Grad school update

My response to first email:

Hey Advisor,

Lots of things are up, I'm not coming back this coming year, so don't worry about trying to find me a TA place. What do I need to do to take a leave of absence, and how long can it be? A lot is up, not much of it good, so I'm going to need to take care of some stuff, unfortunately.

Hope you're having a good year,
Bal


His response:

Under special conditions, graduate students may be granted one leave of absence. A maximum leave of two years may be granted to doctoral students or one year to master's students. The length and rationale for the leave of absence must be stated in advance, recommended to the dean by the department, and approved by the dean. If approved, the time of the leave shall not count against the total time allowed for the degree being sought by the student. Readmission following an approved leave of absence is a formality.

I’d support this if you want to go this route. Of course, I’d support you coming back too. Or just continuing on to finish the degree over the next year. There is one drawback to the leave of absence: if you take it, then it’s almost like withdrawing from the university for the time you’re on leave, which means that you will have to give up the remaining year of funding. You can reapply for funding when you come back, but there aren’t any guarantees that you’ll get it.

Another option is to do what you did this year, and just register for one semester during the year to say “active.” We’d make the case that you need another year to do your fieldwork in Cali, and that you’ll be back to School in 2011-12 to be a TA and to finish writing up your diss. Wouldn’t that be better?

Advisor

So if I want a leave of absence, I'd have to give them a reason they'd a) understand and b) approve of. Fantastic.