Professor forcing me to attend a conference, I can't afford even with 50% funding












26















I am a first year Ph.D. student. During my masters (which was in a different university), a professor (call him M.) and I worked on a paper on banking regulations. Apart from the single idea, all of the paper and results were done by me. We worked on it for a couple of months and tried to submit our work at many journals (all of them were rejected). Finally, it has been accepted recently at a conference. This conference is not major league but niche.



My Prof. M wants me to attend but I do not have funding. Initially, he expected me to spend from my own pocket for travel and registration (around USD 2000). Being a graduate student and living in one of the expensive cities, I am living life on a hand to mouth existence. So, I informed him politely that I am not keen to attend due to my inability to fund myself. He asks me to apply to funding agencies or else he is willing to fund 50% of my expenses.



The matter of fact is that I cannot even afford even 50% of the travel expenses. Out of nowhere, this conference comes up and it further cripples my shoestring budget. I am really hesitant to discuss my financial shortcomings with Prof. M, but if I don't he'll assume that I can afford the travel.










share|improve this question




















  • 6





    I find it strange that you are facing this issue now. You knew the paper was submitted to a conference, and the conference trips aren't free. So you had to negotiate beforehand who's going to travel, and how to cover costs. In a way, you are in the same boat with your supervisor, and "he pays, I go" is not necessarily the default option always available.

    – rg_software
    yesterday








  • 57





    So apply to funding agencies, or else don't go. You seem bothered by the fact that you are forced to be clear about the fact that you can't afford it. There's no shame in being a starving student.

    – A Simple Algorithm
    yesterday






  • 26





    Re the title: How is Prof. M "forcing" you to go to the conference?

    – PersonX
    yesterday






  • 7





    @rg_software at least in my field if there is a submission than is implicit the group sustains the cost. If the research is highly individual, it could be history law or something not hardware, then the professor should pay, via funds or his/her pocket. It seems absurd to expect that a student should (or even can ) manage that.

    – Alchimista
    14 hours ago






  • 6





    There's no question in your post. What is it that you want to ask us?

    – David Richerby
    7 hours ago
















26















I am a first year Ph.D. student. During my masters (which was in a different university), a professor (call him M.) and I worked on a paper on banking regulations. Apart from the single idea, all of the paper and results were done by me. We worked on it for a couple of months and tried to submit our work at many journals (all of them were rejected). Finally, it has been accepted recently at a conference. This conference is not major league but niche.



My Prof. M wants me to attend but I do not have funding. Initially, he expected me to spend from my own pocket for travel and registration (around USD 2000). Being a graduate student and living in one of the expensive cities, I am living life on a hand to mouth existence. So, I informed him politely that I am not keen to attend due to my inability to fund myself. He asks me to apply to funding agencies or else he is willing to fund 50% of my expenses.



The matter of fact is that I cannot even afford even 50% of the travel expenses. Out of nowhere, this conference comes up and it further cripples my shoestring budget. I am really hesitant to discuss my financial shortcomings with Prof. M, but if I don't he'll assume that I can afford the travel.










share|improve this question




















  • 6





    I find it strange that you are facing this issue now. You knew the paper was submitted to a conference, and the conference trips aren't free. So you had to negotiate beforehand who's going to travel, and how to cover costs. In a way, you are in the same boat with your supervisor, and "he pays, I go" is not necessarily the default option always available.

    – rg_software
    yesterday








  • 57





    So apply to funding agencies, or else don't go. You seem bothered by the fact that you are forced to be clear about the fact that you can't afford it. There's no shame in being a starving student.

    – A Simple Algorithm
    yesterday






  • 26





    Re the title: How is Prof. M "forcing" you to go to the conference?

    – PersonX
    yesterday






  • 7





    @rg_software at least in my field if there is a submission than is implicit the group sustains the cost. If the research is highly individual, it could be history law or something not hardware, then the professor should pay, via funds or his/her pocket. It seems absurd to expect that a student should (or even can ) manage that.

    – Alchimista
    14 hours ago






  • 6





    There's no question in your post. What is it that you want to ask us?

    – David Richerby
    7 hours ago














26












26








26


1






I am a first year Ph.D. student. During my masters (which was in a different university), a professor (call him M.) and I worked on a paper on banking regulations. Apart from the single idea, all of the paper and results were done by me. We worked on it for a couple of months and tried to submit our work at many journals (all of them were rejected). Finally, it has been accepted recently at a conference. This conference is not major league but niche.



My Prof. M wants me to attend but I do not have funding. Initially, he expected me to spend from my own pocket for travel and registration (around USD 2000). Being a graduate student and living in one of the expensive cities, I am living life on a hand to mouth existence. So, I informed him politely that I am not keen to attend due to my inability to fund myself. He asks me to apply to funding agencies or else he is willing to fund 50% of my expenses.



The matter of fact is that I cannot even afford even 50% of the travel expenses. Out of nowhere, this conference comes up and it further cripples my shoestring budget. I am really hesitant to discuss my financial shortcomings with Prof. M, but if I don't he'll assume that I can afford the travel.










share|improve this question
















I am a first year Ph.D. student. During my masters (which was in a different university), a professor (call him M.) and I worked on a paper on banking regulations. Apart from the single idea, all of the paper and results were done by me. We worked on it for a couple of months and tried to submit our work at many journals (all of them were rejected). Finally, it has been accepted recently at a conference. This conference is not major league but niche.



My Prof. M wants me to attend but I do not have funding. Initially, he expected me to spend from my own pocket for travel and registration (around USD 2000). Being a graduate student and living in one of the expensive cities, I am living life on a hand to mouth existence. So, I informed him politely that I am not keen to attend due to my inability to fund myself. He asks me to apply to funding agencies or else he is willing to fund 50% of my expenses.



The matter of fact is that I cannot even afford even 50% of the travel expenses. Out of nowhere, this conference comes up and it further cripples my shoestring budget. I am really hesitant to discuss my financial shortcomings with Prof. M, but if I don't he'll assume that I can afford the travel.







conference funding travel






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 9 hours ago









smci

1,5651017




1,5651017










asked yesterday









kasakasa

26625




26625








  • 6





    I find it strange that you are facing this issue now. You knew the paper was submitted to a conference, and the conference trips aren't free. So you had to negotiate beforehand who's going to travel, and how to cover costs. In a way, you are in the same boat with your supervisor, and "he pays, I go" is not necessarily the default option always available.

    – rg_software
    yesterday








  • 57





    So apply to funding agencies, or else don't go. You seem bothered by the fact that you are forced to be clear about the fact that you can't afford it. There's no shame in being a starving student.

    – A Simple Algorithm
    yesterday






  • 26





    Re the title: How is Prof. M "forcing" you to go to the conference?

    – PersonX
    yesterday






  • 7





    @rg_software at least in my field if there is a submission than is implicit the group sustains the cost. If the research is highly individual, it could be history law or something not hardware, then the professor should pay, via funds or his/her pocket. It seems absurd to expect that a student should (or even can ) manage that.

    – Alchimista
    14 hours ago






  • 6





    There's no question in your post. What is it that you want to ask us?

    – David Richerby
    7 hours ago














  • 6





    I find it strange that you are facing this issue now. You knew the paper was submitted to a conference, and the conference trips aren't free. So you had to negotiate beforehand who's going to travel, and how to cover costs. In a way, you are in the same boat with your supervisor, and "he pays, I go" is not necessarily the default option always available.

    – rg_software
    yesterday








  • 57





    So apply to funding agencies, or else don't go. You seem bothered by the fact that you are forced to be clear about the fact that you can't afford it. There's no shame in being a starving student.

    – A Simple Algorithm
    yesterday






  • 26





    Re the title: How is Prof. M "forcing" you to go to the conference?

    – PersonX
    yesterday






  • 7





    @rg_software at least in my field if there is a submission than is implicit the group sustains the cost. If the research is highly individual, it could be history law or something not hardware, then the professor should pay, via funds or his/her pocket. It seems absurd to expect that a student should (or even can ) manage that.

    – Alchimista
    14 hours ago






  • 6





    There's no question in your post. What is it that you want to ask us?

    – David Richerby
    7 hours ago








6




6





I find it strange that you are facing this issue now. You knew the paper was submitted to a conference, and the conference trips aren't free. So you had to negotiate beforehand who's going to travel, and how to cover costs. In a way, you are in the same boat with your supervisor, and "he pays, I go" is not necessarily the default option always available.

– rg_software
yesterday







I find it strange that you are facing this issue now. You knew the paper was submitted to a conference, and the conference trips aren't free. So you had to negotiate beforehand who's going to travel, and how to cover costs. In a way, you are in the same boat with your supervisor, and "he pays, I go" is not necessarily the default option always available.

– rg_software
yesterday






57




57





So apply to funding agencies, or else don't go. You seem bothered by the fact that you are forced to be clear about the fact that you can't afford it. There's no shame in being a starving student.

– A Simple Algorithm
yesterday





So apply to funding agencies, or else don't go. You seem bothered by the fact that you are forced to be clear about the fact that you can't afford it. There's no shame in being a starving student.

– A Simple Algorithm
yesterday




26




26





Re the title: How is Prof. M "forcing" you to go to the conference?

– PersonX
yesterday





Re the title: How is Prof. M "forcing" you to go to the conference?

– PersonX
yesterday




7




7





@rg_software at least in my field if there is a submission than is implicit the group sustains the cost. If the research is highly individual, it could be history law or something not hardware, then the professor should pay, via funds or his/her pocket. It seems absurd to expect that a student should (or even can ) manage that.

– Alchimista
14 hours ago





@rg_software at least in my field if there is a submission than is implicit the group sustains the cost. If the research is highly individual, it could be history law or something not hardware, then the professor should pay, via funds or his/her pocket. It seems absurd to expect that a student should (or even can ) manage that.

– Alchimista
14 hours ago




6




6





There's no question in your post. What is it that you want to ask us?

– David Richerby
7 hours ago





There's no question in your post. What is it that you want to ask us?

– David Richerby
7 hours ago










8 Answers
8






active

oldest

votes


















77















I am really hesitant to discuss my financial shortcomings with Prof.
M, or else he assumes that I can afford the travel.




I think you need to get past this. You do not have financial shortcomings, you just don't have money. Working on a PhD without family financial support, with existing student debt, and with limited school support is not easy. I respect you for doing it. Take pride in making the hard choices that involves.



With that attitude, explain to Prof. M that you cannot afford any travel expense, and will only be able to go to the conference if your expenses are fully covered. Check any funding sources he suggested, and ask advisors at your current university if they know of any sources.



If you can't get the full funding you need, tell Prof. M. that you regret you cannot attend the conference. At the worst, you will have to withdraw the paper. However, there are alternatives the conference may permit.




  • Remote video presentation

  • If anyone from your current university is attending, ask them to present the paper

  • Prof M. may be able to get a current student or a collaborator who is attending the conference to present it.






share|improve this answer



















  • 12





    This is good advice, but my gut feeling is that this isn't really about money. The OP seems to have a lot of resentment about their current situation and especially about attending this conference whether or not funding is available.

    – Elizabeth Henning
    22 hours ago






  • 6





    +1 Addresses the issue at hand, constructively and at the core of the issue. Some conferences also offer travel support (see also Buffy's response).

    – Captain Emacs
    22 hours ago






  • 8





    It'd be good if the OP could get their head out of the finances long enough to realize that the opportunity to present a paper in their first PhD year is an opportunity. I really like the suggestion to also discuss funding with the current advisor/department, which may be happy to contribute, or at least have some constructive suggestions about finances in general.

    – George M
    20 hours ago






  • 12





    @ElizabethHenning Your gut feeling can lead you quite wrong sometimes.You should not use your gut for guessing other's feelings, they have their own guts to go by.

    – mathreadler
    14 hours ago






  • 6





    I think the title is part of the problem. "Professor is FORCING me to attend a conference" sounds like a humble brag or a story that should be on choosybeggars. Seems like a great opportunity to me and the professor is offering to pay for 1/2, presumably out of his own pocket. The poster doesn't say what repercussions there would be for failing to attend, doesn't seem to have put any thought into finding funding from other sources, and doesn't seem to want to explain the situation to their professor.

    – Jason Goemaat
    14 hours ago



















31














Late 50s is "frailing age"?



I don't see anybody "forcing" you to do anything. Prof M has given you some reasonable suggestions:




  1. apply for funding

  2. an offer to fund 50% of your expenses.


If the latter option doesn't work for you, you are left with either the first option: apply for funding, or other options such as A) Not going, or B) further explaining your financial situation in the hope that the professor might be able to offer more towards expenses. If you are hoping for (B) it would be best for you to at least first attempt to find other funding, as the professor suggested.






share|improve this answer



















  • 10





    Of course, not attending may have consequences too - you may have to withdraw your paper and look for other ways to get it published. Well, life has trade-offs.

    – Nate Eldredge
    yesterday






  • 3





    Agreed. It sounds like the professor is actively encouraging OP to attend a conference to present the work, which is a worthwhile endeavor, and is giving OP some reasonable options.

    – zahbaz
    yesterday



















20














Your professor has made a generous offer if these were personal funds, I think. Your situation is difficult, I also think. It would be good if you could find a way to go, both for now and for your future prospects, both with the (prime age) professor and in meeting people.



So, the issue becomes funding. The first thing you might do is look for funding locally. It is entirely possible that your university has some funds that can be used to support students in such things. The place to start is with the department head, I would guess. See if there is some travel monies available as they certainly have for faculty. If not in the department, then possibly at a higher level in the university.



You may also belong to a professional organization as a student member. Many of these have travel grants available. You might look there.



Another possible option is funding from the conference itself. Some conferences have some funds for student attendees. In some cases the students serve as "volunteers" during the conference, running errands, but can also attend as usual. The conference web site may have something about this, and the organizers may be able to offer suggestions if contacted.






share|improve this answer





















  • 13





    50% funding is not generous at all. In our department (UK) nobody will expect a PhD student to fund their own trip; they can expect to be 100% reimbursed. In Germany, however, considerable self-funding contribution was expected, but there, in many disciplines, PhD students in half-funded positions are expected to work full-time.

    – Captain Emacs
    yesterday






  • 5





    @CaptainEmacs Your comment doesn't make much sense to me. It seems like you are saying "In the UK this would not be considered generous; in Germany it would" at least in your field, and yet you say it is not generous at all? There's also the additional circumstance here that the OP is no longer at the same institution which might put some limits on funding options.

    – Bryan Krause
    yesterday








  • 6





    @BryanKrause Ok, you are right, I should explain: I found that, in the UK (or at least in my institution) it is considered unacceptable that an employee or student should not be reimbursed fully for a business trip, be paid less than full salary for a job. Retroactively, learning this, the German system for PhD students appears really exploitative. (Of course, one could say, Germany does not take tuition fees, but that's a separate issue).

    – Captain Emacs
    yesterday






  • 5





    @CaptainEmacs The first words of the OP: "I am a first year Ph.D. student. During my masters (which was in a different university)" From several other questions on the topic of conference funding, it seems fairly typical that students often need to find their own funding (incl by applying for funds), especially if they are now at a different institution, though it depends on my field. Certainly in my field I would agree with you, because it is common for students to be funded by professor's grants and for those grants to include travel funds, but this is not the case in all fields.

    – Bryan Krause
    yesterday








  • 6





    @CaptainEmacs perhaps there's a difference between fields or institutions, or something changed over time, but I did a PhD in Germany quite recently (finished 2 years ago) and never heard of a student travelling to conferences with anything other than total reimbursement.

    – Chris H
    16 hours ago



















6














Going to a conference as a PhD student is like a business trip if you were a regular employee at a company. And those are of course entirely paid by your employer, and asking an employee to pay for a business trip out of their own pocket would be extremely unusual.



I'm not very familiar with fields where it's customary to publish on conferences instead of journals. But it seems to me that this is also similar to asking someone to pay any journal fees from personal funds, which again is extremely unusual and would typically be paid from research grants. Ensuring the logistics of publication, including how to pay for this is part of the job of a principal investigator, that should not fall on the students.



Your personal financial situation doesn't even matter, it is quite unreasonable to ask you to pay for essentially business expenses from your own personal money. So follow the advice of your professor about applying for money to fund your conference trip. But you can decline to fund it yourself without saying anything about your personal finances.






share|improve this answer



















  • 4





    I would say that the difference to the business trip is that the student's own reputation, not that of the university, can significantly benefit from the conference presentation. Contrary to an employee on a business trip, the student is working mostly for his own future career, not that of his employer (university)

    – Marie. P.
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    @Marie.P. A student is always representing the academic group as well as themselves on a conference. There are usually multiple names on a poster, among them the supervisor (I'm assuming a field like biology/chemistry here). If the student decides on their own that they want to visit a conference for their own benefit, this is something entirely different than when the supervisor decides that the student should visit a specific conference.

    – Mad Scientist
    10 hours ago











  • @Marie.P. That's no different from a software developer getting sent to attend a conference by their employer, for which the benefit is largely to the attendee through networking and learning new things, and the employer almost always pays for the entire thing, airfare and hotel and conference.

    – shoover
    6 hours ago



















2














The professor is expecting you to make a serious good-faith effort to obtain funding. Based on your question, it sounds like you have not made any applications or enquiries about funding for conference attendance, but are assuming that there is no funding available (sadly, this is often true, but you are expected to try before giving up).



So, you should do a bit of research into where you might be able to get funding (as well as sources within your institution, you should check whether any learned societies or trusts have professional development funds for graduate students and/or for your area of research), and submit several applications to places where you may be eligible (in your application, indicate that you already have 50% funded -- this is generally considered a good thing by funders). By all means, ask your professor for pointers or leads as to where you might investigate.



Funding applications are a tedious and demoralising chore, but you need to get used to doing them. It is perfectly reasonable for your professor to expect you to make such applications. It is also perfectly reasonable for you to ask your professor to check your applications before you submit them (he/she may be able to offer valuable advice as to how to "sell" your funding application better).



If, after having made several funding applications, you still do not have enough funding to cover the cost, then your professor should be understanding, and should not expect you to pay for it out of your own pocket.






share|improve this answer








New contributor




anon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.




























    0















    1. Is he your employer? Then he will pay the expenses for something which is mandatory for this employment.

    2. Is he not your employer? Then he can't "force" you.


    I don't see the problem.






    share|improve this answer



















    • 6





      Wouldn't it be great if reality was as fair and simple as this?

      – gerrit
      13 hours ago






    • 3





      @gerrit : Why wouldn't it be? His MSc supervisor is not his PhD advisor. His duties have now shifted to his new situation.

      – mathreadler
      13 hours ago











    • If someone wants to change that they should go directly to him and not be so dumb as to try to throw money all around him instead. They sure aren't gonna get their money's worth if they keep that up and he understands it most of that time.

      – mathreadler
      7 hours ago



















    0














    I am making my comment an answer.



    I think you should suggest that Prof. M attends the conference and presents the paper* for a number of reasons:




    1. Prof. M is the senior author in the work;

    2. probably earns a lot more than you; and

    3. will likely have access to extra grant funds to fund the trip.


    You can phrase it along these lines:




    Dear Prof. M,



    Whilst I would welcome presenting the work at the conference, sadly my
    financial doesn't allow to spend such an amount to travel. I sit
    possible for you to attend the conference and present the work?




    Adding to that, and because I have been in this situation, I don't it is reasonable to insist that a student attend conference out of his/her pocket. It can certainly be suggested but not insisted upon. The financial situation of most students is precarious at best, and in my experience there is very little benefit going to self-funded conferences during the first PhD year, in particular for a project that, as far as you are concerned is dead. The only person that can gain from obtaining feedback is your former supervisor.



    *Unless this is one of rare instances that a conference requests the first author to present the work.






    share|improve this answer































      0














      At the European universities that I have worked, PhD students are seen as employees and thus receive a salary and their conference visits are paid for by the university. Often research projects have special budget for this. Master students with good and useful results will sometimes also be allowed to visit a conference at the expense of the department. Requiring you to (partially) pay to represent the university at a conference is cheapskating from your professor and degrading for you. Don't do it.






      share|improve this answer








      New contributor




      Pete is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.





















      • I suspect OP is in the US and the norms are a bit different there.

        – Alexey B.
        6 hours ago











      • You seem to have overlooked the "different university" part. The OP is currently not enrolled or employed by the university of the professor. The old university can decide to not pay the expenses of somebody who is not their student. The new university will usually only pay if the current supervisor signs off on the necessity and pays it out of his group's budget - but if the current supervisor is not on the authorship list, and if the conference is outside of his niche community (which is common, most people don't do PhD in the same niche as their Msc), he has little incentive to do so.

        – rumtscho
        6 hours ago












      protected by Alexandros 6 hours ago



      Thank you for your interest in this question.
      Because it has attracted low-quality or spam answers that had to be removed, posting an answer now requires 10 reputation on this site (the association bonus does not count).



      Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead?














      8 Answers
      8






      active

      oldest

      votes








      8 Answers
      8






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      77















      I am really hesitant to discuss my financial shortcomings with Prof.
      M, or else he assumes that I can afford the travel.




      I think you need to get past this. You do not have financial shortcomings, you just don't have money. Working on a PhD without family financial support, with existing student debt, and with limited school support is not easy. I respect you for doing it. Take pride in making the hard choices that involves.



      With that attitude, explain to Prof. M that you cannot afford any travel expense, and will only be able to go to the conference if your expenses are fully covered. Check any funding sources he suggested, and ask advisors at your current university if they know of any sources.



      If you can't get the full funding you need, tell Prof. M. that you regret you cannot attend the conference. At the worst, you will have to withdraw the paper. However, there are alternatives the conference may permit.




      • Remote video presentation

      • If anyone from your current university is attending, ask them to present the paper

      • Prof M. may be able to get a current student or a collaborator who is attending the conference to present it.






      share|improve this answer



















      • 12





        This is good advice, but my gut feeling is that this isn't really about money. The OP seems to have a lot of resentment about their current situation and especially about attending this conference whether or not funding is available.

        – Elizabeth Henning
        22 hours ago






      • 6





        +1 Addresses the issue at hand, constructively and at the core of the issue. Some conferences also offer travel support (see also Buffy's response).

        – Captain Emacs
        22 hours ago






      • 8





        It'd be good if the OP could get their head out of the finances long enough to realize that the opportunity to present a paper in their first PhD year is an opportunity. I really like the suggestion to also discuss funding with the current advisor/department, which may be happy to contribute, or at least have some constructive suggestions about finances in general.

        – George M
        20 hours ago






      • 12





        @ElizabethHenning Your gut feeling can lead you quite wrong sometimes.You should not use your gut for guessing other's feelings, they have their own guts to go by.

        – mathreadler
        14 hours ago






      • 6





        I think the title is part of the problem. "Professor is FORCING me to attend a conference" sounds like a humble brag or a story that should be on choosybeggars. Seems like a great opportunity to me and the professor is offering to pay for 1/2, presumably out of his own pocket. The poster doesn't say what repercussions there would be for failing to attend, doesn't seem to have put any thought into finding funding from other sources, and doesn't seem to want to explain the situation to their professor.

        – Jason Goemaat
        14 hours ago
















      77















      I am really hesitant to discuss my financial shortcomings with Prof.
      M, or else he assumes that I can afford the travel.




      I think you need to get past this. You do not have financial shortcomings, you just don't have money. Working on a PhD without family financial support, with existing student debt, and with limited school support is not easy. I respect you for doing it. Take pride in making the hard choices that involves.



      With that attitude, explain to Prof. M that you cannot afford any travel expense, and will only be able to go to the conference if your expenses are fully covered. Check any funding sources he suggested, and ask advisors at your current university if they know of any sources.



      If you can't get the full funding you need, tell Prof. M. that you regret you cannot attend the conference. At the worst, you will have to withdraw the paper. However, there are alternatives the conference may permit.




      • Remote video presentation

      • If anyone from your current university is attending, ask them to present the paper

      • Prof M. may be able to get a current student or a collaborator who is attending the conference to present it.






      share|improve this answer



















      • 12





        This is good advice, but my gut feeling is that this isn't really about money. The OP seems to have a lot of resentment about their current situation and especially about attending this conference whether or not funding is available.

        – Elizabeth Henning
        22 hours ago






      • 6





        +1 Addresses the issue at hand, constructively and at the core of the issue. Some conferences also offer travel support (see also Buffy's response).

        – Captain Emacs
        22 hours ago






      • 8





        It'd be good if the OP could get their head out of the finances long enough to realize that the opportunity to present a paper in their first PhD year is an opportunity. I really like the suggestion to also discuss funding with the current advisor/department, which may be happy to contribute, or at least have some constructive suggestions about finances in general.

        – George M
        20 hours ago






      • 12





        @ElizabethHenning Your gut feeling can lead you quite wrong sometimes.You should not use your gut for guessing other's feelings, they have their own guts to go by.

        – mathreadler
        14 hours ago






      • 6





        I think the title is part of the problem. "Professor is FORCING me to attend a conference" sounds like a humble brag or a story that should be on choosybeggars. Seems like a great opportunity to me and the professor is offering to pay for 1/2, presumably out of his own pocket. The poster doesn't say what repercussions there would be for failing to attend, doesn't seem to have put any thought into finding funding from other sources, and doesn't seem to want to explain the situation to their professor.

        – Jason Goemaat
        14 hours ago














      77












      77








      77








      I am really hesitant to discuss my financial shortcomings with Prof.
      M, or else he assumes that I can afford the travel.




      I think you need to get past this. You do not have financial shortcomings, you just don't have money. Working on a PhD without family financial support, with existing student debt, and with limited school support is not easy. I respect you for doing it. Take pride in making the hard choices that involves.



      With that attitude, explain to Prof. M that you cannot afford any travel expense, and will only be able to go to the conference if your expenses are fully covered. Check any funding sources he suggested, and ask advisors at your current university if they know of any sources.



      If you can't get the full funding you need, tell Prof. M. that you regret you cannot attend the conference. At the worst, you will have to withdraw the paper. However, there are alternatives the conference may permit.




      • Remote video presentation

      • If anyone from your current university is attending, ask them to present the paper

      • Prof M. may be able to get a current student or a collaborator who is attending the conference to present it.






      share|improve this answer














      I am really hesitant to discuss my financial shortcomings with Prof.
      M, or else he assumes that I can afford the travel.




      I think you need to get past this. You do not have financial shortcomings, you just don't have money. Working on a PhD without family financial support, with existing student debt, and with limited school support is not easy. I respect you for doing it. Take pride in making the hard choices that involves.



      With that attitude, explain to Prof. M that you cannot afford any travel expense, and will only be able to go to the conference if your expenses are fully covered. Check any funding sources he suggested, and ask advisors at your current university if they know of any sources.



      If you can't get the full funding you need, tell Prof. M. that you regret you cannot attend the conference. At the worst, you will have to withdraw the paper. However, there are alternatives the conference may permit.




      • Remote video presentation

      • If anyone from your current university is attending, ask them to present the paper

      • Prof M. may be able to get a current student or a collaborator who is attending the conference to present it.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered yesterday









      Patricia ShanahanPatricia Shanahan

      26.4k134777




      26.4k134777








      • 12





        This is good advice, but my gut feeling is that this isn't really about money. The OP seems to have a lot of resentment about their current situation and especially about attending this conference whether or not funding is available.

        – Elizabeth Henning
        22 hours ago






      • 6





        +1 Addresses the issue at hand, constructively and at the core of the issue. Some conferences also offer travel support (see also Buffy's response).

        – Captain Emacs
        22 hours ago






      • 8





        It'd be good if the OP could get their head out of the finances long enough to realize that the opportunity to present a paper in their first PhD year is an opportunity. I really like the suggestion to also discuss funding with the current advisor/department, which may be happy to contribute, or at least have some constructive suggestions about finances in general.

        – George M
        20 hours ago






      • 12





        @ElizabethHenning Your gut feeling can lead you quite wrong sometimes.You should not use your gut for guessing other's feelings, they have their own guts to go by.

        – mathreadler
        14 hours ago






      • 6





        I think the title is part of the problem. "Professor is FORCING me to attend a conference" sounds like a humble brag or a story that should be on choosybeggars. Seems like a great opportunity to me and the professor is offering to pay for 1/2, presumably out of his own pocket. The poster doesn't say what repercussions there would be for failing to attend, doesn't seem to have put any thought into finding funding from other sources, and doesn't seem to want to explain the situation to their professor.

        – Jason Goemaat
        14 hours ago














      • 12





        This is good advice, but my gut feeling is that this isn't really about money. The OP seems to have a lot of resentment about their current situation and especially about attending this conference whether or not funding is available.

        – Elizabeth Henning
        22 hours ago






      • 6





        +1 Addresses the issue at hand, constructively and at the core of the issue. Some conferences also offer travel support (see also Buffy's response).

        – Captain Emacs
        22 hours ago






      • 8





        It'd be good if the OP could get their head out of the finances long enough to realize that the opportunity to present a paper in their first PhD year is an opportunity. I really like the suggestion to also discuss funding with the current advisor/department, which may be happy to contribute, or at least have some constructive suggestions about finances in general.

        – George M
        20 hours ago






      • 12





        @ElizabethHenning Your gut feeling can lead you quite wrong sometimes.You should not use your gut for guessing other's feelings, they have their own guts to go by.

        – mathreadler
        14 hours ago






      • 6





        I think the title is part of the problem. "Professor is FORCING me to attend a conference" sounds like a humble brag or a story that should be on choosybeggars. Seems like a great opportunity to me and the professor is offering to pay for 1/2, presumably out of his own pocket. The poster doesn't say what repercussions there would be for failing to attend, doesn't seem to have put any thought into finding funding from other sources, and doesn't seem to want to explain the situation to their professor.

        – Jason Goemaat
        14 hours ago








      12




      12





      This is good advice, but my gut feeling is that this isn't really about money. The OP seems to have a lot of resentment about their current situation and especially about attending this conference whether or not funding is available.

      – Elizabeth Henning
      22 hours ago





      This is good advice, but my gut feeling is that this isn't really about money. The OP seems to have a lot of resentment about their current situation and especially about attending this conference whether or not funding is available.

      – Elizabeth Henning
      22 hours ago




      6




      6





      +1 Addresses the issue at hand, constructively and at the core of the issue. Some conferences also offer travel support (see also Buffy's response).

      – Captain Emacs
      22 hours ago





      +1 Addresses the issue at hand, constructively and at the core of the issue. Some conferences also offer travel support (see also Buffy's response).

      – Captain Emacs
      22 hours ago




      8




      8





      It'd be good if the OP could get their head out of the finances long enough to realize that the opportunity to present a paper in their first PhD year is an opportunity. I really like the suggestion to also discuss funding with the current advisor/department, which may be happy to contribute, or at least have some constructive suggestions about finances in general.

      – George M
      20 hours ago





      It'd be good if the OP could get their head out of the finances long enough to realize that the opportunity to present a paper in their first PhD year is an opportunity. I really like the suggestion to also discuss funding with the current advisor/department, which may be happy to contribute, or at least have some constructive suggestions about finances in general.

      – George M
      20 hours ago




      12




      12





      @ElizabethHenning Your gut feeling can lead you quite wrong sometimes.You should not use your gut for guessing other's feelings, they have their own guts to go by.

      – mathreadler
      14 hours ago





      @ElizabethHenning Your gut feeling can lead you quite wrong sometimes.You should not use your gut for guessing other's feelings, they have their own guts to go by.

      – mathreadler
      14 hours ago




      6




      6





      I think the title is part of the problem. "Professor is FORCING me to attend a conference" sounds like a humble brag or a story that should be on choosybeggars. Seems like a great opportunity to me and the professor is offering to pay for 1/2, presumably out of his own pocket. The poster doesn't say what repercussions there would be for failing to attend, doesn't seem to have put any thought into finding funding from other sources, and doesn't seem to want to explain the situation to their professor.

      – Jason Goemaat
      14 hours ago





      I think the title is part of the problem. "Professor is FORCING me to attend a conference" sounds like a humble brag or a story that should be on choosybeggars. Seems like a great opportunity to me and the professor is offering to pay for 1/2, presumably out of his own pocket. The poster doesn't say what repercussions there would be for failing to attend, doesn't seem to have put any thought into finding funding from other sources, and doesn't seem to want to explain the situation to their professor.

      – Jason Goemaat
      14 hours ago











      31














      Late 50s is "frailing age"?



      I don't see anybody "forcing" you to do anything. Prof M has given you some reasonable suggestions:




      1. apply for funding

      2. an offer to fund 50% of your expenses.


      If the latter option doesn't work for you, you are left with either the first option: apply for funding, or other options such as A) Not going, or B) further explaining your financial situation in the hope that the professor might be able to offer more towards expenses. If you are hoping for (B) it would be best for you to at least first attempt to find other funding, as the professor suggested.






      share|improve this answer



















      • 10





        Of course, not attending may have consequences too - you may have to withdraw your paper and look for other ways to get it published. Well, life has trade-offs.

        – Nate Eldredge
        yesterday






      • 3





        Agreed. It sounds like the professor is actively encouraging OP to attend a conference to present the work, which is a worthwhile endeavor, and is giving OP some reasonable options.

        – zahbaz
        yesterday
















      31














      Late 50s is "frailing age"?



      I don't see anybody "forcing" you to do anything. Prof M has given you some reasonable suggestions:




      1. apply for funding

      2. an offer to fund 50% of your expenses.


      If the latter option doesn't work for you, you are left with either the first option: apply for funding, or other options such as A) Not going, or B) further explaining your financial situation in the hope that the professor might be able to offer more towards expenses. If you are hoping for (B) it would be best for you to at least first attempt to find other funding, as the professor suggested.






      share|improve this answer



















      • 10





        Of course, not attending may have consequences too - you may have to withdraw your paper and look for other ways to get it published. Well, life has trade-offs.

        – Nate Eldredge
        yesterday






      • 3





        Agreed. It sounds like the professor is actively encouraging OP to attend a conference to present the work, which is a worthwhile endeavor, and is giving OP some reasonable options.

        – zahbaz
        yesterday














      31












      31








      31







      Late 50s is "frailing age"?



      I don't see anybody "forcing" you to do anything. Prof M has given you some reasonable suggestions:




      1. apply for funding

      2. an offer to fund 50% of your expenses.


      If the latter option doesn't work for you, you are left with either the first option: apply for funding, or other options such as A) Not going, or B) further explaining your financial situation in the hope that the professor might be able to offer more towards expenses. If you are hoping for (B) it would be best for you to at least first attempt to find other funding, as the professor suggested.






      share|improve this answer













      Late 50s is "frailing age"?



      I don't see anybody "forcing" you to do anything. Prof M has given you some reasonable suggestions:




      1. apply for funding

      2. an offer to fund 50% of your expenses.


      If the latter option doesn't work for you, you are left with either the first option: apply for funding, or other options such as A) Not going, or B) further explaining your financial situation in the hope that the professor might be able to offer more towards expenses. If you are hoping for (B) it would be best for you to at least first attempt to find other funding, as the professor suggested.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered yesterday









      Bryan KrauseBryan Krause

      13.9k14064




      13.9k14064








      • 10





        Of course, not attending may have consequences too - you may have to withdraw your paper and look for other ways to get it published. Well, life has trade-offs.

        – Nate Eldredge
        yesterday






      • 3





        Agreed. It sounds like the professor is actively encouraging OP to attend a conference to present the work, which is a worthwhile endeavor, and is giving OP some reasonable options.

        – zahbaz
        yesterday














      • 10





        Of course, not attending may have consequences too - you may have to withdraw your paper and look for other ways to get it published. Well, life has trade-offs.

        – Nate Eldredge
        yesterday






      • 3





        Agreed. It sounds like the professor is actively encouraging OP to attend a conference to present the work, which is a worthwhile endeavor, and is giving OP some reasonable options.

        – zahbaz
        yesterday








      10




      10





      Of course, not attending may have consequences too - you may have to withdraw your paper and look for other ways to get it published. Well, life has trade-offs.

      – Nate Eldredge
      yesterday





      Of course, not attending may have consequences too - you may have to withdraw your paper and look for other ways to get it published. Well, life has trade-offs.

      – Nate Eldredge
      yesterday




      3




      3





      Agreed. It sounds like the professor is actively encouraging OP to attend a conference to present the work, which is a worthwhile endeavor, and is giving OP some reasonable options.

      – zahbaz
      yesterday





      Agreed. It sounds like the professor is actively encouraging OP to attend a conference to present the work, which is a worthwhile endeavor, and is giving OP some reasonable options.

      – zahbaz
      yesterday











      20














      Your professor has made a generous offer if these were personal funds, I think. Your situation is difficult, I also think. It would be good if you could find a way to go, both for now and for your future prospects, both with the (prime age) professor and in meeting people.



      So, the issue becomes funding. The first thing you might do is look for funding locally. It is entirely possible that your university has some funds that can be used to support students in such things. The place to start is with the department head, I would guess. See if there is some travel monies available as they certainly have for faculty. If not in the department, then possibly at a higher level in the university.



      You may also belong to a professional organization as a student member. Many of these have travel grants available. You might look there.



      Another possible option is funding from the conference itself. Some conferences have some funds for student attendees. In some cases the students serve as "volunteers" during the conference, running errands, but can also attend as usual. The conference web site may have something about this, and the organizers may be able to offer suggestions if contacted.






      share|improve this answer





















      • 13





        50% funding is not generous at all. In our department (UK) nobody will expect a PhD student to fund their own trip; they can expect to be 100% reimbursed. In Germany, however, considerable self-funding contribution was expected, but there, in many disciplines, PhD students in half-funded positions are expected to work full-time.

        – Captain Emacs
        yesterday






      • 5





        @CaptainEmacs Your comment doesn't make much sense to me. It seems like you are saying "In the UK this would not be considered generous; in Germany it would" at least in your field, and yet you say it is not generous at all? There's also the additional circumstance here that the OP is no longer at the same institution which might put some limits on funding options.

        – Bryan Krause
        yesterday








      • 6





        @BryanKrause Ok, you are right, I should explain: I found that, in the UK (or at least in my institution) it is considered unacceptable that an employee or student should not be reimbursed fully for a business trip, be paid less than full salary for a job. Retroactively, learning this, the German system for PhD students appears really exploitative. (Of course, one could say, Germany does not take tuition fees, but that's a separate issue).

        – Captain Emacs
        yesterday






      • 5





        @CaptainEmacs The first words of the OP: "I am a first year Ph.D. student. During my masters (which was in a different university)" From several other questions on the topic of conference funding, it seems fairly typical that students often need to find their own funding (incl by applying for funds), especially if they are now at a different institution, though it depends on my field. Certainly in my field I would agree with you, because it is common for students to be funded by professor's grants and for those grants to include travel funds, but this is not the case in all fields.

        – Bryan Krause
        yesterday








      • 6





        @CaptainEmacs perhaps there's a difference between fields or institutions, or something changed over time, but I did a PhD in Germany quite recently (finished 2 years ago) and never heard of a student travelling to conferences with anything other than total reimbursement.

        – Chris H
        16 hours ago
















      20














      Your professor has made a generous offer if these were personal funds, I think. Your situation is difficult, I also think. It would be good if you could find a way to go, both for now and for your future prospects, both with the (prime age) professor and in meeting people.



      So, the issue becomes funding. The first thing you might do is look for funding locally. It is entirely possible that your university has some funds that can be used to support students in such things. The place to start is with the department head, I would guess. See if there is some travel monies available as they certainly have for faculty. If not in the department, then possibly at a higher level in the university.



      You may also belong to a professional organization as a student member. Many of these have travel grants available. You might look there.



      Another possible option is funding from the conference itself. Some conferences have some funds for student attendees. In some cases the students serve as "volunteers" during the conference, running errands, but can also attend as usual. The conference web site may have something about this, and the organizers may be able to offer suggestions if contacted.






      share|improve this answer





















      • 13





        50% funding is not generous at all. In our department (UK) nobody will expect a PhD student to fund their own trip; they can expect to be 100% reimbursed. In Germany, however, considerable self-funding contribution was expected, but there, in many disciplines, PhD students in half-funded positions are expected to work full-time.

        – Captain Emacs
        yesterday






      • 5





        @CaptainEmacs Your comment doesn't make much sense to me. It seems like you are saying "In the UK this would not be considered generous; in Germany it would" at least in your field, and yet you say it is not generous at all? There's also the additional circumstance here that the OP is no longer at the same institution which might put some limits on funding options.

        – Bryan Krause
        yesterday








      • 6





        @BryanKrause Ok, you are right, I should explain: I found that, in the UK (or at least in my institution) it is considered unacceptable that an employee or student should not be reimbursed fully for a business trip, be paid less than full salary for a job. Retroactively, learning this, the German system for PhD students appears really exploitative. (Of course, one could say, Germany does not take tuition fees, but that's a separate issue).

        – Captain Emacs
        yesterday






      • 5





        @CaptainEmacs The first words of the OP: "I am a first year Ph.D. student. During my masters (which was in a different university)" From several other questions on the topic of conference funding, it seems fairly typical that students often need to find their own funding (incl by applying for funds), especially if they are now at a different institution, though it depends on my field. Certainly in my field I would agree with you, because it is common for students to be funded by professor's grants and for those grants to include travel funds, but this is not the case in all fields.

        – Bryan Krause
        yesterday








      • 6





        @CaptainEmacs perhaps there's a difference between fields or institutions, or something changed over time, but I did a PhD in Germany quite recently (finished 2 years ago) and never heard of a student travelling to conferences with anything other than total reimbursement.

        – Chris H
        16 hours ago














      20












      20








      20







      Your professor has made a generous offer if these were personal funds, I think. Your situation is difficult, I also think. It would be good if you could find a way to go, both for now and for your future prospects, both with the (prime age) professor and in meeting people.



      So, the issue becomes funding. The first thing you might do is look for funding locally. It is entirely possible that your university has some funds that can be used to support students in such things. The place to start is with the department head, I would guess. See if there is some travel monies available as they certainly have for faculty. If not in the department, then possibly at a higher level in the university.



      You may also belong to a professional organization as a student member. Many of these have travel grants available. You might look there.



      Another possible option is funding from the conference itself. Some conferences have some funds for student attendees. In some cases the students serve as "volunteers" during the conference, running errands, but can also attend as usual. The conference web site may have something about this, and the organizers may be able to offer suggestions if contacted.






      share|improve this answer















      Your professor has made a generous offer if these were personal funds, I think. Your situation is difficult, I also think. It would be good if you could find a way to go, both for now and for your future prospects, both with the (prime age) professor and in meeting people.



      So, the issue becomes funding. The first thing you might do is look for funding locally. It is entirely possible that your university has some funds that can be used to support students in such things. The place to start is with the department head, I would guess. See if there is some travel monies available as they certainly have for faculty. If not in the department, then possibly at a higher level in the university.



      You may also belong to a professional organization as a student member. Many of these have travel grants available. You might look there.



      Another possible option is funding from the conference itself. Some conferences have some funds for student attendees. In some cases the students serve as "volunteers" during the conference, running errands, but can also attend as usual. The conference web site may have something about this, and the organizers may be able to offer suggestions if contacted.







      share|improve this answer














      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer








      edited yesterday

























      answered yesterday









      BuffyBuffy

      51k14165254




      51k14165254








      • 13





        50% funding is not generous at all. In our department (UK) nobody will expect a PhD student to fund their own trip; they can expect to be 100% reimbursed. In Germany, however, considerable self-funding contribution was expected, but there, in many disciplines, PhD students in half-funded positions are expected to work full-time.

        – Captain Emacs
        yesterday






      • 5





        @CaptainEmacs Your comment doesn't make much sense to me. It seems like you are saying "In the UK this would not be considered generous; in Germany it would" at least in your field, and yet you say it is not generous at all? There's also the additional circumstance here that the OP is no longer at the same institution which might put some limits on funding options.

        – Bryan Krause
        yesterday








      • 6





        @BryanKrause Ok, you are right, I should explain: I found that, in the UK (or at least in my institution) it is considered unacceptable that an employee or student should not be reimbursed fully for a business trip, be paid less than full salary for a job. Retroactively, learning this, the German system for PhD students appears really exploitative. (Of course, one could say, Germany does not take tuition fees, but that's a separate issue).

        – Captain Emacs
        yesterday






      • 5





        @CaptainEmacs The first words of the OP: "I am a first year Ph.D. student. During my masters (which was in a different university)" From several other questions on the topic of conference funding, it seems fairly typical that students often need to find their own funding (incl by applying for funds), especially if they are now at a different institution, though it depends on my field. Certainly in my field I would agree with you, because it is common for students to be funded by professor's grants and for those grants to include travel funds, but this is not the case in all fields.

        – Bryan Krause
        yesterday








      • 6





        @CaptainEmacs perhaps there's a difference between fields or institutions, or something changed over time, but I did a PhD in Germany quite recently (finished 2 years ago) and never heard of a student travelling to conferences with anything other than total reimbursement.

        – Chris H
        16 hours ago














      • 13





        50% funding is not generous at all. In our department (UK) nobody will expect a PhD student to fund their own trip; they can expect to be 100% reimbursed. In Germany, however, considerable self-funding contribution was expected, but there, in many disciplines, PhD students in half-funded positions are expected to work full-time.

        – Captain Emacs
        yesterday






      • 5





        @CaptainEmacs Your comment doesn't make much sense to me. It seems like you are saying "In the UK this would not be considered generous; in Germany it would" at least in your field, and yet you say it is not generous at all? There's also the additional circumstance here that the OP is no longer at the same institution which might put some limits on funding options.

        – Bryan Krause
        yesterday








      • 6





        @BryanKrause Ok, you are right, I should explain: I found that, in the UK (or at least in my institution) it is considered unacceptable that an employee or student should not be reimbursed fully for a business trip, be paid less than full salary for a job. Retroactively, learning this, the German system for PhD students appears really exploitative. (Of course, one could say, Germany does not take tuition fees, but that's a separate issue).

        – Captain Emacs
        yesterday






      • 5





        @CaptainEmacs The first words of the OP: "I am a first year Ph.D. student. During my masters (which was in a different university)" From several other questions on the topic of conference funding, it seems fairly typical that students often need to find their own funding (incl by applying for funds), especially if they are now at a different institution, though it depends on my field. Certainly in my field I would agree with you, because it is common for students to be funded by professor's grants and for those grants to include travel funds, but this is not the case in all fields.

        – Bryan Krause
        yesterday








      • 6





        @CaptainEmacs perhaps there's a difference between fields or institutions, or something changed over time, but I did a PhD in Germany quite recently (finished 2 years ago) and never heard of a student travelling to conferences with anything other than total reimbursement.

        – Chris H
        16 hours ago








      13




      13





      50% funding is not generous at all. In our department (UK) nobody will expect a PhD student to fund their own trip; they can expect to be 100% reimbursed. In Germany, however, considerable self-funding contribution was expected, but there, in many disciplines, PhD students in half-funded positions are expected to work full-time.

      – Captain Emacs
      yesterday





      50% funding is not generous at all. In our department (UK) nobody will expect a PhD student to fund their own trip; they can expect to be 100% reimbursed. In Germany, however, considerable self-funding contribution was expected, but there, in many disciplines, PhD students in half-funded positions are expected to work full-time.

      – Captain Emacs
      yesterday




      5




      5





      @CaptainEmacs Your comment doesn't make much sense to me. It seems like you are saying "In the UK this would not be considered generous; in Germany it would" at least in your field, and yet you say it is not generous at all? There's also the additional circumstance here that the OP is no longer at the same institution which might put some limits on funding options.

      – Bryan Krause
      yesterday







      @CaptainEmacs Your comment doesn't make much sense to me. It seems like you are saying "In the UK this would not be considered generous; in Germany it would" at least in your field, and yet you say it is not generous at all? There's also the additional circumstance here that the OP is no longer at the same institution which might put some limits on funding options.

      – Bryan Krause
      yesterday






      6




      6





      @BryanKrause Ok, you are right, I should explain: I found that, in the UK (or at least in my institution) it is considered unacceptable that an employee or student should not be reimbursed fully for a business trip, be paid less than full salary for a job. Retroactively, learning this, the German system for PhD students appears really exploitative. (Of course, one could say, Germany does not take tuition fees, but that's a separate issue).

      – Captain Emacs
      yesterday





      @BryanKrause Ok, you are right, I should explain: I found that, in the UK (or at least in my institution) it is considered unacceptable that an employee or student should not be reimbursed fully for a business trip, be paid less than full salary for a job. Retroactively, learning this, the German system for PhD students appears really exploitative. (Of course, one could say, Germany does not take tuition fees, but that's a separate issue).

      – Captain Emacs
      yesterday




      5




      5





      @CaptainEmacs The first words of the OP: "I am a first year Ph.D. student. During my masters (which was in a different university)" From several other questions on the topic of conference funding, it seems fairly typical that students often need to find their own funding (incl by applying for funds), especially if they are now at a different institution, though it depends on my field. Certainly in my field I would agree with you, because it is common for students to be funded by professor's grants and for those grants to include travel funds, but this is not the case in all fields.

      – Bryan Krause
      yesterday







      @CaptainEmacs The first words of the OP: "I am a first year Ph.D. student. During my masters (which was in a different university)" From several other questions on the topic of conference funding, it seems fairly typical that students often need to find their own funding (incl by applying for funds), especially if they are now at a different institution, though it depends on my field. Certainly in my field I would agree with you, because it is common for students to be funded by professor's grants and for those grants to include travel funds, but this is not the case in all fields.

      – Bryan Krause
      yesterday






      6




      6





      @CaptainEmacs perhaps there's a difference between fields or institutions, or something changed over time, but I did a PhD in Germany quite recently (finished 2 years ago) and never heard of a student travelling to conferences with anything other than total reimbursement.

      – Chris H
      16 hours ago





      @CaptainEmacs perhaps there's a difference between fields or institutions, or something changed over time, but I did a PhD in Germany quite recently (finished 2 years ago) and never heard of a student travelling to conferences with anything other than total reimbursement.

      – Chris H
      16 hours ago











      6














      Going to a conference as a PhD student is like a business trip if you were a regular employee at a company. And those are of course entirely paid by your employer, and asking an employee to pay for a business trip out of their own pocket would be extremely unusual.



      I'm not very familiar with fields where it's customary to publish on conferences instead of journals. But it seems to me that this is also similar to asking someone to pay any journal fees from personal funds, which again is extremely unusual and would typically be paid from research grants. Ensuring the logistics of publication, including how to pay for this is part of the job of a principal investigator, that should not fall on the students.



      Your personal financial situation doesn't even matter, it is quite unreasonable to ask you to pay for essentially business expenses from your own personal money. So follow the advice of your professor about applying for money to fund your conference trip. But you can decline to fund it yourself without saying anything about your personal finances.






      share|improve this answer



















      • 4





        I would say that the difference to the business trip is that the student's own reputation, not that of the university, can significantly benefit from the conference presentation. Contrary to an employee on a business trip, the student is working mostly for his own future career, not that of his employer (university)

        – Marie. P.
        10 hours ago






      • 1





        @Marie.P. A student is always representing the academic group as well as themselves on a conference. There are usually multiple names on a poster, among them the supervisor (I'm assuming a field like biology/chemistry here). If the student decides on their own that they want to visit a conference for their own benefit, this is something entirely different than when the supervisor decides that the student should visit a specific conference.

        – Mad Scientist
        10 hours ago











      • @Marie.P. That's no different from a software developer getting sent to attend a conference by their employer, for which the benefit is largely to the attendee through networking and learning new things, and the employer almost always pays for the entire thing, airfare and hotel and conference.

        – shoover
        6 hours ago
















      6














      Going to a conference as a PhD student is like a business trip if you were a regular employee at a company. And those are of course entirely paid by your employer, and asking an employee to pay for a business trip out of their own pocket would be extremely unusual.



      I'm not very familiar with fields where it's customary to publish on conferences instead of journals. But it seems to me that this is also similar to asking someone to pay any journal fees from personal funds, which again is extremely unusual and would typically be paid from research grants. Ensuring the logistics of publication, including how to pay for this is part of the job of a principal investigator, that should not fall on the students.



      Your personal financial situation doesn't even matter, it is quite unreasonable to ask you to pay for essentially business expenses from your own personal money. So follow the advice of your professor about applying for money to fund your conference trip. But you can decline to fund it yourself without saying anything about your personal finances.






      share|improve this answer



















      • 4





        I would say that the difference to the business trip is that the student's own reputation, not that of the university, can significantly benefit from the conference presentation. Contrary to an employee on a business trip, the student is working mostly for his own future career, not that of his employer (university)

        – Marie. P.
        10 hours ago






      • 1





        @Marie.P. A student is always representing the academic group as well as themselves on a conference. There are usually multiple names on a poster, among them the supervisor (I'm assuming a field like biology/chemistry here). If the student decides on their own that they want to visit a conference for their own benefit, this is something entirely different than when the supervisor decides that the student should visit a specific conference.

        – Mad Scientist
        10 hours ago











      • @Marie.P. That's no different from a software developer getting sent to attend a conference by their employer, for which the benefit is largely to the attendee through networking and learning new things, and the employer almost always pays for the entire thing, airfare and hotel and conference.

        – shoover
        6 hours ago














      6












      6








      6







      Going to a conference as a PhD student is like a business trip if you were a regular employee at a company. And those are of course entirely paid by your employer, and asking an employee to pay for a business trip out of their own pocket would be extremely unusual.



      I'm not very familiar with fields where it's customary to publish on conferences instead of journals. But it seems to me that this is also similar to asking someone to pay any journal fees from personal funds, which again is extremely unusual and would typically be paid from research grants. Ensuring the logistics of publication, including how to pay for this is part of the job of a principal investigator, that should not fall on the students.



      Your personal financial situation doesn't even matter, it is quite unreasonable to ask you to pay for essentially business expenses from your own personal money. So follow the advice of your professor about applying for money to fund your conference trip. But you can decline to fund it yourself without saying anything about your personal finances.






      share|improve this answer













      Going to a conference as a PhD student is like a business trip if you were a regular employee at a company. And those are of course entirely paid by your employer, and asking an employee to pay for a business trip out of their own pocket would be extremely unusual.



      I'm not very familiar with fields where it's customary to publish on conferences instead of journals. But it seems to me that this is also similar to asking someone to pay any journal fees from personal funds, which again is extremely unusual and would typically be paid from research grants. Ensuring the logistics of publication, including how to pay for this is part of the job of a principal investigator, that should not fall on the students.



      Your personal financial situation doesn't even matter, it is quite unreasonable to ask you to pay for essentially business expenses from your own personal money. So follow the advice of your professor about applying for money to fund your conference trip. But you can decline to fund it yourself without saying anything about your personal finances.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered 14 hours ago









      Mad ScientistMad Scientist

      466410




      466410








      • 4





        I would say that the difference to the business trip is that the student's own reputation, not that of the university, can significantly benefit from the conference presentation. Contrary to an employee on a business trip, the student is working mostly for his own future career, not that of his employer (university)

        – Marie. P.
        10 hours ago






      • 1





        @Marie.P. A student is always representing the academic group as well as themselves on a conference. There are usually multiple names on a poster, among them the supervisor (I'm assuming a field like biology/chemistry here). If the student decides on their own that they want to visit a conference for their own benefit, this is something entirely different than when the supervisor decides that the student should visit a specific conference.

        – Mad Scientist
        10 hours ago











      • @Marie.P. That's no different from a software developer getting sent to attend a conference by their employer, for which the benefit is largely to the attendee through networking and learning new things, and the employer almost always pays for the entire thing, airfare and hotel and conference.

        – shoover
        6 hours ago














      • 4





        I would say that the difference to the business trip is that the student's own reputation, not that of the university, can significantly benefit from the conference presentation. Contrary to an employee on a business trip, the student is working mostly for his own future career, not that of his employer (university)

        – Marie. P.
        10 hours ago






      • 1





        @Marie.P. A student is always representing the academic group as well as themselves on a conference. There are usually multiple names on a poster, among them the supervisor (I'm assuming a field like biology/chemistry here). If the student decides on their own that they want to visit a conference for their own benefit, this is something entirely different than when the supervisor decides that the student should visit a specific conference.

        – Mad Scientist
        10 hours ago











      • @Marie.P. That's no different from a software developer getting sent to attend a conference by their employer, for which the benefit is largely to the attendee through networking and learning new things, and the employer almost always pays for the entire thing, airfare and hotel and conference.

        – shoover
        6 hours ago








      4




      4





      I would say that the difference to the business trip is that the student's own reputation, not that of the university, can significantly benefit from the conference presentation. Contrary to an employee on a business trip, the student is working mostly for his own future career, not that of his employer (university)

      – Marie. P.
      10 hours ago





      I would say that the difference to the business trip is that the student's own reputation, not that of the university, can significantly benefit from the conference presentation. Contrary to an employee on a business trip, the student is working mostly for his own future career, not that of his employer (university)

      – Marie. P.
      10 hours ago




      1




      1





      @Marie.P. A student is always representing the academic group as well as themselves on a conference. There are usually multiple names on a poster, among them the supervisor (I'm assuming a field like biology/chemistry here). If the student decides on their own that they want to visit a conference for their own benefit, this is something entirely different than when the supervisor decides that the student should visit a specific conference.

      – Mad Scientist
      10 hours ago





      @Marie.P. A student is always representing the academic group as well as themselves on a conference. There are usually multiple names on a poster, among them the supervisor (I'm assuming a field like biology/chemistry here). If the student decides on their own that they want to visit a conference for their own benefit, this is something entirely different than when the supervisor decides that the student should visit a specific conference.

      – Mad Scientist
      10 hours ago













      @Marie.P. That's no different from a software developer getting sent to attend a conference by their employer, for which the benefit is largely to the attendee through networking and learning new things, and the employer almost always pays for the entire thing, airfare and hotel and conference.

      – shoover
      6 hours ago





      @Marie.P. That's no different from a software developer getting sent to attend a conference by their employer, for which the benefit is largely to the attendee through networking and learning new things, and the employer almost always pays for the entire thing, airfare and hotel and conference.

      – shoover
      6 hours ago











      2














      The professor is expecting you to make a serious good-faith effort to obtain funding. Based on your question, it sounds like you have not made any applications or enquiries about funding for conference attendance, but are assuming that there is no funding available (sadly, this is often true, but you are expected to try before giving up).



      So, you should do a bit of research into where you might be able to get funding (as well as sources within your institution, you should check whether any learned societies or trusts have professional development funds for graduate students and/or for your area of research), and submit several applications to places where you may be eligible (in your application, indicate that you already have 50% funded -- this is generally considered a good thing by funders). By all means, ask your professor for pointers or leads as to where you might investigate.



      Funding applications are a tedious and demoralising chore, but you need to get used to doing them. It is perfectly reasonable for your professor to expect you to make such applications. It is also perfectly reasonable for you to ask your professor to check your applications before you submit them (he/she may be able to offer valuable advice as to how to "sell" your funding application better).



      If, after having made several funding applications, you still do not have enough funding to cover the cost, then your professor should be understanding, and should not expect you to pay for it out of your own pocket.






      share|improve this answer








      New contributor




      anon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.

























        2














        The professor is expecting you to make a serious good-faith effort to obtain funding. Based on your question, it sounds like you have not made any applications or enquiries about funding for conference attendance, but are assuming that there is no funding available (sadly, this is often true, but you are expected to try before giving up).



        So, you should do a bit of research into where you might be able to get funding (as well as sources within your institution, you should check whether any learned societies or trusts have professional development funds for graduate students and/or for your area of research), and submit several applications to places where you may be eligible (in your application, indicate that you already have 50% funded -- this is generally considered a good thing by funders). By all means, ask your professor for pointers or leads as to where you might investigate.



        Funding applications are a tedious and demoralising chore, but you need to get used to doing them. It is perfectly reasonable for your professor to expect you to make such applications. It is also perfectly reasonable for you to ask your professor to check your applications before you submit them (he/she may be able to offer valuable advice as to how to "sell" your funding application better).



        If, after having made several funding applications, you still do not have enough funding to cover the cost, then your professor should be understanding, and should not expect you to pay for it out of your own pocket.






        share|improve this answer








        New contributor




        anon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.























          2












          2








          2







          The professor is expecting you to make a serious good-faith effort to obtain funding. Based on your question, it sounds like you have not made any applications or enquiries about funding for conference attendance, but are assuming that there is no funding available (sadly, this is often true, but you are expected to try before giving up).



          So, you should do a bit of research into where you might be able to get funding (as well as sources within your institution, you should check whether any learned societies or trusts have professional development funds for graduate students and/or for your area of research), and submit several applications to places where you may be eligible (in your application, indicate that you already have 50% funded -- this is generally considered a good thing by funders). By all means, ask your professor for pointers or leads as to where you might investigate.



          Funding applications are a tedious and demoralising chore, but you need to get used to doing them. It is perfectly reasonable for your professor to expect you to make such applications. It is also perfectly reasonable for you to ask your professor to check your applications before you submit them (he/she may be able to offer valuable advice as to how to "sell" your funding application better).



          If, after having made several funding applications, you still do not have enough funding to cover the cost, then your professor should be understanding, and should not expect you to pay for it out of your own pocket.






          share|improve this answer








          New contributor




          anon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.










          The professor is expecting you to make a serious good-faith effort to obtain funding. Based on your question, it sounds like you have not made any applications or enquiries about funding for conference attendance, but are assuming that there is no funding available (sadly, this is often true, but you are expected to try before giving up).



          So, you should do a bit of research into where you might be able to get funding (as well as sources within your institution, you should check whether any learned societies or trusts have professional development funds for graduate students and/or for your area of research), and submit several applications to places where you may be eligible (in your application, indicate that you already have 50% funded -- this is generally considered a good thing by funders). By all means, ask your professor for pointers or leads as to where you might investigate.



          Funding applications are a tedious and demoralising chore, but you need to get used to doing them. It is perfectly reasonable for your professor to expect you to make such applications. It is also perfectly reasonable for you to ask your professor to check your applications before you submit them (he/she may be able to offer valuable advice as to how to "sell" your funding application better).



          If, after having made several funding applications, you still do not have enough funding to cover the cost, then your professor should be understanding, and should not expect you to pay for it out of your own pocket.







          share|improve this answer








          New contributor




          anon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.









          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer






          New contributor




          anon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.









          answered 8 hours ago









          anonanon

          411




          411




          New contributor




          anon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.





          New contributor





          anon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.






          anon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.























              0















              1. Is he your employer? Then he will pay the expenses for something which is mandatory for this employment.

              2. Is he not your employer? Then he can't "force" you.


              I don't see the problem.






              share|improve this answer



















              • 6





                Wouldn't it be great if reality was as fair and simple as this?

                – gerrit
                13 hours ago






              • 3





                @gerrit : Why wouldn't it be? His MSc supervisor is not his PhD advisor. His duties have now shifted to his new situation.

                – mathreadler
                13 hours ago











              • If someone wants to change that they should go directly to him and not be so dumb as to try to throw money all around him instead. They sure aren't gonna get their money's worth if they keep that up and he understands it most of that time.

                – mathreadler
                7 hours ago
















              0















              1. Is he your employer? Then he will pay the expenses for something which is mandatory for this employment.

              2. Is he not your employer? Then he can't "force" you.


              I don't see the problem.






              share|improve this answer



















              • 6





                Wouldn't it be great if reality was as fair and simple as this?

                – gerrit
                13 hours ago






              • 3





                @gerrit : Why wouldn't it be? His MSc supervisor is not his PhD advisor. His duties have now shifted to his new situation.

                – mathreadler
                13 hours ago











              • If someone wants to change that they should go directly to him and not be so dumb as to try to throw money all around him instead. They sure aren't gonna get their money's worth if they keep that up and he understands it most of that time.

                – mathreadler
                7 hours ago














              0












              0








              0








              1. Is he your employer? Then he will pay the expenses for something which is mandatory for this employment.

              2. Is he not your employer? Then he can't "force" you.


              I don't see the problem.






              share|improve this answer














              1. Is he your employer? Then he will pay the expenses for something which is mandatory for this employment.

              2. Is he not your employer? Then he can't "force" you.


              I don't see the problem.







              share|improve this answer












              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer










              answered 13 hours ago









              mathreadlermathreadler

              1,061510




              1,061510








              • 6





                Wouldn't it be great if reality was as fair and simple as this?

                – gerrit
                13 hours ago






              • 3





                @gerrit : Why wouldn't it be? His MSc supervisor is not his PhD advisor. His duties have now shifted to his new situation.

                – mathreadler
                13 hours ago











              • If someone wants to change that they should go directly to him and not be so dumb as to try to throw money all around him instead. They sure aren't gonna get their money's worth if they keep that up and he understands it most of that time.

                – mathreadler
                7 hours ago














              • 6





                Wouldn't it be great if reality was as fair and simple as this?

                – gerrit
                13 hours ago






              • 3





                @gerrit : Why wouldn't it be? His MSc supervisor is not his PhD advisor. His duties have now shifted to his new situation.

                – mathreadler
                13 hours ago











              • If someone wants to change that they should go directly to him and not be so dumb as to try to throw money all around him instead. They sure aren't gonna get their money's worth if they keep that up and he understands it most of that time.

                – mathreadler
                7 hours ago








              6




              6





              Wouldn't it be great if reality was as fair and simple as this?

              – gerrit
              13 hours ago





              Wouldn't it be great if reality was as fair and simple as this?

              – gerrit
              13 hours ago




              3




              3





              @gerrit : Why wouldn't it be? His MSc supervisor is not his PhD advisor. His duties have now shifted to his new situation.

              – mathreadler
              13 hours ago





              @gerrit : Why wouldn't it be? His MSc supervisor is not his PhD advisor. His duties have now shifted to his new situation.

              – mathreadler
              13 hours ago













              If someone wants to change that they should go directly to him and not be so dumb as to try to throw money all around him instead. They sure aren't gonna get their money's worth if they keep that up and he understands it most of that time.

              – mathreadler
              7 hours ago





              If someone wants to change that they should go directly to him and not be so dumb as to try to throw money all around him instead. They sure aren't gonna get their money's worth if they keep that up and he understands it most of that time.

              – mathreadler
              7 hours ago











              0














              I am making my comment an answer.



              I think you should suggest that Prof. M attends the conference and presents the paper* for a number of reasons:




              1. Prof. M is the senior author in the work;

              2. probably earns a lot more than you; and

              3. will likely have access to extra grant funds to fund the trip.


              You can phrase it along these lines:




              Dear Prof. M,



              Whilst I would welcome presenting the work at the conference, sadly my
              financial doesn't allow to spend such an amount to travel. I sit
              possible for you to attend the conference and present the work?




              Adding to that, and because I have been in this situation, I don't it is reasonable to insist that a student attend conference out of his/her pocket. It can certainly be suggested but not insisted upon. The financial situation of most students is precarious at best, and in my experience there is very little benefit going to self-funded conferences during the first PhD year, in particular for a project that, as far as you are concerned is dead. The only person that can gain from obtaining feedback is your former supervisor.



              *Unless this is one of rare instances that a conference requests the first author to present the work.






              share|improve this answer




























                0














                I am making my comment an answer.



                I think you should suggest that Prof. M attends the conference and presents the paper* for a number of reasons:




                1. Prof. M is the senior author in the work;

                2. probably earns a lot more than you; and

                3. will likely have access to extra grant funds to fund the trip.


                You can phrase it along these lines:




                Dear Prof. M,



                Whilst I would welcome presenting the work at the conference, sadly my
                financial doesn't allow to spend such an amount to travel. I sit
                possible for you to attend the conference and present the work?




                Adding to that, and because I have been in this situation, I don't it is reasonable to insist that a student attend conference out of his/her pocket. It can certainly be suggested but not insisted upon. The financial situation of most students is precarious at best, and in my experience there is very little benefit going to self-funded conferences during the first PhD year, in particular for a project that, as far as you are concerned is dead. The only person that can gain from obtaining feedback is your former supervisor.



                *Unless this is one of rare instances that a conference requests the first author to present the work.






                share|improve this answer


























                  0












                  0








                  0







                  I am making my comment an answer.



                  I think you should suggest that Prof. M attends the conference and presents the paper* for a number of reasons:




                  1. Prof. M is the senior author in the work;

                  2. probably earns a lot more than you; and

                  3. will likely have access to extra grant funds to fund the trip.


                  You can phrase it along these lines:




                  Dear Prof. M,



                  Whilst I would welcome presenting the work at the conference, sadly my
                  financial doesn't allow to spend such an amount to travel. I sit
                  possible for you to attend the conference and present the work?




                  Adding to that, and because I have been in this situation, I don't it is reasonable to insist that a student attend conference out of his/her pocket. It can certainly be suggested but not insisted upon. The financial situation of most students is precarious at best, and in my experience there is very little benefit going to self-funded conferences during the first PhD year, in particular for a project that, as far as you are concerned is dead. The only person that can gain from obtaining feedback is your former supervisor.



                  *Unless this is one of rare instances that a conference requests the first author to present the work.






                  share|improve this answer













                  I am making my comment an answer.



                  I think you should suggest that Prof. M attends the conference and presents the paper* for a number of reasons:




                  1. Prof. M is the senior author in the work;

                  2. probably earns a lot more than you; and

                  3. will likely have access to extra grant funds to fund the trip.


                  You can phrase it along these lines:




                  Dear Prof. M,



                  Whilst I would welcome presenting the work at the conference, sadly my
                  financial doesn't allow to spend such an amount to travel. I sit
                  possible for you to attend the conference and present the work?




                  Adding to that, and because I have been in this situation, I don't it is reasonable to insist that a student attend conference out of his/her pocket. It can certainly be suggested but not insisted upon. The financial situation of most students is precarious at best, and in my experience there is very little benefit going to self-funded conferences during the first PhD year, in particular for a project that, as far as you are concerned is dead. The only person that can gain from obtaining feedback is your former supervisor.



                  *Unless this is one of rare instances that a conference requests the first author to present the work.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered 8 hours ago









                  fridaymeetssundayfridaymeetssunday

                  180110




                  180110























                      0














                      At the European universities that I have worked, PhD students are seen as employees and thus receive a salary and their conference visits are paid for by the university. Often research projects have special budget for this. Master students with good and useful results will sometimes also be allowed to visit a conference at the expense of the department. Requiring you to (partially) pay to represent the university at a conference is cheapskating from your professor and degrading for you. Don't do it.






                      share|improve this answer








                      New contributor




                      Pete is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.





















                      • I suspect OP is in the US and the norms are a bit different there.

                        – Alexey B.
                        6 hours ago











                      • You seem to have overlooked the "different university" part. The OP is currently not enrolled or employed by the university of the professor. The old university can decide to not pay the expenses of somebody who is not their student. The new university will usually only pay if the current supervisor signs off on the necessity and pays it out of his group's budget - but if the current supervisor is not on the authorship list, and if the conference is outside of his niche community (which is common, most people don't do PhD in the same niche as their Msc), he has little incentive to do so.

                        – rumtscho
                        6 hours ago


















                      0














                      At the European universities that I have worked, PhD students are seen as employees and thus receive a salary and their conference visits are paid for by the university. Often research projects have special budget for this. Master students with good and useful results will sometimes also be allowed to visit a conference at the expense of the department. Requiring you to (partially) pay to represent the university at a conference is cheapskating from your professor and degrading for you. Don't do it.






                      share|improve this answer








                      New contributor




                      Pete is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.





















                      • I suspect OP is in the US and the norms are a bit different there.

                        – Alexey B.
                        6 hours ago











                      • You seem to have overlooked the "different university" part. The OP is currently not enrolled or employed by the university of the professor. The old university can decide to not pay the expenses of somebody who is not their student. The new university will usually only pay if the current supervisor signs off on the necessity and pays it out of his group's budget - but if the current supervisor is not on the authorship list, and if the conference is outside of his niche community (which is common, most people don't do PhD in the same niche as their Msc), he has little incentive to do so.

                        – rumtscho
                        6 hours ago
















                      0












                      0








                      0







                      At the European universities that I have worked, PhD students are seen as employees and thus receive a salary and their conference visits are paid for by the university. Often research projects have special budget for this. Master students with good and useful results will sometimes also be allowed to visit a conference at the expense of the department. Requiring you to (partially) pay to represent the university at a conference is cheapskating from your professor and degrading for you. Don't do it.






                      share|improve this answer








                      New contributor




                      Pete is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.










                      At the European universities that I have worked, PhD students are seen as employees and thus receive a salary and their conference visits are paid for by the university. Often research projects have special budget for this. Master students with good and useful results will sometimes also be allowed to visit a conference at the expense of the department. Requiring you to (partially) pay to represent the university at a conference is cheapskating from your professor and degrading for you. Don't do it.







                      share|improve this answer








                      New contributor




                      Pete is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.









                      share|improve this answer



                      share|improve this answer






                      New contributor




                      Pete is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.









                      answered 7 hours ago









                      PetePete

                      91




                      91




                      New contributor




                      Pete is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.





                      New contributor





                      Pete is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.






                      Pete is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.













                      • I suspect OP is in the US and the norms are a bit different there.

                        – Alexey B.
                        6 hours ago











                      • You seem to have overlooked the "different university" part. The OP is currently not enrolled or employed by the university of the professor. The old university can decide to not pay the expenses of somebody who is not their student. The new university will usually only pay if the current supervisor signs off on the necessity and pays it out of his group's budget - but if the current supervisor is not on the authorship list, and if the conference is outside of his niche community (which is common, most people don't do PhD in the same niche as their Msc), he has little incentive to do so.

                        – rumtscho
                        6 hours ago





















                      • I suspect OP is in the US and the norms are a bit different there.

                        – Alexey B.
                        6 hours ago











                      • You seem to have overlooked the "different university" part. The OP is currently not enrolled or employed by the university of the professor. The old university can decide to not pay the expenses of somebody who is not their student. The new university will usually only pay if the current supervisor signs off on the necessity and pays it out of his group's budget - but if the current supervisor is not on the authorship list, and if the conference is outside of his niche community (which is common, most people don't do PhD in the same niche as their Msc), he has little incentive to do so.

                        – rumtscho
                        6 hours ago



















                      I suspect OP is in the US and the norms are a bit different there.

                      – Alexey B.
                      6 hours ago





                      I suspect OP is in the US and the norms are a bit different there.

                      – Alexey B.
                      6 hours ago













                      You seem to have overlooked the "different university" part. The OP is currently not enrolled or employed by the university of the professor. The old university can decide to not pay the expenses of somebody who is not their student. The new university will usually only pay if the current supervisor signs off on the necessity and pays it out of his group's budget - but if the current supervisor is not on the authorship list, and if the conference is outside of his niche community (which is common, most people don't do PhD in the same niche as their Msc), he has little incentive to do so.

                      – rumtscho
                      6 hours ago







                      You seem to have overlooked the "different university" part. The OP is currently not enrolled or employed by the university of the professor. The old university can decide to not pay the expenses of somebody who is not their student. The new university will usually only pay if the current supervisor signs off on the necessity and pays it out of his group's budget - but if the current supervisor is not on the authorship list, and if the conference is outside of his niche community (which is common, most people don't do PhD in the same niche as their Msc), he has little incentive to do so.

                      – rumtscho
                      6 hours ago







                      protected by Alexandros 6 hours ago



                      Thank you for your interest in this question.
                      Because it has attracted low-quality or spam answers that had to be removed, posting an answer now requires 10 reputation on this site (the association bonus does not count).



                      Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead?



                      Popular posts from this blog

                      數位音樂下載

                      When can things happen in Etherscan, such as the picture below?

                      格利澤436b