PR Columns

Older-than-average and veteran graduate students have the right to fair academic evaluation, applicable nondiscrimination protections, and—when qualified under disability law—reasonable accommodations. Being older, professionally experienced, or a disabled veteran does not justify stereotyping or exclusion. But age, veteran status, disability, and student employment involve different legal protections; they should not […]

A university Disabilities Office can help protect a graduate student’s access rights during dismissal proceedings, but it is not the student’s independent advocate or lawyer and may not have authority to overturn the dismissal. The practical lesson is to obtain written accommodation decisions, preserve appeal deadlines, and avoid assuming that […]

A university can use a qualifying-exam deadline as grounds for dismissal when its rules permit—but applying the wrong deadline, misclassifying a student’s entry status, or disregarding an approved extension can make that rationale vulnerable to appeal. The central question is not simply whether an exam was late; it is which […]

Retaliation does not always involve an explicit threat. It can appear through ordinary administrative mechanisms: an approval that never arrives, a new condition on an examination, a committee member’s withdrawal, or a progress review that introduces previously undisclosed deficiencies. Those actions can have legitimate explanations. The question is whether the […]

A graduate student often owns the copyright in the thesis they write, but ownership of inventions, software, data, and other research incorporated into it depends on applicable law, university policies, employment duties, funding terms, and signed agreements. Being your advisor does not automatically make a professor the owner of your […]

If you believe your PhD advisor has stolen your research, preserve the evidence, clarify ownership and attribution rights, obtain independent advice, and protect your degree progress before escalating publicly. An advisor’s authority does not automatically make your work theirs—but establishing unauthorized use requires more than showing that their later work […]

Build a dated, evidence-linked timeline showing what supervision you requested, what the department provided, and how any gaps affected your progress. Your appeal will be stronger if it answers specific departmental criticisms rather than relying only on the general statement that your advisor neglected you. The central question is: Did […]

Yes—you can usually request a change of PhD advisor after a conflict or complaint, but approval, replacement supervision, funding, and continued enrollment depend on your program’s rules. The important question is not simply whether your current advisor will release you. It is whether the department will provide a workable path […]

Graduate students can work independently. That does not mean they should have to complete a research degree without meaningful supervision. An advisor approves your research topic. You enroll in research courses, pay tuition, and begin working. But your drafts receive no comments. Requests for meetings go unanswered—or meetings produce no […]