supervisor trouble

[yellowflipflops]

So i started my phd in economics about 8 months ago. I have 3 supervisors. Two of them i have been calling and emailing for the past month cos i want to show them what i have done so far, but they have not replied yet. I find it extremely rude and i am starting to think that they are not bothered at all or they might have lost interest in my topic. In this PhD i am not required to attend any classes or to teach, etc. With such supervisors, i think i have started to lose interest. I am very very angry.

I have turned out great jobs abroad just because i wanted to do my PhD, but with no replies i think...i need to drop it? Or maybe apply for another PhD in another University?

[Eigen]

Wait, you have 3 supervisors?

How exactly does that work- are they all on your committee? Who's your committee chair, then?

Also, why have you been calling and e-mailing them instead of meeting them in person- are they out of state/out of country?

Your situation sounds unusual, maybe a little more explanation would be helpful. I've never heard of a PhD with no coursework or teaching, since a standard and accredited PhD in the US requires at least 48 hours of coursework of some stripe- but that assumes you're in the US. Are you perhaps in the UK? I know doctoral programs there are quite differently organized. Either way, a bit more of an explanation would be really helpful before we give you advice.

[yellowflipflops]

In the country i am at, you have 3 people as supervisors. One of them is the "chair". There are no tuition fees. In some of the universities you are not required to attend courses or have coursework. In a few you do. You are not allowed to teach unless you have finished your PhD.

I am calling and emailing them because i want to meet with them. They do not have standard office hours and ofcourse i do not know where they live.

[Eigen]

Are the two you are trying to get in touch with your chair, or the others? It sounds like your set-up is kind of like a US dissertation committee. If it's similar, the person you'll be most in touch with is your chair, with the others more towards the end of your work.

Past that, I think the setup you're talking about is different enough from what most of us have seen or experienced that we'd be hard pressed to give advice. Would you mind telling what country you're in?

[yellowflipflops]

Well, my main problem is that the "chair" of the committee is not replying. And i do not know how to react to that. That is something that you might experience in any country. Do you quit to find another PhD or you just continue and hope for the best?

[Eigen]

Well, that depends on the rest of how your program is organized. Do you have enough work to do, or do you need his input to continue any further?

Do these faculty teach classes at all, even if you aren't required to take them? If so, has this past month or so been from final exam season last year through any sort of a winter break? If so, I'd say you should try to find them in their offices/after classes when they resume this spring.

Also, were your committee being more responsive prior to this? You said you've been there 8 months, but that they haven't been responding the last month or so. Is this a new thing?

Edited January 11, 2012 by Eigen