How to ask your advisor for vacations dates?

[andrestoga]

Hi,

I'm going to ask my advisor the dates I can go on vacations in December/Christmas because I wanna buy my flight tickets in advance to get them cheaper. I wrote this email but I don't if it is rude or not. Can someone give some advice please? Thanks. This is the text of the email:

Hi XxX,

I'm planning to travel to my home country in the vacations of December/Christmas, I would like to know the dates that are more convenient for you and therefore I can plan my trip in advance. I am planning to buy the tickets soon so I would appreciate if you can provide me this information.

Thanks!

Best,

[Eigen]

Personally, I would do it in person. 

Some of this depends on (1) your relationship with your advisor and (2) policies at your school. Does your school have defined vacation policies for graduate students/RAs?

If you have a reasonable relationship with them, I'd drop by their office and tell them you need to buy tickets for going home around Christmas, and wanted  to make sure there weren't any particular dates you needed to be around. 

Do you have reason to expect that your advisor will need you around for particular dates during the break? If not, I would tell them the dates you plan on being gone, and then say that you can shift them if needed. 

[St Andrews Lynx]

I'd actually tell your advisor the dates you are proposing being on vacation and asking if they are OK with them. I think it's easier for a boss to approve/disapprove a date range than make them think up the dates and consider all possible conflicts to work around (the latter is a lot more work for them).

Edited October 13, 2015 by St Andrews Lynx

[rising_star]

I also recommend doing this in person. Have you checked the university's calendar to see if there are certain dates when the entire institution is closed? I ask because many schools in the USA are completely shutdown for the week between Christmas and New Year's, for example.

[TakeruK]

The following is under the assumption that your school/department/advisors operates on a vacation policy that is typically seen in my field (i.e. you get something like X days per year but it is subject to advisor approval in case they need you there for an experiment or something). 

I would normally do it in person too. I usually ask my advisor during one of my regular weekly meetings. I agree with all of the others that you should simply propose dates for approval instead of asking when is okay. For my advisor and I, it's never about asking permission, only about giving them a heads up so I don't usually phrase it as a permission, but more like "Hey, I'm planning to add a week of vacation along with that conference in Hawaii, would that be a problem?" 

For things that are less than a week long (e.g. I'm just taking an extra Friday or Monday off to get a long weekend), I don't usually mention it unless I am supposed to meet with my advisor that day. But again, much will vary on the norms in your field/department and on your relationship with your advisor and on the nature of your work and their expectations. I used to always mention even taking a half day (or a few hours) off for a dentist appointment, but my advisor made it clear that I should not need to feel like I have to ask permission to do that. My advisor considers the flexibility of setting your own schedule a perk of graduate student life, to make up for the other not so fun parts! 

Finally, if you know your advisor is strict about vacation time, and/or they might be forgetful, then perhaps an email might be a good idea, so that there is a "paper trail". Ideally, I would say you should ask in person, and then when you get back to your desk immediately send an email to confirm. Something like "Just writing to confirm that I will be away from Dec X to Jan Y for a personal trip home" etc. If you aren't able to meet your advisor in person before you can book, then an email is okay.

 

[andrestoga]

Hi,

Thanks for your answers. Unfortunately, I can't ask him in person because my advisor is in a sabbatical so, that's why I'm planning to write him an email. This is also my first year as a graduate student so, I have seen my advisor like three times so far. I haven't found any defined vacation policies for graduate students so far. It's a good idea to propose the dates. Thanks!

I also recommend doing this in person. Have you checked the university's calendar to see if there are certain dates when the entire institution is closed? I ask because many schools in the USA are completely shutdown for the week between Christmas and New Year's, for example.

What do you mean by completely shutdown?

Best,

[Eigen]

If he's on sabbatical and you rarely see him... Why do you think there would be times during the break he'd specifically want you at school?

Some schools are completely shut down- no heat, no one on campus at all.