Hi Eska, Yes I am funded so hard to change Universities, plus am also overseas funded, so I would have to have a really good reason, and that would mean my word against a successful University professor that pulls in lots of money (but is a crap supervisor). It would be a take it or leave it situation. Depending on what country you work, I don't think its much different to some office situations, having a crappy boss, who is a poor manager and a bit of an ass. Sometimes it just comes down to personalities and I think Eska you are pretty brave for doing what you did. I still think there must be a solution to Damned's problem though, come on we are a smart bunch of brains in one place after all?!?!?!

Its nice to read that other folk are having similar experiences. If I could choose my supervisors again, I would have dumped them in a heart beat and gone to another University. Unfortuntely, like many other PhD students, I had put a whole lot of time, money and resources into my project to turn away, and lived in the very small hope that things might change. They never did. So thinking about what you have said there are a number of things I have thought that could be done. I don't know how realistic they are but hey-ho I'm just putting it out there.

(1) Internally: Do you have a post-grad society or general students union? Ask them to gather information on students experiences. This could be independently of any 'post-viva' questionnaire that you might have to fill out that your University collects. It would be anonymous of course but linked to a school/department. Universities do monitor feedback, but rarely act. I know this because I was a student rep for a long time, so know how the University works from the inside. A supervisor might receive anonymous comments, but because students tend to be careful about what they write, because at some point they will need a reference. Get the union/society to analyse their own collected data and the Universities. Does it match? They need to bring this to the student body and then the academic council for review and demand that more things are done about the results (I am assuming a large number of unsatisfied students). In the end we are paying fees (or someone is) and therefore have a right to a voice. This is the difficult part as an individual, as a larger body it is much easier. Those students in the Union/society will also be more empathic to the cause.....

(2) External: If the above doesn't work there are other options such as going to the local newspaper, getting an article published in Nature magazine (or equivalent) (there are lots of student blogs on the Nature website) initiating this as a general discussion e.g. Are we getting what we pay for? A good old fashioned threat to tarnish the reputation of a University always gets the Vice-Chancellor a bit nervous.

I like the idea of being able to look up a professor and rate them. It sounds good in principle but I am not sure about the legalities of it. However, I would not like any other student to go through what I have so I think you are onto something. These are just off the top of my head. I would like to believe there is a way to change what seems to be a long draconian way of bringing new academics into the world. Perhaps the best way is for us all is to learn from our negative experiences and vow to never repeat them. Our new breed of academics could them change the system from within. But that would be a long way down the road. Are there any organisations we as a collective could approach? HEFCE perhaps? An overall student/scholarship body. There must be someone interested?

Hi Jeezdoo - sounds like my supervisor. I always wondered the same thing about what mine was saying behind my back. I'm not sure who exactly it is supposed to help behaving in such a way. In my experience there wasn't much I could do, the other students were aware of his behaviour and just ignored him. Thats not to say what my supervisor was saying was acceptable. It wasn't. You could have a word with your head of school. Where I am, its such a small backwards place that no-one can keep their mouth shut and sooner or later it would get back to them. Bear that in mind. Good luck. If you do hear not so nice things being said about you, its probably saying a lot about your supervisors self-esteem (and perhaps whats going wrong in their life) than yours. Chin up, and keep working on your PhD. There are a lot of jerks out there, unfortuntely.

Slowmo - I'm in the same situation and its killing me slowly. I submitted in May and I asked how long it would take from submission to viva, a few weeks I was told, if we could find the right examiners. Another PhD student got hers marked pretty fast and was off to start her post-doc. It was looking good I told myself. Anyway my external examiner pulled out and 2 were changed so that I could get my thesis marked faster. Part of the reason is that I have a post-doc lined up overseas. This is the worst part, if I don't start by the end of Aug I will lose that post-doc funding. Having said that, the Uni where I will be going, have bent over backwards to push my work visa through - which is now ready bar my PhD certificate or equivalent which I need to show before I will get the visa. So my supervisor has worked really hard to find an external that can mark my thesis quick - although I would have liked it to be faster.... I don't understand why but it can take 3 months or more. Don't forget these guys get paid for this! In the UK I have heard 6 weeks is the norm, in the US 4 weeks. But 3 months?? (I am an international student). I am now in this predicament where I have paid for all my flights etc., and the Uni have come back and said its not up to my supervisor to organise the viva, its THEIR job, and they have set the date back to guess what, the 29th Aug. Great, that makes it almost impossible for me to get my visa and start my post-doc. I thought I was stressed when I was trying to finish my thesis, but this is worse.