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

It's too late now but once you found out about the new professor joining you might have been best to raise the subject again with your supervisor before approaching the professor. However, if you are part-time, are you a self-funder? If you are I think this places you in a better position to guide the course of your PhD.

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 must admit, if I was a supervisor I'd be delighted to have someone to share the load with. Was he fairly dismissive before or adamant that an additional supervisor wasn't needed? Maybe he just didn't want to help with the leg work of recruiting someone but you've now done that. How far along down the PhD are you? Because maybe he has concerns that the direction might change.

Whatever, I would think carefully about the benefits of having an additional supervisor from his point of view and try to sell it to him from that angle.