Don't take the feedback personally. It is easy to see a draft as representation of yourself when really it is a just draft that you know yourself could be improved. Feedback can sometimes be brutal but the more feedback you get, the better you become and the easier it is to receive feedback. I usually take a few days break from a piece of writing after receiving feedback to let the emotional attachment recede. Then I focus on understanding the feedback and being constructive with the feedback instead of taking it personally. I think you should try to find the right mindset for going through feedback.

Take a break. If possible get away for a few days and do something that you enjoy. Stress is a real productivity killer and taking a break will give you a fresh perspective when you come back.

Personally, I think it is difficult to start with your project structure (or the introduction). I don't know about other people but my PhD structure has changed several times through my PhD as my project evolved. Instead I have a clear set of objectives and I work around trying to solve them. I condensed my project into 1 critical set of experiments and several smaller objectives that are not critical. Then once I have results I can restructure my project as needed.

I would recommend focusing on your research question and what you need to achieve to answer your research question. Then work on your methodology to determine what is achievable and I bet your research question will change slightly once you understand your methodology. Just plan out what you want to do, decide if it is possible and possible limitations, then you will understand your project far more and can feed that back into your other work. As most PhDs change through time and I would recommend giving yourself flexibility to let you find what works

Be honest about your work and focus on the research process.

Unless your Masters research is directly related to the PhD project they will care more about how/why you did everything than the research itself. So highlight every step such as; hypothesis, literature review, how your literature review affected your hypothesis/plan, methodology, results, discussion, limitations of your research, what you would do differently and implications of the work. Showing that you can critically think and execute the basic research process is what they want to see. Also, it is good if you have a very basic idea about the PhD project and know about key concepts/methodology.

Goodluck!

Congratulations! Really well done! I am glad you passed with so little issue, as you have definitely had a rough PhD. I hope you can now relax now that you are Dr Em89.

Yes. If you have your own funding, I would highly recommend you talking with potential supervisors before you apply, in order to decide if you want to work them. The potential supervisor can then help you through the process.

I am not an immigration expert and you should get professional advice.

I don't see how this will affect your visa application. People apply all the time for visas while still having a job or being in education in their home country. A PhD is just a form of fulltime education/ job and shouldn't be considered any different.

Does anyone else need access to the lab? Maybe if you can convince the other users to also ask at the same time, they might listen.

I am not the most knowledgeable person on this topic but I think psychology and clinical psychology are very different. Clinical phycology is a lot more specialised and is difficult to get into. So I doubt you will be able to apply for a clinical phycology masters with only a computer science degree.

Usually yes but it depends on the project. It is only a 3 month delay and most funding is somewhat flexible.

It is completely your decision and you can quit if you want. I don't like sunk cost fallacy where you have to continue something because you have already done so much work. If your PhD is destroying your mental health it is not worth it. However if you do decide to stop or take a break, consider spending some time updating all your notes and writing as much as you can down. That way, if you do want to finish at later date when you are in a better position, it is far less difficult.

You are preaching to choir. Most people have that feeling when they start their PhD. I think not knowing what to do and fear/inability to start is part of a PhD. If you are in doubt like this, ask your supervisor for some guidance. It is what they are there for and I think that you might be unnecessarily putting yourself under pressure.

In general I agree with the others. Sort out your mental health first and worry about your PhD later. Treat the PhD as a job that pays the bills while you focus on sorting yourself out.

With everything happening in the world at the minute, guessing what the cause is or how long you would have to wait is difficult. I think you could just ask the professor why it is challenging for international students in China? Ask if its is financing, university restrictions or just general unease.

Hi despoxcam,

That sounds positive to me. Your head of department was honest and made clear you still have the opportunity. Your thesis committee was supportive and helped you get more time to finish. Coronavirus and lockdown has affected nearly everyone and I know very few people that have been unaffected or still plan to finish on time. There is no shame in an extension under current circumstances.

I think most people's work dip some time during second year with so called "second year blues". It is unfortunate that your dip happened just before lockdown and combined with some negative results. Things like this happen and it is part of PhD, but you just have a jerk supervisor. It sounds like he can't push you out and you still have the opportunity to prove him wrong. I would stop thinking about finishing and focus on what you can achieve in the next 1/2/4 weeks. Plan ahead to maximise your limited lab time and prioritise the most important results (ie ignore the fluff). Because making a long term plan under current circumstances is crazy and it is a lot easier to focus on short goals that are inside your control. It can be a lot more comforting to focus on maximising your short term productivity than overthinking whether you will finish.

Hi Rose1,

The distinction between a PhD and Professional doctorate is very muddy and varies a lot between university and course. At some universities there are no differences while other professional doctorates can allow highly specialised non-academic industry related research. I think there is somewhat more flexibility with professional doctorates about what you can include in your thesis and what is relevant research. However, I think to get the most out of a professional doctorate you need some experience in industry.

I had a similar issue but not with my supervisor. My supervisor is useless with drafts and feedback - she always gives the generic "that looks great" or "looks good" while correcting typos and never commenting on structure or content. So at least you are getting feedback.

However, for my first paper one reviewer was absolutely brutal and recommended rejection (it was major corrections). That completely threw me and I couldn't think about the corrections without panicking for several days. After a few days I sat down properly and went there the corrections and realised that most of the work was good enough. Entire sections were left untouched and the harsh feedback let me focus on what needed improved. I think you are past the initial shock you can look for the positives and gain perspective on your work.