sam2016

Hey thoughtful respondents! I had a great conversation with my advisor and he was very supportive of having the other professor as my co-chair. So, thanks a lot for your great advice. I figured I should update you in case you were wondering!

I hope I am not too late in responding to your query.. From the sound of it, it looks like you have similar options in all three universities. So, maybe you should look at other factors like climate and job market in addition to research. I know for a fact that Boulder and NC have good job markets after graduation. Boulder generally has a number of research institutes and being located there will certainly be an advantage strategically. Also, NC has three universities in that region closely located to each other. So, you will be able to leverage greatly on the network there (especially that of Duke, has a great env. school). As for climate, I personally love NC's climate in general. Winters in Denver can be a little too harsh. That being said, both Boulder and NC are beautiful places with a lot of hiking options. Arizona is popular for hiking as well, but the summers are too extreme for my liking. And as far as professional networks in Arizona are concerned, I am not too convinced they have a great research network. The university is too "commercially" run for my liking (although it is a public university). But, that's my personal opinion and people may disagree with me.. In any case, you seem to have great choices ahead..good luck and congratulations!

Thank you very much for the advice! I think I shall have a straightforward conversation with my advisor. By the way, in my school, I need to have a dissertation committee before my comprehensive exams. So, I have a full committee now.

Hi, I am a 2nd year PhD student. I have a great committee. My advisor is extremely helpful as well. However, lately, I've been working closely with one of my other committee members as well. This professor has been as invested in my dissertation as my advisor. So, recently, he told me that if he continues to have the same level of investment of time and effort, he would like to be a co-advisor. Now, my advisor and this professor share a good chemistry as well and they've been on advising committees to other students in the past (not in the capacity of a chair/co-chair though). This professor was confident that my advisor won't have any problem with this idea. However, I am not sure how to discuss this with my advisor. I am very nervous that he may be upset with this development and interpret it as a lapse on his guidance to me (which is certainly not my intention). Any advice on how I should proceed with this?