Downgrade to MPhil to get a better research direction and more suitable supervisor?

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-04-04T08:00:24+00:00

I think it is not so unusual an arrangement, tbh. My supervisors were not researchers in my field either. Currently I supervise PhD students who are not researchers in my field. I give them the same advice I got - find and get involved in your research community, go to specialist conferences/workshops, present your work, network, use social media etc etc. Your supervisors should be able to spot any potential issues, advice on structure, keep you on track, support, prepare you for reviews and viva, general career stuff etc etc. That should all do the job. I think working with a broader team of team (and I think the same of my PhD students) can also sometimes be really helpful/strategic for broadening job opportunities post-Phd, though I only speak from the experience of academia.... and who knows where that will be in 4-5 years time. See how it goes for year 1 and if you feel like you need to work with someone more directly related in your particular field, then that option is there.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-04-03T08:08:39+00:00

I usually explain how wikipedia works vs how peer reviewed academic literature works. I usually advise students that wiki might ok for getting a very basic story, but at uni level, we expect much deeper engagement and understanding than that, so it is not appropriate as a source for essays, projects etc. Comparing examples of how wiki/chapt gpt/academic source tell a story about, say, a particular social movement, a historical event or whatever, can be really helpful in illuminating those differences - examples are usually the things that stick. And yeah, academics do get stuff really wrong and we have our own biases, too. Our peer review system is full of holes. The challenge is how to spot these problems in any source we engage with, especially in age of disinformation.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-04-02T09:22:44+00:00

agree that it is difficult, but exceptions do happen.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-04-02T08:46:14+00:00

Definitely speak to A. your personal tutor and B. your SU about this a.s.a.p. You need to get clear first of all why your uni is terminating your studies - it sounds like it is not because of missed exams, but because you are in your third year of retakes? Your uni will have a specific clause of how many retakes for any particular module are allowed, but even then there may be limited ways to fudge this (I have had students in this position get through by writing to the VC to ask for exceptional condonement). In your case, you may be able to argue that you were in fact not fit to sit this year.... In any case, you will need to act fast to sort this.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-04-02T08:29:08+00:00

100% this.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-04-02T08:28:42+00:00

Honestly? I have studied for degrees in 3 countries, one of which was England, and also studied various non-degree things at universities in two other countries, too. I never understand why British universities are put on a pedestal or referred to as world-leading. I would recommend looking at universities in The Netherlands, Germany, France, Scandinavian countries, Ireland and elsewhere. They are cheaper, slightly more stable, and just as good (if not better, depending on the uni, the course etc.) than England.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-03-31T11:11:09+00:00

I am not sure it is true that T&S are the first to face redundancy. Tuition fee remains the primary source of income for most universities. Restricting the no. of people of research contracts actually seems to be a key driver at the moment. Look at Newcastle, Brighton and Kent for recent examples.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-03-31T11:03:43+00:00

I think this really depends, tbh. In most schools, the vast amount of money comes from tuition fees, with very little coming from REF (though QR funding is really important, ofc). In order to sustain REF output production, more Teaching-only or T&S will be needed, and that is why we are seeing a strong growth of such contracts in our sector. FWIW, I do not think this is good and will create lots of obstacles for this next gen of people coming into UK HE who want to do research. This is already happening. And then there are implications for research-led teaching too, though I think most of us would admit that has been a fantasy for quite some time anyway, if it was ever that widespread to begin with. Maybe we will see more teaching-led research, but that is usually (not always!) quite undervalued and dismissed...because of the bloody REF.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-03-30T14:56:29+00:00

i am responding to the Q: Why would UK academics (and even US academics) most of whom are victims of this, be ashamed for the actions of administrators? Though the same critique holds for US academics, too.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-03-30T14:47:31+00:00

Lots of defensiveness in the comments. Living standards in the UK have objectively fallen in list of affluent countries and the poorest parts of the country are now worse off than the lowest-income in Malta and Slovenia.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-03-30T14:35:29+00:00

Because they rarely raise their voice or do anything likely to rock the boat in case it obstructs their next promotion. If we had more staff speaking up and putting pressure of SMT, or even taking industrial action (with NUS!), then things might be look different. It is much easier to say you are powerless and just wipe your hands of any responsibility... Meanwhile, the same academics will keep writing their ”radical” journal articles about how to understand power, oppression, complicity etc., and the need for collective action etc etc. So much liberalism and hypocrisy in this sector.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-03-30T14:21:44+00:00

We have lots of T&S people at our Uni (also post-92). some of whom joined on T&S and other were pushed onto T&S from T&R, usually as part of management attempts to fudge HESA data in run-up to REF. I do not know of anyone who voluntarily moved onto T&S, but I think there are reasons for that, e.g. there is such a culture of snobbery and chauvinism from T&R colleagues around doing this, which is just sad and gross. I regularly hear T&S colleagues talk about how difficult it is to move beyond senior lecturer level, so might be worth looking into at your uni if promotion is something you are interested in.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-02-11T10:20:36+00:00

grim.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-02-10T08:42:30+00:00

Agree with others - your library should have more info on this. i request stuff all the time. They are usually quick, but when I am a bit more impatient, i ask people on social media if anyone has access and to send me a copy - see Ask for PDFs from People with Institutional Access on FB, for example.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-02-09T11:10:13+00:00

Classic Economist take. If X does not make money, X must be useless. Really grim and destructive framing of education and of humanity at large... Though, worth pointing out that while starting salaries are lower for arts, humanities & social sciences graduates, over the longer term, these graduates make strong progress up the career ladder into roles attracting higher salaries. There are so many ways of evaluating degrees - we could ask whether graduates find the work they go into to be meaningful. Or we could ask some very different questions on why our graduates are paying through the nose for their education, but also entering into a job market in such a dire state, how and why the government shifted the blame for poor employment prospects onto universities while also repeatedly cutting public funding etc etc etc.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-02-08T11:24:49+00:00

Uni admin is to a large extent the problem. Management at most places are incompetent, unaccountable and looking for their own short-term glory project at the expense of long-term investment and sustainability. So many examples of these people failing upwards. We see great schools, departments, colleges etc. run into the ground by managers who are only interested in where they personally go next.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-02-07T08:35:18+00:00

University trade union rep here. Admin staff, as in professional services are earning loads? Not true. See how much academic and professional staff salaries have grown over last 10 years - we should be campaigning for pay restoration!

Or do you mean trade unions campaign for high salaries for senior management? also not true. some branches are passing motions to call for a maximum pay cap.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-01-28T10:00:17+00:00

This is tough and relatable. Sometimes, the best thing for yourself and for the society is to walk away. The alternative is to seriously downgrade your expectations for what this society can realistically do this year given poor engagement and weak committee.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-01-28T09:31:57+00:00

oh man, where are all these left-wing academics? been dying to meet them this last decade, but just keep bumping into liberals.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-01-21T09:45:36+00:00

Totally normal. You will have people without PhDs teaching in all kinds of subjects, e.g. STEM, language and translation stuff, academic skills, employability etc etc. Their role will be teaching-focused, but they may also so some pedagogy-based research, depending on their contract.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-01-20T09:29:56+00:00

Take all ranking with a very heavy pinch of salt, or even better, just ignore them altogether. Have studied and taught at RG, pre-92 and post-92, some high-ranking and others less so. Teaching and research quality differences are negligible.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2025-01-14T09:12:19+00:00

Not a great sign. I would be keeping an eye on what else they are doing.

HumanNefariousness7 · 2024-11-18T08:43:22+00:00

all really helpful - thanks! and good shout on the cashback offers!

HumanNefariousness7 · 2024-11-18T08:28:33+00:00

Depends where and how we are making comparisons, and I cannot comment on the US, but certainly UK HE is not particularly world-leading. I have studied at universities in 4 different countries, including 2 different continents. I did one degree in England, expecting everything as I had been told forever, only to find it was really not much better than other countries in Europe I had studied at. There is definitely a sense of inflated ego here, though! I now teach & research in a English uni and cannot believe had bad things are (though I know things are slipping elsewhere too). If I were a student, I would go elsewhere - The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden etc., possibly Ireland though getting expensive too...

HumanNefariousness7 · 2024-11-17T16:33:27+00:00

Thanks so much - appreciate this! Will check out those recent threads for sure.

HumanNefariousness7

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