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Study Skills
How do I say that I need help as a postgrad?
Study Skills
How do I say that I need help as a postgrad?
Study Skills
How do I say that I need help as a postgrad?
Summary
Due to the increased autonomy and, sometimes, isolation of postgraduate work, it can be very easy to feel like you are the only person struggling. But the most important thing to know is that everyone needs help during their postgraduate studies - otherwise, we wouldn’t need supervisors!
Here are some tips on how you might go about asking for help.
Use diagrams to identify what you need help with
Weigh up talking to your supervisor
Create a support shortlist
Talk to your peers
Find support in an academic community
Summary
Due to the increased autonomy and, sometimes, isolation of postgraduate work, it can be very easy to feel like you are the only person struggling. But the most important thing to know is that everyone needs help during their postgraduate studies - otherwise, we wouldn’t need supervisors!
Here are some tips on how you might go about asking for help.
Use diagrams to identify what you need help with
Weigh up talking to your supervisor
Create a support shortlist
Talk to your peers
Find support in an academic community
Read this article
3m
Use diagrams to identify what you need help with
It is often easier to ask for help effectively when you know what you need help with. Using diagram techniques like problem trees can help break big issues down into smaller chunks. Problem trees help you map out problems, causes, and effects in a structured way and are often used in high-level research projects, but they can be used on an individual level too. The problem is the trunk of the tree, possible causes are the roots, and the effects or impacts are the branches.
Weigh up talking to your supervisor
Your supervisor will be able to signpost you to specific support resources, adjust work expectations, help you manage any administrative matters, and are likely to be able to regularly check in with you to ensure you are ok.
If you want to talk to your supervisor but find it hard to ask for help in person, consider emailing them after a supervision and raising your issue over email. Or writing down what you need help with before you go into a meeting with them.
If you are unsure whether to talk to your supervisor, asking a former or another current student of theirs can be helpful in understanding how they might react to an issue you raise. Alternatively, you could talk confidentially to another academic within or outside your department and ask for their advice on what to do.
Create a support shortlist
Despite there being lots of support offered by institutions, it can be hard to know who to go to, or to reach out when you need it. One tip would be to review the university resources available and create a support shortlist of people you feel you could actually go to. An example short list might be:
your supervisor
an admissions tutor you met at interview
a disability support officer
another academic in your department who is friendly
a peer or friend
a contact for mental health support services
The idea is to keep your list somewhere easily accessible and update it as you get to know people better. This way, when you feel like you might need help, you have some realistic options of people you feel comfortable enough to start a conversation with.
Talk to your peers
Postgraduate peers can be a great source of support because they will understand what you’re going through. They’ll be able to help just by listening or sharing their own experiences with you, and they may be able to give you some tips and ideas on how they manage their work. Raising an issue with peers might feel scary, especially if they seem to always be fine with everything, but everyone needs support sometimes. Sharing issues with peers will bring you closer as a group and may enable you to help others in future.
Find support in an academic community
If you want to find support outside your institution, then finding peers or mentors amongst like-minded individuals in an academic community may be helpful. Online academic communities exist on various social media sites. If you struggle to find any, asking for direction to communities as a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) with the hashtag #AcademicTwitter or asking a question on academia.edu may generate some results. Alternatively, national and international organisations and major conferences in your field will usually have sub-communities of postgraduates or early career researchers and, e.g., women-only, scholars of colour, or LGBTQIA+ networks, who will likely have a committee-level representative on their websites that you can contact.
Read this article
3m
Use diagrams to identify what you need help with
It is often easier to ask for help effectively when you know what you need help with. Using diagram techniques like problem trees can help break big issues down into smaller chunks. Problem trees help you map out problems, causes, and effects in a structured way and are often used in high-level research projects, but they can be used on an individual level too. The problem is the trunk of the tree, possible causes are the roots, and the effects or impacts are the branches.
Weigh up talking to your supervisor
Your supervisor will be able to signpost you to specific support resources, adjust work expectations, help you manage any administrative matters, and are likely to be able to regularly check in with you to ensure you are ok.
If you want to talk to your supervisor but find it hard to ask for help in person, consider emailing them after a supervision and raising your issue over email. Or writing down what you need help with before you go into a meeting with them.
If you are unsure whether to talk to your supervisor, asking a former or another current student of theirs can be helpful in understanding how they might react to an issue you raise. Alternatively, you could talk confidentially to another academic within or outside your department and ask for their advice on what to do.
Create a support shortlist
Despite there being lots of support offered by institutions, it can be hard to know who to go to, or to reach out when you need it. One tip would be to review the university resources available and create a support shortlist of people you feel you could actually go to. An example short list might be:
your supervisor
an admissions tutor you met at interview
a disability support officer
another academic in your department who is friendly
a peer or friend
a contact for mental health support services
The idea is to keep your list somewhere easily accessible and update it as you get to know people better. This way, when you feel like you might need help, you have some realistic options of people you feel comfortable enough to start a conversation with.
Talk to your peers
Postgraduate peers can be a great source of support because they will understand what you’re going through. They’ll be able to help just by listening or sharing their own experiences with you, and they may be able to give you some tips and ideas on how they manage their work. Raising an issue with peers might feel scary, especially if they seem to always be fine with everything, but everyone needs support sometimes. Sharing issues with peers will bring you closer as a group and may enable you to help others in future.
Find support in an academic community
If you want to find support outside your institution, then finding peers or mentors amongst like-minded individuals in an academic community may be helpful. Online academic communities exist on various social media sites. If you struggle to find any, asking for direction to communities as a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) with the hashtag #AcademicTwitter or asking a question on academia.edu may generate some results. Alternatively, national and international organisations and major conferences in your field will usually have sub-communities of postgraduates or early career researchers and, e.g., women-only, scholars of colour, or LGBTQIA+ networks, who will likely have a committee-level representative on their websites that you can contact.
Written by Dr Cat Quine
Written by Dr Cat Quine
0:00/1:34
Summary
Due to the increased autonomy and, sometimes, isolation of postgraduate work, it can be very easy to feel like you are the only person struggling. But the most important thing to know is that everyone needs help during their postgraduate studies - otherwise, we wouldn’t need supervisors!
Here are some tips on how you might go about asking for help.
Use diagrams to identify what you need help with
Weigh up talking to your supervisor
Create a support shortlist
Talk to your peers
Find support in an academic community
Read this article
Due to the increased autonomy and, sometimes, isolation of postgraduate work, it can be very easy to feel like you are the only person struggling. But the most important thing to know is that everyone needs help during their postgraduate studies - otherwise, we wouldn’t need supervisors!
Here are some tips on how you might go about asking for help.
Use diagrams to identify what you need help with
Weigh up talking to your supervisor
Create a support shortlist
Talk to your peers
Find support in an academic community
Use diagrams to identify what you need help with
It is often easier to ask for help effectively when you know what you need help with. Using diagram techniques like problem trees can help break big issues down into smaller chunks. Problem trees help you map out problems, causes, and effects in a structured way and are often used in high-level research projects, but they can be used on an individual level too. The problem is the trunk of the tree, possible causes are the roots, and the effects or impacts are the branches.
Weigh up talking to your supervisor
Your supervisor will be able to signpost you to specific support resources, adjust work expectations, help you manage any administrative matters, and are likely to be able to regularly check in with you to ensure you are ok.
If you want to talk to your supervisor but find it hard to ask for help in person, consider emailing them after a supervision and raising your issue over email. Or writing down what you need help with before you go into a meeting with them.
If you are unsure whether to talk to your supervisor, asking a former or another current student of theirs can be helpful in understanding how they might react to an issue you raise. Alternatively, you could talk confidentially to another academic within or outside your department and ask for their advice on what to do.
Create a support shortlist
Despite there being lots of support offered by institutions, it can be hard to know who to go to, or to reach out when you need it. One tip would be to review the university resources available and create a support shortlist of people you feel you could actually go to. An example short list might be:
your supervisor
an admissions tutor you met at interview
a disability support officer
another academic in your department who is friendly
a peer or friend
a contact for mental health support services
The idea is to keep your list somewhere easily accessible and update it as you get to know people better. This way, when you feel like you might need help, you have some realistic options of people you feel comfortable enough to start a conversation with.
Talk to your peers
Postgraduate peers can be a great source of support because they will understand what you’re going through. They’ll be able to help just by listening or sharing their own experiences with you, and they may be able to give you some tips and ideas on how they manage their work. Raising an issue with peers might feel scary, especially if they seem to always be fine with everything, but everyone needs support sometimes. Sharing issues with peers will bring you closer as a group and may enable you to help others in future.
Find support in an academic community
If you want to find support outside your institution, then finding peers or mentors amongst like-minded individuals in an academic community may be helpful. Online academic communities exist on various social media sites. If you struggle to find any, asking for direction to communities as a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) with the hashtag #AcademicTwitter or asking a question on academia.edu may generate some results. Alternatively, national and international organisations and major conferences in your field will usually have sub-communities of postgraduates or early career researchers and, e.g., women-only, scholars of colour, or LGBTQIA+ networks, who will likely have a committee-level representative on their websites that you can contact.
Written by Dr Cat Quine
Dr Cat Quine (she/her) is a former research fellow and assistant professor at the Universities of Oxford and Nottingham. She is autistic.
Written by Dr Cat Quine
Dr Cat Quine (she/her) is a former research fellow and assistant professor at the Universities of Oxford and Nottingham. She is autistic.