Hi all.

I've just finished my masters dissertation, and I've had a nightmare with my supervisor. What started off as an excellent student-supervisor relationship turned very sour for various reasons. At times things got a bit confrontational, he said he thought my work was inconsistent (sometimes excellent, sometimes pitiful), we've had a bit of a stand off. He doesn't like me, although I do respect him (which he knows). I Took an extension for personal reasons and i think he interpreted this as me slacking off. Now, I need to start applying for PhDs. Is it cocky/stupid to ask him for a reference? How personal do academic references get? I kind of need one from him, so I thought if i approached it in the right way, he might oblige? ANY ideas on how I could go about this, or do you think its a bad idea? Max

Hi Max,
I do think it would be a bad idea to ask him for a recommendation if you're already aware that he thinks your work is shoddy. Of course we all have people that we work for that we don't get along with, but if he's recommendation comes off any less than glowing, it looks like poor judgement on your part in choosing him to write one for you and/or that you didn't have anyone that could say anything good to write one. On the other hand, if you get a glowing recommendation from other sources (other professors you worked with during your masters) then I think it shouldn't really matter if you didn't get one from your supervisor - it at least couldn't be worse than getting a bad recommendation.

If you really feel like you need a reference from him you could ask to do some extra work with him and try to redeem yourself and then ask for a recommendation once he's seen your real work ethic.

Good luck.

I think you should ask him for a reference, as I think it might look odd if you don't include a reference from your current supervisor - on the proviso that you're able to see it first. This may not be the case tho - when I was applying for PhDs, my referees had to send in references to the uni, without me seeing them first. If this is the case, then that's no good as he can say what he wants - but if it's a written reference that you get to see, I'd ask for one. Referees normally don't dwell on the negatives of a person - and if he does, you don't have to use it.