in the agreement), while reducing your bureaucracy load.
I assume A is a laboratory and B is an university: the biggest advantage is you can get "access" to students from institution B. Otherwise, unless you have academic goals (i.e. becoming a professor), being employed by an university and at a laboratory is a pain in the neck: you have no additional advantage/stability from
being a researcher at the uni, but you have additional duties.

Interesting, I have never put any thought to the order of affiliations, certainly not with regard to chronology (I would list my current affiliation first?). I have also never seen in my fields a "now at" note.

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Why do people dislike the resources I've used in the past to get into master's and Ph.D. programs?
I'm an autistic Ph.D student (US, 4.5 years in) who's been active on a fair amount of forums and have received a fair number of negative comments in the past month regarding my academic experience. They are particularly focused on the support I received from my parents due to my neurodivergence so that I could gain admission to graduate programs.
I've had a coach all four years of undergrad, my gap year, during my master's program when I submitted my Ph.D. applications, through my second year of my Ph.D., and on-and-off after that.
I have always had my completed materials in hand before they were reviewed. The official term for that is "copyediting," which is permitted in academic circles to my understanding. All coursework, thesis work, quals work, and my dissertation is all my work. I once hired another copyeditor for my quals, but that was to clean up my writing because my advisor at the time picked that apart a lot.
Here are some examples of responses I've had on forums.

Me: “My parents knew my undergrad grades (3.25 overall, 3.5 major psych GPA
[US system 4.0 = best, 1.0 = pass]) were poor for graduate school so
they hired a coach to help me with fleshing out my personal statement
and how I should phrase emails and communication to old contacts and
others who I'd eventually reach out to as well.”

Response: So these are the kind of resources first generation, low/middle class aspiring PhD students are up against? Jesus Christ.

Some other responses to similar posts:

There's a difference between accommodations and hand holding. Hell, it
sounds like they needed the life coach to get into their graduate
programs instead of just using assistance.

I know so many people who if they were given even half the resources
and “accommodations” that OP got, could be much farther along both in
their personal life and career. How are we accommodating those people
who don’t have the money/parental support to make it to 30 without
developing any life skills? It doesn’t seem right to “accommodate”
someone like OP when all someone else might have needed was a little
bit of financial security and career advice to accomplish more than OP
has.

It’s easy to say “yeah, you deserve all those accommodations and hand
outs”. It’s a lot harder when you have to ask if someone else deserved
it more.

To be blunt, you do not seem to have the qualities that I would
associate with getting a PhD and working independently. Your grades,
lack of direction and the need to use your parents and life coaches
all suggest that you are not likely to do well in any career that
requires a self-starter who can work independently.

I am trying to understand the perspective of the people making these negative comments, and if there is anything beneficial that I could take away from them? One of the comments is regarding my independence. I would like to be more independent but don't know how, is there anything I can take away from these comments to improve myself in that regard?

There may be a salvageable question in here without the venting, but I'm not sure even on that. This isn't to belittle your experiences, but they seem better suited for a professional therapist than a Q&A site.

Comments have been moved to chat; please do not continue the discussion here. Before posting a comment below this one, please review the purposes of comments. Comments that do not request clarification or suggest improvements usually belong as an answer, on [meta], or in [chat]. Comments continuing discussion may be removed.

What are the quotes? Where are they from?

Allure and @AzorAhai-him-
Those quotes came from discussions on various academic subreddits with folks who have a verified graduate school and/or background as a professor. I get that website brings out the worst in people, but those who are former graduate students and/or professionals is why I had concern and curiosity. This is also not mentioning that I graduated high school with a class of 8 folks (I went there b/c I had severe depression to the point of suicidality in public school even though I did fine academically) and was on the "wrong side of the achievement gap" in the end.

The only useful thing I think you can take away from this is to be careful about how you think about, and present, your privilege. Almost everyone is challenged in some ways (e.g., neurodivergent) and privileged in others (e.g., having access to parental and societal resources). Reminding yourself that you probably have some form of privilege* (Western, skinny, tall, non-racialized, middle class or above, cis, heterosexual, male, majority religion/culture, English-speaking ...**) is useful, both for your own perspective and when entering discussions on the internet.
That said, some people will be resentful no matter what you say. The fact that there are other people who have had fewer advantages/more, or different, challenges than you doesn't automatically make you a bad (or even undeserving) person.

* people who are truly underprivileged in all categories (e.g., poor females in low-income countries) will probably never even have the opportunity to get into arguments on the internet ...
** These are examples, I'm not necessarily saying that you check any or all of these boxes or that there aren't other important categories (I forgot to include "parents had access to higher education", although that's correlated with wealth/class ...) ...

I'm the downvote-- I don't think we should encourage questions that are this far out of scope with answers.

@user176372 Since the issue of "privilege" is now a major point of discussion at academia in general, maybe it is not quite as out of scope as it otherwise would be. I haven't made up my mind yet on the relevance of the question.

I am trying to understand the perspective of the people making these negative comments, and if there is anything beneficial that I could take away from them?

People resent the fact that you had resources that others lack, whether the "others" are the people making the comments, or someone else.
As Ben Bolker points out, everyone is advantaged and disadvantaged in some way. In your case, your disadvantage is your neurodivergence, and your advantage is having parental resources that helped. For other people, it's the other way around: they are neurotypical, but may have little or no support from parents, or be actively harmed by their upbringing or family.
It is very hard to quantify different combinations of advantages/disadvantages, and to say which of the people in my previous paragraph is "more" advantaged or disadvantaged. But people will nevertheless get riled up over things like this. Especially online.
What you could usefully take away from this is an understanding that some people will resent the additional resources you have to cope with your neurodivergence. Depending on your personal level of neurodivergence, you may have a harder time understanding and getting to grips with this kind of emotion your situation arouses in other people, so it might be useful to actively remind yourself about this fact once in a while.
Unfortunately, there is little you can do here. I would definitely not share information about additional resources with just anyone out there. But people you work with over some time will learn about this at some point (I am not writing "will find out" on purpose, because that implies that you were actively hiding it before). Some will be surprised and will accuse you of hiding this. Finding the right point in time and the right circumstance to discuss a topic like this is tricky... and therefore even harder for people with neurodivergence.

One of the comments is regarding my independence. I would like to be more independent but don't know how, is there anything I can take away from these comments to improve myself in that regard?

This is actually already something very good you took away. People very rightly point out that you need to become independent. A Ph.D. essentially certifies that the holder is academically mature enough to conduct independent research. There is again a fine line here: some people definitely profit from a native language proofreader, others may get statistical consulting, or employ a research assistant for the literature search. What is still "independent" in a researcher, and what crosses over into "paying someone to do scientific work for me, without disclosing this later on" is sometimes not easy to disentangle. Plus, of course, most people collaborate with others, which is yet different. To advance academically, you will need to show that you can both collaborate with others and lead a collaboration.
It sounds like this is something you might be able to work on. More importantly, it looks like you have already recognized this, which is good.
It is usually better for an endeavor like this to use outside help and support. Since this is really about your academic maturity and independence, a "general" therapist/counselor may not be of all that much help, unless they have some understanding of how the academic world works. This is absolutely a point where an academic mentor would be indispensable. Your Ph.D. advisor's role already is to prepare you for academic independence, and ideally, they have been doing so from the very first day.
So I would recommend you have a good talk with your advisor, explain to them the issue, and ask for explicit guidance on how to move forward. After 4.5 years, they likely (hopefully) have some understanding of you and your strengths and weaknesses. They may also be able to suggest other people who you could talk to, and/or put you in contact.
This of course presupposes that you have a good rapport with your advisor, which is helpful in any case, but especially so in your situation. If this is an issue, we have lots of threads here on this. And if you feel that your advisor is not the best person to mentor you here, perhaps you have met other more senior academics out there (e.g., at conferences) that you feel more comfortable approaching.

These commenters saw your post and thought "I wish your life coach was taken away" instead of "I wish I also had access to a life coach."
This is not an attitude you will ever please.
However, it's not wrong to want more independence. If working with a life coach or copy editor helps you, you should absolutely continue to do so. In my book, deciding to hire a life coach or copy editor to help with a task, and then managing that hiring yourself is a valid form of independence. When a neurotypical person decides that they need a haircut and goes to a hair salon, no one calls that dependence. It sounds like you may have already made this transition- you talk about your parents hiring a life coach to help you apply for grad school, and talk about hiring a copyeditor yourself to help with quals.

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How do professors interpret normally distributed midterm or final exam scores?
I had recently taken a class where things are poorly taught and much of the studying was self study. This then turned the course into a function of time and workload, and the resulting midterm mark is normally or bell shape distributed with a center of 50.
Needless to say, people who had less workload earned higher scores, people who had more workload earned less scores. After the exam, no one felt that the exam was a good reflection of individual capabilities but it is uncertain if the professor had gotten the hint.
How do professors interpret this outcome? Specifically, are there actions taken to some how adjust this (because most courses have an average passing around a C or 70 instead of 50)?

You may find the following questions helpful: 1. How to Scale the Grades for an Examination? and 2. Common grade curving techniques

I'd be astonished if you got a normal distribution for a class of fewer than a couple of hundred students.  My own experience is a bimodal distribution, with one hump of the distribution being the people who get it and the other hump being the people who don't.  What are the mean, median, and standard deviation of these scores?

Oops.  I've read your question more carefully, and you were a member of the class, so you (probably) don't know the measures of central tendency of the grades. Sorry.  I can pretty much promise you it's not a normal distribution.

Ok it is not perfect normal, out of 100 percent, the 50 percent people were slightly less than the people who got 30-40 and 50 - 60 but not by much

What do you mean by "interpret" and "adjust"?  Are you asking how professors assign letter grades to numerical scores?

RE: Needless to say, people who had less workload earned higher scores, people who had more workload earned less scores. I can see where people might be led to believe this intuitively, particularly if most students didn't perform well. However, without hard data, I wouldn't be convinced that this correlation was anything more than an unconfirmed hypothesis. RE: no one felt that the exam was a good reflection of individual capabilities. This happens a lot; any poorly designed exam can leave students with this feeling.

I once gave a midterm to 150 students where the grade distribution was uniform. With less than ten exceptions, for every possible score between the minimum and the maximum, the number of exams with that score was either 1 or 2. Needless to say, I found this much harder to interpret than the usual normal disitrbution.

See Some methods of assigning course grades

Unless you have access to every student's score, you cannot know that the distribution is a normal distribution.  It isn't clear that you do have access to the scores, but in a comment you say, "the 50 percent people were slightly less than the people who got 30-40 and 50-60 but not by much."  You have described a bimodal distribution -- one with two humps at the ends and a dip in the middle.  Your "slightly less" says the dip in the middle is a small one.
My own experience as a college teacher is that a bimodal distribution is a usual and expected result for a fair exam.  At the "good" end, you find the people who either worked hard or found the material to be familiar.  At the "bad" end, you find the people who did not work hard.  That is exactly what you've described, although you equate "worked hard" with "had more time to work."
As far as interpreting the scores, you don't say whether the scores you mention are percentages, i.e. out of 100, or have some other base.  If they're grades out of 100, then that is probably, but not certainly, a poor exam.  (The other choice is that there's an entire class of poor students, and yes, that does happen.)  If I, as a teacher, got a result like that, I'd use the grades as they were, but work much harder on the questions for the next exams.
Finally, you question whether the exam "was a good reflection of individual capabilities."  That's not what en exam is supposed to measure.  An exam is supposed to measure your knowledge of the course material.  A very capable person who doesn't study can and should earn an unsatisfactory grade.

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text:
What is the least amount of effort needed to ensure no copyright issue of using online pictures in lecture notes/slides
I have noticed that in many university's course notes/slides, particularly those in the CS department, and in particular those dealing with computer animation/graphics, a large amount of instructors tend to reuse images from textbooks or the media (Hollywood) without credit or from other courses. There is an immense amount of examples, just pull up any course notes nowadays to see.
This seems to be a wide spread and common practice according to Can I use images showing up in Google search for my presentation slides without violating any copyright?
Here is my question:

What is the least amount of effort needed to ensure no copyright
issue of using pictures in lecture notes/slides?

Obviously these instructors think it is ok to say something in class, or perhaps the image/picture is so famous that it is immediately obvious where it is from.
Does it suffice? If not, how to properly credit a picture of something that just exists?
For example, I want to use a scene from a 3 hour long movie, say lord of the rings. This picture does not appear anywhere on the internet except in the movie itself, which I paid for. What is even the citation format for an image that appears in 1 micro-second of this movie? It seems to be an overkill to perform a full citation to the movie, is it not?
As another example, I want to use @offense_name_handle's original content on DeviantArt/Tumblr. Do I say, "This image belongs to @offensive_name_handle"? Obviously I do not want to post this in my slide. But I want to use the image nonetheless. How to deal with this grey area?
Google has some suggestions, but I really don't want to contact a lawyer for a duck image. https://support.google.com/legal/answer/3463239?hl=en
In any case, what is the least amount of effort needed to provide a citation that avoids copyright issue?
Or should I always try to generate my own content or use published academic reference to be safe?

I am skeptical that this is relevant to academia.  Did you try Google Image Search -> Tools -> "Creative Commons licenses"

This question seems to confuse copyright law and plagiarism.

Related: What is the legal status of using copyrighted images in academic/conference talks?

Citations do not avoid copyright issue. If you are concerned about law, please tag with a jurisdiction.

Use images that have a CC0 (public domain) license. That way, you can use them for any purposes even without having to attribute them to anyone.
For instance, use https://search.creativecommons.org/ and select the license "CC0":

Or https://free-images.com/ seems to be a search engine specifically designed for CC0 images.


text:
Is it recommended to invest in stocks as a typical broke graduate students?
I openly admit that I am financial illiterate and for most of my life neither know about nor cared about investing. I am currently doing research in a field that is tangentially, but not exactly related to financial mathematics (say physics: a lot of Brownian motions and what not going on).
What has gotten me interested is over time is that I've met many people (who are much younger than me, like 19 years old right out of highschool) who are investing in stocks WHILE doing research. In fact, they appear to know a lot more than I do, which makes me feel a bit self-conscious and inadequate.
What has prevented me from doing the same:

Basically no family member or close connections who can guide me. Not born with a silver spoon.
Research is a lot of work and requires dedicated focus. Can't imagine rushing a deadline while managing my assets.
I literally have not taken a single course in finance, and assumed it would be easy given my extensive graduate school level math background. But I have no idea where to get started.
No money. This is one of the key reason. I am your typical 20s something scholarship-living graduate student in North America. If I am investing anything it is my TA stipend or my scholarship itself (which I will need to pay back at the end of the semester). I literally do not have any other income source and cannot even take a hit of a few hundred dollars.

1, 2, 3 I can fix, but I am worried about 4.
Is there any advice on stock investments during your grad school for people who have tried their hands, especially if you were living as a low-paid graduate student like me?
Is it possible to achieve a balance between research, life and managing your finances?

This seems like a pretty clear-cut example of a "boat programming" question. Not having a lot of money isn't exactly unique to grad students. In any case, there's probably better advice to be had at Money.SE.

Even if you wanted to float that boat and discuss issues relevant to grad students, Money.SE would still be the correct target site.

Over long time periods the stock market tends upward but with fairly (or even extremely wide) fluctuations. If you get into the market as a young person, your investments will likely grow over the long term. But risky investments, or meme driven investments are contraindicated.
If you have a modest amount of funds that you don't need and are unlikely to need in the foreseeable future, something like "indexed funds" can be a good, safe, investment. They won't make you rich, but you will build a nest egg that you can add to throughout your life.
But it is helpful to have a financial advisor. And you need to know whether they have a "fiduciary" relationship with you. If so, they have to agree that any changes made to your portfolio are made in your interest, not their own. There are dishonest brokers who will "churn" your account to generate fees, and you never seem to advance.
Depending on where you are, real estate may be an even better deal. Like stocks, real-estate tends to appreciate over a long term. If you are in a reasonable housing market buying a house early can save you rent and build equity. But you also need to be aware of real-estate taxes in many places.
But, think long term, not get-rich-quick.

Advice from a master:
Don't gamble; take all your savings and buy some good stock and hold it till it goes up, then sell it. If it don't go up, don't buy it.
-- Will Rogers

Thank you for the advice. Just another question, did you ever had to rely on any knowledge from academics on investment? There are courses I could take on this topic (one in particular uses books such as "Investment Science" by Luenberger) but I feel like just reading stuff online should suffice.

Managing a portfolio can be a full time job. Don't do that in grad school and maybe not until retirement. But some things are safer and require little time or effort. Don't take risks with funds you may need. And don't spend a lot of time/effort away from your studies.

I'm removing the argument about whether it's okay to answer off-topic questions. There has been considerable discussion about this over the years, but no consensus -- see for example here.

Yes, I provided that link as just one example of the historical discussion and diversity of thought on this issue. As you note, it doesn't decide the issue one way or the other (and I'm very deliberately not taking either side!).

Regarding the quote: How much "up" is enough to sell? How do you predict which stocks go up? I wouldn't advise such a speculative investment strategy, especially to newcomers with little time to manage their portfolio and do research on companies and markets.

@henning--reinstateMonica, it is a classic joke. Will Rogers was a distinguished American commentator and skeptic. If you thought the quote was serious, you should rethink it. And maybe even re-read it carefully.

@Buffy ah, that wasn't obvious to me. Thanks.

Don't even think about investing until you've saved an emergency fund enough to cover at least 3 to 6 months (and perhaps a year) of living expenses.
Due to exponential growth, investing earlier does have huge advantages, but for PhDs in many fields you make more than enough after PhD that you will be able to invest enough to retire comfortably even if you save nothing before you get your PhD, so there's no reason to be stressed about this until you graduate.  And you may need your emergency fund for the time between graduation and your first job.  Once you have your first job out of graduate school and have saved an emergency fund then you can think about this.

Couldn't agree more. Also, learn to budget your future expenses, which is in fact the functional equivalent to an emergency fund.


text:
How does extra time for disability apply to take home University essays, lab reports, etc. that are scheduled ahead of time?
Timed exams are a large part of university courses' curriculum and grades but another part is work that is assigned to be done outside of class on the student's own time. Could be scientific lab reports, research essays, presentations, etc.
My question is how do academic insitutions address this if at all?
Does the student full/part time matter?
If the deadline is within a few days, a week, etc.?
Time of completed lab results vs time spent writing lab report?
Length of assignment?
What if it is Finals week or a week where the student has various exams scheduled within the week?
I've found little information online about it other than the 2014 ADA online testing accomodations report that states "Testing entities must ensure that the test scores of individuals with disabilities accurately reflect the individual’s aptitude or achievement level or whatever skill the exam or test is intended to measure."
Untimed assignments have a different purpose that ones that have be completed in one sitting. As there is university assignments that test your ability to find outside research digest it and input it in your work without plagarism. Procrastination may be something that needs to be considered when weeks or months of advance notice are given. However, the solution can't only be for a student to manage his own off class time when there are only so many hours in a day or a week.

This is a purely local question. It depends on what your university and country permit and expect. There is no general answer. Professors might have some leeway or not. Ask whoever is responsible for this at your own university.

An assignment is not an exam, so normally an extended time accommodation for “exams” would not apply, even if the assignment is “timed”. Your question might be relevant for things like take-home exams, but honestly I think it should be answerable by a careful reading of your accommodation letter and the take-home exam instructions. If in doubt, as @buffy said only your instructor and/or your institution’s student disability center are in a position to answer the question authoritatively.

I can only answer as to how we deal with this sort of thing. And the answer is that in general we are guided by the indevidaul "Learning Support Plan" that is drawn up in consulation between the student and worker assigned to the student by our Disablity and Dyslexia Support Service.
I've seen all possible combinations - Students should be given extra time in all assessements/students should be given extra time in exams only/students should be given extra time in course-work, but not exams.


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Applying to Postdocs after Graduating
Im a 6th year PhD student in the United States. Im not totally excited about my current CV/publications, but I have a few final projects I'm excited to finish up before I end my program this summer.
Everyone I know who is interested in doing a postdoc is applying now (or last month), but I just don't feel that I would be satisfied applying with my current CV.
Does it make sense to instead devote all my efforts to finishing up research, and apply to postdocs in Fall of 2022?
Nobody I know is doing this, and I don't know why.

How will you be able to pay rent and buy food in the Fall of 2022?

Also, what's lost by applying this cycle? If you lose a month or two of research while writing applications, will that significantly impact your ability to finish this summer?

Following up on @AlexanderWoo's comment, most postdocs you can apply to in Fall 2022 will start in Fall 2023. Some will start earlier, and for some the start date can be negotiated, but this isn't guaranteed for all positions, since the positions are based on when funding starts.

@AlexanderWoo I've had a couple of lucrative internships over some summers (possibly related to why I dont have many good papers out), and so I have more than enough in svaings to live for a year.
I would also like to get out of my grad program sooner rather than later, due to some personal reasons. (I'd rather not spend the summer on my PhD)
But would taking a gap year hurt my chances?

Nobody I know is doing this, and I don't know why.

Some people do it, but it's called differently than what you said: it's "taking a gap year." During a gap year, you are not affiliated with academia, and (depending on your field), you could consider either working in industry, or working on some side projects. This can be the right decision for some people, particularly if you are burned out from your PhD and need a break. In terms of your career, it has some possible downsides, though, most importantly that (i) you may be unpaid and (ii) your research will likely lose momentum. If you are potentially interested in an academic career, the lost momentum can be damaging. At the postdoc stage in many disciplines the goal is to keep papers always "in the pipeline" while new projects are being started, and a gap year can unfortunately disrupt this flow.
It may be possible to join a postdoc mid-year, in which case the gap year would become a gap-half-year, but as the normal cycle is to join in the fall I would not count on this necessarily working out.
If the above description of a gap year doesn't fit you, there are some possible alternatives:

Stay an extra year for your PhD. If you are very happy in your PhD research and feel it is going well and you just want to continue it for another year to improve your CV before applying for postdocs, this can be a good option. However, it is not a good option if you want to graduate soon and move on do a different position.

Apply to postdocs this year, and only next year as a backup. This is another strategy I have seen which definitely fits your situation: the thought is, why not give it a shot? If you don't get in where you like, you can then reevaluate. The only potential downside is if you make a bad impression on any labs you want to join, but assuming your CV is fine and just not quite as stellar enough as you hope, I wouldn't be overly concerned about that.

This is a great response, thanks! A year off ~sounds~ nice when im constantly working, but I suspect that it could lead to me going a little crazy. That said, I do have a backlog of side projects I've always wanted to pursue, but haven't had the time.
Thanks for laying out your perspective here!


text:
Transfering (Reapplying) to another PhD Program because the current lab does not have enough funding?
I am currently a graduate student at a research institution (not a university). My stipend was paid based on my professor's grants, but it seems something happened with his grants that he told me he could not further support my PhD study. Some other labs I am interested in in the same department cannot take me as well for the same reason. And it is a research institution so I cannot be on TA for stipend. Is it possible to apply for another graduate program, since many programs have prejudices towards students reapplying? My advisor agreed to write a letter, but I am not sure if he will talk about the research funding since it is a sensitive topic.

Usually it's not considered "reapplying" unless it's to the same program a second time.

I doubt you will find any prejudice on that issue. But you need to meet all expectations and requirements for any program you apply to. The advisor does need to say that you have no funding available due to the nature of your current position, but doesn't need to say more than that.
But if the only issue is the funding, then that needs to be brought out so that people don't make assumptions about your ability.
If your professor has a wide circle of contacts, especially collaborators, they can, perhaps, get you special consideration with one of those people. That sort of assurance of the competence of a student can go a long way.
He has the responsibility here. Don't let him off too easy.


text:
What is the timeline for hiring tenure-track Professors during the Summer?
I'm curious to know if anyone has any experience with conducting a tenure-track job search during the summer for positions in the US.  I've noticed jobs posted from late May through early July.  What's the timeline for hiring decisions this late in the cycle?  Should I expect a typical interview / campus interview / offer process?  How late are these decisions typically made?  If I applied for a position in early June but haven't heard anything by early July, should I assume the position is closed?
I'm looking for positions within English departments at four year teaching institutions and HBCUs, pretty exclusively.  Thanks so much!

You panic continuously for at least three week and make sacrifices to the gods of human resources?

Also, at my place such a hire will be "interim" meaning that you'll have to search again next year during the regular season. Of course, if the person you hired is working out they may have a leg up during the re-search because who's going to take a unknown factor over someone you know (a) can do the job and (b) matches the departmental culture pretty well?

In my academic circles, it is essentially verboten to do tenure-track hiring over the summer.  (One cannot count on having a quorum of faculty members in-town, and those who are around probably have other plans.)  You might get better advice by specifying your field and the kind of institution you've applied to (e.g. research university, four year college).
I just saw @aeismail's answer: yes, I think that summer tenure track hiring is likely to be a kind of "Plan B," or alternatively comes from an administrative initiative rather than the departmental level.  (In my experience, upper university administration can be surprisingly out of step with faculty hiring timelines.)  But to me this kind of hiring feels "exceptional," and some of the standard hiring practices may be abridged or otherwise bent.
As a general rule, I would not assume an academic position is closed until they tell you.  If you are still interested in the job, send a short email to the chair of the hiring committee.  She will tell you whether the position is still open.  You should know however that sometimes "the position is still open" means that they conducted their search, interviewed their candidates, and found a candidate that has indicated willingness to accept but hasn't filled out the paperwork yet.  You should certainly be pursuing other options, and you should be aware that in almost any academic field, there will be many more hiring opportunities available during the academic year.

Thanks so much, Pete!  I'm seeking a position in an English department and looking exclusively at teaching institutions (four year and HBCUs).  I appreciate your feedback.

@delta: You're welcome.  Your edit should help you get useful answers.  Of the ones you've received so far, I think Chris Leary's is the most applicable.  Unfortunately the humanities are not represented very well on this site, but maybe someone with that kind of expertise will come along.

When positions are posted in the summer, in many cases that means that the initial attempt to fill the position during the school year failed, either because not enough high-quality candidates applied (nowadays unlikely in the US) or (more likely) because the preferred candidates accepted positions elsewhere.
In any event, each university has certain requirements for faculty hires which the department is obligated to follow: at a minimum, you should expect an on-campus interview and offer process to be a part of a summer hiring process, even if the rest of the process is somewhat truncated. (I would suspect the phone/Skype interview to be optional for such a search.)
As for determining when the position is "closed," you should keep in mind that getting the necessary quorum for hiring committees is much harder in the summer, given faculty travel schedules. So I would not automatically assume that you've missed your window of opportunity. If you have a question, a politely worded email to the contact for the search may provide some information. (But I would have a strong reason—other than curiosity—for sending the email; perhaps you have travel or work-related unavailability.)

Yes, that makes sense, Shane.  It is a bit stressful for candidates needing to know if they're going to have to move across country in the next couple of weeks :)  I appreciate the feedback!

My first official act as Chairman of my department was to conduct a summer job search. The search process was the normal one: post the position; decide which candidates to interview; interview; make an offer. We posted in June, the fall semester began in late August. Naturally, there was a desire to expedite the process in order to give the new hire opportunity to get to the area, find housing, and so on. I don't think we made a decision until mid July or so. I would not assume that the position is filled yet. If you haven't heard anything by late July, things might be different. You can always contact the institution to see how the search is progressing. In spite of best efforts, these searches can drag on.

Thanks so much!  You mention that you made a decision in mid-July, had you already interviewed?  Or did you begin calling for interviews in mid-July?  I appreciate the perspective.  I'm currently in a position, but I've never done a search outside of the standard year-long process and am feeling a bit at sea in terms of what to expect.  Thanks again.

@deltapass77 - Yes, we had already interviewed. Our position arose because one of my colleagues resigned when his wife got a deanship at another institution.

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


text:
Time between Viva (minor corrections) and the letter
I have been awarded a PhD today with minor corrections (yay!). I am not very relieved yet, because I signed a job contract that says that the deadline to provide a proof of a PhD award is September. I tried to search for the answer in the research regulations of my university but it was not there. I also asked my supervisor and she told me we're going to try to do that. Do you know roughly how long does it take usually to receive the letter after the viva in the UK? (minor correction that need to be sent to my supervisor).

In the U.S. you would contact the office of the registrar about this. At my university it took approximately 1-2 weeks after the final copy was turned into the graduate school. Some employers will also accept a letter from your department, which can have a much shorter turnaround.

It will probably depend on when the next meeting of the examinations board (or local equivalent) takes place, which is when such things are usually confirmed. Your university should have some regulations that you can consult—I would write to the examinations office and ask them.

If it's up to minor corrections that need to be approved by your supervisor, have him write you a letter (after approving your thesis) that your thesis is approved and it's only a matter of waiting for the formal letter. It works fine in the Netherlands where there is a long time between approval of a thesis through the examination committee and defense with official proof of PhD.

The process of getting the official papers for a Ph.D. degree can last for months following the oral examination, depending on the university's policies and procedures.
That said, most universities are aware of the need for Ph.D. recipients to start jobs before the "official" Ph.D. degree is sent out, and there's usually a mechanism in place to issue a document stating that the oral examination has been passed and that the candidate is done except for the formal procedures required. Such paperwork is usually provided at an administrative level higher than the professor advising the Ph.D. candidate. You should consult with the graduate advisor of your department for guidance on who to contact.


text:
Is there a difference between a symposium paper and a conference paper
My university requires for PhD candidates to publish 1 journal paper + 2 conference papers in order to be able to proceed to the viva.
Recently, I submitted a paper to a symposium that has a proceeding with an ISBN. The proceeding, however, will not be published online (only a hard copy, but I found the citations of previous conference in google scholar). The paper is accepted and today is the deadline to pay the registration fees. Both the university direction and my supervisor did not respond to my emails, so I have to make the decision on my own.
My question is: can we call a symposium paper a conference paper? And is there any difference in terms of quality?
My domain is Project Management.

The most significant difference is that "symposium" is spelled with two Ss and no Es; whereas, "conference" is spelled with two Cs and three Es.  Also, "symposium" derives from Greek ("drink together"); whereas, "conference" derives from Latin ("bring together").

Essentially the same thing. When you've done some reading round the literature in your area, you'll see which places people in your field tend to publish and pay attention to. It's those places you want to publish.
Sometimes there are quite small events that attract really strong and brilliant work, but just within a much more specialised discipline than a large more generic conference. You and your supervisor should work out where the best places for you to publish are, not worrying about really generic university guidelines.

I've never seen or heard someone refer to a paper as a "symposium paper", but everyone talks about "journal papers" and "conference papers". This tends to support the idea that it's equivalent to a paper, though I am not at all familiar with the field of Project Management so this observation may not be worth much to you.

AFAIK, a symposium is essentially the same as a conference.  I think it tends to suggest a somewhat smaller size, historically, but definitely bigger and more competitive than a workshop.  For instance the ACM Symposium on Operating Systems Principles is one of the most competitive conferences in the computer systems field, and gets maybe 500-600 attendees these days.  Some "conferences" get many thousands, though some get only 50-100 too.
Now, perhaps in other fields than computer science, there is a completely different definition, but if you have to pull the trigger, you should assume it is a conference and not a workshop.
Besides, you submitted the paper and they accepted it.  It would be really poor form to pull out right now, even if somehow it didn't count toward your graduation.  Didn't your advisor know you were submitting it, and think it was a good idea?

Thanks for your helpful answer. My supervisor is not helping me almost with anything, I am doing almost everything in my own. The reason why I need to make sure a symposium is the same as a conference is because of funding. The university pays for each PhD student to go to only one conference.
I will edit my question to specify that my domain is project management.
Thanks again

That's too bad.  Perhaps another faculty member can confirm for you, but otherwise, I would go with "it's a conference".

@M20 in that case, you need to go directly to your administration. Some coordinator, funding specialist, or similar should be able to get you such an answer directly, short of total program negligence. You can often call or visit them directly, or email it necessary - most dedicated admins are more prompt with email than professors, in general.


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Novel-like writing style often sacrifices clarity and accessibility, is it ok to use it in scientific texts?
In writing, there are many things one can do to make the text better.
Some basic rules of thumb include avoiding repetitions, avoiding passive voice, breaking down long and complicated sentences, or letting the reader think for themselves.
Do such rules also apply to scientific texts, and if not, why?
I can think of a few reasons why they may not.
For example, avoiding repetition may create confusion — it might not be immediately clear if the alternative term is just a synonym, or if it is different and in what way.
Moreover, using more advanced devices (or,  for that matter, sophisticated vocabulary) could be problematic even for native speakers.
Surely we need to make the text as accessible and clear as possible, but it would be great if it were also enjoyable to read.
Where lies the right balance?

Related: How much of humor in a formal academic writing is considered as disrespect?.

It's not really clear what your specific question is; it's very broad as written; it seems to be soliciting opinions, and it's probably a duplicate.

@EnergyNumbers Perhaps you are referring to this question (which I suppose also seems opinion-based to you), but it asks about humor, while I ask about writing style. Let me rephrase my question: novel-like writing style often sacrifices clarity and accessibility, is it ok to use it in scientific texts?

A remark, en passant: there are textbooks which are wonderfully written and are a joy to read, even though they are dead serious (I wish I could write like them!). Seriousness is not a synonym of boring, and humorous does not necessarily imply enjoyability. Besides, you cannot force authors to be humorous if it is not in their chords, you would obtain the opposite effect.

A scientific text has to be clear and unambiguous to anyone fluent in English. Do whatever you must to achieve that goal.

@Davidmh Yes, but the problem is more complex, for example, should I use only basic structures to make the text even simpler (compare with Simple English Wikipedia)?

@dtldarek I'd say SEW is too simple, cuts the flow of the argument. English Wikipedia would be more fitting; or even better, other articles in your field.

I have removed the part that is duplicate (the title and paragraph that refers to jokes/humor) and will reopen.

I have edited the title to remove the references to humor and instead used the version of your question as you phrased it in a comment above. However, it's not clear to me that the specific techniques you mention in the body of the post actually need to sacrifice clarity and accessibility (unless you use them badly).

Briefly speaking, the "right balance" (aka optimal writing style) heavily depends on a mixture of factors, including, but not limited to, scientific discipline, area(s) of research, type of publication, target audience, topic as well as the author's goals for the publication (the latter is, obviously, tied to the type of publication).

@ff524 Thank you for your edits. As for clarity and accesibility, there are acclaimed writers who send me to the dictionary even once per page or two. As I am not a native speaker, I was wondering if my English is just that bad (I know I lack a lot with regard to grammar). I found some tools to asses my vocabulary and it came out that according to these tests I am way above average even for native speakers. I am not sure if that is true, but assuming only average level, texts by these authors are hard to a lot of people. Recently my coauthors complained in a similar way, hence the question.

Keep in mind that the goals of a nice fictional book are not at all the same as of an academic paper or a thesis. The former is primarily about entertaining or stimulating the reader. The latter is about providing a certain information (the research result) in the clearest way possible.
The "many things one can do to make the text better" that you mention are geared towards making the text easier to read and less of a chore. While this is certainly also valuable for an academic text, being "easy to read" is ultimately a nice-to-have, while clarity and non-ambiguity are absolutely essential. If you keep in mind that clarity absolutely should not be compromised, you will get an impression why academic texts are written the way they are:

avoiding repetitions

As you say yourself - if you strive for clearness, having multiple names for the same thing is not good at all.

avoiding passive voice

Academic texts tend to prefer passive voice mostly because the "story" of an academic paper isn't about the writer, it is about the effect that is observed / described. Writing the paper like you are telling your mother what you did the lest 5 years would put the emphasis on you and your experiments, rather than the data and the observed effects.

breaking down long and complicated sentences

Yes, do that. Even in academic texts. It's just not easy for those of us that don't have English as first language. In German, for instance, you are taught from very early age on that short sentences "sound stupid". This is hard to unlearn.

letting the reader to think for themselves

You will never want to "let the reader think for himself" in a paper. It's not a piece of art. You want to present the facts and what derives from them as clearly as possible, not write your paper in a fluffy way so that every reader can come to the conclusions that are most suitable to her/him.

You will never want to "let the reader think for himself" in a paper. Well, not about objective stuff. On the other hand, you will want to let the reader make subjective judgements for himself.

@ff524 I am not sure if I understand / agree. Anyway, what I think the OP meant is letting the reader "connect the dots" her/himself, like in a book which may only hint at a resolution without actually describing it explicitly. Doing the equivalent of this in a research paper sounds like a horrible idea to me.

@xLeitix Research papers usually contain also some auxiliary text: intuitions, parallels to other results, and so on. However, for example, sometimes it is best when the reader creates intuitions that are most subtitle to her/him.

I think what @ff524 is referring to are things like "this is a very clever experiment", or "our result is important". It is your job to make sure they understand what you have done, so they can judge appropriately.

@dtldarek I try to create my own intuitions all the time, but chances are the authors have been thinking about it and can provide a ready made good one to start with.

Academic texts in some disciplines tend to prefer passive voice, but not all.

'short sentences "sound stupid".' This is true. Even in English. Fragments are bad. But can be good. Sometimes. You have to strike a balance.

I think many writing rules will be different for every field. What is acceptable for one isn't necessarily acceptable for another. Where the text is being published will also be a factor, even within a field, as different journals or publishers will expect a certain style or tone of writing. I've read publications across a wide variety of fields and the only thing I can say for certain is that there is no such thing as one size fits all.
If you know what field you expect to publish in then you should be able to find style guides written specifically for that field, which will discuss the sort of rules you're asking about. I would recommend your local academic library for some suitable texts. Perhaps talk to colleagues or supervisors - chances are they can recommend something.
Also, journals usually provide resources for their prospective authors, which will more specifically discuss what they expect of papers. From this you should be able to get an idea of what tone and style is appropriate, as well as many other requirements. These resources are usually found on their websites. It may also help to read through some publications from your field/journal/etc to see how those authors write.

When you as a scientist have 60 papers to read in only a few days, clarity is enjoyable. One should be vary that different scientific disciplines have different standards, however. The natural sciences favor concise writing, while the social sciences favor elaboration. There are several books on scientific writing that address general concerns about language and style.
Rhetoric is also part of scientific writing. Write for the intended audience. If you are not a scientist yet, imagine what it is like to be a specialist in a certain field—what would a scientist expect: from your title, your abstract, and your report? Why should an expert in your field read your text? If your text successfully answer this implicit question with clarity, structure, and flow, the scientist will find your text an enjoyable read.


text:
Can I pursue an MA and MBA simultaneously?
I am pursuing a masters degree in Economics (correspondence). I also want to enroll in a MBA program (correspondence). Am I allowed to do that?

Same school or two different schools?

It all depends on the education system of the country in which you are studying; besides to the universities you are going to apply.
Some countries do not allow the university students to study two majors during their higher education period. Despite the case that the student is top student or qualified as a student with outstanding academic activities. For instance, some students who are ranked first or second among similar majoring students, have the chance to study in two majors.
Even if there is no restriction, some universities do not allow their students to study two majors simultaneously because they afraid this affect their progress.
Despite the things mentioned about regulations, it may be allowed but be restricted and students may only have the chance to choose their second major very similar to the first one. I mean, the engineering student may not be allowed to choose law as his second major. Or the chemical Engineering student can only apply for a BSc in chemistry sciences.
Some universities encourage masters students to study in MBA alongside their own major; specially the engineering students as they become familiar with some non-engineering topics and be prepared to accept management roles in their future careers.
In your case, I have to say these things:

You need to ask the university in which you are studying in whether they allow you to study a second major simultaneously.
You need to asses your own ability if you are prepared enough to study a second masters or not. Because an MA in economics has its difficulties and this will get worth when you start your research and thesis. Sometimes, studying a second major will not either help you improve your knowledge and do a better research; or even because of lots of courses and lack of time; you may lose your way for the first major.
You may need to consult your supervisor if he allows you or encourages you to do so besides your masters research thesis.
If you have to pay for MBA, you also need to think about how to pay the fees or find a good fund or scholarship.

If you are not sure about those difficulties, I encourage you to finish your first MA, work for two or three years and then apply for a MBA. I know some good business schools that require the students some job experience before assessing their applications. This way, you may gain most of your academic studies.


text:
Is it possible to obtain feedback from a declined NSF postdoctoral fellowship?
I applied for a NSF post doctoral fellowship in mathematics last fall...and I got rejected.
Is it possible to obtain any feedback from NSF or from the reviewers?

I applied for a NSF post doctoral fellowship in Math last fall...and I got rejected.
  Is it possible to obtain any feedback from NSF or from the reviewers?

I believe it's not possible.  According to the program solicitation, "No written reviews are generated during the review process for this program, so the Fellow will not receive copies of reviews for proposals submitted to this program solicitation."  This agrees with my understanding that no feedback is provided.  There is definitely no feedback from the reviewers, and I believe the program officers also do not supply feedback.


text:
how to develop a new course as a new Assistant Professor
I am writing to inquire some experiences/advices on developing a new course on my first semester (this fall) as an assistant professor in computer science.
At this moment I am aware of the course assigned for me is for senior undergraduate students, principles of XXX (a subfield in computer science). According to previous years' feedback, this is roughly a 80 students course with 2 TA.
I have been reaching out to the instructors who were teaching this course last year but unfortunately he refused to share his materials (is it common?). So before diving into the details and building the courses from scratch, I am writing to inquire some general experiences or lessons that could smooth the process a bit. So here are some questions and concerns:

What should I hash out before the new semester starts? This course is not "connected" to any other course, but maybe at least figure out something like typical expectations (and background) of the students?
I took a similar course as a Ph.D. student but in my opinion that course simply goes too far. Perhaps it is a common (and wise) practice to start from there and develop my materials, say slides and projects?
What is the common practice of reusing materials from other institutes? I often see some notes like "this slide is borrowed from XXX", but not sure about the best practice of doing (or avoid doing) so.
My major concern is about the time constraint, in my first semester. It would be great if I don't need to spend too much time at the very beginning and gradually refine the course after several semesters. So in that sense, what are some good strategies/tactics I can consider? For instance, considering to put more grades on the exam instead of homework?

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated very much. And I will be keeping an eye on this post for refinement, because clearly this current form is a bit too general. Thanks.

should I...figure out something...typical expectations (and background) of the students? That's surely already been done, e.g., when the course was proposed. What is the common practice of reusing materials from other institutes? Ask the academic that prepared the materials. Also, can you clarify (4), I don't understand it as written.

@user2768 thanks for the post. On 4, I just want to inquire some tricks to save some time and effort, and also avoid some traps, as a super junior AP who just started his appointment and already super occupied on research papers :)

Please refrain from using abbreviations that are not explained anywhere

@JeffE  sorry for the confusion, already revised.

@posdef  sorry for the confusion, revised.

If you believe, as I do, that students learn from practice and feedback, not from seeing or hearing something once or twice, course design focuses on student tasks first.
First decide what they will do to master the material of the course. Whether that is projects or exercises or exam prep (ugh) or whatever. Lay that out. All key concepts should have reinforcement activities (and feedback from you and the TAs).
Knowing the student activities you can select learning materials that will be helpful to them in those activities - books, web sites, handouts, whatever.
Now you have a pretty good idea what your lectures must cover. Note that not everything that you lecture on needs to be covered by exams and projects, but the core of it should be reinforced. If presentation of the core doesn't take up all the time, you can fill it in as you like.


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Chances of Acceptance after Institutional Action
During my undergraduate career I was found guilty of academic dishonesty and suspended for 1 semester. Because of this, I was obviously distressed and reevaluated my position as a student. After much thinking, I enrolled abroad in a non-US medical university (using my high school and pre-medicine credentials) and graduated with the US equivalent of a 3.4 GPA and a medical degree. I then returned to my undergraduate university and finished my Bachelor's (BSc) degree with a 3.6 GPA.
I have extensive research experience throughout both my undergraduate career and medical school career abroad without publications. This research experience during my undergrad includes being accepted into a competitive summer research fellowship (before the institutional action took place). I also have worked in 2 different countries (including 1 developing country) as a physician for around a year before finishing off my Bachelor's in the US as mentioned above. The short practice time is only due to my aspirations of pursuing a PhD.
I have always wanted to pursue an MD/PhD before the institutional action took place. I enjoy research and aspire to combine my research interests with my practice on a global scale through an organization I helped found during my undergrad career. It was only due to the ridiculous choice I made that ended in my suspension that caused me to deviate from this dream and pursue only PhD.
Assuming I score above average on the GRE with excellent LoRs, what are my chances of being accepted into any sort of PhD or graduate program? At this point, I am not being selective of any university I wish to attend. I also understand this may be an extraordinary case and would require much thought with respect to my chances of being admitted. This is an especially tough and stressful time for me and I am thankful for your advice.
EDIT: I am interested in biological science or biomedical science as possible routes for my PhD (specifically, cancer biology).

Do you require funding? What countries are you interested in and is does you MD allow you to practice medics in that country? Finally, are you looking for a clinical PhD or just something related to medicine.

I am only looking toward US PhD programs. I would require funding as I have no real income now. I am very interested in cancer genomics/cancer biology and have previous research experience in that area. I am not licensed to practice in the US.

Any thoughts or ideas?


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What is difference between funding an MS and a PHD student
I am trying to understand this regarding aspects of funding only and not quality of research.What is difference between funding an PHD and an MS student.
I thought both took courses, get some stipend and advisor funds them.Maybe for PHD they fund students for 5 years instead of 2 years of MS ?
Is there any other major difference?
I understand PHD student's research output expectations are completely different.I am asking this question with specific regards to state universities in US.

This is a US-based answer and  maybe specific to Mathematics, but I think this generally applies.
From my understanding, the difference is only whether or not you have been admitted to the PhD program or not.  Many times it is the case that you can be admitted to an MS program but not a PhD program until after you have passed some type of qualifying exams.
Depending on the university, you may see an increase in your pay after successfully completing the necessary qualifying exams, etc.
It is not necessarily the case that an advisor will fund you during your MS or PhD.  At many universities, you will have an offer of a TA position (not related to research, as the name suggests), and you are required to teach / grade / hold recitations (depending on the university) in order to fulfill your TA contract.  Often, you can attain funding from an advisor so as to 'cover' your teaching load for the semester or potentially the summer.  The benefit here is that you are primarily spending your time on research and are not under a TA contract.
Often, if you have been admitted to a PhD program and passed your qualifiers, you will have the opportunity to teach higher level courses that a MS student would not.

so if somebody says they dont have funding for an PHD for that particular sem , does it also mean they dont have funding for MS student, given the tuition costs and stipend are same?

@Boncek35, my initial guess would be yes but is probably dependent on the situation.

@Boncek35: It does not necessarily mean that, because funding for a PhD student is typically for a much longer time than a master's student.  For most programs I am familiar with (in mathematics, at many US universities), funding needs to be found for multiple years at once.  For instance, in my program when we admit a PhD student we guarantee funding for five years (formerly six) conditional on satisfactory progress.  Thus admitting a PhD student can require significantly more longterm bookkeeping than admitting a master's student.

Some context for this question: Boncek35 thinks his advisor lied when she said she couldn't fund his PhD, see http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/17340/i-have-been-betrayed-isolated-by-my-advisor-and-i-am-mentally-drained-can-any

@ff524 just trying to make my question general ,so that nobody says i am asking an personal question

@nagniemerg any chance of changing resuscitations to recitations? Although I'm sure we've all ones that felt like resuscitations!

@mkennedy, good call. Although, it feels as if I am resuscitating my students every day.

Disclaimer: this is US-specific and quite likely engineering specific.
The only potential difference is that the rates for funding Ph.D students (post-candidacy) might be different to that of an MS student. But the difference is usually between types of funding(RAship, TAship, etc), not who gets funded.

so if i may be more specific -what is difference between RAShip and TAShip with regards to funding and not responsibilties? And how are rates usually different for post candidacy students( I mean are they usually on the high side?

Other answers pointed out that the amount of support for PhD students (post-qualifying exam) can be higher than M.S. students. However, in addition to funding levels, funding sources for PhD and M.S. students can be very different.
For example, in my lab (US, engineering), most of the M.S. students working as research assistants are supported by funds allocated by the department to the professor every semester. This money is given specifically for the purpose of creating extra educational and training opportunities for M.S. students, through participation in research.
Then, in my lab, the funds that support PhD students usually come from their advisors' research grants. (A small number of PhD students are funded by the department for a year, but this comes from a very limited "pool" that is separate from the M.S. student money, comes directly from the dept to the PhD student - not the professor - and is much harder to get. Some PhD students are funded by external fellowships, like NSF Graduate Research Fellowships.)
You didn't ask about undergraduate researchers, but we also have those in my lab, and they are often funded by the NSF from Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) grants.
Thus, in my lab there are certain funds that may be used only for undergrads (from NSF via REU grants); certain funds that can go only to M.S. students (from the department, via a pool of money allocated to create research opportunities for M.S. students); and certain funds that can go only to PhD students (from the department, via a pool of money allocated specifically for one-year PhD fellowships). Then there are funds (mainly, from the professor's research grants) that can be used to support any kind of student.
This is of course just an example - other labs will have entirely different "pools" of funds that they may draw from, which may or may not have restrictions as to who may use them.
It is entirely possible for a professor to be able to fund an M.S. student (because it comes out of departmental M.S. research opportunities money) and not a PhD student (because they don't have enough active research grants, or all their grant money is already committed, and the department PhD fellowship pool is empty).

A professor wouldn't fund a M.S. student if it comes out of departmental money.  By definition the department is funding the student (and not the professor!).  It is possible that the professor could still advise the student.

@nagniemerg A certain amount of money is allocated to the professor from the dept each semester, and the professor hires a student who gets the money. I don't see why it's different than, e.g., the NSF allocating money to a professor, and the professor using it to hire a student who will get the money.

@ff524 so that department $$  can be used to fund an MS or PHD student ,not an MS student exclusively as you had said in your answer.

@Boncek35 No, the money is given by the dept. to the professor specifically for funding M.S. students.  If the professor does not hire M.S. students that semester, then the money goes back to the department, unused.

@ff524 so when department allocates $$ for MS students , wouldnt it imply  they might have allocated money for PHD students too.

@ff524, I think this is dependent on department / university, and this type of funding may also come from startup packages when the professor was initially hired.  I am not discounting what you suggest as a possibility but am trying to consider the different cultures between disciplines.

@Boncek35 No. My dept. specifically wants to encourage research opportunities for M.S. students, so they give professors money that may be used only for that purpose.

@nagniemerg It's not startup money, it is given to professors that have been there for decades, too! I understand that this isn't universal, it is just an example of one way that funding structures can be different for M.S. and PhD students. I'm offering it purely as a counterexample to your guess that "no funding for PhD students" must necessarily imply "no funding for M.S. students."

I appreciate the example.  It's good to understand all the paradigms that exist.  You learn something new everyday!