Hi all,
I need an advise on a current situation I am in. I am in my third year of my PhD, my first supervisor, who is an angle, is leaving the university to another university. I have been offered to move with him, however I have not taken my decision yet. On the other hand, my second supervisor, who is higher up than my first supervisor, is pressuring me to take my decision by tomorrow. she has given me a WEEK to think about it and she has been forcing me to take the decision. I believe that in no way she can force me to rush and take a decision just because I am on a university scholarship. I have been under a lot of stress, and this is affecting my work. Is there any regulation or acts which I can refer to when emailing herthat she does not have the right to force me and rush me into a decision and that I should take my time since this is not an easy to decision to take?

Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Presumably there will be administrative issues to sort if you move, which will take time.

If you are in your third year and take more than a week, it will likely be increasingly difficult, more disruptive and less beneficial to move.

A week seems very reasonable!

I doubt it there is a specific piece of guidance about this. And if there were, it might put a strain on the relationship if you were to cite it! I would agree with ToL that a week is long enough - but in this case, I guess it could even involve you moving if you were to move institution? So this is a bigger decision, which might take more time. Perhaps you could explain that you need a bit more time to make the decision because of this, and suggest a new deadline (e.g., a week later).

Re the stress . This can have a horrible affect on one's ability to try and make a decision, I know. Could you take a day or two out, and then return to your decision with a clear head? It might help to summarise the pros and cons of the two options. Then weigh each pro and con up - give it points. Then add up the points and see which one wins. I often use this strategy. But often just the act of writing down the two choices and the pros and cons associated with each is enough to give me that "gut feeling" about what to do.

You could also share more details on this forum to see if people would advise you either way.

I hope this helps.

Universities have fairly strict guidelines about processes-and while the thesis tends to follow it's own organic and meandering pathway in our own lives, it is still subject to the universities guidelines and processes and timelines externally.

If your second supervisor were reading this, maybe she would be fine with giving you a day or two beyond the week to make a decision, but as ToL has pointed out, the admin time around switching universities and supervisors is going to take probably some time to process. Hence her strong encouragement to make a decision and then act.

If you need time out (or need to take much longer to make a decision) for stress related purposes, again, your supervisor's position may be that you might need to request time out by taking a short period of leave. (I'm not recommending this necessarily...just thinking about how these processes often work at the admin end of things. In my day job I work in a secondary school and we have very similar processes around managing our senior students and their assignments and examinations in their final years.)

Morally, no your supervisor can't force you to make a decision. However, with regard to managing scholarships and other matters, she would be remiss if she did not make you aware of how things might pan out if you procrastinate with this decision at this point of your PhD.

It's a really tough decision-make no mistake- and you do need to consider it carefully and are right to do so. However, I think giving you a time frame to make this decision is probably not a bad idea. If you talk to her and say you need a few days longer, I am sure she would be fine. In my opinion though, it is a decision you might need to make within a few days of her deadline. Best of luck with it.

I would not start getting all legal with her. Just say you need an extra week/10 days...it's not that big of a deal.


Factors to consider: which supervisor do you think is best to advise and guide you to finish.

If moving, is it another country or city? Will you be able to afford to live there on your scholarship. ..some cities are very expensive.

Would you be abe to cope with stress and challenges of relocating...or if it's the case that for your phd the best choice to move, would you be willing to take on the challenge of moving?

So I guess you need good supervisor
But you also need good and easy life outside of phd...if your someone who struggles with that kind of change..it could set you back. It's very individual thing..some people love travelling others find it stressful...only you know yourself

Is there a specific reason why you need more than a week to decide? How much time would you have wanted?
Also is there a reason why this is not an easy decision to make?
You are at a crucial time of your PhD and you really must make a decision now.

I faced a similar situation when both my supervisors retired and I had to look for a new supervisor in my 6 mths before submission. My third supervisor was in a different country altogether. if you need the scholarship, you will not be able to change universities. The only advantage of changing universities, aside from moving with your first supervisor, would be if you are moving to a 'brand name' university. The third year is really quite crucial but if you have been quite independent and are on track, it may be worth staying on. It also depends on your relationship with your second supervisor. Will you be able to get another main supervisor, perhaps giving the reason that you need someone who is working more closely in your area than your second supervisor?