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I am a PhD student. This is my first month in the program. I met my advisor a while ago. Very nice guy, but as the title says, he does not know what I am writing about. I don't mean it figuratively. He literally does not know what I am writing about.

I was taken aback when I realized he is not specialized in my area of research. But not knowing what my research is about is just plainly freaking me out! (He thought that I was writing about a different subject, and he doesn't have any other PhD students besides myself)

There is only one professor who is specialized in my area of research in the school, and she is not taking students.

I thought about it, and decided that transferring to another school is on the table. The thing is that the closest school is ranked higher than mine. (Mine in the top 50, the other school in the top 15), and I am not sure if they are going to accept me.

Should I go to the other school and talk to the admission office? To the dean perhaps? For my major, it is not common for students to contact prospective supervisors. (I don't know anyone in there who I am interested in working with because I did not see this coming).

What should I do?

*This a comment that I posted below, but just because it came up many times, I'll put it here:

"Just to clarify, and this is something I clarified above, it is not a common practice in my field that we -students- contact supervisors before getting into the program. We apply and then the school itself assigns students to supervisors. Actually, some departments ask explicitly that you DON'T contact any faculty member. I did not choose my supervisor. I was not given his name until I get into the program and started"

Someone has pointed out another question about a similar case, the lonk has been useful. But, my situation is different as I have no other alternatives. (Advisors)

Basha
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    What country, and what field? (In some fields it's common for PhD students to have different research interests than their advisors; in others it's impossible.) How did you end up in this situation? Why aren't you changing your area? Why aren't you thinking of 10 other schools to do your PhD? – Alexander Woo Jan 26 '21 at 11:33
  • The U.S. I cannot give details I am really afraid that my advisor would find this post. Why not 10? There are less than 20 program that I can apply to and some of them already rejected me. Others are just not a good fit. I am not changing my area because I have 0 interest in my advisor aera. I don't know how I ended up here. I just found myself here! – Basha Jan 26 '21 at 11:43
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    I don't understand how you've been accepted by a supervisor who doesn't work in your subject. Why did you apply for a PhD with them if you want to work on something different? Ultimately if you've only been there a month you have nothing to lose by leaving and going somewhere else where your research interests are more in line with your supervisor's. – astronat supports the strike Jan 26 '21 at 12:46
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    @astronat, actually, you have a year to lose. But, yes, it may be worth it. – Buffy Jan 26 '21 at 13:37
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    Do you have only a bachelors or also a masters? For the US it seems unusual to have a commitment to a specific research topic with only a month in the program. Was this advisor assigned to you or was it your choice? – Buffy Jan 26 '21 at 13:39
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    What does your advisor think about the current situation? They will also not be happy that they have no idea what you are doing, so what was their response, did they come up with a plan to continue? – Jeroen Jan 26 '21 at 15:06
  • Are you taking classes, or working on research full-time? And you started in January, not in September? – cag51 Jan 26 '21 at 16:58
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    I think you're misunderstanding the situation. My guess is that your current advisor is not the person intended to actually supervise your dissertation, but someone who is a placeholder to help you identify classes to take and find your dissertation advisor. Now your problem is that there is no one in your department who works in your area of interest. – Alexander Woo Jan 26 '21 at 17:06
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    @Basha re: "My advisor did not give any comments about what he thinks. In our first meeting, he actually told me that he is not specialized and that "we will learn together" " - actually your advisor did tell you what he thinks, and it seems to be that he thinks this will not be a big problem. – Bryan Krause Jan 26 '21 at 18:19
  • Assuming this is the case, I wonder to what extent you can trust an opinion of someone who do not know what the subject of you're research is. How would he judge if it is a problem or not. – Basha Jan 26 '21 at 18:53
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    You are getting good advice here in the answers and comments. You would do well to take advantage of it, but you seem to be resisting it. That is sub-optimal and self defeating. – Buffy Jan 26 '21 at 23:18
  • I was in a similar situation when I was working on a Ph.D.: my advisor suggested I work in an area she knew nothing about. I should have realized that was a really bad idea. I wound up leaving rather than having to find a new topic and advisor. – bob Jan 27 '21 at 00:01
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    How do you know what your research is about one month in? – Azor Ahai -him- Jan 27 '21 at 00:20
  • @bob sorry to hear that. hope you all the best – Basha Jan 27 '21 at 04:06
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    @AzorAhai-him- I had to write a proposal, so far I am not changing anything - I know it will change over time. - he does not know what my proposal is. He did not read my CV and know nothing about what I've done so far. (where I work, where I got my master's degree..etc) – Basha Jan 27 '21 at 04:07
  • @AnonymousPhysicist Thank you for the link. I've read it. the advice in there is good. the thing is that it does not apply to me as I cannot find another advisor in the school. (to replace my advisor, or only to help with my research, besides my advisor). – Basha Jan 27 '21 at 04:14
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    "There is only one professor who is specialized in my area of research in the school, and she is not taking students." Have you spoken to that person? It sounds like she might be in a good position to offer you advice. – N. Virgo Jan 27 '21 at 05:19
  • @Basha Thanks! Fortunately it turned out for the best. A Ph.D wasn't for me anyway (I know that now), and I'm happily working as a software developer in industry. – bob Jan 27 '21 at 14:14
  • This may not be a big deal, but that's hard to tell. However there are other things to consider. Do you "click" with your advisor on a personal level so far? Does he seem friendly, smart, experienced, does he take enough time to communicate with you etc..? Going with an advisor that is very prolific in the exact area that draws you could well end in a worse PhD experience if that person is harder for you to get along with, bad at teaching or simply does not have enough time for you. – smcs Jan 27 '21 at 18:54

4 Answers4

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But not knowing what my research is about is just plainly freaking me out!

So it seems like there are two issues here. One is the classic "my advisor works in field X while I want to work in field Y" problem (you will find lots of discussion of this problem if you search this site). The other is that your advisor is hands-off to the point of you being completely on your own. Given both of these factors, your decision to seek a new advisor seems reasonable. And yes, if you are unwilling or unable to work with anyone locally, then it follows logically that you will have to transfer.

The thing is that the closest school is ranked higher than mine. (Mine in the top 50, the other school in the top 15)

You may need to consider schools other than the closest one. I assume you were not able to be admitted to a top-15 school when you applied last time. Unless you've done something impressive in the last year, your odds of getting admitted are probably lower than they were last year, not higher.

Should I go to the other school and talk to the admission office? To the dean perhaps? (For my major, It is not common for students to contact prospective supervisors.

You say you are in the US, so I am surprised by the question. Graduate admissions are usually done by the department, not by the admissions office; the admissions office is usually for undergraduate admissions. The dean is also not usually involved in such things.

The only way to "short circuit" the usual admissions process is to find a professor who wants to work with you, and have them help you from the inside. But if you don't have such a person in your network already, this is a long-shot; most professors will just say "please apply to the program and we can talk if you get in."

Bottom line: You should pursue all the options in your desired subfield, not just the closest one. But if your subfield is small and all of the programs are highly-ranked, you may need to consider other subfields, "like it or not."

I don't know how I ended up here. I just found myself here!

I suggest that you reflect on this. You did not "find yourself here"; rather, you applied for admission in this department and then agreed to attend. There is no real harm in making a mistake; we have all made many. But it's important to recognize what went wrong so that you can avoid having it happen again.

Update: OP has since clarified that their field is Law. I cannot speak to whether this answer makes sense for law, not my area.

cag51
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    That last paragraph is huge. It sounds like the OP somehow accidentally fell into a PhD, which simply isn't how it works. What was your plan on the way to this point? Why did you first ask this person to be your advisor, and on what grounds did they accept? – Jeff Jan 26 '21 at 14:45
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    "Just to clarify, and this is something I clarified above, it is not a common practice in my field that we -students- contact supervisors before getting into the program. We apply and then the school itself assigns students to supervisors. Actually, some departments ask explicitly that you DON'T contact any faculty member. I did not choose my supervisor. I was not given his name until I get into the program and started" – Basha Jan 26 '21 at 16:24
  • Also thank you for the info. I study in the U.S., but I am an international student, and I am really not sure who is involved in the process. – Basha Jan 26 '21 at 16:33
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    Yes, I saw that clarification in the original question, though it is interesting that the school assigns students to supervisors. Is it possible that you misunderstood something, and this person is just your "supervisor" until you find an actual research "advisor"? At any rate, this all seems very irregular, so I really suggest that you specify your general field (not your specific subfield). As it is, it's hard to tell whether you're just in some really weird corner of academia, or if something else is going on. – cag51 Jan 26 '21 at 16:51
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    @Basha Like cag51 I really have no knowledge of what a PhD program in law is like. However, I can confidently say that in my own field if students were to choose their own research projects and then be assigned a supervisor randomly, everyone would be in the situation you describe. So, if that is the case, how do other students in your program handle it? – Bryan Krause Jan 26 '21 at 18:16
  • This is actually not the case here. You're supposed to apply. A committee would evaluate your application. The school will then choose a supervisor based on their background and ask them if they accept to take a student. This is how things are. In my program, some students are assigned to supervisors with the same background. There is one student that I know about that have faced the same situation. They, however, found another faculty member in the same program that could supervise them, so their problem is solved. – Basha Jan 26 '21 at 18:38
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    "Graduate admissions are usually done by the department, not by the admissions office; the admissions office is usually for undergraduate admissions. The dean is also not usually involved in such things." I'd suggest talking to whoever is in charge of the PhD program for the department, or the head of the department as a whole. – nick012000 Jan 27 '21 at 03:35
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    @nick012000 thank you very much. After the advice that I've been given here, I'll give it another month, and if things still shaky I would try to talk to the head of department. – Basha Jan 27 '21 at 04:17
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Since you describe your university as top 50 and your field of study (based on your comment) is a mainstream one, I will assume that both the university and the PhD program you’re in are not new, but have been around for at least 10 years, and probably much longer.

Based on this assumption, it seems highly probable to me that the reason you are “freaking out” is because you have some misconception about your situation and about the significance of discovering that your supervisor does not work in your exact research area. My bet is that this is simply not the catastrophe you imagine it to be.

I don’t know what your misconception is exactly. But start by taking a deep breath. The key thing to remember is that this PhD program is an established, successful one. Whatever their procedures are for assigning advisors to students, they have been using them for a while and they have been working. If mistaken or suboptimal assignments occasionally get made, the department will have resources and people in place to hear out what you are unhappy about and help you correct the situation. Keep in mind that by admitting you into their PhD program, they are effectively betting a large amount of money on your success. So they have every incentive to not let that gamble be a losing one.

What I suggest you do is:

  1. Take another deep breath.

  2. Go online and look at your department’s website to see what advice and resources they offer to incoming graduate students. Is there a graduate student handbook/survival guide? Is there a list of staff and faculty advisers with their contact details? Is there an explanation of the process of getting started with your thesis research? Since you are from abroad, be aware of the possibility of language issues that might lead you to misunderstand some of the explanations. Use google translate or ask friends for help if there are things you’re unsure about. (By the way, based on your post your English is excellent so I don’t think this is very likely to be an issue, but thought I’d mention it just in case.)

  3. From the website, find an adviser or relevant administrator (faculty or staff) you can talk to in person by making an appointment or calling them during office hours. I am serious that this needs to happen over an actual voice/video/face to face conversation; do not settle for trying to get advice over email unless there’s absolutely no other option.

    When you have the appointment, explain your situation to them, calmly and in detail, and ask what your options are. Do not be shy about asking about switching to a different advisor or other creative ideas of this type, even if you don’t think they are likely to be allowed. And again, make sure there isn’t a language barrier that’s standing in the way of you understanding things accurately and correctly.

After you follow these steps, I believe you will already be much better informed and feeling much less despondent about your situation. The bottom line is: you have a misconception. You need to be sure that you have diagnosed the problem correctly before being able to plan a solution. Right now, I strongly suspect that you haven’t diagnosed the problem correctly. So that should be the first priority. After that, remember, your school is invested in your success and has resources to help. So use them, and I believe you’ll be all right where you are and not end up needing to switch schools. Good luck!

Dan Romik
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  • Thank you for your commet. I am actually afraid if I discuss it with someone in school, my advisor might know about it and I don't want to find myself in another problem. The thing with money, I have a scholarship from my employer, the school is not paying a penny. That what made me think they are just "milking money". – Basha Jan 26 '21 at 21:58
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    @Basha well, I don’t know what to say. I wish you the best of luck, but again I get a strong feeling that you have misconceptions about your situation and what’s a helpful way to approach it. In particular, I think your caginess and reluctance to share information, here and at your school, are going to make it hard for you to get good advice and reach good decisions. – Dan Romik Jan 26 '21 at 22:36
  • There's no shame in switching advisors fwiw. – bob Jan 27 '21 at 00:05
  • Note that OP got a scholarship or some kind of support and that the department may find little incentive to work hard to fulfil OP's needs, since it's not their money at stake (at least not until OP decides to leave). – Captain Emacs Jan 27 '21 at 00:06
  • @CaptainEmacs perhaps that’s relevant information, perhaps not. We know so little about the situation that I find it pointless to speculate about such things. I stand by my opinion that the root of OP’s problem involves some misconception, which, when cleared up, will likely make the situation seem a lot less catastrophic than it does now. – Dan Romik Jan 27 '21 at 00:23
  • @DanRomik It's possible and I haven't said your response is not useful. However, the fact that it's a law department and the scholarship can change the situation quite drastically and what seems inconceivable to STEM academics may well be common practice in Law. I agree that at the present stage there is not enough information to say much. – Captain Emacs Jan 27 '21 at 00:56
  • @bob I don't think there is a shame. I am afraid that things might get awkward/ complicated with my current advisor if I tried, and find no alternatives. – Basha Jan 27 '21 at 04:19
  • @DanRomik & CaptinEmacs: I've settled in giving it another month and see how things go. I know that within a month from now, applying to other universities will not be a choice. (I already passed the deadline). I am thinking about talking to the head of department, hoping that my scholarship would be my "ticket" out of this school. I also got my master's degree from a t-14 school, I am hoping this would help if things went south. It's super competitive, still have a high chance of rejection. – Basha Jan 27 '21 at 04:31
  • @Basha Ah, I understand. – bob Jan 27 '21 at 14:13
  • @Basha good to know. Yes, talking to the department chair also sounds sensible. Good luck! – Dan Romik Jan 27 '21 at 19:29
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Because your own advisor admitted that he is not informed about your topic proposal. I suggest starting there.

Sit down with your advisor and discuss the situation. At the very least, the advisor should be interested in helping you to fix the situation:

  • Is your topic proposal relevant after admission? Sometimes a proposal is required to judge your critical thinking/writing/argumentation skills during the admission process and not to guide your life for the next few years.
  • How much expertise in your specific area is needed to supervise you?
  • Is it feasible for you to adjust your topic to have a better fit with the advisor?
  • Is the advisor willing to bring other more knowledgeable people to the advisory group?
  • Understand mutual expectations

Is such discussion if fruitful, great! If not, consider transferring somewhere else.

Eriks Klotins
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Looks like lots of good advice already. I will add that this does not sound like a deal-breaker to me.

In the US, Masters candidates learn the field they want to study before jumping into a PhD program. Most professors will tell you that they expect their PhD candidates to know more about their field of study than the professor themselves. At the beginning of your study, you may not know more than the professor. But the expectation is that very quickly, you will surpass the knowledge of your professor in your particular field of study.

Your advisor seems to be setting an honest, realistic, and proper expectation with you.

Lastly, in the US, PhD candidates have a committee comprising of multiple professors. Ask the other professor, the one who is an expert but is not taking any more students, to be on your PhD committee. So they are not your advisor but are still aware of your work. This way, you can still get advice from them. Also, because they are the expert in your field, they will help you make connections once you complete your PhD.

Syed Rehman
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