Common concerns: Advisor issues

• Learn about the types of experiences that women have with their advisors.
• Learn what good advising is and what your advisor’s role is.

“The men in my program consistently receive all of the challenging projects that lead to promising opportunities. It’s as if my own advisor doesn’t believe I, as a woman, can handle more.”

“My advisor’s expectations are usually so ambiguous, if not virtually unattainable, that I often wonder if I’ll ever get through this program.”

“Throughout my pregnancy, my faculty advisor was not at all supportive of my desire to take some time off. I felt as if I was jeopardizing my education and future career by trying to tend to my new family.”

“I’m treated more like a wife or an assistant than a colleague or even an advisee, being asked to run countless personal errands and chauffeur him around.”

“How am I supposed to learn to be an independent scholar, when all of my time and work is spent on my advisor’s projects?”

“My advisor treats me more formally than his male advisees, and perhaps it would even be inappropriate if he and I were to socialize more casually like he does with my male colleagues. However, I feel like I’m missing out on opportunities because of this

Among all the elements that contribute to the graduate school experience and outcomes, the most important is the student’s working relationship with the research advisor. If the advising relationship is strong, your advisor will be your source of support and buffer against the impact of personal and academic challenges that you encounter in the doctoral program.

In STEM doctoral programs, more than in other fields, students typically have more interdependent relationships with their research advisors since they rely on the advisor’s research grants for funding and career sponsorship. The PhD in science is primarily an apprenticeship with an advisor in research. 

Consequently, in the CareerWISE Coach, we differentiate between your advisor, that is the faculty member who has primary responsibility for guiding your research, from other faculty who supplement or provide other types of support. [See What You Want in an Advisor and What You Want in a Mentor for more on this topic.]

Your advisor’s role is multifaceted and changes over time. The research advisor serves as your primary guide to:

the discipline at large

the academic program

the dissertation process

research and professional opportunities

A positive relationship with an advisor is a strong predictor of satisfaction with the PhD program, research productivity, enhanced research self-efficacy, and completion of the doctoral degree (Golde, 2005; Litalien & Guay, 2015; Paglis, Green, & Bauer, 2006; Zhao, Golde, & McCormick, 2007). In addition, the advising relationship is associated with the retention of highly qualified women in science and career decision-making, such as whether to pursue an academic career.

Two types of support from advisors are considered to be key in strong advising alliances: Instrumental support and psychosocial support. The combination appears to be especially important for countering the sometimes-unwelcoming environments that women and underrepresented minorities face in STEM graduate programs (NASEM, 2020; Primé, Bernstein, Wilkins, & Bekki, 2015; Wilkins, et al., 2021). [See Climate for more on this topic.] 

Instrumental support refers to the advisor’s direct, active, tangible, and operational help in academic, intellectual, and career domains. This type of support includes:

• guiding research 
• providing feedback
• setting clear expectations 
• collaborating on research projects and publication 
• providing financial support 
• sponsoring the student for fellowships and awards
• providing career guidance
• introducing the student to internship, professional, and employment opportunities
• showcasing and championing
• serving as an advocate
• troubleshooting when program issues come up

Psychosocial support refers to the attention of the advisor to the affective elements of the student’s experience. Advisors provide psychosocial support by:

• Demonstrating caring and empathy for the student
• Communicating emotional support
• Providing encouragement and affirmation
• Recognizing the student’s progress and accomplishments 
• Offering comfort and safety for open expression 

Assessing both factors and working with your advisor on them is important for accomplishing milestones in the program. It is not unusual for students to find that their research advisors do not provide all the elements of support that they would like. In those cases, identifying other faculty to provide supplemental mentoring is a good option. See the module on What You Want in a Mentor for more on this topic.

About 1 in 4 doctoral students reports that they would change research advisors if they could (Woolston, 2017). Problematic advising relationships are associated with longer degree completion times and dropout intentions (Ferreira, 2003; Litalien & Guay, 2015; Lovitts, 2001). 

The advising relationship appears to be less supportive for women. Both qualitative and quantitative studies have identified areas of difficulty.

Women report communication difficulties with advisors (Cabay, Bernstein, Rivers, & Fabert, 2018; O’Meara, Knudson, & Jones, 2013).

Of women who finished their degrees late, three times as many reported receiving poor advising, as compared to those who finished early (Maher, Ford, & Thompson, 2004). 

Twice as many female late-finishers reported that faculty actually thwarted their degree completion, whereas many early-finishers expressed that faculty facilitated their progress (Maher, Ford, & Thompson, 2004).

Women report significantly lower satisfaction with advisors than men (Moyer, Salovey, & Casey-Cannon, 1999; Stockard, Rohlfing, & Richman, 2021; Zhao, Golde, & McCormack, 2007).

Women more often than men report that their relationships with advisors are more formal, distant, and less collegial (Maher, Ford, & Thompson, 2004). 

Doctoral women in chemistry, especially women who identified as underrepresented minorities, report significantly fewer positive interactions with their advisors compared to other students (Stockard, Rohlfing, & Richman, 2021). 

Doctoral women in chemistry, in comparison to men and students in biology, agreed less that their advisor had high expectations for them, asked for their opinion, and knew how to deal with female students effectively (Ferreira, 2003).

In comparison to men and white women in the Stockard et al (2021) study, Women of Color were the least likely among all students to report that their advisors encouraged them to pursue their goals, advocated for them, gave regular feedback, or involved them in publications or presentations. 

Women of color in STEM report colorblindness from their advisors (McGee & Bentley, 2017).

It is important to have standards with respect to your advising relationship just like you have for your academic work. If your needs are not being met, chances are that you will feel unsupported or frustrated. It’s good to recognize when there’s a mismatch of what you want and what you’re getting so that you can make the necessary adjustments. There are ways to address these issues, as awkward or impossible as they may seem.

What You Want in an Advisor is a module that guides you in reviewing what your priorities are in selecting an advisor and working with them. 

How to Help Your Advisor Help You is a module that offers ideas for ways to strengthen your relationship with your advisor.

What You Want in a Mentor is a module that provides ideas for how you can supplement what your advisor provides with various forms of support from multiple mentors

Forging a positive relationship with a graduate advisor may be challenging and frustrating, particularly for women, who as a group receive less attention, fewer resources, and experience other forms of subtle or overt discrimination in science and engineering graduate programs. 

Throughout the CareerWISE Coach, strategies are suggested for developing and sustaining positive working relationships with your advisor. The Problem Solving Method will direct you to a number of helpful strategies

Cabay, M., Bernstein, B. L., Rivers, M., & Fabert, N. (2018). Chilly climates, balancing acts, and shifting pathways: What happens to women in STEM doctoral programs. Social Sciences, 7(2), 23. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7020023

Ferreira, M. (2003). Gender issues related to graduate student attrition in two science departments. International Journal of Science Education, 25(8), 969-989. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690305026 

Fox, M. F. (2001). Women, science, and academia: Graduate education and careers. Gender & Society, 15(5), 654–666. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124301015005002

Golde, C. M. (2005). The role of the department and discipline in doctoral student attrition: Lessons from four departments. The Journal of Higher Education, 76(6), 669-700. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2005.11772304 

Litalien, D., & Guay, F. (2015). Dropout intentions in PhD studies: A comprehensive model based on interpersonal relationships and motivational resources. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 41, 218-231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2015.03.004 

Lovitts, B. E. (2001). Leaving the ivory tower: The causes and consequences of departure from doctoral study. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Maher, M. A., Ford, M. E., & Thompson, C. M. (2004). Degree progress of women doctoral students: Factors that constrain, facilitate, and differentiate. Review of Higher Education, 27(3), 385–408. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2004.0003

McGee, E. O., & Bentley, L. (2017). The troubled success of Black women in STEM. Cognition and Instruction, 35(4), 265-289.https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2017.1355211

Moyer, A., Salovey, P., & Casey-Cannon, S. (1999). Challenges facing female doctoral students and recent graduates. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 23(3), 607–630. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1999.tb00384.x

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2020). The science of effective mentorship in STEMM.  Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25568 

O’Meara, K., Knudsen, K., & Jones, J. (2013). The role of emotional competencies in faculty-doctoral student relationships. The Review of Higher Education, 36(3), 315-347. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2013.0021 

Paglis, L. L., Green, S. G., & Bauer, T. N. (2006). Does adviser mentoring add value? A longitudinal study of mentoring and doctoral student outcomes. Research in Higher Education, 47(4), 451-476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-005-9003-2 

Pfund, C., Byars-Winston, A., Branchaw, J., Hurtado, S., & Eagan, K. (2016). Defining attributes and metrics of effective research mentoring relationships. AIDS and Behavior, 20(2), 238-248. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1384-z 

Primé, D. R., Bernstein, B. L., Wilkins, K. G., & Bekki, J. M. (2015). Measuring the advising alliance for female graduate students in science and engineering: An emerging structure. Journal of Career Assessment, 23(1), 64-78. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072714523086

Schlosser, L. Z., & Gelso, C. J. (2001). Measuring the working alliance in advisor–advisee relationships in graduate school. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 48, 157–167. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.48.2.157 

Stockard, J., Rohlfing, C. M., & Richmond, G. L. (2021). Equity for women and underrepresented minorities in STEM: Graduate experiences and career plans in chemistry. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(4). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2020508118 

Sverdlik, A., Hall, N. C., McAlpine, L., & Hubbard, K. (2018). The PhD experience: A review of the factors influencing doctoral students’ completion, achievement, and well-being. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 13(1), 361-388. https://doi.org/10.28945/4113 

Wilkins-Yel, K. G., Bekki, J.M., Arnold, A.C., Bernstein, B. L., Coley, C.E., Natarajan, M. W., & Randall, A.K. (2021). Understanding the Impact of Personal Challenges and Advisor Support on STEM Persistence among Graduate Women of Color. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000236

Woolston, C. (2017). Graduate survey: A love–hurt relationship. Nature, 550(7677), 549-552. https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7677-549a 

Zhao, C. M., Golde, C. M., & McCormick, A. C. (2007). More than a signature: How advisor choice and advisor behavior affect doctoral student satisfaction. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 31(3), 263-281. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098770701424983

Special Characteristics of Your Advisor and Struggling with Life Balance Issues
Advisor’s experiences encourage well-informed career decisions.

Key Elements in Good Advising
The importance of being open and honest with your advisor.

Persuading an Advisor
Suggestions for defining research.

Separate Advisors and Mentors
The importance of having a variety of mentors throughout your graduate experience.

Advisor Issues
How a positive advisor challenged his students to think for themselves.

Pros and Cons of an International Advisor
Experiences with an international advisor.

Options for Support
Urges students to seek multiple campus resources for support.

Stubbornness and Tenacity
Highlights the obstacles faced when trying to have research reviewed by the advisor and emphasizes the steps necessary to make adequate progress in the program.

Hearing from Students and Having an Impact
The importance of giving back to students and making an impact in their future education and career choices