I'm at a uni with a college system so I provide this information to both my college and department, am i able to keep it discreet from my supervisor's for the time-being? until I feel /when/if I feel I need to make them aware?

Thanks

hey thanks alot for your reply, that's helpful :) re. on the last sentence yes ofc I thought so. On the previous sentence- this is another thing I am considering- who do I approach first here? my own supervisor having identified someone I would want to work with, or the potential co-supervisor first. the former seems silly if the potential co-supervisor would not be willing to work with us, and the latter seems rude, as though I should check with my own supervisor first. Many thanks :)

Hi, I am from a maths/physics background currently doing a PhD in fluid mechanics within the engineering department. I am not enjoying it as much as I'd liked and have raised this with my supervisor (only just, I am not sure what the outcome will be yet), and having done a little research into possible connected directions I can take it, I feel as though one of them would involve co-supervising with someone in the mathematic department, and one, if possible, by someone who is at a different university- but was at my university for around ten years, leaving around five years ago, and seems to be the only person who has worked in this area (it seems pretty niche worldwide relative to other areas) with connections to my university. Is the latter heard of for co-supervision or is it a very long-shot? many thanks in advance

apologies also to update, I am a month away from being a year in. thanks

yes i would get into a top mres programme- my ug, msc, phd all at the same uni, as they dont require a scholarship or funding like PhDs. the application process is very similar to that of which it was MSc then I woudl guess, unless you are applying for scholarships which I don't plan to.

Hear me out, along-side your PhD you are allowed to work 20 hours part-time. My PhD is in engineering, my background is maths and physics and tbh, i mean there's always volume to a PhD, but I find it relatively light work due to my background. My reasoning for wanting to do is I am currently doing a PhD in applied math/physics within the department of engineering, but really want to do mathematical physics tbh.

The only reason I would not want to do this is if after a PhD, I have a greater chance of getting into mathematical physics than I did for getting onto such a PhD programme (I did get quite a few interviews, but never quite got one), which imo, though others will know better than me no doubt, will certainly not be the case- my guess is that having a PhD in a different area is definitely not going to make you a stronger candidate.

If I did a Mres alongside, I would (hopefully) get some publications and then my guess is prior degrees would not matter as much or?

In terms of PhD advisors frowning upon this- may sound silly, but do they need to know? If you get a part-time job along-side your PhD for example, you are not required to disclose this information to them. Also wondering when applying for the Mres programmes, would I need to say that I am currently doing a PhD, would this possibly affect the decision (baring in mind it is a part-time one I am applying for only)?

Also anyone experience of how Mres works in terms of logistics of meeting your supervisor. My guess is that most online meetings and face-to -face meetings occasionally needed? I am thinking if I did the Mres at a nearby uni 1-2 hour commute (or even my own - it would be in a different department). And my PhD does not require me to be on - sight at all, other than fortnightly meetings, which, ofc, have yet to go face-to-face due to Covid - I am 2 months away from a year through my PhD.

Many thanks !!

A post doc in an area that differs from my PhD?

I am currently doing a PhD in fluid mechanics but want to do mathematical physics tbh. In another forum I got an answer about a user who had done a PhD in accelerator physics and went to do a post-doc in condensed matter, vice versa even, but in their case, it seemed like it was largely about there being specific connections between the two that were desired at the times, I've read around other cases, e.g one in biology where the areas did not relate in such a way (or so that's the impression that comes across on a first read of the story), and where in this case the student mentions how she read a lot more of this other subject she ended up going to do a post-doc in, than her current PhD topic. But my question is, despite everyone in this forum saying otherwise, that mathematical physics programmes are harder to get into than applied maths, and, if one wasn't considered a good enough candidate to be offered a position in mathematical physics to start with- for a PhD- why would they then be for the case of a post-doc? I mean with the biology story above, I do not know about the fields enough to guess whether the situation would have been this - her grades were strong enough in the first place. I mean having a PhD in a different area is definitely not going to make you a stronger candidate, would be my guess, would that be correct? In which case, would I be better of dropping out and going for a Mres in mathematical physics, hope to get a publication or two, which would make me a significantly stronger candidate I guess, and I would also guess with publications prior degrees would not matter as much or? Many thanks for your help

I've started a phd in fluid dynamics. I always wanted one in general relativity or quantum field theory really, I got interviews for that (many really) but none where successful, I got into fluid dynamics straight away so after waiting around I thought I should crack on and maybe it's meant to be. I do not hate my PhD, but I do not love it either. Whereas if it was general relativity or quantum field theory I think I would really really enjoy it. I am now around 8 months in. I enquired about a phd in cosmology/gravity theories a while back, more out of curiosity, and I received this advice back from the professor at a different university. I had not thought of this idea probably cause I thought the other departments would not be interested in the slightest. I am currently in the engineering department. Does his feedback seem infeasible or is it worth a shot? (I am not sure right now if I will apply for cosmology/gravitational phd in a month or so, when application time begins to peak, if I see the right project..part of me still really wants to, part of me thinks I may as well stick to what I've invested time and work into)

FEEDBACK:
I can’t really suggest what’s best, except to discuss your current situation and your ambitions with
your supervisory team. XXX YOUR UNI XXX has some world-class activity in computational cosmology, and it may
be possible for some sort of collaborative project to be worked out. If you’re 4 months in (and what an extraordinary 4 months)
then there is still plenty of time for things to develop


Re. my current funding:

have two assigned supervisors. the scholarship is from the engineering department, not the maths or physics, so I doubt that would be able to directly switched over. However the main supervisor had full control over this scholarship (he was awarded it when he arrived at the university ), so if he agreed on a intersection with a supervisor within the maths/physics department it may be possible. But I also dont want to pee off my current supervisors, if they would not like to grant permission for such a thing, in particular say.