How to get your PhD supervisor to offer you more help?

Anonymous #1

How do you get them to do this if there style is relatively hands off?

Reply 1

Mr Wednesday

Original post

by Anonymous

How do you get them to do this if there style is relatively hands off?

A bit of context would be useful, what subject area and how does your interaction with the supervisor currently work, e.g. do you have weekly meetings ?

Reply 2

Keele Rep

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

How do you get them to do this if there style is relatively hands off?

I genuinely don't mean to sound facetious here but have you tried asking them directly for more support?

As @Mr Wednesday has said, it's difficult to provide specific advice without more context about your situation and the support you require (I appreciate that you may, for example, already have asked for help and been rebuffed). In my experience, however, PhD students often worry about appearing incapable, and thus avoid speaking up when they require additional support.

This is completely understandable (and symptomatic of the academic's old friend, the imposter phenomenon) but wholly counter-productive. A good supervisor does not expect you to dive into the deep end of a PhD and just get on with it so, even if there approach is naturally quite hands-off, they should always be ready to step in and support you once you start waving your (metaphorical) arms around.

You don't say what support it is that you require but my suggestion would be to email your supervisor requesting a supervision meeting and outlining your current concerns/queries. During that meeting, you can then agree support going forwards, whether that takes the form of more regular supervisory meetings, getting some feedback on a draft piece of work, or just a regular check-in via email.

Remember also that your supervisor isn't the only one who can support you during your PhD. In most universities, the support services offered to undergraduates are often available to postgraduates. At Keele, for example, our library offer online resources and workshops on using the library and conducting literature searches which, although primarily tailored to undergraduates, are extremely useful for new students at any level of study. We also have an academic writing service whose resources and services are accessible to all. This is an addition to the research training offered by the various faculties and the Keele Doctoral Academy, which incorporates research-specific training on topics such as ethics, open research, interdisciplinary research, and presenting your work.

Hope that helps :smile: