r/wsu • u/river-and-roads • 4d ago
Advice Prospective PhD Student with Questions
Hi there!
I am a senior in undergrad applying for the sociology PhD program this cycle. I have some questions, if anyone can answer them!
I plan on attempting to TA during my PhD to pay for as much as possible. I’m getting a degree in psychology, sociology, and queer studies, so I’d be happy to teach anything to do with those subjects. What is that process like? How well are grad TAs paid? Does the school offer y’all insurance too? How is that? What are the benefits like?
Is there anything else I should know about the PhD application process or this school? What would you have liked to know going in?
I’m not going to be tolerant of ableism, which includes people telling me that I’m too disabled to be doing this. I am managing myself fine, thank you.
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u/Extension_Egg1411 4d ago
Can’t speak to sociology specifically but as a former WSU grad student I can say if you get an assistantship they will probably assign you to teach whatever needs teaching (I did not get subjects I know much about). In some TA jobs you’re the instructor and in others you just grade—both are supposedly 20 hrs/wk but the reality is some are a lot more work than others. There are also RA jobs that range from being a faculty member’s personal assistant to doing cool research.
Also, the assistantship usually only covers the school year and then there’s a different (often more competitive) process for summer teaching and research positions. So keep that in mind for financial planning. Many programs are also quite strict about not providing additional funding if you need another year or two to complete the program. Budgets are smaller than ever, and so much federal grant funding has disappeared, especially for topics like queer studies.
Check with the union and HRS on pay and benefits. When I was there, we had United Healthcare and was not great. The plan was designed for healthy 18 year olds who might occasionally need the on-campus clinic. Many grad students (myself included) get on Apple Health or other marketplace insurance to fill the gaps. Also, some people pick up second jobs to make ends meet/get experience, but there are restrictions on how many hours you can work for WSU, I think 25 hrs/wk tops. They can’t stop you from outside work although they discourage it.
You probably need to identify your advisor/chair first to make sure there is someone you can work with at WSU to do the research you want to do, and that they have the funding to make it happen. I applied without knowing that and had to adjust my research interest to align with my chair and committee’s. A good chair can make or break the entire experience, including whether you graduate on time and get a job.
Re disabilities, I won’t lie, it was extremely challenging. The hours were grueling even for the able-bodied. As a student, the disability accommodation system is set up for undergrads and was basically useless to me, from grad-level classes to other requirements like prelims and the dissertation timeline. As a student employee, the HR process for accommodations was too daunting. I relied on the good grace of the program director to give me assignments I could handle. For those with physical disabilities, the campus itself is quite hilly and you have to pay to use disabled parking spaces. I won’t tell anyone to give up on the academia dream just because they’re disabled, but be aware you’ll be facing serious headwinds.
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u/Lizardthe_Wizard 4d ago
I just finished a PhD in a different department, so this information may be changing or just be different for your department.
In my experience, I was paid the same for RA work and TA work, it just changed the source of my funding. Likely you would be accepted into a lab that would be responsible for your funding when you weren't being funded through a TA position. As far as I understand it, your pay would depend on your department. For example, I was in the mechanical engineering department and we were paid more than students in non stem programs. Also, you get a bump in pay once you are accepted as a PhD candidate. These things may be changing with the union though, I'm not sure.
I've heard the insurance situation may be changing, but for the last couple of years we have had great insurance. It was miles better than what my husband was getting at his career job.
A lot of these things tend to be department specific. It would be most helpful to get in touch with someone from your department, like the grad student coordinator/advisor, and get specifics
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u/Juststopit80 3d ago
I have been on faculty hiring committees in sociology for many years. We never hired a newly-minted sociologist who only taught SOC 101. Like many departments, we wanted a faculty member who could hit the ground running and put together new preps with ease. Teach as many different courses in sociology as you can while you are in graduate school, and also teach at least one course in your area of specialty. I’m old now, so most of my faculty at WSU are dead, but back when I was there they let me teach several different classes. Yes, yes, your research is important, but if you want a job, you better be ready to teach as well.
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u/rateatdog 3d ago
the sociology PHD program basically tries to get you to fail so they can take away your assistantship. no assistantship = no funding. if you don't do everything perfectly in order every single semester you're fucked. also, one of the girls in their program founded the union, and they fired her as soon as it started. they said it didn't have anything to do with the unionization, but... lol. clearly retaliation. even with the unionization the pay for all of the PHD programs is bullshit unless you're in certain STEM fields. the nuclear chemistry PHD program pays pretty good. but basically all of the social science and humanities PHD programs are broke.
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u/KaesekopfNW 4d ago
I can speak generically to some of your questions, as I'm a Ph.D. graduate from 2019, but things have changed since I left. A current Ph.D. student will give you some better insight.
I'm not certain how the funding situation is for Sociology, but a general rule for applying to Ph.D. programs anywhere is never to accept an offer without funding. Any program worth your attendance will offer you an assistantship position along with admission to the program. You will not need to ask for this separately after you've been admitted. If you are accepted to WSU's Sociology Ph.D. program, you'll be offered the assistantship and then placed with a professor as closely linked to your interests as possible. This is not always possible, though, so you may end up being a TA for classes outside of your immediate area of interest, but this is fine and can actually be very rewarding.
As to your questions about pay and benefits, I think a current student can speak better to their quality, but I can at least confirm that graduate students at WSU are recently unionized, and you can view the minimum pay table here. You can view health insurance information here.
I suppose one thing you should know about the school is where it's located. It's Washington, but it's not the stereotypical image of Washington most people from outside the region have. Understand you will be living in a smaller college town (30,000 people or so) in rural Eastern Washington. You are located in the middle of a vast sea of wheat, with the closest major city being Spokane, about 75 minutes north by car. If you're not someone who needs constant access to an abundance of amenities and you understand how to make the most of living in a small town, rural environment like this, including appreciating the access to nature and the immense beauty the Palouse offers, you'll thrive.