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Problems with Postgraduate Supervisor-please help!!

Hi everyone

I am hoping you can help me. My boyfriend is in his write-up year of a biology PHD (I won't be too specific to protect anonymity).

Because he isn't being paid for this year, he looked for another job and got a really good one. Unfortunately it is full time.

His sole supervisor has always been a real bully; he is very negative and gets his students to do all his management responsibilities, makes veiled threats along the lines of 'I don't know if you're going to be able to finish if you don't work even harder'.

In the past my boyfriend has pulled 60 hour weeks in the lab and worked at the weekends. He has supported several placement students while his supervisor completely abdicated responsibility.

Even though my b/f is working full time he is going into the lab after work; he is completely exhausted, but very afraid that his supervisor won't let him submit if he doesn't tow the line. His supervisor knew this would be a full time job and accepted, at the time, that since we have no other way to survive, my b/f would have to take full time work and work the lab around it.

I understand that this was always going to be a stressful year; however, the supervisor makes him do things which are completely unrelated to his work, makes him make samples for other students/other labs in order to further his (the supervisor's, not my b/fs) career.

My b/f is so under thrall of his supervisor after 4 years of being bullied by him; he is scared that the supervisor won't let him submit and will keep him there for years. Personally I am scared that my b/f will burn himself out on all this other stuff he has been given and have a breakdown before he even gets to his own thesis.

I am also worried that the supervisor will not be giving b/f accurate advice about his PHD because 1) he doesn't care 2) he seems to want to keep b/f there indefinitely and 3) he seems pretty incompetent.

My b/f has been to HR, student services and the head of postgraduate research who have all been worse than useless. He does not want to rock the boat by making any public complaints etc...

Personally I think he just needs to remind his supervisor that the agreement was that b/f would do what he could towards his own PHD research, not continue to work full time to do the jobs the supervisor can't be bothered to.

Can anyone give any advice? Been through this kind of thing? Know anywhere else he could turn to to mediate?

I am tearing my hair out...
It sounds like a very difficult situation especially if the postgrad research tutor won't/can't get involved. 4th year students are always in a funny position and different unis view them differently. Do you have any idea what the tutor thinks at all? Unfortunately it sounds like your bf may just have to toe the line till he submits. What I don't get though is why he's still doing lab work if he's got all he needs for his PhD? Does he have an internal panel or an independent senior member of staff who may be able to advise him about whether he has enough and give him feedback on his work? Maybe a second supervisor?
Reply 2
Avatar for Cornelius1
Cornelius1
OP
Hi Cat thanks for getting back to me.

He does need to do some lab work for his own thesis but is mostly getting caught up in doing work for supervisor.

No second supervisor unfortunately and he has asked for onw before and got no where.

Other senior staff seem equally useless. How would you gp about accessing an internal panel?

Thanks again
If he has to do some work for his thesis he'll have to keep his supervisor sweet so that he can continue having access to the lab.
I had an independent internal panel of senior staff who judged my progress every 9-12 months. One of them was very helpful when I was writing up.


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Most places give a student an adviser these days. Does he have one of these? Is there an independent academic who's monitored his progress, for example at end of year examinations? It's nothing to do with HR (he's a student, not staff, unless he's a RA writing up for a PhD). Other academics will be reluctant to get involved- if the supervisor is a bastard to your BF, he may well be a bastard to his colleagues too. Is the supervisor a research star- in which case he'll be nearly untouchable?

What you describe isn't right but it's not unknown either. It would be unusual if the supervisor could prevent him submitting but it does have the makings of a mess. Your BF needs a friendly academic, even if only one who'll help informally. Better not to make things formal except as an absolute last resort.
Reply 5
Avatar for Cornelius1
Cornelius1
OP
Ok thanks guys, this really helps me sort out what the priorities are.

He doesn't have an advisor. Would that be an academic one or a pastoral one? He did have someone who looked over his end of year submissions who was quite nice but who seems to have gone off the radar.

His supervisor is far from a star researcher but is probably a bastard to everyone else which is maybe why they aren't being helpful.

Thanks again for your advice!

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