Hi Ev and Sue2604, thank both of you for the tips. During my phd study I have mentioned very little of my private life at talks with this professor. The professor has never shown me his soft side. Maybe it belongs to the characters of German. Anyways it is a long story about my experience here. Actually he has orally promised me an email concerning all the corrections nearly one month ago. Because of the stagnation on his side, I have modified the dissertation, and sent it to him.

Again thank you very much for the suggestion. I'm writing an email to him.

Regards, John

Hallo all,

I'm a phd student in Germany and a forgeiner to this country. The status of my phd study is that I have passed my defense. According to the regulation of my university, which is probably quite commonplace in Germany, one could be granted the doctoral title only after the publishing of his dissertation. My professor has demanded corrections before my dissertation is printed, but he has not specified what should be modified. I have read thru my thesis again and tried to figure out all typos and grammar errors, furthermore a couple of figures have been adjusted as well. The revised dissertation has been sent to him three weeks ago, but there is no any response from him. I'm in hurry for I'd like to apply for a teaching position at universities in my hometown ideally from the next semester. This doctoral degree is required for such applications. In case I got the degree too late, the application would be postponed to 2011! Recently I live far from my university, and anxiously waiting for the further requirements from this professor, who however devotes himself into other projects. What I can do is waiting, calling, and writing email. Frequently soliciting has offended my professor. I remember during the last telephone talk he was already annoyed about the pushing from my side and told me not to call him daily (actually not), an email would be sent to me. Nevertheless more than two weeks has gone, but nothing happened. I'm really worried and nervous about my delayed application. Should I ask for an appointment with my professor and personally visit him? Will this kind of asking offend him once again? How about your experience with your supervisors?

John