Hi everyone. I am in a great dilemma of whether to stay or leave PhD. My lab is super messy, no working equipment. My prof says that the lab will be updated soon, but it has been so long he is saying the same thing over and over again. I was supposed to get trained in another lab, but don't know what's stopping my prof to send me there. With two years just completed without touching any equipment, I am tired of reading literatures, writing reports, and reviews, only. To make things worse, the prof recently asked me to study simulation, which I am not interested at all (my lab is experimental only). I am sure with these many uncertainties, things will literally stay the same after one year. I am totally frustrated now and have lost my passion for PhD. I am therefore making my mind to quit my PhD and rather join another institution for some coursework. Do we need to pay back the tuition fees, stipend, or anything when we quit? Moreover, can I join another institution with the same study permit valid? If so, within how many months I should do this? Thanks in advance.
Quitting PhD - suggestions needed.
- Thread starter Sam Ghm
- Start date
You will need another study permit. You’ll need to get accepted to another program first, if you quit your PhD now you won’t be able to work. In terms of your stipend you need to look at the terms of your funding agreement. All depends on what money you have already received and Whether you were advanced funds.
Hi. Thanks for the reply. I have posted the IRCC link below that mentions that I can change college with the same study permit if it is valid provided I update the DLI on my profile. So, I am thinking of applying for colleges, get offer letter and then get admission and finally quit my PhD. Is it okay?
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/change-schools.html
You have to inform IRCC and they can refuse your change. Unfortunately many were arriving in Canada having applied for an advanced degree and then switched to an easy degree. If you aren’t switching to another PhD program you are wanting to switch to an inferior degree. Impossible to say what will happen. These are new rules do we haven’t seen how IRCC will react to students changing programs especially to degrees that are considered inferior to their original program.Are you switching to a degree that makes sense given your previous education and work history.
Is the changing DLI into one's own profile subject to IRCC's acceptance/rejection? I am sorry, but I did not read this point when I entered the process in detail in the link. It simply says update the new DLI and it's done. Could you kindly clarify how would this update and rejection process actually work?
Since you have already studied on the same SP for 2 years, you are allowed to transfer your DLI online, no problem. However, you need to note:
1. You cannot be out of school longer than 150 days while changing DLI/Program, else you will need to apply for a new study permit.
2. You cannot work in the period between unenrolling at your current school and starting at a new school.
3. Your PGWP might be compromised at the end, if you switch to a lower/unrelated degree/program. Going to a college after being approved for a PhD program is a bad move. If you are not satisfied with your current program, look into another PhD program or worst case, a Master's course program with a good specialization related to your career/previous qualification.
How far are you into the program? Does your program offer to leave PhD with just MS? Which degree you are pursuing? is the job market good even without a Phd? You may not be able to return to academia in the future.
Changing your school or program
Before you change your school or program, you must meet all the conditions of your study permit. This means you must be:
- enrolled at a designated learning institution (DLI) and
- actively studying while you’re in Canada
- are a post-secondary student changing schools
- have a co-op work permit and you’ve changed post-secondary schools to another co-op program or
- need to change conditions on your study permit
If you have a study permit, you may receive an email from us. The email address will end in “@cic.gc.ca.” You must follow the instructions in that email, by the date indicated, to confirm you’re enrolled and actively studying in Canada.
If you change schools and don’t tell us
Your old school will report you as not being registered to study. If this happens:
- you’re breaking the conditions of your study permit
- you may be asked to leave the country
- this may prevent you from coming to Canada in the future
- For example, you may not be approved for another study or work permit in the future.
If you change your DLI before coming to Canada and you don’t let us know, you won’t be allowed to board your flight.
If your application is still in progress
You can tell us you changed your DLI by submitting a new letter of acceptance using the IRCC web form.
If your application has been approved
If your application for a study permit has been approved and you change your DLI, you must submit a new study permit application with a new letter of acceptance.
You must also pay all the fees for the new application.
Moving to the next education level
If your study permit is still valid, you don’t need to change or apply for a new permit if you’re moving between school levels. This could be:
- primary to high school
- high school to post-secondary
- post-secondary to high school or
- any other move between school levels
If your permit has already expired, you must restore your status as a studentat the same time as you apply to extend your study permit. You must apply to restore your status within 90 days of losing it. You can’t continue or restart your studies until you have status as a student again and we’ve extended your study permit.
Post-secondary students changing schools
If you change post-secondary schools, the school you plan to change to must also be a DLI. Please check the DLI list and confirm your new school is a DLI before you commit to changing schools.
You must tell us each time you change post-secondary schools. Changing the post-secondary school on your account is a free service.
You don’t need to apply to change your study permit if you are changing schools.
Post-secondary studies include:
- university
- community college, CEGEP, institute
- private university, career college, academy, school or training institution and
- ESL/FSL and other language training
Your first issue is that if you quit now you won’t be actively studying until you start another program. At this point it will likely be difficult to enrol in a new program starting this fall. There were changes when it comes to notifying IRCC about changing programs because too many international students were getting approved for advanced degrees and then switching to much easier college courses. We have yet to see if there will be any issues if international students change to an inferior degree. IRCC is trying to crack down on people doing exactly what you are doing. We haven’t seen if they are only going to crackdown on those who haven’t started their studies yet.
I don't think you need to pay back anything. Yes, you can join any institute dont worry about that.
Well getting another masters degree is worth it as well because in Phd we do cover master's courses in the first 2 years. Moreover, that will give him work permit for 3 years
Hi wonderbly. Thanks for the answer. Is it 90 days or 150 days that I have to switch within? Moreover, I am applying as a dependent for PR from my wife in November (public policy), and will be quitting or joining another colleges after that. Hopefully, this process will smooth out than without applying for PR. Do you think there will be a problem in this process? Thanks.
hey, you dont need to quit, check with your program coordinators if they allow you to convert to ms. You can still get work permit.
Thanks for the reply. I am thinking of joining another college and then quit. In this way, I would be able to maintain my student status, don't I?
Hi. They can offer me for MS but then will have to write thesis. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, I don't have any data or content to write up my thesis even for MS.