Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Hoped-for supervisor retiring

Hey there, if anyone out there can cast any light on this, I'd appreciate it.

The professor at Oxford I'd hoped to have supervise my thesis seems to be retiring this year. I say 'seems to' as there was an announcement of his replacement a few weeks ago, which has now been removed from the faculty website without a trace. There is also no announcement of the retirement, the only reason I know out about it was I was browsing new academic titles and I came across a collection of essays being released in honour of his retirement!

Anyway, does anyone know if its possible an academic might retire from teaching, but still take on postgrads for supervision for a few years? The academic's bio doesn't mention anything and says he's currently working on a new book in the area of my proposed thesis.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

threeportdrift

Careers Forum Helper

Original post by caien

Hey there, if anyone out there can cast any light on this, I'd appreciate it.

The professor at Oxford I'd hoped to have supervise my thesis seems to be retiring this year. I say 'seems to' as there was announcement of his replacement a few weeks ago, which has now been removed from the faculty website without a trace. There is also no announcement of the retirement, the only reason I know out about it was I was browsing new academic titles and I cam across a collection of essays being released in honour of his retirement!

Anyway, does anyone know if its possible an academic might retire from teaching, but still take on postgrads for supervision for a few years? The academic's bio doesn't mention anything and says he's currently working on a new book in the area of my proposed thesis.

You will have to ask the department, but all sorts of arrangements are possible. My Supervisor had retired - in as much as he was no longer the head of the department (and well past retirement age), but he supervised me and several other PhD students for years after. On the other hand, some might make a clean break, go out to Tuscany and never put pen to paper again! My sense, having worked and studied in several Unis is that Oxbridge types tend to hang on much more than in other places.

Have you already applied and been accepted with him as your Supervisor?

Reply 2

caien

Original post by threeportdrift

This is great to hear, I'd intended to just email the department but I wasn't sure whether asking if a professor would continue to supervise after retirement might be a really stupid question! Its a fairly famous professor, a public intellectual type, so it'd be really surprising if he just packed it in.

I haven't gotten in touch directly with him as there are some complications - its a masters thesis, first of all, and the department doesn't recommend getting in touch with potential supervisors for a masters. Secondly he's actually in a different department to English, where I would be enrolled, but my proposal is interdisciplinary and this prof has done a lot of work in my area. The English department has said co-supervision can be arranged for a masters, but it would be done after matriculation. So even were I to be accepted to the course he may not have any interest in co-supervising a masters thesis! He has supervised DPhil students in English in the past though, so I'm looking a few years ahead in that regard.

Basically I'm just hoping to establish whether he'll be considering students at all before I get into applying and trying to arrange all of the above. Thanks for letting me know this wouldn't be strange, I can email the department without fear of sounding like a complete fool!