I would just like to clarify that I am not saying that she shouldn't say the truth, but that the "when" and "how" should be given careful consideration. Registry has certainly better things to do than chasing students for transcripts that are not necessary after over a year. So if the completion of the MSC is an issue for her current Uni after all, she should find out and think about what to do next.
Obviously, she will have to talk to her supervisor/s and be honest about it, but I think that she should clarify the situation with Registry first, as their answer may change the attitude of her department.

======= Date Modified 04 Feb 2011 08:54:17 =======
jbird01, nobody is here to judge you. I understand your story and I really feel for you. I had a baby in the middle of my PhD, plus serious health problems, so I can understand your difficulties, depression, etc.
I suppose that it also depends on how you were awarded your PhD position. Was it an unconditional offer or you were offered the place on condition of completing the MSc? If they ask you for the transcript it may well be that you had an offer on condition.
However, at this point how long would it take to complete a thesis now? and above all -do you feel like doing it? I think that it is a step that would worth an extra effort, even if not required by your current department. If you go along that line, you can always say that you had completed all the course work, but that the thesis took a bit longer to finalise as you no longer leave there/ have contact with supervisor etc. Obviously you need to be really focussed and give yourself a strict deadline. Dismissing an MSc with Distinction would be a real pity at this point, and in the end the length of a thesis for a Masters degree is equivalent to a tiny part of a PhD. If anything else fails, I would take the Diploma and say the truth. They will not be happy, but I think that they will appreciate it. If they are happy with your progress with the PhD work, this should be enough. In the end you have started the programme and they will want you to finish it. But expect to be put under pressure when it comes to deadlines.

Dear Florence, Your name is uplifting as it remind me of the wonderful city.
I really feel for you. Working in this way is very tough, and it just adds to the pressure. Try a hot water bottle. Bring a flask of hot tea or coffee and keep it handy. Also, I am sure that your friends/ colleagues do not expect you to freeze in their office. Do turn the heating on, even if only for an hour, when you arrive, to remove the chill.
My office is warm, but its the size of a postage stamp, and I am litterally walking on photocopies ad books. It feels like a jail, especially now that I work all the time...and there is not remedy to this either... :-s

Well done Dr Algaequeen!
I am really happy for you and you must feel elated!
I hope to be in the same position soon!
:-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-)

Hi Pineapple29. Cheer up! You are substantially better off than many PhDs, including me. I am due to submit in April, and every step forward seem to correspond to three backward. I would much prefer to be waiting for the viva, but I suppose that the grass looks always greener elsewhere!
If I were you I would prepare for the viva now. It is very likely that you will have little time to focus on it once after the date is made known. Try to focus on new projects in the meantime. Is there anything new going on in your area? a conference you might want to take part in? something that you want to prepare for publication? You need to find a long term goal without giving yourself strict deadlines.
Days are getting longer and milder: take a nice, long walk in the morning. It will put you in a better state of mind for the rest of the day. And take care of yourself, that means healthy eating with some well deserved exceptions if needed.
Good Luck!(up)

Pineapple is right. I was thinking about this myself. I am really scared to fail or to be given the MPhil without option, and even if there is an option...after five years (I had a baby in the middle of it and took time off), I don't feel I have the energy to deal with this any longer. Indeed I would like to have finished yesterday!
I am here correcting a pile of UG essays, and this is very time-consuming. Theoretically I am very close to the end (only the conclusion to write and then put all the chapters together, check the Appendixes etc.), but some days I feel that I am miles away.
Well done jojo, you have all my admiration.(up) Pineapple, you must be positive, you cannot go to your viva feeling defeated!
A big, virtual hug!

Well done jojo! I didn't even submit mine yet, and I cannot even dream about the viva. You have done extremely well, and your contribution to the forum has really helped me to keep motivated and positive. I hope that you will continue to post here!(gift)

Happy Boxing Day to you! I have been reading your posts and followed your progress. I much admire your focus and energy. I am due to submit in a few months time, and some days I feel positive and motivated, others I wonder why I have spent so long on this, but I suppose that this is the case for many people.
I am currently revising my last draft, so it is a working boxing day. I think that we deserve a sweet reward (cake or similar)!(tree)

Hello! Thanks for getting back in touch again. Well, I am now revising all the chapters. I aim to have a full revised draft ready by the end of January, so that hopefully someone - if not my supervisors - will be able to offer some feedback. It's ups and downs.

I felt a bit more hopeful after your message, and having an external, positive point of view is of great help. I am very happy that you got back in touch, because it gives me the opportunity to thank you and all the people who spend their time to support people who -like me - are going through a tough time. So, thank you very much again for that.

I suppose that I can only take a step at a time and be moderately confident that there will be a positive outcome in the end. I am confident about my material, and four of the chapters correspond to papers that I presented at important conferences. My concern is more about the first two chapters, which seem to lack focus. But we shall see...How is your PhD going? Are you close to the end too?

Hi Florence. Thanks for all you have written. It is of great help.

My daughter goes to nursery 4 half days a week (and it is also a considerable expense for us). I tried with the grandparents, but I ended up having to get up at dawn to cook lunch for everyone, and after a few months I thought it was just better to send her to nursery.

I was funded by the AHRC, so indeed my department wants me to complete. They are all very kind and we have discussed all the above several times. I was offered the opportunity to teach this semester, and it went very well. But my supervisors are an entirely different story. Nothing of what was agreed was actually put into practice by them. Complaining about it would only make things worse. It is a very delicate situation.

My first sup is not a specialist, he stepped in when my former sup (now 2nd sup) left. He is very easily manipulated person, and his feedback is very superficial. My 2nd sup is the specialist. He now works at a very prestigious Uni, and his feedback is very useful, spotted on, etc. but it takes for ever to get it, and I don't feel like asking for an extension, because I can work on this now.

I can certainly try to involve someone else in my area and get some informal feedback. Actually, it is probably the best thing that I can do. I have always been very independent and enjoyed working by myself, but now I now I feel that I need some support to get to the end.


Thanks again for your help. I am going to print out your message and stick it in front of my computer for the time being. I will read it back any time that I feel down!

Hi Charls, and congratulations for your doctorate. Thank you for your kind words, but the situation is a bit more complicated than I can write in a post. Firstly, I had a baby in the middle of the PhD, and even if I took a year off, I find it very difficult to put the same effort as before. Then, my department is a small department, and no one else has the necessary expertise to look at what I am doing. As I am writing up, they are not even obliged to supervise me at all, as my 3 f/t years ended last June. My 2nd external supervisor is playing his game here. He has a recent PhD that wants to work here, and thus he doesn't have any interest in having my thesis finished and me as a possible competitor to his protégé. As I said, he speaks to our HoD and says that he wants to be part of it and that he will do this and that, but then after several months I have to push to get feedback on a single chapter. I know that there is a lot of good stuff in my thesis, but I am also aware of the problems. I just don't know how to overcome them. After 4 years the idea of getting an MPhil does not appeal to me, and I also wonder if it is the case to sacrifice the whole family (e.g. sending my daughter to nursery, etc) to get to the end of this with a very uncertain result. I also feel under a lot of pressure, as my in-laws and "friends" keep asking when I am going to finish, and why I didn't finish yet. I just feel pushed in a corner and cannot see a way out.

Sorry for the tantrum...but I need to talk to someone. I am in the writing up period - submission by next June- and totally desperate. My original sup left Uni at the end of first year, and my new supervisor has been totally useless. My old sup still provide some feedback, but it take 3-4 months to get it back and in this way I will finish next century.
I was reading back my last draft and the whole thing looks pointless...I am totally demorilized and I don't know how to change this...I really want to withdraw, but my family insists that I have to finish, as I am too close to completion to leave...
Reading all these successful stories just add misery to my already miserable situation...:-(

Hi PamW, No wonder you feel overwhelmed, these are issues that would affect anyone, let alone someone doing a PhD! Do you have a job at that Uni after you finish your PhD? If so, would you consider selling the house and moving closer? I think that perhaps a change would be a good idea anyway. For obvious reasons we cannot discuss your problems in detail here, but I think that counselling could help you to have a realistic view on how things are and what you really want at this stage in your life (including relationships, friendship, PhD).
Good luck! And well done for all you managed to do until now. You have achieved a lot already, and your PhD is almost finished. One last effort!

Hi Pam, it happened to me when my Uni changed the log in system from Athens to Shibboleth (hope they are spelt right!). It took a while to get access to Jstor, and eventually the Help Desk of my UniLibrary gave me a new access code to use until the new system became accessible. Do ask your library to do the same or you may wait for a while.

Well done Claudia! I hope to submit by Christmas. My three years ended in June, so I am in the "writing up" period. I also had a baby in the middle of my PhD, so it is challenging. Today my sister-in-law asked whether I finished with it, and when I replyed "not yet", she said: "Oh my God! It's a never ending story, isn't it??!!!" .
I was delighted to be told that I am nuisance by someone who left school with no qualifications! Luckily, I read your message and it lifted my spirit a bit. I hope to be in your position in a few months time. Congratulations! :p