Is this a tragic epic poem? If not, why the format - new line for each sentence (or clause of sentence), capitalisation at the start of each line...?

First of all, there's no need to panic. Once you are in the University on a PhD, it is largely up to you whose advice you take, and whose advice is given priority. This is not to say you'll ignore your supervisors, just that you use them as you see fit. For example, I always have meetings where both my supervisor and co-supervisor are present. The only additional role my supervisor takes is administrative (organising PhD reviews, signing bits of paper to tell the management that I have done enough not to get kicked out) - the feedback on my work is from both of them.

Most research councils (in your case it would be AHRC) stipulate very clearly the conditions upon which a PhD student can be accepted - and they are getting stricter on this. Even if you are not funded by them, universities use their regulations as standard. As you mentioned, your preferred supervisor is fairly junior - I know that the AHRC is clear that if a supervisor is inexperienced (has not led a PhD student to successful completion within four years), then a senior member of staff must be co-supervisor. Might this be the case with you - that your potential supervisory situation is problematic? It could also be workload balancing - if your potential supervisor has other administrative duties (sitting on boards etc) then it may take them over a maximum limit if they act as main supervisor. Finally, and this is pure speculation, if your potential supervisor has not got a high enough research output/income-generating project then they may not want to 'burden' him with additional work.

So basically, it might not be you. There are other things at play which you won't be aware of. However, it may be that the dept is of the opinion that you simply cannot have him as a supervisor due to other issues; in which case you will need to find alternative arrangements.

Hey everyone

Thanks for your suggestions. As it stands I will be getting absolutely nothing for the work I have done - no recognition or funding. I would only be able to take advantage of the training opportunities that come out of the bid if it is indeed successful (which any PhD student at our universities would also be able to do). The admin role is not large enough for us to share; his suggestion is that I take it on in the second year of the project - however by that time I would expect to have an academic job that means I would not need the money or extra work this would entail.

As such, I'm going to email him (I'm a coward to!) to say that whilst I accept that I will not be a formal applicant, I want it written into the bid that I was the co-author, and if the bid is successful, that it is also stated on the projects that come from it. If this cannot be agreed, then I would have to ask that the parts of the bid that I wrote be removed as they are my Intellectual Property, and I may wish to use them for a future bid that I take either individually or with another partner....


Here goes nothing!!

Hey Walminski, no you understood correctly. His argument is that as the bid has not yet been submitted he can take on the role, even though my involvement in creating the bid was due to the fact I thought I'd be taking it...
I really needed that job, and he'll just be using it as additional pocket money... argh!!!

======= Date Modified 19 26 2009 21:26:51 =======
Hello everyone
Just a bit of a rant. A friend of mine (at another uni) and I got some funding by a research council to hold a conference a few months ago, and the conf will be this summer. A couple of weeks ago, he got in touch again saying he'd found another (much larger) funding opportunity, and asked if I'd be interested in going for it. It would be to fund a two-year training project, and he suggested that I would be the perfect choice to be administrator of the project this coming academic year (my fourth year) given that my funding runs out this summer, and he is about to submit so wouldn't need the role.

We've both worked really hard on the bid, but today when we met up to discuss budgetary issues I discovered that 1) my name would not be going on the bid - only his name and the name of a member of staff at his uni and 2) he wants to do the admin job in the first year of the project as he has not found another job to start when he submits this summer. I feel totally screwed over by this - none of the work I have done will be recognised. But I can't tell him to get lost as I still have to work with him on the initial project.

I know this is all part of academia, and my plan so far has to be to hold my tongue, does anyone have any suggestions as to what other options they might take??


Thanks as ever kids!

Aw, the original post has changed - so my comment about mats just looks silly now!

i don't think a thesis would make a very good mat... you'd be better going to ikea or B&Q. What kind of mat were you thinking of? Bath mat? Welcome mat?

It is a truly horrible story, all our worst nightmares come true, and Olivia1 I do think your post was remarkably restrained - I'd be going crazy!
I think Supervisors are allowed in vivas if you wish them to be, but they can only be observers, and not participate at all. That doesn't mean they have to have their back to the group though and treat you in the way he has!

Hey Pup,

I am in exactly the same position, looking at a job that will start around 6 months before I am due to submit. Being totally realistic you may need to take an interruption of study, rather than try to do both things at once. I've spoken to lots of friends and family about this (and have a meeting with my supervisor on Monday about it), but so far everyone has told me to just get on and finish the PhD - once that is done, a lot more opportunities will come your way (I hope).

Although like Alice I am no expert, and you do need to find someone who is an expert on this - I know some of my students have contacted these people

http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/student/fees_student_support.php

However, as a rule I would expect Bewildered to be correct. Your nationality is less important than your residency; if you have continuously lived in the UK for three years you can be a Home student. There is a condition that you do not have to be resident for three years if you are classed as "Settled" in the UK - this means that you are a resident (you are) with no immigration restrictions, for example "the Right of Indefinite Leave to Remain", which you may have given your British Husband. In this case, it would be worth speaking to a UKCISA advisor, or to a specialist immigration solicitor. Whilst a solicitor is not cheap, it will save you thousands over the next year or so!!!

I tend to agree with Smoobles here, it would have been better for you to stick around and feel a little flustered than to have simply left - there will still, for example, opportunities to network. I don't mean to be rude, but your previous post indicated that you were not the most highly regarded student in the department and given that is the case you really need to try to make a better impression at every opportunity, such as this conference.

Whilst your dyslexia may have a certain impact on your abilities - the short-term memory issue you mentioned, there are still things that are expected as an academic. If you wish to complete and move into academia you will have to both attend and present at conferences - it is the key way to keep abreast of contemporary work in your area and to get feedback on your work. Again, without being mean, it is to a large extent your responsibility to learn ways of working with your dyslexia and finding ways to overcome obstacles; which as previous posters mentioned, can be done with effort. Your dyslexia simply cannot be a way to avoid things.

Hey Ed,

Just before any of us get carried away with generalisations - what subject/discipline did you do your undergrad in, and what discipline do you plan to do next? That does have quite a bearing on the response.

No, Sneaks is right. I know that my initial supervisor supported my PhD application because my MA supervisor was the internal examiner at her viva...

I'm with smilodon on this; my sup (well my current one, not my old one) is experienced enough to balance letting me make the arguments I want with ensuring that I produce a 'thesis' rather than rambling. Some supervisors will want enormous existential chats about direction, others want detail; but all any student wants at heart is proper feedback!
This is a controversial statement to make, but supervisors do work for you. They are paid to supervise you - not just to let you wander off for three+ years. No we don't want them on our backs, but there is a basic level of support and critique that they should offer; its sounds like Heifer wants that.

I wouldn't reply to the student, mainly as the last thing you want to do is escalate the situation, but I do agree that lines 2 and three are a little *rsey for want of a better word, and they may make a comment on feedback forms. I've had students ask me to find them a book, or read through entire essays before they submit them. I've got around this by saying that I am willing to look at essay plans or short pieces of text (up to 150 words/couple of short paragraphs) but that's it.
In your situtation, is there a module leader you could just send a brief email to, or a member of staff who you could let know, just to cover your back?