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How to deal with my thesis chair?
I am a 2nd yr Master's student set to graduate this may. My plan is to pursue a PhD afterwards at another institution. In my program, you either have to do a Master's thesis or a 45 min oral summary presentation of what you learned.
I always had the intention of doing a thesis and had a really cool one my first yr. We were collecting data over the summer and everything was going well. All of a sudden, my thesis chair told me she was leaving for another teaching position in a different state. B/c it was not possible to do this without her and no faculty wanted to take over, I dropped the thesis. This occurred the summer before my 2nd yr.
I still wanted to do a thesis, and so I asked a man (who was on my first thesis committee) if I could be his thesis student. He agreed and he had me print articles so I can get started reading over the summer before I started writing my proposal. Summer went by and everything was fine. School started in Aug. (2nd yr) and things were still okay. I had started writing a portion of my draft and had sent it to him for edits. He edited and sent it back. I edited it again and sent it to him before our meeting. He then emailed me, saying he needed to talk to me regarding his plans.
Just as background info, I felt completely dropped and abandoned by my first thesis chair. When I asked my 2nd (and current thesis chair) to take me on, he assured me he wasn't leaving.
Anyways, we meet and he told me he was leaving late Feb. on medical leave and wouldn't be coming back. We decided to continue on with the thesis, but tweak and shorten it in order to be ready to propose this Fall and defend early Jan.
I started to work harder and he would send me edits. We always seemed to get along, and we had a nice flow. However, something in him changed, like snapped. It was like he went from Mr. Hyde to Dr. Jeckel. October came and it was complete radio silence which was SO unlike him! He never responded to any of my emails although I emailed him every week in Oct., he didn't edit any of my stuff, he forgot our meetings. He was just so radically different. After not hearing from him over email, I started to wonder if I had said something. I had texted him (he said I could text him any time) b/c I hadn't heard from him and he sent me this snippy, rude text, telling me not to text him this early.
Because he failed to respond to my emails and give me edits, it was about 4-5 weeks until we met again. Because of this gap in time, it is impossible for me to do a thesis with him.
What gets me is that he went from being kind to me to almost borderline rude. He isn't as nice, he's cold, snippy and distant. The 2 of us talked to the department head and it's decided that I will do the summary presentation instead of a thesis (my chair decided that for me not my decision).
The summary presentation is like a reflection. It doesn't involve drafts of edits or anything like a thesis requires. It's really easy. Since he doesn't know any of the rules, I've had to explain this to him.
Basically, my question is, how do I deal with him? I'm thinking of switching advisors although I dont know anyone who could take me on. My thesis chair is still demanding that I do lit reviews although it is pointless. He basically is telling me that if I don't do what he says (the lit reviews and other things that is ONLY necessary for a thesis and NOT the summary presentation), he won't sign off on it. I NEED this to graduate.
My question is, what do I do?! I'm usually very calm but lately I've been stressed and anxious, I'm breaking out and haven't taken care of myself in a while. I am perpetually stressed and fear hearing from him. I just want OUT. He's toxic and mean. It's like I'm being held hostage. Please help me.
Also, if people are wondering, I have done NOTHING to him but be nice, obliging, etc. I always tell him if I can't make a meeting and am polite to him. People are telling me it's stuff in his personal life, but I just want him to stop treating me like trash.

Massive illness can change people drastically. I assume you explored the possibility to get your thesis finished with remote supervision by the 1st superviser?

If you are on good terms with the department chair (or another senior prof), it might be worth trying to get a recommendation letter from him that explains all this. If you apply for further positions requiring letters, the "story of being dumped by two advisors" might be a tough sell coming from you, but an easier sell if a respected professor can explain what happened in his letter.

This has been asked before, may well be worth your time to do a search for it...

Including a literature review is a perfectly reasonable requirement for a thesis. Why not just do it?

The thing that stands out here is that the new advisor is going on medical leave and won't be back. This sounds serious. Maybe he is facing his impending death. This would make his work very unpredictable.
It sounds like the department head was trying to make the best possible decision for you, though probably shouldn't have done so unilaterally. But starting over again will probably just delay your completion, which I assume you don't want.
You've been caught in two bad situations which is very unfortunate. Work with the head to find a good way to reach completion and also get good recommendation letters to support your future.
At least ask if the head can find a way to give some stipend to your first advisor to permit her to continue to work with you. Even if that isn't possible it may get the department head to start thinking of better solutions. It is a situation that is uncomfortable for the head as well.

I think you have at least two choices

Find the third thesis chair
45 min oral summary presentation of what you learned

For the first option, you'll need the help from your department. They can help you to do that. But, I won't go this route if I were you because it means you rely on other people to control your future. What if the third chair wants you to do a topic that you don't like? Or the topic is very hard? Or something happens to the third again?
The second option is much easier and only depends on yourself. You have taken graduate level courses. You have been doing two these. You have more than 45 minute materials to present. Everybody would understand why you can't take the thesis option. You tried, it didn't work and it's not your fault.
I understand you wanted to do the thesis. Please think of it this way. We need to be practical sometimes. You already tried twice. You did your best. They failed only because of your tough luck. Accept this reality and move on. If you really want to do a thesis, do a PhD thesis after you get the masters degree.

Op wants to do a phd and possibly fears they won't be able to without a thesis.

@DonQuiKong Yes, I understand that. It's the choice between stuck in masters thesis and moving on to PhD. The other answer already mentions the recommendation letter, I did not want to repeat it. The recommendation letters from the faculty members can explain the OP's situation and hopefully can help the OP to get PhD admission somewhere.


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Does D2L have a way for the instructor to access my submission while it appears "unread"?
My school uses D2L for all classes. When I submit a paper (or other file) to D2L, I can see in the "Dropbox" whether or not the professor has read a submitted file. In most of my courses, I see the indicator change from "unread" to "read" and then I see the grade posted.
I have one course where I've been receiving grades without every assignment being changed to "read". This course is led by a professor who is... I'll say, less than enthusiastic about the course.
While this is a general education course for which I'm not expecting any significant feedback on my work, I am concerned that this professor is forsaking grading assignments altogether and simply providing an A.
Does D2L have a way for the instructor to access my submission while it appears "unread"?
Should I address this? If yes, with whom?

What would you like to happen? Does the prof have any other inputs to grading? Class participation...? Is it possible that the prof just wants some of the work done for the experience, rather than for grading?

Why would it ever change to "unread"? Shouldn't it stay "read" forever once the file was read? This software sounds buggy.

« Read to unread » or did you mean « unread to read »?

I don't really understand your question or your concern. The phrasing indicates that some of the papers are changing status, at least. Have you gotten marks on papers you think are not being read? Is it impossible to just ask the prof? Non-confrontationally of course.

@Buffy I am seeing a grade posted for the individual paper, not a module or final grade.

One thought: I download students’ assignments and then read them outside of the official course site. I am not sure if my system would record these as “read” or not.

I don't know about D2L specifically, but some software can have issues with properly recording whether some has been read. It is possible for example with some systems that if someone has Javascript not enabled they may be able to  read a file without getting recorded as accessed.
That said, if this isn't happening, the best thing may be to talk to Department Chair, and ask them to keep your concern anonymous. This will help minimize the chance of blowback/retaliation to you since the individual will not know you were the one who complained.  It may also make sense for similar reasons to wait until the end of the semester before talking to the Chair.

There is no way, of course, to guarantee that you will remain anonymous. Once you speak to a superior it is in their hands, not yours.

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Can I write a thesis without any help from others? If I can, how?
I cannot get any help from my supervisor if I want to write a new thesis. Not only that, I didn't have anyone in my lab. Therefore it's obvious that I don't have any people who can help me here. I'm trying to write it again by myself.
Is it that impossible? If that is the case, what can I do for it? Or should I just give it up?
Thanks.

You could write a thesis, but what would you do with it? You've already quit your major, i.e. there's no one to grade your thesis.

Why would you want to complete a course without getting the degree? And why did you not want to follow your advisor's directions about writing it and intentionally let it pass? I am a bit confused to why you didn't want the degree earlier but now want it.

I don't understand what "graduating without a degree" means. Isn't that just a nicer way to say "drop out"? So do you want to go back and graduate? What's holding you back? Is it because you don't want to work with your supervisor and can't find a new one?

@Emma who grades your thesis after you submit it?

I am trying to understand: didn't you want to submit because you felt the thesis was not entirely/not to a sufficient portion your exclusive own work or because you were upset at something that the supervisor did or asked of you?

@Emma if your supervisor takes part in the grading, you should take his/her comments into account. Writing the thesis without his/her help can only worsen your grade, but not improve it. It's poised to create problems for you, you'll just be able to ignore them for a while.

A degree is awarded by a university. So you can't get a degree while completely ignoring the university. The problem for us is that the exact rules differ substantially between countries and universities within countries. So we cannot give you any concrete advice.
However, there are typically student advisors at a university whose job is to help you. These are typically people who help students with all the formalities, help with study specific choices, help students who want to go a semester abroad, for bigger problems help the student find the appropriate person in the university, etc. So that would be the first step for you to take. Find that student advisor, and talk to her or him. (S)he will probably tell you that you need to enroll again, and the steps you need to take to find a thesis advisor and write the thesis.
You seem to have had a bad experience at that university, so maybe you want to consider another university. Again talk to the student advisor at that new university and see if they can recognize (some of) the courses you finished from your original university.

@Emma You seem unhappy about that answer, but I don't understand why. The steps you need to take seem clear to me: The university of your choice (new or original) has a website, which links to the website of the relevant department, which will contain a link to the student advisor. This will contain contact information, you make an appointment, and after that appointment you know what you need to do. Is there anything more you need?

I don't see how that would be awkward. See this from the point of the advisor: Advising a Master students is only a small and fairly inconsequential (for me) part of my job. So that is not something I (the advisor) would loose a lot of sleep over. Also, advising a Master student is work, most of the time enjoyable work, but work none the less. If you were my Master student, and decided to go somewhere else, then that would mean less work for me. I would want to make sure that move was not caused by a misunderstanding, but otherwise it would not bother me in the least.

I think you are overthinking this. A master's thesis is a big deal for you, but not for your advisor or your supervisor.

It is not clear whether your main concern is employability or thinking well of yourself.
Unless you are seeking employment as an academic pure mathematician, you need not worry about not completing your research degree.
I used to employ hundreds of highly intelligent staff in a professional organisation. Some had PhDs, some had never tried, some had tried and found they did not want to continue with academic research. I myself thought better of pursuing pure maths research and pursued a professional career instead.
As an employer, I took very little interest in such matters. What I wanted was highly motivated and highly intelligent people who enjoyed the work I wanted done and who could bring creativity and imagination to it.
When you apply for jobs, you will undoubtedly be asked why you did not finish your research degree, but the mere fact that you did not is not negative. What would be negative would be feeble reasons for stopping.

I wouldn't go so far. There're lots of employers (or HR executives) who screen by checking if the applicant has the degree they listed as a requirement.

@Allure So much the worse for them: they are missing talent. Would you want to work for such people? I was not thinking of the cases where such and such a degree is a requirement. As the holder of two degrees in pure mathematics, I can think of very few jobs for which such a degree would ever be, literally, a requirement.

Maybe they are missing talent, but they're still the employer - unless one is in a job-seeker's market, they're the ones holding the cards. I can agree that the actual degree isn't really that important in day-to-day work, but if it's a critical screened-for item, one would be foolhardy not to get it if one already satisfies most of the requirements.

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Emails being ignored by University
I am a graduate student in the U.S., specifically California although I am not sure it matters.
After three months in the American university system I am almost convinced there is an organizational level plot to ignore my emails, or people's emails in general. From Health Centre personnel to personal advisors it seems no one manages to answer an email.
Over the course of four weeks I emailed this employee at the Student Health Centre, not once, not twice, but four times. Each time I would receive an automated response "We are very busy bla bla bla will reply in 48 hours", and each time I patiently waited a week without response...After a month I decided that the only way to get an answer to my question was to corner said employee in their office and ask them!
Later during the quarter, I attempt to get in touch with my advisor. I get an half baked reply to my first email (it seems they couldn't be bothered reading past the halfway mark), and then nothing to my several other emails. (Just to be clear, I am not spamming anyone. We are talking about one email per week at most) As it turns out, said advisor went on sabbatical leave between my first and second email - and didn't bother to inform anyone or set up automated email responses...
Even later during the quarter, I get a new advisor. I email said advisor asking to set up an appointment since they need to sign one of my forms. As you can imagine...nothing, no reply, nada. Send another email a week later....nothing, tumbleweeds in my inbox.
Over the four years of my undergraduate degree, I think only one of my emails did not receive a reply. Given that my undergraduate was in the U.K., is there something about the American system that makes people not reply to their emails?
I am aware that most graduate lecturers have outside jobs, but it seems even in person some staff have little to no clue as to what their task is, they are slow in getting back to you, and are not helpful in general.
I was just wondering if the issues I am encountering are related specifically to my university of if it is an American issue?
Thanks!

When you cornered the employee of the Student Health Center, did you ask them about the unanswered emails and if so, what did they say?

The health center and other issues probably can be decoupled. Privacy rules have been interpreted as providers not being able to respond via emails but through “secure systems.”

I did not confront the person regarding the unanswered emails, and the contents of the emails were not patients specific. The person was the employee to contact regarding health insurance enrollment and the automated reply confirmed the question was valid.

Since you mention that people can't be bothered reading past the halfway mark, are you regularly writing long emails? You may also want to read How to get people to reply to emails and what to make of a no response?.

I am condifent my emails are courteous, concise and to the point. If I need an appointment I will include my availability so the recipient can simply pick what suits them best.

Is there something about the American system that makes people not reply to their emails?

I've spent my education and career in the American system (including California) and haven't had any particular problems with people being unresponsive to emails.  This is probably specific to your institution and/or the individuals involved.
That said, in your academic life you will certainly encounter more people who don't respond to your emails, so you need to be comfortable with other forms of communication, and to have strategies to handle such cases:

Call by telephone
Visit in person
Talk to an administrative assistant
Find another person who can help with your issue
Escalate to a superior
Ask a colleague if there is a particular reason why the person might be unreachable (e.g. sabbatical, leave of absence, vacation, has quit, medical problem, is dead, etc)

And as mentioned above by Anyon, it is also an important skill to write emails that minimize the effort needed for the recipient to read, comprehend, and respond.  This also will improve your chances of a useful response.

It sounds strange that so many people do not answer your emails. Are you sure you send emails concerning important issues, clearly and concisely written?
If this is the case, after two or three unanswered emails you should complain. There are different levels of complaint. You can either complain specifically against a person to his/er manager (e.g. the head of department) (you may be able to find staff's line managers on the staff directory) or, if you think it is an general problem, delegate a representative such as the grad rep or student lyason officer, who takes part to the department meetings. If the problem issue is not taken seriously you can escalate the complaint up to the president (you know what I mean).
Surely, before complaining against your advisor you should make an effort to clarify the problem with this person. Maybe knock on the door and ask politely. But do not underestimate the effect of complaints, at the annual performance review they can create problems to a person.

I always send emails as a last resort. I actually get frustrated when I see emails that can clearly be answered by a google search. When I do resort to contacting someone I always make sure I address them properly "Dear Mr/Prof/Dr X [...] Kind regards, Y" and such, I keep things as concise as possible as well.

I wonder if we're at the same institution as this is something that I've noticed too. Have personally been ignored by the registrar, project accounts, housing, the health center, facilities, IT, the book store, the computer store, department managers, payroll etc. On the flip side, I get too many emails just saying "Thanks!" and dozens of emails about topics or events that are so unimportant that you wonder how anyone has the time to organize or write about them. Personally I put it less down to a conspiracy or culture, but some combination of admin staff being overworked, having higher priorities, and being too inexperienced to deal with something properly instead of putting it in the "too hard" pile. I have emails from over a year ago that are important to address, but still aren't at the top of my to do list. So unfortunately for those people waiting on my replies, it probably won't be soon the way things are going. Uncommunicative advisors, well, that's just a whole other topic.


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Are appeals of termination from PhD programs common and are there any unambiguously successful or unsuccessful approaches to fighting a termination?
I'm currently in the process of appealing a termination from my PhD program and although there are many facts concerning my case that I feel are relevant and important, I'm not sure how relevant they are in the consideration of my appeal.
My question is: how do I present my appeal in a way that ensures I have the best chance of success?
This may seem subjective, but there may be some objectively unsuccessful approaches to appealing such a decision. Are there any objectively successful ones?
The main thrust of my department's decision to terminate my candidacy is that I lack basic competency in topics related to my research. The issue is that the way my competency was evaluated was not in line with university and department guidelines (generally we are evaluated based on reports and formal meetings), I was evaluated based on my response to an email requesting more information from me about my research. In the grand scheme of things, this is a small part of the processes leading up to my termination, but it's what initiated the process. Would it be reasonable to appeal such a decision?
It is true that I don't have competency in the topics I was evaluated on, but these were part of one project I was working on and not related to the main thrust of my research, so I'm afraid I'm almost like a "fish" that was evaluated on its "climbing" ability (if that makes sense). I am confident I can "swim" quite well (meaning, I have other research merit as a PhD student), but there is no way I could "climb" in the time I was given.
It's simply nerve-racking and difficult consider my own assessment of myself over the assessment of experienced professors that seem to be making objective decisions about research ability, so I'm not sure whether my concerns are valid or not.
FYI - this is in Canada.

@NateEldredge - this is in Canada, sorry I didn't specify. Edited question.

You are in an unenviable position. I would note, however, that what you believe 'initiated' the process is likely only a part of the picture - its just the part that you see as the 'cause'. Likely this was being discussed in a broader context beforehand. So, appealing based on that one point seems unlikely to succeed, since it is but one piece in the puzzle. Time for a good long chat with your advisor.

I think the #1 advice would be to find someone locally who is familiar with the process and can help you make your case.  This is only going to be harder if you have to "be your own lawyer".

@JonCuster - you're telling me! I agree that this is one part of a bigger picture, my only confusing is that when I discussed the matter with my advisers (I have two) they had said this wasn't part of my evaluation. Unfortunately there are many other issues at hand here, as this isn't truly ever a simple matter, I didn't want to bog down the post with all of the minutiae, though.

Was the termination initiated by your PhD advisor, or by someone else in the department?

@NateEldredge - re: finding someone to help - I'm not in the financial position to hire a lawyer, but I've reached out to services in the university and have gotten some feedback, fortunately. It seems these matters can be very case-by-case and subjective, so I've mostly gotten advice on procedural aspects, which I've followed. Re: termination initiation - it was based on the recommendation of my committee, which includes my advisers.

I wasn't necessarily suggesting hiring a lawyer, but just finding someone who can help guide you through the process.

Generally, your committee isn't going to recommend termination unless your advisors want it.

@JonCuster - Yes, my advisors do agree I should have my candidacy terminated, I didn't mean to imply this wasn't the case.

I guess my other question would be - suppose your appeal is successful; what then?  It seems clear that your current advisors and committee are not going to want to continue working with you, and even if they are somehow required to, that does not seem likely to lead to good outcomes.  Would there be other professors who would take you on, even in view of political problems this might cause within the department?

@NateEldredge - I've definitely gotten some help regarding the procedural aspects of filing an appeal so thankfully that isn't so much of a concern.

@NateEldredge - This is actually a question I discussed with the chair of the department. It was my fear as well, but it seems that if my appeal is successful and I don't want to change my committee then he said they are "professionals" and there would be no chance of "bad blood" in this case. I believe this is possible, based on their personalities, although that might be wishful thinking. I'm a hard working individual with a lot to prove at this point, so it's certainly not an opportunity I would squander.

@NateEldredge  I should note that one of the main points in my appeal is that after the termination notice I proposed a new research plan/direction that my advisors agreed would be a good one and would satisfy my thesis requirements, but does not overlap with any of the "basic competency" topics they had evaluated me on, meaning that either (a) these were actually not necessary for research in this field and (b) I could continue research despite my lack of competency in those.

I feel like there is something major missing from your question. If, like you say, you were "evaluated based on (your) response to an email requesting more information from (you) about (your) research" (rather than some formal procedure like failing a qualifying exam), unless your response was truly stupendously ill-informed or extremely rude or insulting or something like that, this all makes no sense. Failing a PhD student is a big negative for a PhD program and it is very likely it was not taken lightly, unless there is something else missing here.

I'm with Bryan, I don't understand what's going on here, and more to the point I don't think you understand what's going on here.  The first starting point is to have a serious talk where you genuinely try to understand better why you're being kicked out of the program.

@NoahSnyder, yes, I'd wager that the OP is misunderstanding something about the situation... And, it is my impression that in general Canadian grad pgms are not wildly different from U.S., so the scenario described would never occur...? Failing qualifying exams of some sort might happen, yes. Being randomly quizzed and deemed inadequate does not happen (not counting some lunatic cases, where the lunacy is more likely on the part of the hopefully-isolated faculty who might try such a stunt).

@BryanKrause - We are evaluated on a yearly basis using a report/presentation. At one such meeting, my performance was subpar. It was a qualifying examination meeting, but according to the assessment I passed that. After the meeting, but before the final assessment was made, they requested additional information, namely a piece of code. I wasn't able to provide it (I'd overwritten it at that point, it had been 1/2 a month). Initially they were going to deem my performance "marginal". At this point they changed it to "unsatisfactory", mainly based on the email.

@NoahSnyder - I think my focus on the email is that it seemed really pivotal in my mind, but I don't think it's really the true reason I got into this mess. I think there's some deeper reasons that, despite my inquiries, weren't made clear to me. I think it can sometimes be a point of opinion whether or not a student is fit to be a PhD candidate and my advisers were very careful not to make statements that were opinion based, only things they could substantiate with evidence (e.g. he did not comply with the request for more information satisfactorily)

@Ron Okay, that does make more sense. You mentioned in a comment that you would discuss this with your advisor which is certainly still the correct course of action in my mind, but the way I read the situation is A) You failed your qualifying exam, and B) You were given an opportunity to make up for that failure by providing additional information that was deemed unsatisfactory. I'm still surprised by the direction it took without you being more aware of what was coming, but indeed, it seems like they felt your work was not satisfactory and were following procedures towards termination.

@BryanKrause - actually, the point I was trying to make was that I didn't fail my qualifying exam, it's just that I do think they made the assessment based on my work toward a particular paper that I didn't have the background necessary to continue.

Typically, successful appeals happen when another advisor is willing to take on the student after the appeal. This creates an ally during the appeal process. It also creates an "out" for the department. I have two friends who were able to appeal by finding an alternative advisor. I know no-one who was able to appeal with their original advisor UNLESS the advisor was actually using the process as a "wake-up call" rather than an authentic attempt to force the student out.
In the cases where an advisor is using the process as a real authentic attempt to force a student out, the advisor is communicating that they no longer desire to have you as a PhD student. The department is going to be reluctant to force that advisor to continue with you, despite the soundness of your logic. The reluctance is partially because it creates an uncomfortable/unproductive mentoring situation when one party is not enthusiastic. The reluctance is also related to an overall ethos of not wanting to oppose faculty on issues of academic judgement.
The presence of another ally/advisor who will take you on as a student after the process is concluded allows the department to evaluate your claims independent of their reluctance to force your original advisor to take you back. It allows everyone to put this down to a matter of "fit" rather than genuine problems with your work or your advisor's judgement.
IF your advisor is actually on the fence about this, you could attempt to convince your advisor that you now are "awake" to the stakes and they will find working with you to be much better/more productive in the future.

Yes, I see what you're saying. It seems like a very serious matter and I'm not sure my advisors or committee would initiate this process if they weren't certain. The judgement on the appeal is not done within the department, but by a committee of members from other departments. My department chair said this committee tends to side with students and recommended I make an appeal, but I'm not sure how true that is. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough interaction with other professors in the department (and it is quite small) to possibly find another advisor.

Thank you for the helpful and considered response. I've thought this over and I plan to meet with my advisor to clear up the matter.

In the US, and probably in Canada as well, grad programs can legally make pretty much any academic decision they want. This cuts both ways: if your advisor is willing to go to bat for you, the decision to allow you to continue doesn't need to be justified to anyone outside the university, or maybe even outside the department.

@ElizabethHenning - Yes, at this point I feel there is little chance that I can convince them, otherwise, why would they pursue this entire course of action? As others have mentions, it's unlikely they undertook the decisions without thorough consideration, even if I'm unaware of what it was.

Although this may not be the fairest of systems, you are up against a situation where the department (and its faculty) are both your judge, prosecutor, and jury. The truth is that you're unlikely to succeed in an appeal.
One could decry this as unfair, but my best guess is that in reality, the vast majority of such decisions are based on a correct assessment of a student's abilities. That's because nobody really wants to make this kind of decision. It is far easier to just drag along a student and see them through getting some degree than having to fight this, document every step, and make sure a student gets dismissed. So my recommendation to you is to not focus on the formal steps that may have led to your dismissal, but why your department initiated them in the first place. For example, what gave them the idea to ask you for an email after which you ended up being "evaluated based on my response to an email requesting more information from me about my research"? This request likely did not come out of nowhere, but someone, likely multiple someones, will have had concerns about your technical abilities. This prior knowledge will then clearly have entered into the conclusion that you really did not have the necessary abilities to successfully complete your degree. So when you say "In the grand scheme of things, this is a small part of the processes leading up to my termination, but it's what initiated the process.", then this does not make sense to me -- there must have been a prior story (which you may or may not be aware of).
In other words, what you will have to do is to convince your department not that their process was flawed, but that you really are competent and have the skills to complete your PhD. Just relying on process arguments is not likely going to succeed. If you don't know your stuff, you may simply be given some other kind of test that you will fail -- with the same result that you find yourself in at the moment.

Yes, based on some decades' experience, faculty are very hesitant to "kick people out"... and will go to great lengths to repair things so that it's not necessary. Thus, the odds are that there is at least a perception that the OP has insurmountable difficulties. In particular, I'd be quite surprised if such decisions were made based on bias, although this is not out of the question.

@paulgarrett - When I inquired about the reasons for this email the faculty were hesitant to attribute it to any particular reason beyond "we just want to understand what you did". I do believe there is some deeper meaning behind this and that there's part of this I'm not seeing, but I don't think I can really guess what that is. I think this may have been a means to an end, if that makes sense. I agree that the true matter at hand is demonstrating competence and this is the main thrust of my appeal, but I'm grasping at straws where I can find them.

Just as one possibility, I have seen on numerous occasions colleagues asking at lunch what others' opinion of student X is since X is struggling in a class. I've done this myself. If there seems to be a common perception among multiple faculty that the struggles of X are not limited to one class, but systemic, then the right thing to do is to document this in an email to the graduate program coordinator.

As a student, you will never know that this has happened. But if a graduate adviser gets two or three such emails about a student, then clearly there is a problem, and that may be what initiates an email to you such as the one you describe.

Rightly or not, one of the goals of making a decision to terminate is to avoid having a student spend time and yet fail to make sufficient progress. If you truly do lack the necessary background or are seen as such you have a very hard (and long) path forward. If your advisors agree, then it seems fruitless to try to push through.
I wonder if a better path isn't to just withdraw and somehow gain the necessary competence or change the situation to one that suits you better. This might entail moving to a different university, but it might be a quicker path forward. If nothing else it would let new people look at you with a fresh perspective.

This is something I've considered. There is always the question of how long this would take and I agree with the logic of this concern. My main concern is that my research doesn't have to depend on competency in these fields and I can (and have) made contributions in ways that don't relate to these. One may argue that my lack of competency here is indicative of a bigger and systemic problem that would stop me from doing my PhD. I have certainly considered the possibility of withdrawal and exactly what you mentioned, though, I just don't want to miss out on a chance now.

@Ron, just as a technical point about whether or not your research "has to" depend on these other things: maybe your advisors believe/see that it does, or should (for good scientific/intellectual reasons). At the very least, you should try to get clear explanations from your advisors about the relationships of all these things.

@paulgarrett - yes, the research is certainly related to these topics and I agree that knowing them would be useful, but I'm not sure they are so pivotally important that they constitute a reason for dismissal. Arguing about the technical merits of one viewpoint over the other is very hard though, as the school would most likely defer to the judgement of faculty in the matter.


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How to deal with an exploitative supervisor toward the end of PhD?
I hate my thesis and I hate my supervisor for he is one of the most manipulative and insensitive human beings I have ever met. He forced me to work on his ideas which I never liked. I could not quit my Ph.D. because I had some bigger problems of my own in personal front and cannot afford the pressure of being jobless. And there was a serious lack of alternative in my university so could not change supervisors, not that there was any support.
I have somehow completed my thesis.

Considering where you are now, getting your doctorate will be the best revenge you can hope for.

Does your University have a Research Office, Postgraduate office, or similar office dealing with PhD candidates? Do you have co-supervisors? Did you discuss your issue with them? Or perhaps with the Head of Department?

Is the choice of the title of your thesis really that important to you? It's just a title nobody really cares about. What matters is what is in the thesis, not the title that is on it.

@DmitrySavostyanov My supervisor very cleverly instituted PostDoc students as my co-supervisors who were later made lecturers.

@WolfgangBangerth Its not about the title. Its about being forced and being exploited.

@Damodar -- you took that statement out of your post, but now the post really has no question left. What do you hope for us to help you here?

Based on your post history you've had some issues with this PI over a long time but you haven't moved to another lab. Either the problems were big enough and you should have moved or quit, or they were manageable.
At this point, you sound very close to finishing your degree, and you need to just finish. Of all the ways a PI could potentially be exploitative, giving you direction to work on a project to the point of having a completed thesis isn't really even on the map. It seems like you are describing a conflict of expectations, which doesn't necessarily have anything to do with exploitation, it's just a conflict of expectations and should have been addressed long ago, not now.
The specific issues you raise in your post: the title and acknowledgment of your thesis, are simply things that don't really matter much. You're describing some struggles with mental health: try to see a counselor/therapist of some sort, especially if your institution has support for those sorts of resources, and get your own head sorted out, but as far as your thesis just finish and let yourself move on to another situation that you will hopefully be happier in.

I see two extreme possibilities. Unfortunately I don't have enough information to choose which is closer to the truth. Based on this and other questions you've asked here, you've been unhappy for quite a while.
First Extreme. You are completely accurate here and your advisor is a complete abusive jerk.
Your best option, I think, is to swallow your anger, take his advice, finish, and find a position in which you can be your own person. This is a strategic move suggestion. It doesn't have to be "right" in any other sense than that i gives you a way forward.
Second Extreme You are completely wrong and your advisor is giving you excellent advice that will ultimately advance your career. You are just being obstinate, refusing good advice.
Your best option, I think, is to swallow your pride, take his advice, finish and find a position in which you can prosper.
I don't know whether either extreme accurately describes the situation, with so little to go on and not knowing any of the personalities. But the fact that the solutions are essentially the same, suggests that if the real situation lies between the extremes then the same solution is probably the best one.
Getting out with your degree is your best option. Just do it. Keep your eye on the prize.

I am doing that. But the price I am paying for that is killing me. I need a proper and correct method to get back at him. I just do not know what that is.

@Damodar - there is no proper and correct way to get back at someone.

Trying to "get back at him" could well be an act of professional suicide. That is why I suggested swallowing your anger. In self defense martial arts your best outcome is to go home safely, not to "punish" your attacker, who may be able to turn it against you.

Take your life into your own hands. You're responsible. Don't play sheep.
You have made a number of mistakes. Who hasn't? The quintessential one is unfortunately widespread and a big problem in academia: working towards a degree is not a job.
You must decide what you need and go for it. Do you need a degree? Go for it.
You have made the mistake of choosing a bad adviser. Now you deal with it. Realize he did not truly force you into doing anything.
Defend whatever you did, deliver your papers and get out of this place.
Next time you need a job: find a real job! Is a postdoctoral fellowship a real job? Think about it.
Good luck!


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Is it possible to get a PhD based on research papers I have written?
I am working as a young scientist after finishing my masters in physics in India. In last three years, I have published 12 research papers (Quantum theory) with my collabrators. I am facing problems in registering for PhD in my institute.
How can I get a Doctrate degree based upon my  research papers without registering for PhD. ??
Is there any such degree in India or abroad which can be awarded to me based upon my research papers ??

See PhD by published work

I doubt that you will find such a thing anywhere. An earned doctorate almost always (I know of no exceptions) requires an official registration and most likely, your presence at the institution for some period of time. There are normally qualifying examinations and often (not always) some required coursework.
Your publication history, however, would be a very positive factor in obtaining admission to a program in most places. You don't say why you are having difficulties, so it is impossible to say if there is some impediment.
But the only way to know about your chances are to apply to a program somewhere other than your institute, and possibly in another country. But a research background would help your chances.

Short answer: Yes you can (but not in the manner you requested ... without registering ...)
NB: I realised this was ask some years back (2018). This answer can assist others in future.

How can I get a Doctrate degree based upon my research papers without registering for PhD. ??

You cannot get a doctorate without registering, except for Honourary Doctorate.
You can however get a doctorate degree based on your research papers through the route describe here.

Is there any such degree in India or abroad which can be awarded to me based upon my research papers ??

Outside NA, you have the PhD by Publication (retrospective route). This allows you to weave a golden thread (theme) around your publications. You'll need to register officially though.
NB: there might be some in NA, but I've not come across 'em in the States or Canada.
The PhD by Publication (retrospective) is also referred to as PhD by prior published work, PhD by Published Work, and other names.
NB: the PhD by Publication (retrospective) is different from the PhD by Publication (which technically is the prospective route).
In the prospective route, you publications during your doctoral candidacy/residency counts towards your thesis. You'll write an introduction and conclusion, or you write introduction, literature review and conclusion. In some places, it is referred to as thesis by article.
In your case, if your publications are in credible outlets (typically journals) and if there's a sustained theme across them, you can approach universities.
They'll require you to submit a 7500 to 20000 words exegesis or commentary or summary or synthesis. The name, format or length varies from institution to institution.
You can look at the UK and Australia. There are others though.
You might need to note that some restrict the PhD by Publication (retrospective) to

their staff
their alumni
their associate (those with strong affiliations to them).

NB: the PhD by Publication (retrospective) describe here is not the same as PhD by practice, or practice-based PhD (which are common for artefacts based disciplines; fine arts, fashion, curating, arts-writing, music et al)

The only way to get awarded a PhD without registering first is to have a University regard your work so highly that they offer you an "Honorary PhD". You usually see mention of these in the press sometimes for celebrities who have done things over and above the normal...
You may find that a University will take the papers you have produced as some equivalent towards what they will accept, but you will have to apply.

I think that there are "advanced doctorates" in some places (Germany?) but they normally require an earned degree first. I don't actually know of other "honorary doctorates" awarded for academic merit.

Some here that were awarded for academic work : https://www.su.se/english/about/ceremonies/honorary-doctorates/honorary-doctorates-2018-1.382747

One should add that a honorary doctorate is generally not seen as equivalent to a regular PhD, since it is considered more like an award than a degree. For example, if a PhD is required for some position, like a professorship, then a honorary will generally not do. (The requirement might be waived for the same reasons of excellence that prompted the honorary degree, but that would be an independent consideration.)

These answers are actually not correct.  I received an honorary PhD at the same time as my Masters.  From the same school, I proved my experience in the field was more than enough to show my mastery of the industry/field at their research PhD level.  I was beyond it and many of those professors actually asked me questions about the field of study in the past. Never took one class at their school at a Doctoral level. I've been to a few other schools at a doctoral level and constantly called out fake schools that were teaching undergraduate topics at that high of a level. lol
If you have publications already, you just need to approach the schools and ask if they have honorary degree programs.  Use your publications (as long as they are REAL research and not some fake story nonsense like a lot of people do today). Ask for free tuition to their school to write more publications on the topic.  You could land a research job with them and an honorary degree and title.  They can pay you to do more research.  But the idea of India, being a nonsense place to get a PhD anyways.  You will be better off going to the UK, Aussie, or USA to get into a school there on merit and free ride for the doctoral.  In anything STEM, get the degree.  there is a lot you are missign in current and updated materials in your papers that are already answered and researched by others, that you will never know about, until you go to a Doctoral program and you get access to that material.

"But the idea of India, being a nonsense place to get a PhD anyways.", please don't offend a specific country.

An honorary doctorate is very different from an earned doctorate, especially when it comes to seeking employment.

@BobBrown. No it's not.  An Honorary title is someone who has field experience and works in the field with that subject in mind.  AKA. (myself) who had worked in Homeland Security for over 10 years and then received a title after doing publications for DHS, DOD, and DOS for the US Govt.  You really think those people who "earned" (aka not worked a day in any field or environment) would get a job faster than me?  No..  Universities call me into their classes to teach their Doctoral Students based on my own research and publications.

@Nobody It's not offensive to say a country that gives out Ph.D's to people on a whim is not worth the same equality of education as to other nations who have better programs..  If you are here to just read things as insults, you should maybe gather more educational experience and read things within the context given.

@HawkIntelligence Most academic jobs require an "earned doctorate," and that phrase is there specifically to exclude honorary degrees.

@BobBrown. Please list your credentials, because that's not true in any governmental employment process that I have been through.  An Honorary Doctoral degree is "earned" within the process of having substantial evidence of knowing the material..  This isn't a Degree mill Honorary degree like Art or divinity.. Which are jokes in themselves.  Engineering, Math, and Sciences and into business, Law, and other specific career scopes all have honorary degrees that are given to those who have worked previously in the field, prior to a Doctoral degree creation. They know more than what is taught...


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Is it typical for STEM students to be responsible for coming up with their own thesis projects?
I'm a first year recent science/STEM international PhD student. My advisor has mentioned to me that it is my responsibility  to come up with a project all on my own. I believe the understanding is that I come up with a project and only will receive help when I'm stuck. I'm wondering whether this is normal? I've asked every student in my cohort how they came up with their project and they said it was a mutual thing between them and their advisor. They both sat down and bounced ideas around or their advisor had a grant and they are taking a sub-portion of the grant idea and they will later on in their fourth/fifth years add more to it on their own merits.
I'm very worried about this, because I was always under the notion that in graduate school you receive guidance from your advisor is what projects might work from their experience. Later, at the post-doc level, the person is experienced enough to master their own project from scratch.
I'm in an unfunded lab and don't have access to protocols/money for wet lab. I have come up with multiple ideas, but they don't seem promising. My advisor only liked one of the ideas, however she is not sure that it will work. I spoke with other professors and they don't think my previous ideas will lead anywhere.
There are two other PhD students in my lab. They have not taken their quals yet and are in their fourth years. I'm worried about my future outlook since my advisor has not had a graduated PhD student yet. We are her first ones.
What is my best course of action?
Thank you in advance.

These are things you should ask a potential advisor about before you join their lab.

what country are you in, in the west the prospwcts for a professor that has been 4 years with no funding are bleak. in the USA they are non existent

Everyone in the lab either has their own funding through a fellowship or will TA when they don't. There is one grant, that if you don't have funding and are a TA  you can work on and get supplementary funding. The grant has produced data that I'm encouraged to use to come up with a new project. I'm just stuck on where to start and if anything I can come up with might work.

I disagree with your supervisor's model (quite a common model) because in my experience such a model causes students to not finish, takes longer to finish or finish with a poor thesis.  However, there are exceptions where students might stumble upon something and finish strongly.  My advice -- keep on asking questions, coming up with ideas and run it pass your supervisor.  Always have justifications for your ideas.  Good or worthy ideas only emerge when you have in-depth knowledge.

Thank you for responding everyone! Is there anything I can Professor Santa Claus? I'm considering switching my lab or even in the most dramatic sense leaving the program with a masters instead. Then maybe one day apply again a year later to another program.

What country are you in? In Australia such a model is not unusual.

I would say it is not typical to expect a student to come up with their project completely on their own, although I will admit that I have done this with one particular PhD student who had already demonstrated in his master's project that he was sufficiently capable that it made sense to let him "drive" the project so long as it was something I felt comfortable advising. This was also possible because he had a secure source of funding that allowed us to do this.
However, for a typical student, such a route would be very risky and quite prone to failure, especially if she is just beginning her graduate work. I would not expect the student to be able to come up with independent ideas for a project until well into the course of the PhD program.

Thank you for your response! I really appreciate it. Is there anything you think I should do? My plan is to try to come up with something good and to try to see if it will work. However if I can't get anything to stick by my second year to maybe switch labs or drop out with a masters. Is this good plan or should I do something else?

I would try to avoid getting into a situation where you "drop out with a master's." Start planning now what you're going to do and stick with it. But I'd also want to discuss this with your advisor (and thesis committee, if you have one already!) before making any final decisions

+1 for both the answer and comment. I'll note, however, that students coming up with their own project does happen occasionally, as you note, but is more common in some fields than others. Typical? No.

I suggest trying for a compromise. Think of some ideas for a direction. When you have a few sketched out, ask for a meeting with your advisor to discuss them. Don't wait until you have selected one of them and worked it up into a research proposal because you will have wasted a lot of time if your advisor rejects it.


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Potential consequences of providing voluntary work for a team I've been forced to leave
I have been forced to leave my previous institute by my former principal investigator.
At the institute I have solved problems regarding the software, and I enjoyed giving help as much as I can to many users, even after resignation. I had a request from users to do a tutorial video.
I was thinking of that before resignation, but I am afraid that could be not favourable by the ex-PI. Although, a week ago I have received a message from him apologizing for what he did and wishing me good luck. Despite his behaviour, I forgive him.
I would really like to do that video voluntarily, but I am not belonging to the institute anymore and I would like to keep things good and not fabricating sensitivity. Should I ignore the request of those potential users or do those tutorials on my own?

Given your history with this PI (as you've revealed through questions here) I'd strongly recommend you not do that, whether "allowed" or not. As Solar Mike suggests, move on.

okay buffy, my intention was to engage myself also do something I really love to do. However, I think that you are right.

@Monika, remember a thing is a thing, how do we name is largely driven by perception. If you insist your departure is tragic and sad, it'd remain so. You'll need to learn how to unpack this and move on. Seek guidance through professionals (e.g. career coach, external mentors, mental health professionals, etc.) as you don't need to face this alone.

@Penguin_Knight, actually it not about regretting the lab I left, when I asked to do a video, because I have a deep desire to do it. Besides that, my story is little bit complex more than that, I have lost my Mom and later grand ma and I have a selfish father he was always destroying us, and I become somehow financially responsible for my siblings, although I am in a foreign country, so it was  a source of income, and the current position is for two months at an isolated european country and it is not granted to give me salary

, so it is not either good situation, but I am looking for long term position again. Finally, I am sick since four years and must get married since that time, but I didnot work out. I am sorry, but these all rushing on my mind, I have been always successful, diligent, but this is the maximum, although I love people, help, never be selfish, I wish oneday, I open my eyes, and all I have dreamed for years come true.

I know it is unprofessional to write that, and get bored to speak, but I need to be in a good mind state, I am alone here in a foreign country, and struggle for the dream I told mom when I was young I dont want to be an ordinary girl, I want to be an important woman, but every thing is going against me.

There will always be more things to do that can help people, if you look for them. If you speak a second language and you enjoy teaching, maybe you can volunteer teaching or reconnect with members of your native community that way. Otherwise maybe you could volunteer with the needy or the elderly, etc. But I would let this one go and find something (anything) new to do.

As a side comment I suggest you to avoid self-aggrandizing expectations. You press yourself to impress your family while insisting on bad relationships -- this can be your doom. If you have spare time and want fast, impressive results work on learning languages (spoken, programming) and outreach (wiki pages, merchandising your work). It takes a lot of effort but eventually it'll show. Don't work for parasites. Good luck !

I strongly suggest you to move away from this person (your ex-adviser). Your relationship past history says it all, from your other posts.
He only seeks to exploit you and couldn't care less about your wishes and opinions. Manipulative people are simply like that. Apologizing letters, a friendly smile, a tap on the back, a small gift, some unexpected public compliment, these are all bait. As you see, it's all of matter of giving them whatever you can.
Focus on yourself and aligning with positive peers. Find the good collaborators.
Good luck!

Personally, I think you should focus that time and effort into getting another position, if you have not got one already.
If you have a new position already, well done, then focus that time and effort into where you are now. They, hopefully, will appreciate that effort and motivation.

May be I am foolish person and too emotional, actually I am in a short time contract, and the place is not so much good, and I have the time to do that video in any case, as I am really so motivated and I want to do activities like that. In any case, I think you are right, and I feel sorry how I looks very stupid.

You are not stupid, you had the bad luck to meet a poor advisor. Best of luck with the future.

I would strongly recommend to ask your former PI, mentioning that many users asked for a video and that you would volunteer to produce it without any strings attached.
If he agrees, go for it. If not, move on.
I would not do it without consent (even though you might have the right to do it as long as you don't mention secrets).

First, sorry that you were being forced to leave, hope you can find a better place to work.
As for your question, I'd like to think more objectively by asking these questions:

Do you feel you will enjoy creating that tutorial?
Will that tutorial be useful?
Do you have time for creating the tutorial?

If the answer to those questions are "yes", then I guess it would be good for you to create the video tutorial, as it will also help users in fully utilizing the software, which will help their work as well.


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Years of experience - how to count PhD and postdoc years
I am a physicist specialized in developing algorithms for microscopy techniques and after a postdoc I am applying for data scientist / engineer positions at various startups. To estimate what would be a fair salary range, how should I consider my phd and postdoc years? My research work was related to data and image crunching, but the tools I used were more primitive than what is used in the industry.

There is no way of telling an estimate since we do not even know where you live or which country you want to work in

I see your point. But my question is about the years of experience I have: should I count every year of research work as relevant?

Ah sorry I did misread the question then. I think that the most common thing is to count every month/year of work after you got your degree. I live in germany where doing a Ph.D is actually considered having a full-time job with salary, so I would count each day after I got my M.Sc. as work experience. So to conclude, I would count each year of doing your Ph.D as well. But this also depends on your country I suppose

It depends on whether or not you can convince a potential employer that your PhD and postdoc is relevant experience, which depends on how similar the work is. I don't think there is any way to answer this question until you try it.

Ahh, the old chestnut : Teacher X has 10 years of experience, is that 10 years of varied experience or 1 year repeated 10 times....

Ok, let's see: First of all, Data Science is a relatively new field, Data Scientists are in high demand in many places, so estimations on salary are difficult to make, statistics found online are mostly not representative as there is not yet enough data.
Next, the fact that you have a PhD should count stronger than the mere years you spend on obtaining it.
And as a third point, the work experience always depends on what you did and what you plan on doing. Imagine you worked five years as a baker. While this is job experience, it might not be very relevant for a job (and salary) as a Data Scientist.
If you think that your years should count as experience, then make that clear, argue your case, show that you actually have experience. Salaries in the industry are usually not computed by a fixed formula taking your degree and years of experience as input but are up to negotiation (inside certain bounds), so if you can convince your future employer that what you did counts as experience towards the job you are applying for you can of course ask for a higher salary; if you yourself are not convinced then maybe you can't; but then again, having a PhD and the basic requirements to become a Data Scientist already means a rather high salary in many countries and areas.

I agree with this answer. The main thing I want to emphasize is: During application you should consider all working experiences as relevant. Even before graduating. Your work as reserach assistant (if you were one) is also relevant. Most people will see it as a plus in the minimum. While you should carefully think about what you were doing. A long time ago I was working in  logistics and packed stuff to get money for college. While applying to a physics job I would probably not mention this. But to a job where logistics is important it's a different story


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Research with intuition's with proof's or without proof's
I am currently a PhD student (after mid stage) working in computational mathematics. I am currently writing and solving a couple of research problems. I feel very excited whenever I get new results, but when someone  counters my solution, I feel very uncomfortable because of the time and energy I have invested in the work. Uncomfortable just means sweating a bit  or trying to prove that my idea or claim is true. Whenever someone tells me that it is wrong, I admit it but start a new line with "but" and trying to give an explanation. I am aware that some of my past results have been wrong but some of them were right also till now the ratio is 70:30 (right/wrong). I am an intuitive person, many things I have come up with till now come from my intuition after spending months on single theorem/proof. Although I always try to come up with proofs also, but sometimes I fail to give the proof. There were times when I come up with new claims without complete proof, but me and my supervisor were not able to prove that claim wrong. My way of working is like this, I read a theorem try to prove on my own without looking the research paper.
I discuss the proof with my senior and supervisor multiple times. I try to modify the proof for many time for some cases so that it can be used in computational sense. In this time I try to think in the shower, while walking etc. During this process I develop an intuition about the theorem I am reading. After that I will be claiming something not very out of blue but something which will be helpful in computational mathematics. Then I try to formalise it by writing its proof (this seems very tough to me).
Question : Research with intuition, with proof also, but sometimes without proof also. Is this a right way to do research?

Are you really asking about research without proof, or published research without proof? Even the most die-hard formalist has the former; a lack of proof just makes their research unfinished, not invalid.

@JeffE I mean research with not a clear proof.

Intuition in mathematics is a good thing. In a researcher it is an essential thing as it leads you to things that might be true and interesting ideas that are worth pursuing.
However, there is no substitute for correct proof. Proof is what tells you what is true and sets a foundation for those future researches. If you write a paper asserting that something is true but don't supply a correct proof, it is unlikely to be accepted. Your question seems to imply that you may be incorrectly judging the correctness of some of your proofs. You will need to work on that. An incorrect proof hardly ever has any value. Especially if it claims to prove something that isn't so.
A paper that proposed unanswered questions that were interesting would be worthwhile and it has been done a few times. In those situations, however, it was clear that the problems were hard, the solutions unknown, and even that the correct attack on the problem was eluding mathematicians.

Having some results without proof is fine. Generally speaking, a proof is simply an "ironclad" argument that some general truth holds. However, it may not be the only one, nor is it something to always strive for. The classic example would be that one often proves that some problem X is NP-hard. This does not mean that research on X should stop until we resolve P=NP. It is often just a first step, and many people in more applied mathematical disciplines (e.g. AI and ML related) don't even bother with a formal proof. I have seen interesting applied mathematical works where the mathematical proofs were not the main thing.
The question you should be asking yourself is: what makes my argument compelling? Why should people believe my claims?
If your only answer is a wrong proof, then it should come as no surprise that no one buys into your claims (especially if your hypothesis contradicts known results). You can show that your claim holds empirically on data (if the data is sufficiently interesting, and not just some simulations you cooked up on your laptop), or that it is supported by other known results. You can discuss consequences of your claim (if it were true, then something interesting happens). These are all very valid avenues to pursue, and could help support an argument.

Mathematical intuition is virtually necessary for inventing new useful properties, but proofs are equally important, since the results have to be correct. I would suggest two lines how you can proceed:
1) You have an intuition that something must hold but you haven't been able to prove or disprove it. If possible, make a computer program that tests your property systematically (generates values or tests with values from some data). If the result always holds in comprehensive experiments, you can sell it as a "thesis". You may also find out that the property holds only approximately and evaluate how large errors are. In this case, you may try to prove that there is an approximation with certain error bounds.
2) Try to combine your intuition with proving! Try different proof techniques. Change some of your assumptions and test if you manage to finish the proof first with more restrictions. It may also turn out that in practice, the result is equally useful even if you had made some additional assumptions. Identify which subproperties would enable you to prove the final result and try to prove them first. If you get stuck and begin to doubt your intuition, try to invent counter-examples or check what would happen if you assume an opposite proposition.
Additional hints:

Keep also record on all small properties you have managed to prove during your adventure, since you may need them later.
In the first trial, don't care if your proof is very long. You can invent more elegant and shorter proofs later, when you just know that something is provable.
To check your proofs, do them again from scratch. If your original proof contained errors (e.g. typos), you probably can't repeat it again.
Since PhD project lasts only a few years, don't try to take any lifelong challenges. Prove what you can in a reasonable amount of time and utilize those results. You can always invent extensions later.


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How to Fight Imposter Syndrome as a student by myself?
I am facing maybe imposter syndrome that kills me everyday which leads to an intermittent sleep and a chronic headache. Unfortunately, the country I am in right now there is non-Anglophone speaking psychoanalysts, the university as well doesn't give any kind of support: there was a senior student suffering from chronic depression and didn't get the help and considering relocating. I seriously feel a constant headache and thoughts I don't deserve any thing, even I feel so stupid in programming although some people tell me you are working on a new topic. I don't know how to heal myself on my own. Hope to hear what I can do to overcome the imposter syndrome.

You may need an advice of a health professional, not an average academic.

First of all, you must understand what exactly is impostor syndrome. As you know, I've followed several of your posts here, and thus I find it unlikely to be the source (e.g. were you given a prestigious position among highly-gifted peers in a competitive environment?). In my overall impression, you hold high expectations of yourself impressing others, and you're having problems keeping emotions at bay. My advice is that you cool it down, get into a hobby and sports, and consider seeking professional advice.

@Scientist, the problem I have mentioned there is not English speaking specialists, that's why I don't know how to react, I am not a psychoanalyst, but I need to get out of this. I am sorry to say that, but my situation is getting worse day after day although I am trying to get home, but even the salary in this short contract I am bargained to get after few days, it really complex situation. I don't know how to keep faith in myself, sorry it sounds rant, but I don't know how to deal with that situation that I have been in day after day.

@Monika I don't know exactly where you are. But, I do know that most  psychoanalyst in my location (Taiwan) do speak English because they were trained in English textbooks and papers. They may not speak perfect English (in my location, again), but I had witnessed an American woman talking to a medical doctor without much trouble. Did you ever try to find an expert in your area?

Also, in my location, there are clinics providing medical service to the English speaking people. You may want to talk to your school to find the information you'll need. Otherwise, what if you have a medical issue, how do you handle it? Yes, I am talking about medical service, the psychiatrist is similar issue.

OK: this sounds more like an emergency. This is a forum of technical discussion involving mostly anonymous academics. We can only provide general advice. I recommend you take immediate action. (i) Find the local expat community and ask for contacts. I am sure you'll find great help. (ii) Seek professional help online -- you can find specialized psychological support via chat. Some academic coach online can provide you with professionals for support.

Well, you really may want to talk to your school, as medical professionals, especially in student-towns that have large international student populations, have English-speaking professionals. You could also take a trusted local friend to help you along in case you're not feeling comfortable and still feel there's a language barrier.

I am trying to overcome and today I spoke with a student who had a chronic depression, and he found a psychiatrist at another city, so I will consider that option.

@Monika just a bit more advice, it might be useless or obvious but sometimes we need to hear the useless/obvious stuff ;) don't be afraid to bother or worry the people you trust (colleagues, friends, family) with your problems, talking to them can make a great difference in how you feel.  It can be about your problems but it doesn't have to be, you do as you feel. In general try to "listen to yourself", don't try to "be strong" at all cost. Acknowledging our own weaknesses is hard, that's what being strong means. And be patient, it can take time to get back on your feet.

Keep in mind that we are only humans, It's ok to feel down sometimes. Besides, our weaknesses are often what makes us unique and lovable :) Take good care of yourself.

Oh sorry one last practical advice: for programming, try to find a person you feel comfortable with who can help you with it, preferably someone a bit passionate about it (kind of a geek basically!). Ask this person to help you, it's likely that you will be surprised how people can be happy to share something that they enjoy and help at the same time. It's useful for you and it's something in which you can see yourself make progress step by step, so great for gaining a bit of self-confidence.

There is only so much you can do without professional help, and like everybody here I strongly encourage you to seek some. Yet there are a few simple things you can try by yourself.
The first step is always awareness, and it's good that you understand the cause of your trouble already. This means that you know that your negative thoughts about your level/performance are not rational, so whenever you notice such thoughts try to counter them objectively (for instance by asking somebody else's opinion). Your analytical mind is playing tricks on you, so let's feed it with some more objective arguments to counter its flawed logic:

The Imposter Syndrom is a well known problem in academia and among PhD students especially. You're not the first one and you won't be the last one. If most PhD students feel (to some extent) like imposters, this contradicts the definition of imposter; as a consequence you are not an imposter. What this means practically is that it's important not to feel isolated: try to share your thoughts with fellow students, you will feel more confident knowing that you are not alone in this.
You are not guilty and you don't have to hide your supposed weaknesses. Trust the system: you had good grades, your institution and supervisor allowed you to do a PhD, so they think that you have the skills to succeed. They usually select PhD students who succeed eventually, so there's no reason to think that they are wrong in your case.
Even if they were wrong, it wouldn't be your fault. You are only asked to do your best, not to be perfect. "Doing your best" means doing what you can as a human being taking the context into account, and while above all preserving your health and sanity. Try to remember this every time you feel guilty: in research it's completely ok not to know everything and not to be sure. Facing a choice, don't look for the perfect answer but for your answer, no matter how imperfect it is. Then work on it as long a necessary, try to be persistent. More often than not that's how interesting things are found.

Even with proper psychological treatment at your university, imposter syndrome (IS) is tough to deal with. I agree with @erwan: recognizing you experience IS is the first step.
I suffer from IS, and can only make recommendations based on my experience and what has worked for myself and those close to me. I highly recommend joining or fostering a community of those who experience IS (this can be online or in person, and can comprise students, faculty and staff!). Organizing groups to talk about IS, or even chatting with a fellow grad student over coffee about IS will likely yield revelations. There are probably some students in your department, or lab, who think that you really have your shit together, when you think you don't!
If you're on Twitter, I have found it a great place for IS. Following people (post docs and faculty) who publicly post about how they are handling their IS (and mental health issues) has been great for me--when I see someone who I consider successful posting about how they don't feel they are good enough for X, or how they don't think they can complete Y makes me think, 'if they are suffering from IS then surely I can excuse myself!'.
Is there a cure for IS--imo, no. What would you have to do, or what goal would you have to achieve to consider yourself successful? Is this an attainable goal (by yourself or others)? When you think about a peer or mentor who you consider successful, how do you measure that and why do you use those measures? Is it fair to compare yourself to others?
Briefly,

Join or create a local community to discuss issues with IS in academia (this group could meet regularly, or not!).
Remember that you're not alone in dealing with IS -- follow people who talk publicly about IS/issues in academia on social media.
Don't define yourself by only your academic achievements--you're more than that.
IS doesn't have a cure, rather, you'll have to employ coping mechanisms to ameliorate or prevent the symptoms.
Find a way to measure and celebrate your successes.


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Wondering whether to tell the truth to another PhD program that I have resigned from the first one
As you may know, I have resigned from a PhD program after spending year although working hard and I have discussed that before here in the platform. Now, all the positions I had applied for was rejected once they know I Have resigned from another group which is fairly known in our field. Now, I am now in short contract in isolated country in Europe and having contract month by month and today I get a very low salary, they take exploited my situation I had which they already know, and they try to make benefit of me to do all the work they want.
Now, I have another opportunity and I am afraid, to tell the truth, that I was a PhD student, I can tell them that I was a research graduate student, is that ethical. Really I do think that telling the truth no one will believe me and I think it leaves a bad impression or a suspicion although I am trying to be positive and mentioning we didn't have the same research interest, this doesn't work in all interviews although they are interested, but afraid from my previous experience. My question: How I should answer about my experience at ex-group and how I can call it in a way that didn't leave a bad impression?.

How I should answer about my experience at ex-group and how I can call it in a way that didn't leave a bad impression?.

In these situations the more neutral you are the better. However, you should never lie on these matters. As you said, the group is well known, and the world can be very little sometime. On top of that, it is not very ethical.
I do not know what happened with your previous group, but try not to blame them too much. Again try to be neutral without going too much into details. I would put something like "My team and I did not make a perfect match" or "The topic I choose was not a good match for me". Keep in mind that they may contact your previous group to ask their opinion on you. Moreover, every person is different, maybe for some people it is ok that PhD students do not always end up with the perfect mentor for them, for other people this is not acceptable. For this reason, there is no perfect way to answer them, but for sure, I would avoid omitting important information.

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.


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I'm scheduled to graduate next week but my professor has gone MIA due to a death in the family... what can I do?
Next week I'm scheduled to graduate from a major university. One of the required courses that I've taken over the past semester is an independent research study with a single professor.
Throughout this process I've mostly worked on my own, however, with the semester nearing its conclusion, I now need to present my research and receive a grade on my efforts.
Well, over the past five to six days, my professor hasn't been on campus and is for all intents and purposes unreachable. Of the few emails I've sent him he's only responded to one, saying that he's had a death in the family and that he'll get in touch with me the next day (which is now today but he's still yet to do so and it's currently 8pm). The death in the family happened at least last weekend, since when I tried visiting his office on Tuesday another professor told me he was out of the office due to said occurrence.
I consulted my advisor and he recommended that I send a follow up email [tonight] mentioning my concern, and that if he doesn't respond within a few hours to send another follow up email but this time with the chair of the department cc'ed.
My question is, is there anything else I can do to push this professor to respond to me and to set up a time to conclude my research project? What happens if he doesn't issue me a grade? I absolutely have to graduate this semester for a number of reasons that I won't go into; but, it would absolutely be devastating to my current plans in life, finances, etc.
I've been told that it's not within the powers of the chair to actually do something about this, just nudge the professor in the right direction, but, does the dean of the college have some kind of influence in my graduating?
My mentor for this project does instruct other courses, so, I'm kind of guessing he'll be back on campus next week to proctor his final(s)... but, I could also very well see another professor filling in for him.
Does anyone have experience with / knowledge about this? I'm kind of starting to freak out and so I thought I'd consult the masses.
Thanks in advance and sorry if any of this was ranty.

UPDATE: This afternoon I met with the chair of that department, and, about five minutes into the meeting my professor showed up in the door of the room! He was there to drop off a folder of papers for other students from his other courses to pick up, and to tell the chair that he was back on campus.
At that same time, my professor told me that he would just grade me on the results of the project that I had previously submitted to him, along with the presentation I made.
It truly was complete luck [on my part] that my professor showed up at the same time that I was there. And, the conversation between me and the chair didn't get far enough for him to tell me what my options would be; so, I can't update you all regarding what my university's policy / way of handling this would be.
Thanks again for all the comments/advice.

I think maybe you should elaborate on the exact sense in which you "have to graduate this semester".  Even if your degree is not conferred this semester, it is not as though you would have to re-enroll the next semester, pay tuition, etc.  You'll just get your degree awarded when everything is eventually sorted out, maybe even retroactively.  And I would expect that most employers, if informed of the situation, would allow you to start work and move on with your life just as though you had your degree.  Is there a specific reason why you think there will be an impact?

@NateEldredge From where I'm a double major with a minor, I've attempted more than 150% of credit hours than what my first degree requires. Because of this, I had to petition for a financial aide override under the conditions that I graduate this semester. If I don't then I owe the university that money before I can enroll in the following semester. Additionally, I have plans to leave the country for the next 8 months starting next February. Because of that, I've also already given a notice for my apartment, have put things in storage, etc. There are a few other details like this too.

@Charles - generally, in exceptional circumstances such as these, it is possible for you to be retroactively judged to have graduated this semester some time in the future.  So, sometime in January (or, in some other more extreme different case (e.g. if a professor has a major health concern themselves that puts them completely out), June) you might present to the professor over Skype, and the professor submits a backdated grade, and the university issues you a backdated diploma and updated transcript.  You don't have to be enrolled for this to happen.

@Charles: But all of those things seem to be tied not so much to graduating this semester, as not having to be enrolled next semester.  And I don't foresee any problems with the latter.

It would probably be more useful to ask your advisor how your school will handle this, especially since (s)he's already familiar with the situation.  Like folks are saying, I'd expect them to make some exceptions since it's not your fault, but all we can do is speculate.  Your advisor (or the chair/dean who the advisor has suggested looping in) at least knows how things work at your particular institution.

It is your responsibility to delegate a situation to whom it may concern. Also, there is no place in the world where you lose a degree or scholarship because someone decided not to grade you in time.

I was in the opposite situation, a close relative of mine died while I was doing my bachelors. It took me one month before being able to do anything. Your comments are extremely rude and insensitive. There are people that manage to keep going the day after their loved one dies, some people don't care about anyone but most people do take their time and it can be pretty long. Just wait or try to find a solution that does not involve your professor at all.

I'm sorry for your loss, but IMO his concerns are completely reasonable, especially since he, as a student, doesn't know the rules surrounding this situation and doesn't have as much control over it like you did.

Talk to your department chair ASAP!!

I would NOT talk to the chair or dean directly. You're likely to be blown off as they have other duties and likely perceive undergrad grade issues as low priority in the scheme of things. Talk to the head undergrad advisor. Their job is solely to handle undergrad class issues, they are likely to have a better understanding of administrative procedures, and are likely to have considerable autonomy in things like this (i.e. the chair rubber stamps their decisions).

@user71659 I literally just walked into the chair's office of that department today and met with him. He's a very approachable and nice person, and does care about undergrads. I'm not sure what experience(s) you've had in the past, but, of the three chairs I've personally interacted with (of computer science, biology and mathematics), they're all extremely welcoming and willing to hear what an undergrad has to say.

@Charles was the chair able to tell you how this'll be handled?

@AC No, not really. The conversation didn't get that far. Please see my edit / update as to what happened.

As a chair, one thing I have learned is that lots of things happen.  If a professor does not hand in the grades for a class it is true that the transcript for those students cannot be closed, but it will not delay the date of conferral except in extreme circumstances. There is a time period (length depends on institution) between grade submission and degree conferral that allows the needed transcript auditing to be done and that is the period when these things are cleaned up.

My question is, is there anything else I can do to push this professor to respond to me and to set up a time to conclude my research project?

I recommend that you don't send your professor any more communications than you already have, and in this case, it is completely inappropriate to "push" him to do anything.  The death of a loved one in one's family is a major traumatic event, and a large degree of sympathy and forbearance is appropriate.  With respect, it is a much bigger deal than what are relatively minor concerns over graduation.
At this point you have already sent multiple emails, and it is clear that the professor is not able to perform his work duties right now.  Rather than contacting him again, contact the Head of Department, describe your case, and request a plan to have your assessment pushed forward in the absence of your professor (e.g., with another supervisor allocated).  Make sure you write your request in a way that is sympathetic and kind to your professor, but which acknowledges the reality that he is not presently in a position to assist you.  If you have been advised that there is nothing they can do, then you have been advised wrong, because that is clearly bullshit - a Department Head has the power and responsibility to replace incapacitated staff with other staff members who can do their teaching/supervision work.
If the Department is unable to assess you prior to your expected graduation time, this might end up being a case where your graduation is delayed.  Accept that and put it in perspective.  No-one you love has died, and the worst possible outcome for you here is that your assessment gets delayed, and you end up graduating one session later than you otherwise would have.  If this occurs, and you are worried that it will hamper your ability to apply for later positions (e.g., jobs, post-graduate degree, etc.), ask your Head of Department to write a "to whom it may concern" letter that you can give to potential employers, explaining that you are due to graduate at the next conferral and that your graduation was delayed due to a staffing issue through no fault of your own.
One last thing: remember to buy your professor a nice card or some flowers consoling him for his bereavement.

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll follow your words and just contact the department head directly tomorrow. I had already reached out to his office earlier in the week to set up an appointment but then cancelled when I got the "I'll contact you tomorrow" email from my professor. I suppose I'll just see if he can find someone else for me to present to and assess my efforts. Thanks again!

I can only assume the University would refund any tuition or fees paid, if a course was effectively cancelled due to an inability to provide the necessary staff (no matter how tragic the reason).

More likely they would just defer the result for that course and then hold the final assessment when they are able to do so.  This is what happens in other cases where final assessment in a course is held up (e.g., due to illness).

Describing the asker's concerns as "relatively petty" sounds dismissive, so I edited to "relatively minor".

+1 Agree with this 100%, and it's exactly the advice the adviser should have given.

Honestly an extra semester of tuition / room&board / etc. is far from a small thing. But the advice is spot on -- the dean can absolutely handle this situation and should not have difficulty doing so.

To answer a specific question:

What happens if he doesn't issue me a grade?

In a US-like university system (which based on your terminology I'm assuming), what would normally happen is that you'd be temporarily assigned a placeholder grade, possibly I (for Incomplete) or possibly something else that indicates some sort of administrative delay.  Your degree wouldn't be officially conferred, but in all likelihood you'd still be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony.  When the professor eventually returns to duty, you can complete your presentation (remotely if necessary), and he can assign you a grade.  That grade then replaces the I, and from then on it's as if you had that grade all along.  Assuming it's a passing grade, you will then be awarded a degree, possibly backdated to the end of this semester.
This is a similar process to what would happen if you became ill or incapacitated and were unable to take your last exams on time.
In particular, this sort of situation does not result in you having to retake the course.  I would not worry about the possibility of having to attend the university next semester.
If the professor is out for a really long time, or permanently, (which I wouldn't expect in this case), the department can typically have some other professor review your work and assign their best estimate of a grade.

As a note, placeholder grades that are due to the instructor are something like NR-No Report, GNR-Grade Not Reported, *, ##, etc. It's not supposed to be Incomplete because that implies the student didn't finish the work.

@user71659: Well, in this case the student actually didn't finish the work (the presentation), and the reason it couldn't be finished was due to something outside the student's control (the instructor wasn't present).  I guess it might be up to university policy what the placeholder looks like in such a case.

In my experience, "incomplete" is used for student-related "no grade" issues, such as missing half the classes due to medical issues.  A different placeholder is used for professor-related or paperwork-related missing grades (eg. my Chemistry 1 grade was a "##" until they got confirmation that yes, my AP Chemistry score was high enough for both placement and credit).

I was in the past given a just enough good grade to pass the subject and the grade was readjusted later on....


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The Pros and Cons of Volunteering in Organizing Workshop in High Prestigious Conference
The last year, I have been granted a fund from a workshop in High Prestigious Conference, from a couple of days I have received from the organizer if I would like to volunteer in organizing the next workshop and help in bringing funding and contacts. For sure, I do like volunteering and there are many important profiles volunteering, and I am the lowest one. I don't have so many contacts in my field likely organizations. I am afraid that I think I am not going being able to contribute massively compared to other members. It is the first time to receive this volunteering opportunity and I don't know what could be the possible pros and cons behind my participation?
I don't know whether I should focus only on research in the recent moment or participate in organizing the workshop.

This is for you to decide... We don't know all your circumstances or the possible networking opportunities you may, or may not, come across...

There's a lot of work involved in organising workshops, but as the most junior member of the committee, you're not likely to be asked to take the lead on soliciting for sponsors and so on. There would probably be a lot of grunt work involved for a few days leading up to the workshop and perhaps scattered calls on your time here and there overall.
If organising a workshop prevented researchers from doing their primary research, I doubt that any researcher would volunteer for the job. Getting to meet leading researchers in your field on a personal basis is a 'Pro' that you shouldn't dismiss too quickly. You could end up discussing their pet theories while driving them around or asking them about your own research over lunch. Or you might be assigned to stack chairs and have to make your own opportunities.
The opportunities are there for the taking, and the time commitment shouldn't be onerous. It would be wise to ask previous committee members about their experience, especially about whether / how it impacted their research. You can also speak with the workshop chair about how much time you have available for the role, should you take it up. This would help you judge whether it is practical for you to volunteer in this instance.