Co-supervision

[RayneeDeigh]

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Does anybody have personal experience with this?

I'm finding my main supervisor to be extremely unhelpful and sometimes downright disrespectful. So I'm thinking of talking to my DCT to ask if co-supervision is possible (there's another professor whose research lines up with mine perfectly but he's new so he's not allowed to supervise fully yet). But some people have said that co-supervision is a life saver and others have said it just makes things worse. So I'm wondering if anyone has insight about this? Thanks!

 

[WaitingKills]

Does anybody have personal experience with this?

I'm finding my main supervisor to be extremely unhelpful and sometimes downright disrespectful. So I'm thinking of talking to my DCT to ask if co-supervision is possible (there's another professor whose research lines up with mine perfectly but he's new so he's not allowed to supervise fully yet). But some people have said that co-supervision is a life saver and others have said it just makes things worse. So I'm wondering if anyone has insight about this? Thanks!

I have experience with this. I definitely say that if you are already having issues with your primary supervisor, that you should get another one on board. I had massive issues with my primary when I was doing my master's thesis and am still having issues with her regarding publications and references (both of which she said that she wanted to be a part of and had no problem doing). My co-supevisor has been amazing with my publication efforts and I believe I will be asking her within the next week to take the spot of my primary for my references. I honestly don't think I would have made it through my thesis if I didn't have a co-supervisor to turn to and keep my primary accountable.

The only issue that I have seen with co-supervision is if the supervisors disagree on something (eg. measures to use). In a situation like this, it usually works to have a meeting where both of your supervisors and you are involved so things can be negotiated.

So, long and short... been there done that regarding a horrible primary supervisor... get someone else on board that you believe you can trust, who you think will support you and have your best interests in mind.

 

[Ollie123]

I came here specifically because I could have some sort of quasi-co-mentoring set up since I'm interested in both mood and addictions.

I can't say how it will go right now since its still way too early on and I'm not really being co-mentored at all right now since I want to get fully integrated into my primary advisors lab before I start working out some collaborative projects.

Largely though, I'd say it depends on your university. Some universities still don't collaborate much at all within their department (which just seems unreal to me), so collaboration there is unlikely to go well. Also depends how your two mentors will get along.

Still, worth a try if things aren't going well with your mentor. If you aren't happy and aren't getting what you need, there's no point in being there in the first place, so might as well try and take steps to correct the problem🙂