I am self-funded, so that could work in my favour. I should also point out that I was very careful to be both discrete and informal in my approach to the new professor (who I have met on a few occasions and with whom I have a number of mutual acquaintances). I did wrestle with the question of who to approach first, but decided it was not worth raising the question with my supervisor if the new professor was going to be unwilling to take me on anyway.

I guess I'm just after the best way to broach the subject without seeming like I don't value the work or standing of my current supervisior.

I'm a part-time PhD student studying a multidisciplinary subject. I am reasonably happy with the supervision I've been getting but, because of the nature of my research, have felt that it might be beneficial to bring a co-supervisor with different expertise on board with my project. I want to ensure that my work is the best it can be and, while my supervisor has real expertise in some of the areas I am researching, there are other areas where he is not as knowledgeable.

I discussed the idea of a co-supervisor with my supervisor a few months ago and, at the time, he was fairly dismissive of the idea. However, this was fairly understandable given the fact that there was no-one really suitable in the other field at the university. Nevertheless, I have recently found out that a well respected professor with expertise in the area that I am researching will be joining the university in September.

I have approached the new professor discretely and asked if he would be prepared to co-supervise my project. He has met my supervisor in the past and says that he would be happy to do so. My question is how best to go about discussing the matter with my supervisor so that I a) get the best supervision possible and b) don't put any noses out of joint?

Thanks in advance.

Soph