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Latest news, updates, and insights from Rate My Supervisor
How Lab Culture Shapes Your PhD More Than Your Research Topic
When students start looking for a PhD advisor, they often obsess over research fit.Is this the right field? The right methodology? The right project?But there’s something far more predictive of your h...
Red Flags During PhD Advisor Interviews That Most Students Miss (2025 Edition)
Most prospective PhD students walk into advisor interviews focused on technical alignment:Does the PI study what I'm interested in?Do I like their papers?Is the project exciting?These questions matter...
How to Decode a PI’s Personality in 30 Minutes: A Practical Guide for Prospective PhD Students
There is a moment every prospective PhD student eventually faces:You sit across from a professor—on Zoom or in a quiet office—and try to figure out whether this person could shape the next five or six...
The Psychology of Toxic Advisors — Why Some PIs Harm Students Without Realizing It
A deep exploration of the behavioral, cognitive, and structural forces shaping toxic mentoring in academia.When students talk about “toxic advisors,” discussions often focus on visible behaviors—yelli...
Why Toxic Advisors Still Thrive in Academia — And How Students Can Protect Themselves (2025 Edition)
Walk into any university research building past midnight and you’ll find a familiar scene: dim lights, half-empty coffee cups, and a graduate student staring into a glowing monitor with a mixture of e...