I’m doing a one-year Master’s in Business, and currently doing a scientific methodology class (among other courses). I’m also employed full time.
The professor for this class is basically asking us to choose a Master’s thesis topic. We’re not even done with all classes, and the second semester’s just begun.
He asked us to submit a topic (which I thought was for the subject he was teaching, not our thesis), and then defined the topic specifically for how it should be on the thesis. I quote “based on what you submitted, this is what your topic will be…”. He said we could change it later, but he was very dismissive about it. I think he just wants to mentor a bunch of Master’s theses because in the country I’m from, being chosen to mentor is a source of pride for professors.
Again, he is not my mentor (I haven’t chosen a topic yet), but he is the dean of the whole faculty. So when I asked “wait do we need to choose a topic and mentor this early”, he said “well I’ll be approving this anyways hahahaha”.
He’s clearly on a power trip. This is consistent with other stuff he’s doing, like harassing another professor – who I wanted to be my mentor, but now I’m not sure because this guy’s ego is so big that if I told him that I’d pass him for a guy he doesn’t like, he could make my life hell. He actually told me yesterday: “OP, when it comes to Master’s thesis mentors, you need to choose the best.”… which is presume means him.
For the record, I’d like to avoid him being my mentor because he’s incredibly narcissistic and rude. But on the flip side, I’m afraid conflicts with the dean could cause me serious problems.
So my questions for you are…
- Has anyone been in a situation like this, and if so, how did you handle it?
- If you haven’t been in this situation, do you have a word of wisdom for me?