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by ramraj07 2153 days ago
We dont need a Yelp for doctoral programs, we need a Yelp for research labs! It's more about the lab you join than the program itself that makes or breaks your life.

In fact, I have heard that minimally there's kind of a toxic labs blacklist maintained in some Chinese message boards. At least that's what a fellow postdoc told me when I mused why we suddenly stopped getting applicants from China to our lab!
2 comments
frandroid 2153 days ago
There are PhD programs not attached to research labs. I would say the majority of doctoral students are not attached to one.
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mmhsieh 2153 days ago
by research lab, he means a research group led by a specific faculty member in an academic department. in other words: he is talking about reviews on specific professors as doctoral degree advisers.
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chrisseaton 2153 days ago
More that the lab you’re in it’s about your specific advisor. Two advisors in the same lab could work in a completely different way.
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joshvm 2153 days ago
If you have an issue, the onus is on the institution to fix the problem. It doesn't matter if you're part of a lab or not, your advisor has a boss, and your university should have a support network. If it doesn't, then strongly consider going somewhere else. It also totally depends on you. I understand that in the past a lot of people clashed with my PhD supervisor, but I never had any issues as a student (and we got on well).

What you need to ask is: does the instutition side with the academic in cases of misconduct (e.g. inappropriate behaviour?), or do they side with the student? Do they have a robust pastoral program? Would the students say that they feel supported?

I can categorically say there are awful advisors in all institutions.

A friend got a position in Cambridge. While their advisor was on vacation my friend - innocently - set up a group Slack. When the advisor returned, friend was accused of trying to steal the group. It was a bizarre situation.

I know people at less well-known universities with more mundane issues, like not being supervised, and it's taken them years to get the department to do anything.

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