Target1600

Hey guys, just wanted to update you on my situation. I was working with two professors - one from my original department (my advisor) and the other from another department (who was actually the PI of the project and controls RA funds). Since, my advisor wasn't talking straight to me, I approached the other professor and asked him to be my advisor with certain medical reasons to graduate as soon as possible. He talked to my advisor and it turned out that my advisor is ready to help me defend within a month now. I hope things will fall into place for me now.

Thanks for sharing your experience pippa127. I have talked to another professor who might help me with my graduation. Resorting to a lawyer is my last option.

Furthermore, the professor in my new university is aware of the situation here. He let me in even after knowing all this. And he asked me to be as professional as I can in this situation. However, when it will come to degree, he will really understand why I did what I did even if he eventually will know about it. He wants me to join in his group as soon as possible.

Thanks kalapocska. I understand that transfers happen quite often. However, in my case my professor seems to be taking his revenge. He even asked that without your master's I believe you won't be able to join there. And my past experience with him has clearly shown that he can do anything. So, I'm planning to change my advisor after talking to Department Chair.

Thanks Sigaba. I'm exploring other options to graduate.

Thanks so much Mocha. I have already taken an appointment with him. I was just trying to plan for the worst case situation. Furthermore, if I get a MS from current program 30 credits will be transferred straight away to my PhD program which otherwise will be lost.

Hey guys! please advice. My advisor is hell bent to not let me graduate without showing it directly but by delaying things. I'm also not sure whether the Department Chair would help as he is an extremely busy man and might not help me graduate under his guidance. Shall I hire a lawyer to help me get my degree??

Thanks so much for your comprehensive advice Sigaba. I'm just waiting to let my adviser absorb it during the spring break and then start consolidating the details of the defense. I'll certainly share my experience once it is over for the benefit of others.

Thanks so much kalapocska. I'm planning to contact the chair as soon as my adviser provides me the letter (if at all he does). I talked to the chair while I was applying and he said I could leave with a MS degree. But he didn't submit the recommendation letter even after repeated reminders though said he will write a good one. He will for sure convey what ever I say to him to my adviser. The only reason I mentioned I'm switching is the opportunity to work on the project completely aligned with my area of interest in which I won a best paper award during the initial phase of my master's.

Thanks so much wildviolet. Ya, I'm planning to turn to others but the only problem is that as soon as I'll contact other professors they will certainly let it know to my adviser which I believe won't be good. My offer letter says that I need to provide the final transcript but they didn't mention anything explicitly regarding the MS degree. I'm planning to contact the graduate coordinator regarding it some time in near future when things will become a little clear. Also, since I have completed my coursework for master's I submitted a Full time Certification form to maintain my full time status as an international student which is required for immigration purposes. However, the form also requires a letter from the adviser stating the reason for this certification, status of my thesis and time table for completion of the degree. I believe if my adviser provides me this letter than things will be a bit more clear as to what his plans are.

Hi, I'm a PhD student at my current university in US. However, I'm planning to drop out of the PhD program and defend for my master's. I'm transferring to a different university for PhD. Before joining the PhD program at the current university, I clearly mentioned to my adviser that I'll be applying for PhD to other schools. At that time he mentioned that not only can I apply, he will also write me a great letter of recommendation. However, when a professor from a different university interviewed me, I asked him for the letter. He clearly denied me the letter. Furthermore, he said that he never promised me the letter and that I assumed it myself. A few days later he told me that it was a misunderstanding and that it is in my best interest to continue working on my PhD under his guidance. He is technically very poor and can't advice me a bit. I work on my own and keep publishing (of course with him as an author on the papers). I got an admit from a top 10 university in US without his recommendation. And now I just want to defend for my master's. I have conveyed it to him and he is really depressed after knowing this. He even called one of my fellow PhD students to his office and started asking questions about ethics and justifying that I'm betraying him. When I asked him to defend for my master's he mentioned he is currently very busy and can let me defend only some time in late June. Considering the fact that he does not keep his words, I'm really worried about my graduation. I have done considerable work and have already published 4 papers. Can he stop me from graduating? Also, please advice on how should I handle the situation? Thanks