Hi TreeofLife and newlease36,

Of course, I already asked about the issue, two times. The first is the third and a half years into my PhD, when they (verbally) promised me that I could submit the dissertation at the end of my fellowship (the fourth year of my PhD). For the second time, they promised me, two months after the termination of my fellowship, that I was able to submit the dissertation in December last year. This time, the promise was made so formal that they were willing to attach their signature in a form. Then, it turned out that they did not stick to the promises by slowing down the progress of the last paper. The process of getting feedback on the last paper took times. And even at the end of the fourth year of my PhD when the progress of the last paper was about 85% (only the discussion section needed finishing), one of the supervisors suddenly changed his mind. I communicated this problem to the second supervisor, but he did not give me a definitive answer. I had no choice rather than complying with the demand. He instructed me to radically modify the whole paper, such that I had to start from zero (making the outline of the ideas). I ever requested them politely to have a meeting via Skype, to discuss about my serious concern, but did not receive any response.

It is now four and a half years into my PhD study. My fellowship has been over, as it provides me with only a four-year funding. I am now living in my home country, finishing the dissertation. In total, I have 4 empirical papers, two of which have been published in high impact factor journals. The third paper is under review, whereas the last, fourth paper is near to completion (85 per cent). I am experiencing severe anxiety now in working on my dissertation. This is because despite the termination of the fellowship, my supervisors have not yet given me a clear clue when I can submit my dissertation. I really need your advices. Does this indicate that my supervisors delay my PhD? What can I do to better cope with the problem?