Hi everybody!

First off, my situation:

I have just finished an MRes, and have a place and funding for a PhD lined up at the same university to begin in October.

During by bachelors and masters I did some research work for a professor on some books and articles, and helped with material for modules she was teaching - all to gain a bit of relevant experience. When I applied for my PhD I got a lot of help and advice from her, as we discussed what I would research, how I would make it relevant, etc.

Now she says:

- She doesn't like my topic and thinks I should change it quite drastically (from a focus on 19th century Britain, to a comparison between modern Western attitudes and those of Enlightenment society).
- That I should do a PhD which relies on German source material.
- To that end, I should attempt to study abroad for a year of my PhD.
- And that I should do intensive courses in French so I can use source material from that language.

All to increase employability.

What I would like to say is that while I appreciate the advice, I want to do a topic that's close to my original one, that I don't mind using German source material, but I don't want to go abroad for more than a research trip (I don't feel it would be fair on my monoglot fiancée - who I will be married to by then - and I can't feel happy about living abroad, with my rudimentary grasp of the language). But I'm not sure how to word it. My natural response would be to just ignore her, more or less, but she's asked me to see her tomorrow, so I'd like to formulate some sort of response by then! So I could appreciate some advice!

Backmarker

Obviously it would depend on the type of relationship you have with the supervisor.
My first reaction would be to be polite and honest.

Say you appreciate the advice she's given, but you would really like to stick closer to your original topic because it's more interesting to you (or
whatever reasons you have). Also say about not wanting to live abroad, and about having family ties here.
Try to be tactful though, especially if the topic you're refusing is closer to her own research.

I would also have a think for your own benefit about your own reasons for doing a PhD, is it for interest, is it part of a career plan? as this might provide you with your own answers to this question.

I realise this isn't a full answer, but I hope it helps a bit.

Most likely the topic I would be turning down is closer to her own research! This is a recurrent theme in what everyone in the department talks about when I mention my proposed topic, the "Hmm, have you thought about looking at [my personal research interest of this minute]?" response. Does everyone have this problem to some extent?

I want to do a PhD because (first and foremost) I really enjoy the subject, so I want to study it, and find more, and perhaps push back the boundaries of our understanding on the subject (without being overly optimistic or immodest!) Also, I would like either a career in academia or private research, and a PhD seems to be the best way in to both of these. So it's a bit of both interest and career. I wouldn't do it if I didn't think I could get a career at the end of it, but I wouldn't do it just for a career.

Thanks for the advice!

I would say, ultimately you have to do the work to get your PhD, so it has to be on a topic you find interesting.
However, I would say most supervisors would try and sway you towards their area of research, because they would get help and collaboration, and probably a few papers if you did do their topic.
Personally I'm in the sciences and my research interests seem to be fairly close to what my supervisor is looking at. Well, jointly between his topic and the topic of another lecturer in the university, so I can't talk from experience.

Try and stick to what you want, you'll do much better if you are enjoying it. However, also try not to annoy the supervisor if you have to get on well with them for the duration of your PhD.... I know this sounds contradictory and difficult.

Good luck!

:-)

I'd agree that to sustain the motivation and to get through the long years of a PhD you have to be doing something that you're wanting to do, that is your passion and sometimes that is the only thing that forces you to get up in the morning! If you read through posts on here you'll find that problems occur and people can't take any more when they've been pushed into something that wasn't their idea or their primary interest.

The fact that you're getting married (congratulations :-)) puts added problems on your supervisor's plan. I'm married with three children and couldn't imagine having to live away from my husband and family - nothing is 'that' important to me. Careers come and go, interests wane, but the one thing that hopefully remains constant is your family and your relationship.

You don't say which field you're in, I'm a historian specialising in 19th C Britain and to be honest I can't work out how I'd move from that to a comparitive study in two completely different time periods! Yes, I could 'do' the research, but its not 'my thing' and we're back to your passion and your main interest.

You need to be very polite but firm I think, also to have in the forefront of your mind what you want from this. Yes, it may improve your employability but I know of many in my field who have perfectly good careers and things are moving further forward (particularly in the area I work in) and I don't see it as a backward step. You don't have to follow her advice, you can thank her, explain how your original idea is something you're passionate about, but that you'd be more than happy to consider other sources and improve your language skills.

Mmm she's probably right that all this might help you get a job at the end (not least as it would add extra countries that you could job search in). From what I know from historian friends, because very few British PhD students nowadays have the high level language skills to work on non-anglophone topics, British history is probably the toughest area (except medieval) to get a job in. Are you prepared to do a PhD in your preferred area in the knowledge that the market is so bad that an academic job is fairly unlikely?
How important are foreign language source materials to your topic or one close at hand? All of my friends did have to learn languages, and I know it's usually compulsory for history PhDs in the USA to be able to read source materials in at least two foreign languages, so you might be as well to at least discuss why she thinks this is crucial before rejecting it out of hand. Just another thought if your German is only rudimentary, will archival work in Germany be possible without spending quite a while there to improve your German? I have used contemporary German archives myself and even though my German is fluent, I found it took a lot longer to do archival work in German than in English and I imagine, it would be much harder with historical stuff as you'd have all the old scripts to deal with. What I'm trying to say is that while I think you've got to be happy with the topic, I wouldn't just dismiss her advice even if it is unwelcome but try to find out more about why she's suggesting these things.

I would definately think about the possibility of spending time abroad and doing a PhD which crosses language/cultures in its scope. This will leave you very employable and competitive.

My PhD in history was on a British topic but I wrote part of it in Germany at an institute there and used some German sec lit. The doctoral students I met there were highly competitive as even if their topic was on Germany they were citing Anglophone and Francophone material if needed. Those students who had pan-European topics were in a great place.

Looking at the postdocs that are coming up in history is useful. Several I have seen at present are in Italy or Germany and are on pan-European topics requiring a reading/passive knowledge of 2 languages plus English. I applied for a history postdoc 4 months ago that required Swedish --- so people are really looking for PhDs with language skills.

So your supervisor is doing you a BIG favour by telling you this now. Using other languages in your thesis and papers not only makies them my thorough and credible but also more employable. Remember that US and other European PhD students are normally formidably equipped with other languages. I did my PhD in 18th century British history, and I am now realising how much I will need to improve my German and French to stand a chance of getting a postdoc in history.

Oh yes, and somebody below posted about archival work in other languages - they are right - it takes ages - and German old printed books from the 18th and 19th century make my eyes bleed!!!

Best of luck. I think it would be an exciting PhD to move abroad for a year and you could explore being hosted at another institution for that time. Your partner might well enjoy living there for a while. I have two friends out in Berlin who both love living there. One is doing a PhD and his girlfriend learnt German too and got a job.