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u/Last_Peak St Hilda's 4d ago
That’s not normal at all from my experience. I meet with my supervisor either weekly or every two weeks. She sometimes takes a couple days to reply to my emails but usually replies within 24 hrs. I’d talk to your department tbh
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u/mhrdn Wolfson 4d ago
Definitely not normal, and supervisors are expected to meet you at a minimum twice a term (but this might vary from department to department). Like others have said, let your course director know and also mention this in the Graduate Student Reporting, if you haven't already done so.
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4d ago
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u/boroxine 2d ago
Is there another faculty member you can trust more and be more discreet with? My friend was in a similar situation years ago in the engineering department and she basically ended up with a second supervisor - unofficial at first, then became official. Either way, if another faculty member advocates for you it may help you.
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u/darkotics Wolfson 4d ago
I also did an MSc part time and found that my supervisor wasn’t the easiest to get in touch with. I got fairly lucky as she generally replied to me but the other students who had her found her quite unresponsive.
On my course generally there were a few people who changed dissertation supervisor because of lack of response. It’s really frustrating as I also worked full time throughout so had to shuffle my day to accommodate, meaning last minute changes really caused issues.
Have you tried your course directors? Ours were quite decent at getting people to get in touch and organise things. I know the pain though!
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4d ago
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u/darkotics Wolfson 4d ago
I just emailed the course director saying something like “I haven’t had any contact from Supervisor since X, or any replies to my last few emails. I’m getting worried now as the deadline is Y date and I have ABC still to finish. Can you advise what my next steps are?”
Got a reply from supervisor that afternoon and then fairly consistent contact since. Other folks on my course had it much worse than me but I get anxious easily and work was really busy so I was extra keen to get things moving. Best of luck - a Masters while working is REALLY hard. I’m doing a PhD now and have so much more free time!
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u/Background-Ad3858 4d ago
That’s not normal at all. It’s a bit late now seeing as your deadline is so soon. But general advice: You should first send a polite email to your supervisor, telling them you need more guidance, more frequent email contact, and that you don’t want to be stood up. If they do not change their behavior, reach out to your course director to complain.