Hi all,

The text explains it. Today class was on zoom. We’re all working towards our dissertation and so professor gave us “quiet” individual work time rather than actually hosting class. He was still on zoom sharing his screen and watching porn. He def didnt notice it until one of my classmates brought up that “his screen was showing weird things.” He apologized and ended the zoom meeting right there. But no accountability. We were able to take screenshots and videos for proof.

Our cohort is entirely made of women, and the prof is a man. We are so uncomfortable at this point.

Please help - what to do??? Who to seek out?

Apologies if the post isnt at the right thread. At this point i really dont know what to do or whom to seek.

EDIT1: wow thank you so much for everyone’s comments!
For context: yes, we are in the US.
More context: he was watching incestuous asian p**n
Even more context: our cohort is brainstorming what to do at this moment. We’re trying to get an appointment with ombudsman first and see what they have to say.
Our department is really small and struggling; :( this might blow up in negative ways for us and the new cohort. But at the same time I do not want the new cohort going through the same experience.
Also - i’m pretty sure watching p**n during the zoom meeting was intentional, fetish maybe? Idk. I had the worst migraine yesterday thinking of all the ramifications of this.

EDIT2: We spoke to ombuds, Title IX, and the department chair. An investigation will take place. Thank you to everyone who took their time to comment. <3

Hello all.

I feel genuinely awful about this, and am posting here seeking advice. I am a lab TA for calculus 3. I felt ill last night and ended up sleeping through my alarms, and I missed my lab session in the morning.

I immediately emailed the students and the professor, and I will post notes and solutions to the problems I was going to cover in class, but I feel genuinely awful. Is there anything else I could do to make up for missing it? I am lucky that there was no quiz or anything, but I still feel awful.

After all, these students are paying for this. It is my responsibility to attend and teach them. Even though I wasn't feeling great, I should have woken up early to email another TA to cover it. I didn't end up telling them it was because I felt unwell, because even if I did, that's no excuse.

Is there anything else I could/should do to make up for it?

Hi everyone. Idk, any stories of similar things happening right now would be awesome.
I’ve been planning for the past year and a half to completely master this fall. I have been legitimately working myself to the fucking bone to get it done and I’m done too is the thing. I’m on the last step of my thesis and it’s truly a matter of writing it all down which I’ve done already. My professor/chair just called me and said I can only do my proposal and defense that this semester and I have to continue enrollment next semester because there’s not enough time to defend a PROPOSAL, take in feedback, and defend my thesis. I have been telling him this semesters end was my timeline and working on it so that I could make it to that. I’m at the END.
I bought my grad regalia, paid the application fee, etc. I haven’t even had an academic advisor this entire time either because she doesn’t know anything about any of the processes and when I ask her questions she doesn’t know/takes so long to respond.
No one in my family has done this and so I have no frame of reference. I am at my max loan withdrawal so I can take another 12k out and I can’t go any further. I don’t know what to do. I have been working two jobs this entire time and barely hanging on.
i was wanting to apply for a PhD but I just don’t think I want to do higher education anymore.
This university sucks and is literally robbing me, this city sucks, my department sucks. I hate that I went to this illegitimate school.

Hey ya'll. I'm looking for some advice and words of wisdom. I'm in my second year of my master's, so I'm currently working on inputting and analyzing my data. My field season was rough and I came back feeling really burnt out and it has not gotten any better as the semester drags on. I'm struggling to get through any of this and care about it while also trying to apply for PhD programs (I got a grant that would pay for it, I feel obligated to at least apply).

I'm going to keep going but it's feeling rough. I'm looking for any advice on how to bring some (any) spark back and get myself reengaged again.

I'm 28. A few months ago I was extremely social, meeting new people, going on dates, saying yes to everything. Now I just don't have the mental energy for any of it. I'd rather do my research, work out, cook and play video games.

What gets to me most is feeling obligated to spend hours every day with people, and I feel like I'll lose my mind if one more person asks why I didn't call back. Meeting new people or going on dates just sounds exhausting right now.

I'm also graduating and moving in less than a year, so part of me doesn't see the point of starting new friendships or dating. Not sure if that's practical or if I'm just making excuses.

Has anyone gone through something like this? What was going on with you, and how did you deal with people expecting more of your time?

Hi! I am currently 2 years in at my currently company and they offer education assistance of 10,000 per calendar year for graduate courses. I have always loved school and got my Bachelor’s Degree with in Business with a speciality in Marketing. Looking to see if someone can help me narrow down some good programs that might be in my budget range.

I’ve been feeling really stuck lately and feel like I have nobody to talk to about it. Hoping to get some opinions from people here who may have been in a similar position.

I graduated with a BA in Spanish and Communication and Media Studies in 2025, high distinction. I’ve always been really good at school and never had to try too hard to succeed. I’ve also never had a “dream job” or known what I wanted to do as a career, and maybe still don’t. I was very convinced that after my bachelor’s I’d be done with school forever, but now I’m not so sure.

I was very involved as a student. It was a small school, so I was on leadership for like 5 different clubs, taught ESL classes in the community, completed a related internship (twice), and was an RA for three years. I also applied for the Fulbright and got to the semi-finalist stage. The college is in a small town, so community is a big deal, both on and off campus. I wasn’t quite ready to leave yet after graduating, so that’s why I decided to stay. I’m from a more suburban area a few hours away.

After graduating I got a job at my alma mater and have been working there since. I’ve liked it well enough, but it’s not the best job and is pretty much the definition of “entry level”. If I wanted to move up into something in student affairs or administration or something like that, I’d most likely need a master’s, so I’ve been looking into doing an online program (the college I’m at is undergrad only). I’ve been a bit conflicted on that though, since it seems a lot of the value of grad school comes from the experiential learning, graduate assistantships, etc. I didn’t qualify for TRIO or McNair or anything and wouldn’t have been interested as an undergrad even if I had, so I don’t know much about what grad school is like, the application process, best programs and practices, etc. I realize I can reach out to my professors (especially since I got to know them very well on our small campus) but I feel like it would turn into more of a therapy session than anything and I don’t want to burden them with that.

Part of thinking it would turn into a “therapy session” comes from the fact that I started dating my boyfriend at the end of my senior year, and he works in agriculture, so it’s a bit more difficult for me to move to someplace with the opportunities I’m looking for since I don’t want to leave him behind. I want to go and see more of the world, maybe try going for the Fulbright again, but I don’t want to lose him. I’ve never had luck in love, and he’s my first boyfriend, first everything. It feels much too early to settle down, though.

In terms of graduate programs I’ve been considering a master’s of education (general), master’s of high ed/student affairs, Spanish, or a PhD in one of those areas, but maybe starting with a master’s would be best. I’m also vacillating between going into higher ed admin or perhaps becoming a professor one day, but everything feels very up in the air without someone to discuss it with. My school is part of a larger system, so I’d be able to get a tuition discount if I continued my education with them while working my job, but my current position involves a lot of travel and odd hours that would make that difficult.

I wasn’t quite sure where to put this part, but honestly, I also just miss being a STUDENT. I miss being in a class, having deep discussions, analyzing material, and of course the social aspect. I also feel I may partly be just romanticizing being a student, because when I was one I was very burnt out and ready to have a job, but again, I’ve always enjoyed school and learning.

Am I missing out on a lot by pursuing an online program? How do people go into grad school after having a gap between that and their bachelor’s? I know it may seem a bit ridiculous that I’m thinking of 1.5 years as a “gap,” but it already feels like I have roots I don’t want to tear up. Any advice would be very helpful.

Hello, I need to choose my path in this master's degree. It is in Memory, History and Education.

I have several ideas but two are main.

One is focused in history and memory, the other in education and history.

Then I will also need to out and look for a supervisor according to my choice.

I would like to ask for advice on how to choose if you have some experience.

I'm trying to earn my master's degree in secondary education, but have been beset by difficult. When I took it the first time, I was told that the requirements changed and that I needed to take an alternative oral exam. I didn't pass the oral exam, so my second attempt was written exam, but I didn't score high enough to be given my master's degree.

What do I do now? I still want to get my master's degree but I can't take it again at my current school. Should I try to appeal? Could I apply to another school and finish my degree there? Will any other school accept me knowing that I failed my capstone exam twice?

Everyone wants to “stand out”, I know that. I’d like to go to grad school for environmental science and the personal statement is by far the worst part of applying. I want an intriguing hook, and tbh I’ve thought about starting off with referencing my love for the movie “AVATAR”, specifically how in the movie the fall of Home Tree inevitably ignited my interest in protecting nature and stopping humans from destroying the planet. I was 6 years old when the movie came out and at this point have the script memorized, to this day it (and the second and third movies) inspire me to work in conservation and restoration. Is this too far of a reach for a hook at the start of a personal statement?

Hi everyone,

I know this is cutting it a bit late, but I have 2 references confirmed for the NDSEG application, and was wondering if people usually stick to submitting 3. On the portal it says references are optional. This is my first time applying but I’m pretty sure most people who win the fellowship submit at least a few. I’m just concerned because I know I can get good references from 2 people, my advisor and a collaborator, but I have no idea who to put down for a third rec. Is it normal to submit less than 3?

i’m in my second year of grad school and i’ve been paying around 30,000 per year out of pocket. i don’t wanna take out loans and i work full time:/ all my checks go to school which i know is an investment in my future but im wondering if there’s any legit scholarships i can apply for?
i go to the uni of oklahoma for clinical mental health counseling

Current masters student on a graduate research assistantship. I received a summer internship offer at a very prestigious company in my field. Like this is a dream job for most people. Approached my professor regarding this and he basically told me i would get fired for another student with a small chance i could be let back, but it is a gamble.

Given how much i wanted this company i accepted couple months back. Fast forward to now, professor confirms he doesnt have funds for my return so im effectively fired when the semester ends and the discussion to subsequent guilt tripping. Basically the “i have done so much for you in terms of getting contracts and hiring you and you betrayed me” and “you are screwing over lab if your interruption leads to a sponsor pulling away funding due to deadlines”

Like i can see why he is upset. Yes gra is sort of like a job and this has consequences so i would he morally responsible if labmates are screwed if contracts fall through. But also i know people in other professor groups who have taken internships and returned and my firing is the first case of its kind anyone knows of.

Like still processing the events. Prepared to get roasted in the comments.

I am in 4th year of my PhD program. I still have TAship that basically covers the tuition part and pays a very minimal (2250/month) salary. Over the years, I have been able to manage my finances by doing side gigs like Ubereats or Doordash deliveries to meet my expenses.

For the context: Just the monthly rent of my apartment is 1600, so the 2250/month stipend is not sufficient at all. Besides that, I have to pay about 4000/semester in university fee.

At this stage, I am working on my thesis and I have consistently been very stressed with all the side work I have to do. I am thinking of taking federal loan at this stage to make things a bit easy for me. Does anyone have any recommendations or suggestions? If anyone has done it before, please do let me know. Thanks so much.

Hi everyone,

I’m a computer engineering student, specializing in information security, and I’m looking for a Master’s thesis topic. I have a software engineering background (full-stack, backend, databases), so a more applied, software-oriented topic is fine for me.

I have already found two ideas and spent time validating them, and both turned out to be weak. Either a stronger competitor or an existing project already does it, or someone is clearly about to. I woul like to avoid reinventing the wheel a third time.

So I have two questions:

How do you find good thesis topics in security? Where do you look (papers, conferences, industry reports, your supervisor, real incidents)?

How do you validate a topic before committing? How do you check that it’s novel enough, useful enough, and feasible in the time you have, and what red flags make you drop an idea early?

I would really appreciate hearing how you approached it, or what you wish you had checked earlier. Examples of topics that worked well (or didn’t) are very welcome too.

Thanks!

I’m curious if this is normal in a doctoral program. I’m in my first quarter and have 3 classes, that last 10 weeks. One of the classes demands a lot of work. We have normal discussion posts, must read 2 books in addition to our text book reading, read multiple journal articles each week, watch videos, do multiple skills assessments (not told till the week of that it’s pass/fail and failing the skills assessments results in failure of the course no matter what grades we have on everything else), and some discussion post requirements are more that of a 1-2 page paper, quizzes and more. The other 2 classes have what I would see as a normal work load. This question has been cross posted.