Supervisor moving to Canada & wants me to go with....

[Kermit]

I am a first year PhD student at a US institution who is a Canadian citizen. I received an email from my supervisor informing me that she is going to take a position at a Canadian university because of reasons and wants me to go with her. My dissertation is within the field of media studies/digital humanities focusing on media archaeology of scanning procedures and digital text production (i.e. rather specialized). It's in a interdisciplinary degree program and my supervisor, who is actually in English, is a fellow through it, supervising me.

 

The reason I came to the US institution was twofold. One was to work with my supervisor as  she does really unique work in media archaeology, and lets face it, who else does. The second was to move to the US as it is a lot easier to get PhD funding (at least for me in my field of humanities) through teaching and also to potentially make connections for after I graduate. Also there aren't nearly as many DH focused schools in Canada. 

 

If I move back to Canada I risk losing a potential future in the US but if I stay I lose the supervisor I need for my dissertation... Help!!!! SOS from a very sad canuck!

[TakeruK]

I think this is a really tough choice!! Sorry to hear that. I think it's really up to you to determine what is more essential for your success during and beyond your PhD--is it the US school's department, or will it be your specific supervisor? I don't think many people can help you! But maybe others in your field might be able to speak to how much supervisor fit vs program fit matters.

[kaykaykay]

there are a number of issues to consider: sometimes universities let you stay in residence from a distance if your advisor is moving. could this be a case for you? if money is a problem would your advisor get you money in Canada? Are there any other professors in your program that you would consider working with? Are there in Canada? How well networked is your Professor, how well ranked he/she is? That may matter more for US job prospects than the school you graduate from! I am fairly sure you can discuss a number of these issues with your current professor and maybe another part  with some other trusted person in the field ( former advisor etc)

In any case I heard some cases like this and they always managed to solve it in a way it did not hurt the student at the end! Remember your advisor wants you,- and the university that hired him/her will want to please him and the university that you are at now wants you so you have some wiggle room to find the best solution.

Good Luck!

[zupgiusto]

What school is your supervisor going to? Canada is actually great for digital humanities, there is a thread on here from this year where there are likeminded students talking about it. This is ultimately a very complex decision and I wish you all the best!

[Tianmeihua]

Maybe an option would be to do a semester on exchange during your PhD in the states, or write part of your thesis in the States? If you are concerned about making connections in the states, you could try to take part in presentations and conferences there. And maybe you can still immigrate to the States after your PhD, for example for a post-doc. 

[DontFly]

Kaykaykay raised some great questions to consider. I've heard some bad stories about people moving with their supervisors, so definitely be cautious (but you probably won't need me to tell you this). You're still in first year, so it's still possible to change supervisor without damaging your progress too much. That said, if you really love what she does and love working with her, maybe it's a risk worth taking?