I have a friend who is 3 months away from a deadline on her PhD thesis. Due to personal circumstances she had to return to Canada from England where she was studying. She had 2 supervisors, one disappeared off to a new job in Australia and the other one seems to barely offer any support at all. She's stressed out and frustrated that she's getting no support when she needs it and seemingly has no avenues to turn to. As a non academic myself I really have no idea how to help her, but I'm really looking for any avenues/forums/support groups/suggestions of any kind - anything that could be of help. I realise part of her problem is that she's away from the university she was studying at, but there's nothing she can do about that. If anyone has any suggestions or advice I'd be really grateful.

Hi Simon
Your friend needs to contact the research degrees committee at her institution. They should be able to help her with both problems i.e. ensure that she has adequate supervision (by appointing another supervisor for her if necessary) and perhaps by granting her an extension on her PhD deadline (they will usually be very supportive if a student genuinely has personal problems). She needs to talk to someone ASAP, people can only help when they are aware of the situation. I hope it all works out for her.

Thanks for the reply Ann, it's appreciated. My friend was given a years extension about 9 months back so I have no idea if she could get a further extension.

If the Uni can see that your friend is still motivated and keen to complete and that her progress has been hampered through no fault of her own, I'm sure they will do all they can to help (especially considering part of her problem has been inadequate supervision). I think the key thing is to let the Uni know the situation without further delay. Best wishes.

Hi Simon, it's a shot in the dark but also, maybe your friend could make the most of the other academics in her department that she worked with (or even those who knew her and her work)? Maybe the level of supervision she needs at the latter stages of her PhD, she could approach someone else in her department even if it was just the occasional email? In any case, I would do what Ann suggested. I hope it works out for her!