I am currently a Masters student in a university. I don't need to name the university because this will later on put a shame on it. So I've been studying here for almost 8 months already. I am still waiting for a research grant to pursue my research. My supervisor informed me that there'll be no research grant to further my research so I need to use my money. That's insane because I'm self-sponsored.

Thus I decided to go to other universities to further my postgraduate studies. Thank God I finally got PhD offers from 2 universities-UKM and UPM. However, I am so confused which university to choose. Both of them have pros and cons.

So for UKM, the pros are:

1. I will work as an RA to the project I will do for PhD on June-August so I can earn some money and pay my first semester fee.

2. The supervisor was very nice.

However the con is I have to write a thesis in Malay and publish my research paper in English. That gave me goosebumps.

For UPM, the pros are:

1. The research I'll be conducting is very interesting but I don't like the supervisor. She seems very stringent.

Which one should I choose?

Occasionally, it happens. But I am wondering, What were you doing in that 8-month period while waiting for a research grant? Have you ever chased after your supervisor about the research grant?

You like the research relationship. Naturally, you tend to be moving towards the positive relationship.

True because UKM mission is to promote Bahasa Melayu (Malay language) as the language of knowledge at the pinnacle of the national education system. You can ask work_tgr.

You like the research environment. What kind of research is that interesting research?

You said you don't like her. Was that probably your first impression? And you mentioned she is very stringent. Stringent in what aspect? The quality of the research, or the need to micromanage your work? More importantly, how long have you known her and in what capacity? Similarly, you tend to be moving away from the negative impression (is that a fact?).

If your research advisor is a natural mentor and is willing to take on that role in your life, and if that relationship works for you, then count yourself lucky. Because not every graduate student is fortunate to have such readily available guidance and counsel from a more senior person.

I wonder if you've ever noticed that life is filled with ups and downs and this is no less true than in your life as a research student. Experienced students know that research can be frustrating at times and not always go according to your well-made plans. Inexperienced students have a harder time managing their expectations and frustrations.

Therefore, one of the first things you can become aware of is expecting to go through periods of stress and anxiety, whether due to work, study, or personal matters. Taking a little time off to relieve stress when the pressure gets too high is always a good idea. Rest assured about having to take a break from time to time because you’ll come back refreshed and ready to get on with your work.

[quote=Critical_Fallacy,May 10 2013, 01:16 PM]
Occasionally, it happens. But I am wondering, What were you doing in that 8-month period while waiting for a research grant? Have you ever chased after your supervisor about the research grant?

I was doing and presenting my research proposal for the first 6 months. At the beginning of first semester, my supervisor said I would receive my research grant once I submitted my research proposal. But then, he informed me last month there would be no more research grant for this university and I need to find my own financial source to fund my studies aka using my own money. So I decided to quit and went to other universities because I didn't deserve to be treated this way.


" You like the research relationship. Naturally, you tend to be moving towards the positive relationship"
LOL I don't like drama and I should be careful to choose a good supervisor from now on. My former supervisor was using me to be promoted and got a good KPI.

"Stringent in what aspect? The quality of the research, or the need to micromanage your work? More importantly, how long have you known her and in what capacity? Similarly, you tend to be moving away from the negative impression (is that a fact?)."

yOU'RE right. I knew her for one day only and I start to be judgmental.

Thanks for your advice. I guess I am too young to go for grad school.

Cheer up, Madonna! It's not the end of the world. You can elect to join other established research groups in your university, such that the research area is related to your field in some way.

No I don't mean that I want to quit my postgraduate studies. I just think I need more time to think which university/ supervisor is better.
I've learned bittersweet experiences of graduate school while I was in my former university so I know this time I won't repeat those mistakes again.

By the way being in a Biological Science field is not easy. You should have a PhD to secure a good job and have only a bachelor degree is not enough.

Isn't it a privilege to have a strict supervisor than to have one who doesn't bother reading your write-ups?

This is priceless

I think the choice of supervisor is important. Rather than basing on your judegment alone, what you could have done is actually talk to the students working there to gauge their opinion and feelings on the working environment and their supervisor.

As for writing the thesis in BM, that is not such a big deal. But I can see why some people are turned off by it. There is a way to get around it though (which I did, but not intentionally).

Check if that supervisor has a collaboration with a foreign researcher. This is also something you can ask when you discuss with him/her "is there any opportunities for foreign collaboration etc..". This can add more oomph to the paper that will be published as well as your thesis credentials.

If don't have, look for one yourself.
Then suggest to do an attachment for a while (usually 1-3 months) with the foreign supervisor. It will be even better if you ask them on the idea of co-supervising, i.e. add the foreign supervisor name to your project. In truth it will be just on paper only since you're mostly stuck on Malaysia.

Finally, you apply to write your thesis in English with the excuse of having a foreign supervisor. There is a form for this, the same form that foreign postgrad students in UKM use for their thesis.

It's actually not as difficult/roundabout as it might sound.

I personally will go for option 1 - UKM. Encountered a really nasty supervisor back in UM. Wasn't a good experience. I had to quit.

Did you have experience working in UKM? How was it writing in Malay Language for your thesis? I have butterflies in my stomach now. My former supervisor used me to be promoted so I really need to choose a good supervisor from now on.

You're right. It's better for me to have a stringent supervisor who will always look at my works. But the thing is I am not sure whether this future supervisor really want to supervise me or just use me for her advantage. I guess I am still traumatized with what happened in the past.

OMG. I heard many supervisors in UM are nasty. My friends are suffering under some of the supervisors there. My seniors managed to finish her Masters in 4 years.

With the boldfaced keywords above, are you indirectly saying that the embarrassing university you were trying to cover-up is UnMalaysian?

Using Bayesian Networks, this highly suggested you are doing your Masters in a public university.

Boldly tell your supervisor, “You're the final chapter in my thesis.”

Nice guess but I am not going to tell the university I was in because it will embarrass them. Your Bayesian Network really works..

I did my degree and Masters in UKM. I wrote my bachelor's thesis in BM and Masters in English (cos I did an attachment and had a foreign co-supervisor). But then again my BM is considerably better than a lot of folks.

I don't think writing in BM was excessively hard, the only stumbling block is some of the scientific terms which have been designated for use in BM but it's rarely heard of. E.g:
gene expression - pengungkapan gen
multiple sequence alignment - penjajaran jujukan berbilang

However there is a list/glossary available since your friends/peers is going through the same thing.

Others are simply lifted from English:
ligation - ligasi
cloning - pengklonan

I'm a little curious how good your BM is or if you grew up overseas - since I've never heard of anyone referring BM as "Malay Language".

Thanks for your info. Your explanation will really help me to decide which university I want to go. I always had a hard time to write in Malay Language. That really worries me a lot. Did your receive your Masters from UMBI? How long did you do your Masters in UKM? Did your friends write their theses in 2 languages-English and Malay?

Thanks for your info. Your explanation will really help me to decide which university I want to go. I always had a hard time to write in Malay Language. That really worries me a lot. Did your receive your Masters from UMBI? How long did you do your Masters in UKM? Did your friends write their theses in 2 languages-English and Malay?

No, I got my Masters from the Science faculty.

You only need to write your thesis in one language - which is BM unless you're a foreign post-grad student. Or in my case, if you did a foreign attachment and/or have a foreign co-supervisor, then you can apply to write in English.

I did my Masters in bout 3 years plus, but then I went for 3 month attachment and did quite a bit of things as well. I also had to travel to Terengganu and stayed there for a couple of months to set up my experiment there and sampling.

It's not the fastest way, but I gained a lot of experience and useful stuff along the way so I don't have that much regret.

Did you publish your paper for Masters? Was that requirement for graduation?

Mine was the second last batch before they introduced the paper publish requirement.

It doesn't really have to be published, cos it takes a long time before acceptance and publication. As long as you get a paper accepted, then it's ok. A cheap way to get this off is to submit to Sains Malaysiana, a local Science journal which has very low Impact Factor.