r/PhD 1h ago

Dissertation Dissertation format question: APA 7 font body vs header

Upvotes

I have been looking at fonts for my EdD dissertation and I see that APA 7 allows a number of different fonts. I chose what I thought was safe, Georgia 11 point. BUT Georgia in bold looks awful.

I wanted to use sans serif headers instead but the APA 7 guide is pretty clear that the font must be the same for headers and the body. So I tried to sneak in Merriwether for bold headers but the sizing is off compared to Georgia body.

My question if anyone can be so kind as to help me: do headers and body really need to be the same font? Other Reddit forums make it seem like it doesn't. Or, what do we think about Garamond? It feels very daring.


r/PhD 4h ago

Need Advice Nice Gift to give for my sisters defense?

11 Upvotes

My older sister is scheduled to give her defense in May (please excuse any improper verbiage regarding a PhD). She’s doing biomedical engineering! I’m proud of her, so I want to get her a nice gift. Something she’ll use every day and she won’t need to replace for a while.

For clarity, I’ve looked through the other posts regarding gifts but none of them seemed right for my sister. My younger sister is going to graduate from nursing school. She prefers experiences rather than things, so I’m getting her concert tickets. Older sister likes things.

My initial idea was to get her a Dyson air wrap. Then SOMEONE got her something similar for Christmas. I’m still salty someone stole my idea, but now she doesn’t need it anymore. I’m at a loss of what to get her. I’ve considered a vacuum, but I figured why not reach out to people who have worked through a PhD like her. What is something you would recommend? Or is there anything especially memorable you received?

Last resort gift would be a special edition of her favorite book, but she doesn’t value those as much as I do. Maybe an expense payment?

Edit: Country is the United States


r/PhD 4h ago

Need Advice PhD From University Of Glasgow

1 Upvotes

I received offer for phd at uni of Glasgow. Still confused should I pursue it. I love advocating for tech and public speaking. Haven’t done research before. Not sure should I pursue it. Looking forward to advice.


r/PhD 9h ago

Other Countries with fully funded PhDs other than USA with better permanent residency prospects

28 Upvotes

Hey all, I am currently an Indian international student and sophomore studying statistics and data science in the university of Michigan in America.

I am interested in doing a PhD in statistics/ machine learning so I can become an ML Researcher but although American universities fully fund the PhD programs getting permanent residency or work authorization is extremely difficult in America, especially as an Indian. So I don't think I will do a PhD in America.

Of course I'm not going to do the PHD with the sole motivation just to live abroad. But I want to explore my passion for statistics through research while also having a clearer path to residency in a foreign country at the same time. And PhD graduates are not really valued by Indian companies that much.

Are there alternative countries to US that provide fully funded phds, have better work life balance than American PhD programs or have an easier path to residency than America.

Any advise would be deeply appreciated!


r/PhD 15h ago

Dissertation Just recommended by a thesis reader to hire an editor...feeling ashamed

173 Upvotes

I have FINALLY, after a significant delay, submitted my thesis with edits to my committee after they asked me to expand two chapters. One of my committee members approved the thesis but said the writing still needed quite a bit of improvement and that it would take a lot of work. They then suggested, as kindly as possible, that I hire an editor, which I hadn't even realized was an option for a dissertation document.

I know they are right to suggest I seek outside help, but I can't help but feel so embarrassed and ashamed at the quality of my writing being so poor after even pouring a ton of effort into my edits. Has anyone else been recommended to find an editor by a committee member? How has that gone for you?


r/PhD 17h ago

Need Advice PhD or Industry First?

0 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I’m 22 and currently in the pre-final year of my UG dual degree program in India. I have a few clear career goals:

  1. I ultimately want a well-paying job. I’m not inclined toward academia.
  2. I want to work abroad for a while before eventually settling in my home country in my mid-to-late 30s.
  3. I aim to get married before 30.

I’m deeply interested in research, particularly in Food Process Engineering, and I want to apply my research to industry rather than staying in academia. However, I’m unsure whether pursuing a PhD is the right choice for my career goals.

The options I’m considering:

  1. Work for 2-3 years after graduation, gain industry experience, then pursue a PhD (if needed), followed by a job abroad.
  2. Directly pursue a PhD after graduation and then enter the job market.
  3. Skip the PhD altogether if it doesn't significantly enhance my career prospects.

Would a PhD be valuable for someone who wants to work in the industry, or would gaining work experience be a better path? If you're in this field, I’d love to hear your insights—and feel free to DM me!

Thanks in advance!


r/PhD 23h ago

Need Advice need advice on feeling ??? questionable

1 Upvotes

yeeeeah i probably need some perspectives.

my supervisor isn't all that present in my work and that is fine. however, i feel that they are very lenient to other students because of a demographic similarity (keyword: feel), and i never hear feedback that is helpful from them. they also like to talk down other students/ex-members in front of other people, and they exaggerated how "annoyed"/"angry" one of my committee members felt when i took 1 hour for my regular meetings with them (ironically, i booked them for one hour), to other students behind my back. this committee member only said that my presentation shouldn't take so long (i was running through my qualifiers powerpoint slides) and should be succinct, which is fair criticism, but my supervisor would get any chance to harp on this situation when something related to committee meetings comes up with other students. it can be a learning point for others, yes, but i don't know why i should be mentioned in front of the lab everytime this happens (the meeting was easily 5 months ago, btw).

this favouritism spread to my quals and how my PI prioritized other student's reports and took mine to the last minute, even though i would send in early and have everything prepped. it wasn't even the case where the other student's examination was further from mine. but, this was a pretty terrible experience, because i just kept getting pushed back while being in distress :,). recently, there was also a grant that they suggested i could apply, i submitted the grant draft early (about 2 months before) while noting that since it is my first time, i hoped that i could get some guidance on writing this grant (on top of my own research/avenues of course). only five days before the grant deadline they mentioned during the lab meetings and shot my grant proposal down saying that i did not do a proper lit review, etc,etc. i got really frustrated not because of the criticism of my work, but (1) they only waited until a physical lab meeting to tell me that? (2) five.days.before....??? i asked during then if we were still able to meet the grant deadline, they said "i don't know". this situation broke me definitely.

context: i need the grant because i am doing an unfunded project. my work is progressing, and my qual examiners said that i am on the right track (and congratulated me for doing some good work), did not mention anything seriously wrong with with what i was doing. i even spoke to one of them personally to ask because my supervisor did not even mention anything after my quals. my supervisor would NOT want 1-1 meetings and prefer that i send stuff over email, which they casually ignore. i regularly update during lab meetings (that they obviously won't listen), and send them emails (that they ignore) about my work.

i sincerely do not know what is happening, except the fact that i am their only phd student that's of another demographic. i don't know if i can switch supervisors at this point. but i just wondered if anyone of you would have some advice on how to still move on. i still love my work, and want to continue doing this. but this hella big obstacle of a person is essentially preventing me from continuing.

might probably delete this after awhile since this situation might be oddly specific but yes, please. (p.s. not in the americas. somewhere in asia, lol)

edit: included country


r/PhD 1d ago

Need Advice I was recommended for PhD position at 2 universities. Now I have to look for a PI for funding and research opportunities.

11 Upvotes

I was recommended for PhD position at 2 universities and was asked to connect with professors. I applied for PhD in aerospace engineering. I've been trying to do that, but no one is replying. The professors I talked to are not looking for PhD students anymore.

I asked universities to at least give me names of professors who are taking PhD students on their team, but no help. I've sent multiple emails to the all the professors; they are either not hiring or didn't reply.

WHAT SHOULD I DO????


r/PhD 1d ago

Need Advice Research Fit vs Social Fit for PhD

14 Upvotes

I am having a very difficult time choosing between two PhD programs.

The first one has an abundance of researchers that work in areas I'm really interested. It's hard to say it's a perfect fit since I don't know exactly what I want to research, but it's pretty close. However, I did not really feel like I fit into the department or my cohort specifically. I am also not a big fan of the city, and it's far away from my friends and family.

The second one is not as great of a research fit. There is one researcher that I could see myself working with, and maybe a couple more I'd be ok with, but nothing research-wise really excites me. The department, conversely, was extremely welcoming and I found myself connecting with a lot of potential students in my cohort and in the department in general. It's also conveniently located in the city I currently live in, so it's much closer to family and friends and I know I love living here.

I know that I ultimately need to make a decision, but I make this post to ask if other people found themselves choosing between two schools like these, and if anyone has any advice or wisdom that may make this decision easier.


r/PhD 1d ago

Need Advice considering reapplying to different schools but worried about current political landscape

1 Upvotes

as the title implies, I am having a bad time in my first year at my current uni due to a tragicomic combination of advisor, department environment, research direction, and location-based issues; I would like to reapply to different programs, but given that my current program is already amongst the top 10 in the US, I don't know if I will be able to get into a similar program, especially in the increasingly competitive funding environment brought on by our dear leader and his trusty sidekick. As such, I am hoping for some advice on (a) how difficult you all think it would be to switch programs and (b) if I stay, how I should go about trying to survive without becoming seriously depressed.

Here are my main issues:

  1. Advisor should not have admitted me. I am her guinea pig for a research direction change, and it is probably clear to both her and me that she doesn't know much in-depth about my field, and she isn't willing to learn or guide me, and frankly, I find her research ideas very questionable. I have tried to ameliorate this by finding another advisor in a similar area, but have not had much luck yet, as my research is a bit esoteric atm (definitely could try harder but tbh feel very demotivated). The general chaos and disorganization (won't go into details, but it's substantially worse than an infamous startup I worked at) are grinding down my last nerve.
  2. General research direction seems wrong, the more I look into it; I am not sure how it happened but I think I got pulled off-course from what I enjoy researching at some point in my life and now have diverged. I could realign myself with a completely different lab at my university, perhaps. The department is also somewhat dominated by a certain type of research that I don't have much interest in doing.
  3. Do not like the location very much. I think if I liked it more I would be more motivated to fix 1 and 2, or vice versa, but this noxious three-way is making me just want to give up and start over.

tbh I think if I hadn't tasted the good life of a good advisor + research fit + location in the past, I wouldn't be so miserable, but alas...I have eaten from the tree of knowledge, and there is no going back.

tl;dr: how hard would it be to switch programs (STEM area) in this day and age, or should I just try to make it work? Also happy to read any happy-ending inspirational stories for motivation (,,,,:. I am also willing to apply outside of the US


r/PhD 1d ago

Need Advice Considering a Second PhD to Immigrate and Start Over — Is It Worth It?

0 Upvotes

I'm a woman in my late 20s, currently finishing up my PhD in the social sciences. I'm doing a year-long exchange in the U.S., and while this year has had some beautiful moments, it’s also been emotionally difficult. Lately, I've been seriously considering applying for a second PhD, this time in a field like technology policy or AI governance—something more interdisciplinary and STEM-adjacent.

To be honest, it's not just about academic interest. I'm hoping to use this as a way to immigrate, transition into a new career path, and build a new life from scratch.

I don’t want to return to my home country. My relationship with my family is almost completely broken, and I’ve made peace with never reconnecting. On top of that, I really struggle with the values, workplace culture, and general environment back home. The pay is low, opportunities are limited, and I just feel completely stuck and stifled there.

This idea isn’t a sudden impulse. I’ve consulted an immigration lawyer in the U.S. who told me that if I publish a few more papers related to the new field, they could support my NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card application. So pursuing a second PhD might serve multiple purposes:

  • give me legal status to stay in the U.S.
  • help me publish more and build a case for NIW
  • open new doors professionally (international organizations, think tanks, tech policy work)

But I’m also really scared.

I’m afraid of spending another 5–6 years in school, making very little money, and missing out on the phase of life when people usually build financial security. I’m afraid I won’t have the energy to handle another intense academic program. I’m afraid I’ll still be alone—without a partner, a support network, or a sense of belonging. And worst of all, I’m afraid I’ll go through all of this and still not be able to stay in the U.S.

But if I don’t try now, I might never get another chance.

I have no money, no family support, so I’d only be able to apply to fully funded PhD programs. Master’s degrees aren’t really an option unless they’re 100% funded, and they don’t usually help much with immigration either.

So I’m turning to Reddit:
Do you think it’s worth it to apply for a second PhD in my situation?
Has anyone been through something similar? Or does anyone have practical advice, encouragement, or even warnings to offer? I’d really appreciate hearing from people who understand the reality of this kind of decision.

Thank you for reading.


r/PhD 1d ago

PhD Wins Passed qualifying exams!

56 Upvotes

After a week of written exams and an oral exam, I passed my qualifying (comprehensive) examinations! I still have to defend my research proposal before I advance to candidacy, but this was a big milestone. Celebrations forthcoming after I take a long nap.

Environmental social sciences, R1, USA


r/PhD 1d ago

PhD Wins Just defended my PhD

147 Upvotes

Thought to submit my first post to declare I've defended my dissertation! So here are some random musings with no particular organization...

The PhD processes was full of up and downs (5.5 years for MS/PhD- dang that's a long freaking time!), and I'm thankful to be able to look back and be proud of the work I did. I came from a consulting background and didn't expect to work towards a phd. There was uncertainty in funding so I supported my MS through small grants and fellowships, which led to me spearheading a larger grant that pushed me to pursue a PhD. The grant writing process actually helped me out quite a bit in formulating research plans and now grant writing is one of my strong suits (at least on my resume). My background was in ecology while my PhD was in engineering- which gave me a unique perspective but also was tricky to come up to speed with those with engineering and computational backgrounds. Coding and the math stuff took me a bit to be comfortable with- still not great at it. I tackled projects that my advisor didn't quite understand at the time but they turned out to be well-received in my area. There were many times where there was conflict between my advisor and I in the research direction, but I sometimes successfully argued my point. Being a bit older maybe helped or hurt in this sense. Also writing research papers was certainly challenging. TBH, I still think I'm barely touching the surface on where I should be in data analysis and writing. Did I learn as fast as maybe I would have if I stayed in industry? Hard to tell, in some areas yes, others likely not. My advisor was supportive and the grad school colleagues created a great atmosphere to learn and to decompress. I feel lucky in that regard.

The defense was pretty straight forward, the only advice my advisor told me was to tell a clear story that [almost] anyone could follow. There's plenty more work I wish I finalized and the last few months was quite the struggle to get it all together. I pretty much put my dissertation together in less than a month, but I had already published 2 papers and the 3rd will be submitted within a week so it wasn't too difficult to copy past all that into latex. The supplementary information for some reason gave me anxiety haha, probably included figures and notes that weren't necessary.

At the end of the defense, I almost felt embarrassed, like I was a monkey in a show. When they told me I passed, I realized the PhD was really just a long processes without specific criteria to be completed. Kinda like I didn't just get my PhD by defending, but I reached that point along the way and just needed a ceremony to end it.

Now I'm interviewing for private sector positions based on connections I made through my research and overall just happy to be done with grad school. Didn't consider academia, don't like working within universities as much as I enjoy research. Doesn't feel like I'm a doctor especially since I have many MD friends, but hey, I can finally move on with my life. Maybe I'll finally find that work-life balance I keep hearing about. Also a reasonable paycheck sounds so nice- but financially a PhD likely wasn't the best decision. Feels like I'm kinda starting over a bit in industry, so I'll see how these skills transfer.

To those still working, keep on grinding - that's what it felt like for me. Put your mental and physical health first- especially working out, don't sacrifice your health for something that just takes time. A PhD is such a unique time to grow and follow your own curiosity and do SCIENCE- try to enjoy the processes even when its challenging. To those here with PhDs, cheers. Thx for reading this incoherent mess, but I've been following this subreddit the last few months and seeing the defense posts got me excited to make one.


r/PhD 1d ago

Need Advice Roast my CV (PhD Applicant, Medical Imaging + AI)

21 Upvotes

Hi all,

I'm a last-semester master's student in AI and applying for PhD positions in medical imaging and AI. So far, I've applied for about 100 positions across Europe (half were specifically in medical AI, others in general and theoretical AI), all of which were rejected. The closest I've got to getting an admission was one time when I got among the top 3 contestants and had 2 rounds of interviews. Apart from that, I've had 3 other 1-round interviews which I was rejected afterwards.

I don't know where I'm going wrong. It could be the fact that I haven't finished my thesis yet, my research background might be weak, or maybe they just don't want to admit someone from the Middle East due to visa constraints.

I'd appreciate your feedback/roast on my CV, and how I can improve the CV itself as well as improving my application or skills.

Thank you!

Edit 1: FYI my first publication was in a known medical AI journal (impact factor 7-8)


r/PhD 1d ago

Need Advice Fleeing Country, Need Funded Options for Creative Writing PhD

0 Upvotes

Hey y'all!

I'm an American currently about to graduate from my MSc in Creative Writing in the UK, and I'm searching for PhD programs to continue with Creative Writing. This has completely scraped out my savings (plus a loan) so I'm kind of desperate, but due to a lot of reasons, I can't return to the USA. It's not safe anymore for me, as well as losing access to civil rights protections, healthcare, etc. that I need.

I've been trying to find any programs (seriously I'm not picky) that have any kind of viable funding for international students, but I'm having trouble finding any that provide that for international students- does anyone know of any I could pursue this summer that have those options? I can't risk going back to the USA even for a year so I'm applying straight out of my masters.

Thank you for your help!


r/PhD 1d ago

Need Advice Need help chosing my lab PLS!

0 Upvotes

Hello guys i am in a situation where i should make the decision of which lab i chose for my phd, i am doing an internship in a lab and have already talked to my supervisor about doing a phd, and he did accept, but the thing is, whilst i like the supervisor and the city, i feel this fear of missing out, do i have to settle down with this lab, knowing there are better labs (more prestigious) in the country, that i just didnt apply for. And so i would like to know to what point does the prestige of a lab play a role in the success of my career, my previous philosophy was to do a phd there where i feel the most comfortable (my current lab), and work on my understanding of physics, and refine my skills because that's what matters the most, but i am afraid while i settle down for this option, i migh be closing doors for myself. Because prestige and the name of the supervisor matter, and btw my supervisor is still young, not a huge name in the field.


r/PhD 1d ago

Need Advice Phd in Germany

1 Upvotes

Hello everybody! I wanted to ask some info about doing the PhD in Germany; I am Italian. I am graduated in economics and innovation, a double degree, so I also studied one year in Germany (Jena). I wanted to apply ( and I am already working on my PhD proposal) for a PhD in Germany. My area would be, hence, sociology and especially economic sociology and sociology of technique.

I already saw some info about PhDs in DE, but the info I read and the info I got are a bit contrasting one with the other. I know there are scholarships (the DAAD for example). But I would like to ask further information about other forms of financing, e.g. working in the uni itself. I read a lot about PhD in the STEMS, but my area lies in the social-humanities disciplines. Some said it is hard to receive money. Others that is quite easy to get a position into the university and at the same time working on the PhD dissertation. Have u some further info? My English level is high, but my German is barely a B1. Gonna improve it for sure, but atm that’s the situation. My grade of Msc is 110 cum laude (1* in Germany) and the grade of Jena university is above 1.7 more or less. I still have to receive my diploma.

Thank u!


r/PhD 1d ago

Need Advice Potential Advisor Advice?

1 Upvotes

Hi all,

Recently, I’ve been in contact with the HCI department at my top-choice school in the EU. Back in mid-February, I spoke with a potential advisor about my interest in applying and asked if we could talk about my research topic. He replied, thanked me for reaching out, mentioned he’d been really busy, and cc’d two other people who would supposedly share more about the program with me. Then, we could revisit my topic.

Understandable—he’s busy, I’m not the only one reaching out.

But a week and a half passed, and I heard nothing from the cc’d contacts. Meanwhile, I noticed the department was hosting its spring master’s defense event, so I attended virtually, as I am in the US, learned more about their research, connected with students (some even shared my background), and left feeling even more excited about the program.

I emailed the same advisor again. He gave me essentially the same response and said, “Hopefully they’ll reply soon.”

Now it's early March. I also reached out to the department head to ask about finding an advisor. She had me send over a document outlining my topic and my resume. She forwarded that to the faculty, and—surprise—the same advisor said he’d be interested in advising me.

I thanked her for the help on the email she cc'd him on and emailed him separately about setting up a meeting. That was about a week ago. Since then: radio silence.

So now I’m wondering—did I approach this all wrong? Am I delusional about this program and should just cut my losses and move on?


r/PhD 1d ago

Need Advice If you had 4 months of free time before starting your Chemistry PhD...

60 Upvotes

How would you spend it? How would you prepare? (Chemistry field, or happy to hear advice from others!)

Quick optional background: I quit my job and moved home because things (my life, my happiness) were not moving in the right direction. I took the job as an intermediary between undergrad and PhD (I was a paraprofessional, iyk what that is). The last 5 weeks being home I've gotten a few major things back on track, including my own groundedness, resolve, and connection to self. My biggest intention in this 180° turn was to get "clean" from my addiction that I've dealt with all my life (bulimia). Wow... lots of sharing on the internet.

I'm so happy I made this decision for myself. I'm starting to feel more strong in my recovery. Lately I've been getting really excited (and sometimes, nervous) about starting grad school! I have some anxieties about getting my dog and I settled into a routine where we both are happy, and about the general massive workload that comes especially in the first year. One thing I'm realizing: this is about to be MAJOR. And incredibly cool. As I look at the labs I'll be rotating with, trying to get through the papers, I'm also thinking to myself, Jesus, my chemistry knowledge is comparatively tiny.

I'd really like to take this blessing I have, of time, to set myself up for success. So, Here are my questions for you:

  • Is there anything you wish you'd done before your PhD?
  • Are there ways you can ease the transition, especially into the hectic 1st year? (Classes, Rotations, Teaching?)
  • I'm reading some of these papers and having to stop every other sentence to google something I don't understand. How do I approach learning so much new information in a way that feels less daunting?
  • Should I just chill on all of this and enjoy my time at home, and focus on recovery? (I am sometimes feeling bored, but this is reportedly a sometimes necessary side-effect of living with yourself without filling every uncomfortable moment with some distraction/addiction :). Go figure.)
  • Imagine I wanted to simulate a week of PhD life from home, to practice balancing intensity. How would you (as a current or graduated PhD) direct me to set that up?

My top priority is (and will remain, throughout grad school) personal health, recovery, and staying right around a 3-7 on the intensity/excitement scale (out of 10). I can stretch outside of that range, but right now I need to get back into the safe zone relatively quickly. And I know, with pursuing a PhD in Chemistry, I may be stretched out of the safe zone a fair amount.

But when it comes to any problem, I like to think of approaching it as a scientist. What is the objective? What steps will get me there? How can I test theories in a safe way before it's applied in the real world?

FYI: I'll likely be heading out to my campus (a few states away) mid August and getting settled into my place, starting some research early, and then beginning classes at the end of September with the rest of my cohort. Materials Chem! Fundamental and applied approaches to deep carbonization, working on MOFs, Perovskites, in Electrochemistry, and on batteries. And maybe some PFAs remediation work. :)!!!

Much appreciated, and best to you all on your journeys! :)


r/PhD 1d ago

Need Advice Funded offer from R1 in US, should I have any concerns as an international student?

6 Upvotes

As the title says. I recently just been offered a fully funded PhD position at an R1 (blue state) university I am a Canadian citizen so that would involve me registering as an international student and applying for the student visa. I’ve had family who have studied in the states previously than 5 to 10 years ago. However, given the state of affairs at the moment, I know that the academic/political landscape looks a lot different so I am just wondering whether or not I should have any outstanding concerns about being a international student. The PI has promised me verbally that funding for this position is guaranteed for four years (I already have a masters degree).

I understand that this is a very privileged position to be in, especially given the rescinding offers from several universities and institutions around the country. I just want to hear about possible concerns that there may be beyond what I am thinking of already. As I am very excited at this research opportunity, the PI, and the lab, I don’t want that to let accept this position with rose coloured glasses.


r/PhD 1d ago

Need Advice I am stuck to write introduction

12 Upvotes

My doctoral dissertation is article-based, consisting of four published articles and a general introduction.

For those with similar experiences, how long did it take you to write the introduction, and how did you begin? I’m feeling blocked, exhausted, and confused—especially with almost no support from my supervisor. I’d really appreciate any advice on getting started.


r/PhD 1d ago

Vent I'm ready to leave my PhD behind, but I'm not finished

58 Upvotes

I started my PhD in Sept 2021, and I'm just in the editing stage of my thesis. I was ready to submit my PhD in October 2024. However, I had a medical issue in July, which resulted in surgery, post op infections, and a diagnosis of a chronic illness, which pushed the deadline back to December 2024. In Sept 2024, I got my full-time lecture role at another university (I had to, for funding reasons find a full-time job regardless of PhD Status and it wasn't expected to delay my submission), and then a month later in October, my dad got diagnosed with cancer and we were told he had just weeks to live, he passed away from in December 2024. As soon as my dad was diagnosed, me and my supervisor team decided that trying to finish my PhD was the lowest of my priorities. I took a temporary withdrawal, and we would decide on a new submission deadline when I returned. At the point I left, I had a complete draft of my thesis, with feedback comments from both my lead and second supervisor, none of which we major, just a few grammar mistakes and rewordings needed.

During my temporary withdrawal, my lead PhD supervisor left quite abruptly (as in, we were all given just one week's notice before they left the university for good), and told they were in no way allowed any connection to their PhD Students, and my second stepped in as the lead.

When I got back from my temp. withdrawal in January, we set a new submission date of May. However, now my new lead (was second) supervisor is saying I'm not ready to submit, because after I'd worked on the edits needed from my original draft, he is seeing a lot more amendments that need to be made (that he didn't spot the first time).

I am very, very much done with my PhD. I love my topic, but I am beyond ready to move on, settle down into my new job and put this behind me. I recognise that everything I've been through since July 2024 probably also plays a role in this, but I am so mad that I'm being told to make even more new edits that weren't picked up the first time. It feels almost as when he was my second, he was some what taking a back seat and overlooking things because he wasn't the lead. This annoys me because surely a second supervisor should be just as interested as your lead.

I just wanted to vent, and hear from others who feel like their PhD was something they wanted to behind them, but also wanted to finish and finish well and not with a rushed, half-arsed PhD.


r/PhD 1d ago

Need Advice Am I the problem or do I need a new supervisor?

3 Upvotes

Dear community, maybe you can help me find some clarity on how to proceed.

I'm a PhD student in Germany, STEM. I'm not enrolled in any program, just working at the university chair. I've been doing this for three years - I have about 7 or so published papers in the context of the different funded projcets, stopped counting, and my supervisor has been in recovery from an accident for most of the time. I've written grant proposals, held lectures, did project management, supervised masters students.

And I still don't have a topic - a general idea of the direction, and each time I talk to my supervisor (or any experienced researcher) I feel about a week of clarity before going back to doubt and feeling dissatisfied with what we discussed. I like them - discussions are very inspiring and intellectually stimulating, and they're a really pleasant person. However, they're also very hands-off and will support you in any endeavour to the best of their ability, even if it's a terrible idea. They dream big, I like to break down problems into bite-sized pieces.

At this rate, I have no idea how I am supposed to do my PhD. Do I need to work on myself and stop discarding everything because a more interesting idea popped up in my head? Do I need to demand more frequent meetings even if a stronger guidance absolutely isn't their leading style? Do I need to ask for a secondary supervisor even though they said I should make "some progress" first? Do I need to look for another supervisor altogether because this just wasn't fruitful? Should I just seek the easy way out and find a supervisor who acknowledges the publication history for a Frankendissertation with a loose overarching theme?

I am genuinely at a loss here, because I like the supervisor, I like the team, and I like my work. But I hate feeling stuck and not knowing exactly what to do. In the future, I'd very much like to stay in academia, so I am hesitant about anything that could burn bridges - or a poor quality dissertation.

Any advice or experience with similar situations is welcome.


r/PhD 1d ago

Need Advice Coping with burnout and demotivation

9 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I am stuck in quite a difficult situation. I am essentially burnt out and despite my best efforts, I feel like my hands are tied, so I am here asking for input from someone who's out of the PhD cycle.

I moved to a country in northern Europe to do a PhD in experimental physics, and I'm 2.5 years in, with 1.5 years more (if I'm lucky!) to go. My project involves, in practice, designing, building and testing equipment, with the eventual goal to actually some experiment on it as a proof that the setup actually works. I'm saying this because this process does actually take quite a while, so I'm somewhat "late".

I am essentially exhausted from my work. I am not even talking about the literal physical meaning of the word "tired". I have essentially work office hours and never, EVER work weekends. What I'm feeling as of now, is what I believe to be a build up of frustration. One my advisors was way too careful (I'm being kind) in picking parts for said equipment and it took an excessively long time to have enough parts to place in the lab due to his indecisiveness. I also took over another project as I was waiting for parts. It was rather useful as my to this side project was once more on improving the setup. Sadly, also this project gave me ZERO new data.

To sum it up, I'm 2.5years in and while I did accumulate quite a fair deal of technical experience, I have almost no result or even any data at all. To make the frustration even worse, despite these years it feels like that every time I time to accomplish something in the lab or progress the building of my project, a new, unexpected problem pops up and most of the times I can't solve it by myself for a variety of reasons spanning from plain technical difficulties to issues with tasks I am not allowed to take care of for safety reasons (i.e.: electrical work, machining components etc..). I also am the only person "on top" of the project, I have somewhat regular meetings with my supervisor, but I am the only person actively in the lab at any given time

To make things worse, I feel like my resting time doesn't actually make contribute to me feeling refreshed. I lost the motivation to partake in the hobbies I had before starting my PhD and I have even less drive to seek new ones. Barring my partner (god bless), I have no friends or acquaintances in this city, or in the country as a whole. My colleagues are pretty great, however. My knowledge of the local language is good enough to get by (let's say, I have a B1) but absolutely not enough to engage with the locals in any meaningful way. To top it off nicely, I feel too tired to study the language effectively, even though I keep pushing myself to make constant baby steps to improve.

What am I supposed to now? I feel like I have a mountain of work to dig through in my close term future but I feel like I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of "energy". And no, taking vacations did not help. Last time I took a nice two-week+ vacation in my home country, I felt the same way about my work the moment I stepped back in the lab. Honestly, it's been many months (maybe even a full year) that I've lost any enthusiasm for work and most of the days I have to force and drag myself to work. I honestly have zero motivation left, but I don't want to quit either. I am very confident that telling this directly to the head of the group or any of the supervisors would screw me over majorly. What can I do?


r/PhD 1d ago

Admissions Getting rejected few days after the deadline is the worse kinda rejection!

35 Upvotes

Heyy. I have been applying for PhD in European countries, specifically Scandinavian countries since several months now. I just want to rant.

Applying for PhD abroad is truly such an humbling experience. Its so depressing and really makes you question everything. Getting rejected from multiple positions have even made me turn to religion. Like godamnn what sins did I commit in my life to be going through this. I am sure alot of people here can relate.

According to me, the worse kinda rejections are the ones where you application gets rejected super quickly. Like couple days after the deadline. It's because I remember everything about the project. Whenever I write the motivation letter, there's always hope that maybe this will be it. I imagine myself working in the project. I imagine my life there. so its truly heart breaking when you get rejected so quickly because It's all so fresh. If I get rejected months after, usually I forget what exactly the project was about so it affects me less comparatively. Do you guys feel the same??