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The relationship between graduate students and their advisers can be pivotal to the trainees’ success, but there can be many reasons a pairing doesn’t work out. As of today (March 9), MIT has in place new policies that make it easier for students to swap advisers without damaging their graduation prospects in the process. The terms of the program were developed at the recommendation of several graduate student advocacy groups to protect students from the retaliation and financial hardship that can occur if an adviser/advisee relationship goes sour.
Reject Injustice through Student Empowerment (RISE) aims to give graduate students a safety net to get out of a lab that isn’t good for them by helping the student secure transitional funding, limiting the transition period in between advisers, implementing degree progress protections, and protecting the student from being unable to get a letter of recommendation.
If the ...
