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[chaoticworld]

Hi,

I am in the middle of a PhD program in a mid-size university. My supervisor informed me that she will take maternity leave very soon. It will take about 20 weeks. I have only one supervisor, and I am concerned that this leave will affect my progress in the program. My question is: Will she still carry the responsibility of supervising my work during this period? Can I contact her, e.g. asking her to revise my paper? How do you handle the communication with your supervisor in such a situation?

Thank you for comments.

[locutus]

I've been in your situation (twice). It depends on your advisor. You should have a face to face conversation about her availability during that time period. Ask her if she will be at least on email if there is something you absolutely *need*. Some people take 20 weeks of and take it all off. Others are out of contact for 3 or 4 and then may respond to an occasional email after that.

Expect some delay on communication at the very least.

[post_doc4now]

My advisor was on sabbatical and then on maternity leave.  It was tough. I think she honestly tried to be communicative but there was a significant delay in our progress on papers and getting new research up and going.

I agree with the suggestion to have a frank discussion with her regarding what her expectations are for whether she'll be answering emails or coming to campus for meetings.  In addition, I would add some expectations (of your own) that it will take her longer to respond and meetings will be less frequent than she expects, that way you're less likely to be annoyed or frustrated if things don't turn out exactly as she plans.

Try to leave lots of time for deadlines, getting her things early so that if something does come up you aren't in a really bad situation.

Good luck.

 

[secretweapon]

Can you arrange for a 'backup' supervisor while she is away - someone else in the department who generally knows your field and could be responsible for answering general questions, signing off on forms, and writing the odd reference?

[imawakenow]

Hi,

I am in the middle of a PhD program in a mid-size university. My supervisor informed me that she will take maternity leave very soon. It will take about 20 weeks. I have only one supervisor, and I am concerned that this leave will affect my progress in the program. My question is: Will she still carry the responsibility of supervising my work during this period? Can I contact her, e.g. asking her to revise my paper? How do you handle the communication with your supervisor in such a situation?

Thank you for comments.

I'm not sure what half way through a program means. Are you still taking classes? Getting ready for prelims?

Even so, I fail to see what the problem is. Your adviser is going to be away for 5 months not 5 years.

Take the advice offered here and have a face-to-face with your adviser. Surely she can tell you the degree to which she is willing to continue with "business as usual" while on maternity leave.

Also, it's not entirely clear why you need her to revise your papers unless she's a co-author and you are moving toward submission to a conference or journal. If she is a co-author, then consider adding another author (even advanced Ph.D. student) to keep the project moving. Or perhaps it's time for you to take the initiative in revising your own papers. It will be good practice for when you are writing your dissertation.


 

[chaoticworld]

Thank you all for relying my post and I find them inspiring. I have passed my qualifying exam and started working on papers for a year. Most of the discussion on my research has been between my supervisor and myself. In the past, I found it frustrating not being able to share my thoughts with her when she took an absent. And unfortunately, there are few people distantly related to my research in the department. In terms of regular business function, e.g. ref letter, I find a way to coordinate with her absence. It's the isolation in terms of doing research that dreads me the most. Sometimes, I do find myself not being able to stay focused on a particular task, e.g. The quest to an answer to a particular question diverges to find the historical background on the development of the algorithm. Without her pulling me back, the progress in my research crawls.