I'm a PhD student and I have been in my current program for one year. I had another admission last year as well and I wasn't sure which one to pursue. Finally, I chose my current program but soon I realized that I have made a huge mistake! So I decided to transfer to the other school but I had to wait one year as they only had Fall enrollment for new students. I decided to stay in my current program as had assistantship and I couldn't risk being unemployed because of my financial issues. Some other things have happened that made it impossible to pursue my current program for me so I'm 100% sure that I want & need to transfer.
But there is a big problem here, how to tell my current advisor? I have never said anything about this to my advisor and I have been his assistant for a year. It's terribly hard to tell him and I need him to approve of my transfer and sign the forms. How should I tell him?? What would be a good excuse as I can't tell him my real reasons?

Hi hgrad,

My advice is that you don't need excuses as such: hyonesty is often the best policy. If your supervisor has been happy with your performance, as a student and as an assistant, then they should be professional about your decision. Why not book a meeting with them and tell them that you have considered things very carefully and you have come to the decision that your career plans would be better supported by doing a PhD in another area and this happens to be in another institution. You may want to say (if that is the case!) that you are grateful for the opportunity they have given you and all the skills you have gained while working with them but this is something you need to do for yourself. You hope that they will be willing to offer you a letter of reference based on your performance to date.

Your supervisor may want to explore the exact reasons why (perhaps to check whether they could have done things better/differently as a supervisor). They may well be a bit upset about it, especially if they think you were a great student/assistant. This is normal so be diplomatic. Supervisors have feelings too! :)

Good luck,
Nathalie

Hi Nathalie,

Thanks for your advice. The problem is that I'm traveling outside the country and I need to initiate the transfer process before I'm back otherwise I wont be able to meet the deadlines. And this is already hard to do for me and I'm thinking having to do it through email or phone call will be unprofessional and just make it worse! Any suggestions?

Yes, face-to-face would be a much more sensitive and diplomatic way of doing that. If you can't meet in person, then I would favour a phone call over email. Perhaps a skype meeting could be arranged. You might also want to think that there are other people to inform like your graduate school or PhD office (whichever is relevant to your institution) and also your human resources department. Are there contractual obligations you must meet, like a period of notice before you can leave?

Whatever way you do it, it probably won't be a pleasant conversation but try and keep it factual and to the point. If you know that the move is best for your researh ambitions and career plans, then your supervisor should understand, even if they are not over the moon to lose a good student and colleague.

Good luck.
Nathalie