Grad Students Struggle with Thesis & Supervision
13 posts across 5 communities in the last 30 days; 39% from r/gradadmissions.
“So my friend is a PhD student somewhere in Canada in applied physics. They have recently begun their PhD (landed few days ago, got registration and everything done, bank account open, etc.). They do not like the group and the place too much; there were a few issues which are…”
“I'm doing my Master's thesis and have been working under my supervisor since the summer. I initially found a research gap and worked on it for about two months, but eventually realized it wouldn't work. I informed my supervisor, found a new research gap, and started over. The…”
“I'm a final-year master's student, and I've been working on my thesis for the past two months. My supervisor expects me to identify the state of the art in my research area and figure out the entire methodology on my own. I don't have a problem with working independently. My…”
Many graduate students are experiencing significant challenges related to their thesis work, including difficulties with supervisors, lack of guidance, and feeling overwhelmed. This leads to stress, anxiety, and concerns about academic failure.
SOURCES (36)
“I'm so tensed about my thesis that it has led me to the verge of overthinking, not sleeping, not eating There's a constant doubt in me for my thesis that whatever I'm doing is correct or not because the topic that i have , have…”
“Hi everyone! I’m in the process of applying for PhD programmes in Law at Canadian universities, and I’m currently working on my research proposal. I’m hoping to start emailing potential supervisors this week, although I’ve noticed that some universities advise applicants not to contact professors before applying. I wanted to ask how competitive PhD admissions in Law are in Canada and whether I have a realistic chance of receiving an offer with my academic background. The universities I’m current”
“I’m a fourth-year PhD student in engineering in Quebec. My research topic isn’t one my supervisor is particularly interested in; he has a lot of students for one professor, and for most of the past four years I’ve worked on it largely independently. I’m close to finishing, but I have very few publications. I have several manuscripts nearly ready to submit, but my supervisor won’t review or approve them (usually he says "I just don't have time for this"). He insists that I need his”
“Hey everyone! Im a psychology student. This is my first honours thesis as part of a research project, and I have my first online meeting with my supervisor coming up. I’m pretty nervous and not really sure what to expect or what I should ask. My supervisor mainly works with PhD students, so I’m really grateful they agreed to supervise me. They’re also at a university I’m applying to for 2027, where securing a supervisor is part of the admission requirements. I have quite a few research interests”
“I’m currently in the last year of my M.A. in human rights (Canada). It’s very theory-based, and I’m currently trying to do a thesis. There hasn’t been much opportunity for internships and I haven’t been able to land one, my program doesn’t offer a co-op, but I’ve been regularly volunteering and doing TA work. With the thesis and TA work and other commitments, I’m not even sure I could manage an internship on top of it now, but I did try to get one in my first year. I was originally planning to g”
“Hello everyone, For my Honours in Psychology, I was required to find a potential supervisor for my thesis before applying, and thankfully, I was able to secure the supervisor I was hoping for! The only thing I’m a little unsure about is how to approach the process from here. I’m currently still completing my BA at my current university, which is different from the university where my prospective supervisor is based. I haven’t received my admission offer yet, and I probably won’t have access to t”
“Hi everyone, For my Honours in Psychology, I was required to find a potential supervisor for my thesis before applying, and thankfully, I was able to secure the supervisor I was hoping for! The only thing I’m a little unsure about is how to approach the process from here. I’m currently still completing my BA at my current university, which is different from the university where my prospective supervisor is based. I haven’t received my admission offer yet, and I probably won’t have access to the”
“Hello all, hope you’re having a good Sunday! Just looking for some support/perspective. How do you cope with waiting ages for supervisor feedback? I’m a first-year PhD student and my supervisor is great on paper, but takes on a lot outside the university (committees, grants, conferences, etc.), so their attention is understandably split and feedback can take a long time. Sometimes I’m fine with it, but other times I feel quite invisible. I had a very hands-on Master’s supervisor, so this has bee”
“So my friend is a PhD student somewhere in Canada in applied physics. They have recently begun their PhD (landed few days ago, got registration and everything done, bank account open, etc.). They do not like the group and the place too much; there were a few issues which are unmanageable and they would like to quit their PhD come back to their country (somewhere in asia if that does any difference). Now, there may be a few potential issues in leaving, which may or may not be an issue, and it wou”
“Hi all, Part-time MA student in the UK, I'm about to start my final year which is just dissertation. I've had an email over the weekend that none of the dissertation students have been assigned a supervisor at this point due to staffing shortages, and that we are to just work through some online learning independently in the meantime. I've asked for a date this will change by, but there's no clarity at this point. This to me seems totally wrong, but I'm not sure what we can d”
“I did my master in France and I witnessed how hard PhD students are working and not having a good supervision. I myself had problems with my supervisors during my internships..that made me lose my motivation to apply for a PhD there, I wonder if this applies everywhere in the world where you really work 99% of the time alone and struggle alone. Are there any countries that are known to have a better organized PhD system and where doctors are really helpful and present with their PhD stu”
“I ll finished in 2 month my 2 years master research in machine learning and biomedical ai (made in Canada) . I m honestly really disappointed by academia and how it went . Almost zero help, not team no coworker, no discussion, no follow-up and answers for month … my supervisor only wants results. I did all by myself and the only thing im grateful is that the work I did tought me so much knowledge about my subject. had a meeting with a professor who encouraged me to do a PhD. She told me my maste”
“I am in the last leg of my masters dissertation for medical anthropology. Only a couple chapters left and its due in 3 weeks. Ive had to get a month extension due to some severe health complications in July and August. My masters was being completed in London, but i had to move back to the US because my health was so bad. A couple days after i landed, my grandfather was admitted to the hospital with severe heart failure. He died this past Friday. He was my rock and practically raised me. We had”
“I'm doing my Master's thesis and have been working under my supervisor since the summer. I initially found a research gap and worked on it for about two months, but eventually realized it wouldn't work. I informed my supervisor, found a new research gap, and started over. The problem is that I've basically done everything myself so far... finding the research gaps, literature search, methodology, figuring out what to do next, etc. My supervisor hasn't really contributed much”
“I'm doing my Master's thesis and have been working under my supervisor since the summer. I initially found a research gap and worked on it for about two months, but eventually realized it wouldn't work. I informed my supervisor, found a new research gap, and started over. The problem is that I've basically done everything myself so far... finding the research gaps, literature search, methodology, figuring out what to do next, etc. My supervisor hasn't really contributed much”
“I am a PhD student in electrochemistry originally from Canada (from around the Toronto area) doing my degree in France at a reputable institution. I am about 10 months in (started November, 2025) and in all honesty, i’m really miserable. Not because of the fact I am in a completely different continent or anything like that. The only thing really bringing me misery is my PhD. To explain briefly, my project is on the synthesis of materials for water electrolysis. I am meant to synthesize certain k”
“Hi everyone, I'm currently a 1st-year Master's student in a Psychological Research program - and I'm hopping to get into a Clinical Psychology PhD program in the future. Is it possible to get into such a program when my research so far has been more Social/Political/Legal Psychology oriented? Does it heavily depend on the School or PI/Professor I'm applying to? Should I adjust my thesis to include Clinical factors to have a better shot? Would love to hear if anyone has similar ex”
“Is PhD experience very much dependent on your supervisor? For context, I am doing a master’s dissertation, and the nature of it is like a mini PhD (I don’t have a better way to phrase this), and I already find managing two sups for the project to be quite draining, although they seem quite nice but I think academics being academics, sometimes they might expect me to read their minds. I would say that’s the draining part. I am looking for meaningful and well thought out takes on this. Not trolls”
“I'm an incoming international PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, starting this winter in Montréal. Since I have a few months before moving, I contacted my future supervisor and asked what I should study to prepare. He told me to review linear/nonlinear systems, optimal control, cyber-physical systems, multi-agent systems, advanced air mobility, cybersecurity, ML, and neural networks. He also said I should conduct an in-depth literature review and perform a SWOT analysis on e”
“I'm an incoming international PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, starting this winter in Montréal. Since I have a few months before moving, I contacted my future supervisor and asked what I should study to prepare. He told me to review linear/nonlinear systems, optimal control, cyber-physical systems, multi-agent systems, advanced air mobility, cybersecurity, AI, ML, and neural networks. He also said I should conduct an in-depth literature review and perform a SWOT analysis”
“Hello, everyone. I posted previously requesting the community to critique my CV for clinical PhD applications in Canada (I am a citizen). I have made a ton of changes, and greatly appreciated all feedback. I have hummed and hawed for weeks and believe I am finally finished and ready to start contacting potential supervisors!!! I come to you, one last time, begging for critiques ( you will not hurt my feelings) :) I redacted/blurred identifying information. Notes: - I compacted all 4 pages. In th”
“Hello! I'm a psychology student and I really need your help in writing our thesis paper. Our study are about the lived Experiences of IT Professionals with ADHD in the workplace. And our research questions are their work experience, how do this experience help them view their daily lives, then their coping. As we get it checked, the prof said to choose just one profession but one of our participants have two different IT position/role. What really is the best. And we don't really want it”
“Hi all! I am applying to PhD programs in Counseling Psychology in North America this year. Acceptance is really really important for me but I'm having trouble coming up with a sound research proposal. I have a couple rough ideas on what I want to study but I don't really understand the methodology I'd use to execute it. Initially I had planned on making the entire research a qualitative study but the program I'm most interested in typically requires you to develop expertise in bo”
“Hi everyone! Was recently accepted (as a non French) at Sorbonne do to my PhD on geography and planning for 3 years at Médiations lab. Is there anyone who is currently doing theirs PhD there, or maybe in Sorbonne in general? Looking for more day-day info 😇 submitted by /u/oldvorondedisvietnam [link] [comments]”
“I just graduated with my bachelor’s in electrical and electronics engineering and i’m trying to do my masters in canada. I’ve tried emailing multiple professors but haven’t gotten a response from any( Got one response but it was to tell me he wasn’t taking students). What do I do, because I feel I won’t be accepted without securing a supervisor. I have an 82% average with 3 related projects on my cv. Thank you submitted by /u/No_Quantity2185 [link] [comments]”
“I'm a final-year master's student, and I've been working on my thesis for the past two months. My supervisor expects me to identify the state of the art in my research area and figure out the entire methodology on my own. I don't have a problem with working independently. My issue is that I feel like I'm doing it without any meaningful guidance. In every lab meeting, he mostly sits back and asks me what I've learned from the papers I've read. I explain my understandin”
“hello everybody hope you all doing well; I have ust graduated from a master program and I will start my phd this year and Im still struggling on what to work on ; my supervisor suggested a topic( about AI and education) but I didnt like it and I want to change cuz I want to do something different from other candidates in order to stand out and increase my chances of getting PASS scholarship ( a sholarship of excellence) so what do you suggest guys ; I would appreciate it if you could drop you op”
“Anyone here who did/is doing a PhD in analytical chem at a Canadian school? Would love to hear what your experience in grad school is like before I apply. submitted by /u/OhDloy [link] [comments]”
“Hi all, I'd love to know any success stories from people who did poorly in their master's program and still went on to do a PhD. To cut a long story short, I ended up in a brand new master's program (first incoming class to begin the program) that was very poorly put together and had little support for students. I also suffered from some extenuating circumstances while in the program - I was the victim of a severe violent crime that had several ramifications across my life, including”
“Hello everyone, I am applying for my MSC in a couple of programs in Canadian universities for 2027 and I have contacted about 15 supervisors across different schools. So far I haven’t received any response from either of them and it’s being atleast a week or two . I am working on a strict deadline as school applications and visa processing takes time for my country( African student) .Please how can I get these supervisors to atleast reply me ? I took a lot of advice from the Reddit community on”
“I've been looking into how undergraduate and graduate students in Vietnam collect primary data for their thesis research, and the pattern is surprisingly consistent & concerning. Most students rely on 1 of 3 methods: Asking friends and classmates to participate Posting in Facebook groups and doing “exchanges” (you fill mine, I fill yours) Asking family members to just… answer The problem isn't that they can't collect enough responses. Most manage to hit their target sample size w”
“My Master Thesis is on a really difficult track right now. I have 2 months to finish but it is stuck at its starting point due to a mixture of my absent/avoidant supervisor and mentor and me being new to this field. I am very worried that I will fail my thesis. I can’t function normally, I can’t sleep or eat. My life is in shambles right now. Can someone help guide me (because my supervisor, obviously doesn’t)? It is in applied CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) in porous media for contaminant t”