Hi, GrumpyMule,

The potential new job sounds like it has more room for career growths whereas your current one sounds static. Would the potential career development benefits be enough to convince you to overcome the 70 minute commute and fear of new environment (which really we all face in any new job)?

Hi, Hallohallo,

Who gave you your scholarship? If your scholarship is from your uni, then contact your postgrad coordinator and ask for advice. If your supervisor is not coming back, you can look for new supervisor and apply to switch to new supervisor. Most likely you will start from the beginning and work on a new project. You should be able to transfer the scholarship to your new project and supervisor if your scholarship is from the uni.

Good luck, Cat123! Sending you positive vibes... Let us know how it goes...

I definitely think that it is very brave of you to fight and it will give other people hope and courage if you publish your story. There are ppl here who have had bad experience battling their uni, but I think most of us want to stay private and move on with life rather than reliving the events by retelling the story.

Perhaps you could also read the post "I Want To Publish The Story Of My Legal Battle With UNSW Over A PhD. What Do You Think" by CWI to understand what you are up against. I don't think that your case is anyway near as bad and as ridiculous as CWI, but the process of denial and making life difficult is a common theme.

helebon,

Prepare for the fight of your life. Uni's first stance is normally denying responsibility and hope that you will go away. They will make life very stressful and very difficult for you. More often than not, they will "advise" you that you need their reference letter, so keep quiet and go away. You may need to fight multiple rounds over several months before you make progress, if at all. Your evidence had better be strong. Get that Students Union lawyer ready. You likely will need it. I myself had a pretty tough time battling the many rounds at institute, faculty and grad school level. It still gives me the shivers when I remember how stressed and alone I felt during that time. We will likely see you coming back and venting here very often.

Hi, Cat123,

Quickly leave this nightmare behind. You can change supervisor. It is your right. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. Change asap. Don't prolong your pain.

On funding, please check if you can take it with you. If it is awarded to you eg postgrad scholarship, then it is yours. If it is directly from d project, you may have issues. In that case, you may need to ask for help from Students Union or post grad coordinator. Best to know the status of funding before meeting potential supervisor.

What to tell potential supervisor? Just keep it brief. Things didn't work out, difference in expectations eg you want more hands on, but sup is very hands off, project was different to advertised, funding issues, etc. These things happen, they get it. Don't badmouth your sup. Do you have someone who is an experienced researcher (preferably not your group) who can be your referee for your new potential supervisor?

Stay positive. Good luck!

I agree with Cat123. Do talk to your Students Union. If they have a lawyer, do talk to their lawyer. It is better to engage in legal advice early on since uni may deny all responsibility even after their "investigation".

In the perfect world, you would have a referee (preferably someone respectable and quite high up the chain) who is willing to vouch for you. However, understand that sticking out for you may give them repercussions so it is very rare that anyone would.

Hi, ludedan,

Could you have a chat with your postgraduate coordinator to get the power from above to push your main supervisor into doing his job? Word of caution, you may get him upset but he may finally do his work.

If your second supervisor is willing to act as the primary supervisor in terms of workload, then I guess that is helpful for you.

A formal complain should only be lodged if everything else has failed - ie the push from postgrad coordinator, talk to Dean/Head of School...

Helebon, there is a big difference between what a supervisor should and cannot do when it comes to reference. The procedure maybe that the supervisor should not give poor reference. But who will check? And what is your proof of that? If the employer rings up your supervisor and your supervisor bad mouths you and so you lost the job, how will you ever know? The best action is to ask someone else give you reference if you suspect that the supervisor will be a bad referee.

Hi, masbogel,

Contact your Graduate School to ask for guide on how to submit your thesis and graduate.

It is extremely odd that you have been left hanging like that. You have published two high impact factor papers and should be able to graduate. I am surprised that your fellowship did not have a rule that you must submit your thesis by the end of it.

Hi, zen112,

Is there no way to write up that failed experiments or method optimisation as chapters for your thesis, to prove for work sufficient to a 4 year PhD? can you do an analytical chapter really scutinizing why things didn't work? Have you discuss these alternative options with your supervisors?

For me, the supervisors play an important role in assessing PhD progress especially at the beginning of the third year. Things can still be quickly turned around at that time. While I agree that luck and fate play important roles, if you had problems since year 1 and nothing was done to rectify them then yes, supervisors have a big share of the blame.

On CV and job search, you can state only the completion year and not the start and end date if you are worried. You probably will still get questions, so prepare for them. As long as you can explain in a positive and confident manner, then you should be fine. I have a friend you quitted her PhD 2-3 years in and got an MPhil and she proudly told everyone that, including her potential employer. She explained why - change in career interest, lack of PhD progress and support, desire for better work environment, etc. She got hired in the end.

It is not the end of the world if you can't get your PhD this time. It is however, very painful and you will need time to rest and recover. Have a short break before your job search. On the positive side, you may find that it is easier to get jobs with a masters than a PhD if you are aiming for an industrial position.

Hmmm, I sense a show of power play, that she wanted to cause you misery and "put you in place".

You have spoken to the Students Union as well and they also have nothing to advice you? I would have thought that they could help somehow.

If you have exhausted everything and there really is nothing else that you can do but accept that horrible person as your supervisor, then I guess that's that. Your problem with the reference letter may still continue because there is no guarantee that horrible person will do it for you. Do ensure that during your last few month you make good relationship with some other experienced, established researchers who will be able to write good reference letters and say good things about you. This might be your lifeline in future.

PhD schools never find you a new supervisor. You find your own supervisor, So you can't even ask them to use the previous one who consented?

And what do you mean your former supervisor took it back? She can't be your supervisor unless you sign a form taking her back.

I still won't trust her with your reference letter. I have no idea what she will do behind your back.

On sueing, it is very rare that students win. But if you intend to sue, you better start talking to a lawyer so you can start collecting hard evidence before you graduate so you don miss anything.

I agree with Tudor_Queen that it would be best to seek second opinions. Could you approach the postgrad coordinator and students union on this?

It is odd that this is coming from your supervisors rather than your internal review/monitor team or external examiners. Surely they must have seen it coming since the start of your third year and worked with you since then? Anyway, ask around before you accept this as your fate. The other option would be to still submit as a PhD and let the examiners downgrade to Mphil so that at least you had a chance.

Hi, melodie,

I am sorry for all the things that you are going through. It is a lot to cope. I am sure that the doctors will be able to recommend some good advices for you.

Since you have decided that your future lies outside of academia and you have different priorities now including your health (which is important), I think that your decision to leave is right for you. Could you drop them an ultimatum that you would like to write everything up now as a PhD or leave with an Mphil? I believe that they would accept the former as it looks better for them.

You can also slowly start exploring what sort of non-academic roles are interesting to you. Talk to people in the area that you are interested in to learn more about the roles and see if they are truly suitable for you.

But above all, put your health first. Take care.