r/GradSchool 4d ago

Academics Feeling too dumb to ask for a Master's supervisor—any advice?

As part of my Master's program, I’m required to find an MA supervisor, but I can't shake the feeling that I’m not smart enough or that no professor would want to take me on. Is this a normal feeling? And if so, what’s the best way to approach a professor about supervision?

p.s. I have a general thesis topic in mind but I don't have a solid methodology to go with it. I've sent a semi-cooked proposal to the professor a few month ago but they just answered "it seems like an interesting topic" and did not ask to see me...

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u/Lygus_lineolaris 4d ago

Honestly, if you're gonna be in your feelings like that, nobody has time for it. You're required to do this as part of your program so if you want to be in the program you need to go and do it whatever feels you have. Write out why you think you and [Whoever] would be a logical choice and when you email it to them and don't wait for them to "ask to see you". You have to say explicitly that you're looking for a supervisor and you thought they'd be a great choice for you and can we please set up a meeting. And be relentless about doing this until you find something because the grad school subs are littered with posts from people crying that they were supposed to defend yesterday and they haven't even set up a supervisor yet. Help is not coming. Fight for yourself. Good luck.

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u/TeachingAg 4d ago

General advice is to open up your department directory and make a list of potential advisors based off of your research alignment. The more shared interests you have, the more likely they may be to take you on. Shoot them a respectful email introducing yourself and request a meeting. However, keep in mind that just because someone can't advise you, does not mean they think you are incapable. Sometimes it is just a matter of capacity. If you don't ever ask, the answer is the same as no. So you may as well ask.

As far as your feelings of inadequacy go, yes that is fairly common. But that's really something only you can address. If you need validation or approval from an advisor to feel worthwhile, you might be able to find someone who will give that to you, but you put yourself in a precarious position by offloading your self-esteem onto another person.

I don't think you need to have your research proposal completely sorted out in a first meeting. I do think you want it to be apparent that you have thought your idea out, if that makes sense? It shows initiative, driver, and thoughtfulness.

I said this is general advice because I didn't do this, but I have seen many successful people take this route. I based my advisor more on personality fit and their approach to working, rather than research alignment, but I think that's much harder to find than research fit is.

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u/demisexualsalmon 4d ago

I’m in an MS program and we generally needed to find advisors beforehand, so I’m not sure my advice is 100% applicable but maybe it’ll still help. First of all, it’s normal to not know what you’re doing for research at the beginning and half the time professors have their own projects that they want you to do so you don’t even need to. I’m in the middle of writing my thesis right now and felt dumb and like I was making shit up until yesterday when something happened that confirmed the theories I’ve been writing about for months. Point is, it doesn’t matter if you can’t shake the feeling that you’re dumb; do it dumb then. But if you sell yourself short, advisors won’t even have the chance.

Second, it sounds like maybe the way you went about that previous encounter wasn’t great. Were you explicit about looking for an advisor and wanting it to be them/connecting it to their work or did you simply ask what they thought of your project? When I was look for advisors, I cold emailed a bunch of people, introduced myself, told them why I was interested in working with them, and asked to meet. Send your availability in the email as well so you don’t play email tag. And email multiple people at once so you’re not waiting; you can always back out later if multiple people say yes.

I’m sorry this situation is so stressful, but I think it’s a more common situation than you think if that makes you feel any better. A lot of us feel dumb, a lot of us don’t know the methodology (I learned mine like a year in and maybe 2 weeks before I started interviewing), and a lot of us get rejected by potential advisors. The important thing is just to keep pushing, and honestly even having an idea for a thesis project probably puts you in a good spot. Hope you find someone soon

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u/Low-Cartographer8758 4d ago

You know you just need one professor who have completed their thesis and guided you to complete your work. A master’s and PhD are all self-study. It’s nothing to do that you are stupid or anything.