Before joining a lab, researchers ask around quietly, message people they barely know, and try to find out if a supervisor is safe to work with. Sometimes they get lucky. Most of the time they don't. RateYourPI exists because of what happens when you don't find out in time.
Choosing a PI, supervisor, or advisor is one of the most important decisions in a researcher's career. These relationships influence scientific development, funding, publications, recommendations, work-life balance, and overall wellbeing. Yet reliable information about mentorship is often hard to find before committing years of your life to a lab.
RateYourPI improves transparency in academia by providing a platform for researchers to share verified, protected experiences of working with PIs, supervisors, and advisors. Our goal is to help researchers make more informed decisions and to encourage integrity and good mentorship across institutions worldwide.
We are not here to destroy anyone's reputation. We are here to make sure that the information that already travels in whispers finally travels in the open.
Deciding where and with whom to train or work often means making a major career choice with limited information. Academic supervision involves a significant power imbalance. Supervisors influence funding, publications, recommendations, and daily working conditions, which can make it difficult for current or former researchers to speak openly.
Public profiles highlight achievements but rarely describe mentorship style, communication, lab culture, or expectations. That creates reliance on private networks, which advantages people with strong connections and leaves others without reliable insights.
RateYourPI aims to level that playing field by making mentorship experiences more accessible, more honest, and more comparable across institutions and countries.
We balance openness with protection. Reviewers confirm their academic affiliation using one of three methods. Verification is used only to confirm community membership and is never published or linked to a review.
Reviewer identities remain private and are never linked to published reviews. Reviews reflect individual experiences and personal opinions. They are not statements from institutions. Our moderation process screens for defamation, harassment, and identifying information while preserving useful and honest detail.
RateYourPI is not only a place to share difficult experiences. It is also a place to recognize the supervisors who got it right.
Retired PIs who invested in their researchers, championed their careers, and left a lasting legacy of ethical mentorship are celebrated in our Hall of Mentors, nominated and reviewed by their former students and postdocs.
Great mentorship deserves to be remembered too.
RateYourPI was founded by a PhD and former postdoctoral researcher with experience across multiple universities in Europe and beyond. The platform was built because the founder lived through exactly the situation it aims to prevent — joining a lab without enough information, and paying the price for it.
The founder remains private to keep the focus on the community and the platform's mission rather than on any individual. This is not about one person's story. It is about the thousands of researchers who share it.