switching advisor/supervisor
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assessing your situation
You won’t know what kind of advisor/supervisor a professor will turn out to be until you’ve had a chance to work with them for a while. It might be a good idea to work with your assigned advisor for 6 months to a year and see if it feels like a good fit.
While you are paired with your advisor (intended supervisor), ask yourself:
What are my learner needs and priorities? (e.g. having someone who is warm, having someone who meets with me frequently, having someone who returns my emails promptly, having someone who gives me space to complete my work etc.)
Do I feel positively about working with this person for the next 3-6 years?
Do I feel respected by this person? Do I respect them back?
Do our communication styles match?
Do I feel this person will support me in getting the sorts of learning and work opportunities related to my career goals?
Just because you’re the student (and by default, in the less powerful position in the relationship), it doesn’t mean you have to accept your advisor/supervisor “as is” just because they were assigned to you.
If after working with your advisor for a while and assessing your learner needs, you realize your current advisor/supervisor is not a good match, it's time to plan how to find someone who will be your supervisor.
make a plan
There is no one right way to change your supervisor. You want to be as respectful as possible in the process but there is a possibly you might offend the person you are working with. It is a delicate process trying to change your supervisor. Make a plan that matches your mental health needs and is as respectful as possible towards your current advisor/supervisor.
OPTION 1: Connect with the Student Chair for Advice Around the Process
You might want to consider connecting with the student chair (NOTE: this person changes, so double check they are the acting student chair when you reach out).
Send the student chair an email, explaining that you want to meet
Have a meeting with the student chair, explaining your situation
Make a plan of action with them
Have follow-up meetings with them until you find a new supervisor
NOTE: It is your right to switch supervisors, so the institution technically has a responsibility to support you in this process.
OPTION 2: Do the Process on Your Own
If you do not want to talk to the student experience chair, you can facilitate this process all on your own. You might want to start by deciding the most respectful and efficient way to search for another supervisor and inform your current one that you are switching.
A. Tell your advisor/supervisor in advance you want to switch
You can either let your current advisor/supervisor know that while you respect them in many ways and appreciate their support so far, you think you might be best matched with someone else and want to switch. This approach might work best for someone who is unlikely to take you switching personally. NOTE: if you tell them in advance, it might be awkward until you switch.
B. Do not tell your advisor/supervisor in advance that you want to switch
If you think your supervisor will be offended by the switch, you might want to consider discretely talking with other profs about their availability before discussing the matter with them. You probably want to tell other profs you talk with to not inform your current supervisor that you are having this conversation and that you will inform your old supervisor once you have secured a new supervisor.
testimonials
I found it very hard in the beginning of my PhD program because I was paired with an advisor that was not a good personality fit for me. After I accepted my offer and met with my advisor, I was told he was very busy and I would be working more with another person, who had recently been hired. I was not told prior that I would have two advisors and did not really understand how that co-supervising/advising process would work. It became really confusing knowing who to communicate with. My original advisor was very difficult to contact, my co-supervisor was lovely but did not have much overlap with my subject area and did not generally know how to answer my questions (e.g. registration, coursework etc.), and I felt stupid reaching out to my original advisor. I am a highly sensitive person and have a lot of anxiety, so having someone who is warm and welcoming is actually really helpful for my learning. I tried to tough it out for a while but it was negatively impacting my mental health. I felt very alone. Trying to switch my advisor/supervisor was very stressful. It took me almost a year and a half after I had decided I did not want this person as my supervisor, or the co-supervisor situation that I was put into, to find someone who agreed to work with me. I was really close to dropping out of the program and reached out to the student experience chair at the time. They supported me in the process although it was still very difficult waiting to find someone to work with. My advice would be to find different people you can talk to (e.g. students who have gone through similar experiences, friends/family members, a counsellor etc.). I hope you are able to switch in a smoother way, but just know that you are not alone. Unfortunately, many people have hard experiences with their advisors/supervisors. - Anonymous
Knowing when to switch your supervisor is an individualistic decision. You and only you can decide if you wish to make that switch. Switching for me was not as smooth as one would have hoped. On the one hand it is ethical to inform your supervisor beforehand that you are wanting to switch but on the other hand I wanted to first reach out to other professors and ask them if they were even willing to supervise me. So what do you do first then? For me, I chose the latter. I reached out to certain professors first to see if they were even willing to take me on. The issue that arose was that some of those professors went ahead and told my initial supervisor that I am contacting them to switch which got a bit awkward to say the least. It seemed like I was doing something sneeky or offensive when I was just trying to navigate my way through this unchartered territory the best I could. My thinking was not to bring this up to my supervisor unless I had a back up. My advice would be to ask the professor you are contacting for potential supervision not to contact your current supervisor before you have had a chance to talk to them yourself. Ask them that if they agree to take you on, let you know so that you can tell your current supervisor of the switch yourself. - Anonymous
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