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Ten simple rules for choosing a PhD supervisor

Contributed equally to this work with: Loay Jabre, Catherine Bannon, J. Scott P. McCain, Yana Eglit

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Loay Jabre,
Catherine Bannon,
J. Scott P. McCain,

Published: September 30, 2021

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009330
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Citation: Jabre L, Bannon C, McCain JSP, Eglit Y (2021) Ten simple rules for choosing a PhD supervisor. PLoS Comput Biol 17(9): e1009330. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009330

Editor: Scott Markel, Dassault Systemes BIOVIA, UNITED STATES

Copyright: © 2021 Jabre et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

The PhD beckons. You thought long and hard about why you want to do it, you understand the sacrifices and commitments it entails, and you have decided that it is the right thing for you. Congratulations! Undertaking a doctoral degree can be an extremely rewarding experience, greatly enhancing your personal, intellectual, and professional development. If you are still on the fence about whether or not you want to pursue a PhD, see [ 1 , 2 ] and others to help you decide.

As a PhD student in the making, you will have many important decisions to consider. Several of them will depend on your chosen discipline and research topic, the institution you want to attend, and even the country where you will undertake your degree. However, one of the earliest and most critical decisions you will need to make transcends most other decisions: choosing your PhD thesis supervisor. Your PhD supervisor will strongly influence the success and quality of your degree as well as your general well-being throughout the program. It is therefore vital to choose the right supervisor for you. A wrong choice or poor fit can be disastrous on both a personal and professional levels—something you obviously want to avoid. Unfortunately, however, most PhD students go through the process of choosing a supervisor only once and thus do not get the opportunity to learn from previous experiences. Additionally, many prospective PhD students do not have access to resources and proper guidance to rely on when making important academic decisions such as those involved in choosing a PhD supervisor.

In this short guide, we—a group of PhD students with varied backgrounds, research disciplines, and academic journeys—share our collective experiences with choosing our own PhD supervisors. We provide tips and advice to help prospective students in various disciplines, including computational biology, in their quest to find a suitable PhD supervisor. Despite procedural differences across countries, institutions, and programs, the following rules and discussions should remain helpful for guiding one’s approach to selecting their future PhD supervisor. These guidelines mostly address how to evaluate a potential PhD supervisor and do not include details on how you might find a supervisor. In brief, you can find a supervisor anywhere: seminars, a class you were taught, internet search of interesting research topics, departmental pages, etc. After reading about a group’s research and convincing yourself it seems interesting, get in touch! Make sure to craft an e-mail carefully, demonstrating you have thought about their research and what you might do in their group. After finding one or several supervisors of interest, we hope that the rules bellow will help you choose the right supervisor for you.

Rule 1: Align research interests

You need to make sure that a prospective supervisor studies, or at the very least, has an interest in what you want to study. A good starting point would be to browse their personal and research group websites (though those are often outdated), their publication profile, and their students’ theses, if possible. Keep in mind that the publication process can be slow, so recent publications may not necessarily reflect current research in that group. Pay special attention to publications where the supervisor is senior author—in life sciences, their name would typically be last. This would help you construct a mental map of where the group interests are going, in addition to where they have been.

Be proactive about pursuing your research interests, but also flexible: Your dream research topic might not currently be conducted in a particular group, but perhaps the supervisor is open to exploring new ideas and research avenues with you. Check that the group or institution of interest has the facilities and resources appropriate for your research, and/or be prepared to establish collaborations to access those resources elsewhere. Make sure you like not only the research topic, but also the “grunt work” it requires, as a topic you find interesting may not be suitable for you in terms of day-to-day work. You can look at the “Methods” sections of published papers to get a sense for what this is like—for example, if you do not like resolving cryptic error messages, programming is probably not for you, and you might want to consider a wet lab–based project. Lastly, any research can be made interesting, and interests change. Perhaps your favorite topic today is difficult to work with now, and you might cut your teeth on a different project.

Rule 2: Seek trusted sources

Discussing your plans with experienced and trustworthy people is a great way to learn more about the reputation of potential supervisors, their research group dynamics, and exciting projects in your field of interest. Your current supervisor, if you have one, could be aware of position openings that are compatible with your interests and time frame and is likely to know talented supervisors with good reputations in their fields. Professors you admire, reliable student advisors, and colleagues might also know your prospective supervisor on various professional or personal levels and could have additional insight about working with them. Listen carefully to what these trusted sources have to say, as they can provide a wealth of insider information (e.g., personality, reputation, interpersonal relationships, and supervisory styles) that might not be readily accessible to you.

Rule 3: Expectations, expectations, expectations

A considerable portion of PhD students feel that their program does not meet original expectations [ 3 ]. To avoid being part of this group, we stress the importance of aligning your expectations with the supervisor’s expectations before joining a research group or PhD program. Also, remember that one person’s dream supervisor can be another’s worst nightmare and vice versa—it is about a good fit for you. Identifying what a “good fit” looks like requires a serious self-appraisal of your goals (see Rule 1 ), working style (see Rule 5 ), and what you expect in a mentor (see Rule 4 ). One way to conduct this self-appraisal is to work in a research lab to get experiences similar to a PhD student (if this is possible).

Money!—Many people have been conditioned to avoid the subject of finances at all costs, but setting financial expectations early is crucial for maintaining your well-being inside and outside the lab. Inside the lab, funding will provide chemicals and equipment required for you to do cool research. It is also important to know if there will be sufficient funding for your potential projects to be completed. Outside the lab, you deserve to get paid a reasonable, livable stipend. What is the minimum required take-home stipend, or does that even exist at the institution you are interested in? Are there hard cutoffs for funding once your time runs out, or does the institution have support for students who take longer than anticipated? If the supervisor supplies the funding, do they end up cutting off students when funds run low, or do they have contingency plans? ( Fig 1 ).

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Professional development opportunities—A key aspect of graduate school training is professional development. In some research groups, it is normal for PhD students to mentor undergraduate students or take a semester to work in industry to get more diverse experiences. Other research groups have clear links with government entities, which is helpful for going into policy or government-based research. These opportunities (and others) are critical for your career and next steps. What are the career development opportunities and expectations of a potential supervisor? Is a potential supervisor happy to send students to workshops to learn new skills? Are they supportive of public outreach activities? If you are looking at joining a newer group, these sorts of questions will have to be part of the larger set of conversations about expectations. Ask: “What sort of professional development opportunities are there at the institution?”

Publications—Some PhD programs have minimum requirements for finishing a thesis (i.e., you must publish a certain number of papers prior to defending), while other programs leave it up to the student and supervisor to decide on this. A simple and important topic to discuss is: How many publications are expected from your PhD and when will you publish them? If you are keen to publish in high-impact journals, does your prospective supervisor share that aim? (Although question why you are so keen to do so, see the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment ( www.sfdora.org ) to learn about the pitfalls of journal impact factor.)

Rule 4: It takes two to tango

Sooner or later, you will get to meet and interview with a prospective PhD supervisor. This should go both ways: Interview them just as much as they are interviewing you. Prepare questions and pay close attention to how they respond. For example, ask them about their “lab culture,” research interests (especially for the future/long term), and what they are looking for in a graduate student. Do you feel like you need to “put on an act” to go along with the supervisor (beyond just the standard interview mode)? Represent yourself, and not the person you think they are looking for. All of us will have some interviews go badly. Remember that discovering a poor fit during the interview has way fewer consequences than the incompatibility that could arise once you have committed to a position.

To come up with good questions for the prospective supervisor, first ask yourself questions. What are you looking for in a mentor? People differ in their optimal levels of supervision, and there is nothing wrong with wanting more or less than your peers. How much career guidance do you expect and does the potential supervisor respect your interests, particularly if your long-term goals do not include academia? What kind of student might not thrive in this research group?

Treat the PhD position like a partnership: What do you seek to get out of it? Keep in mind that a large portion of research is conducted by PhD students [ 4 ], so you are also an asset. Your supervisor will provide guidance, but the PhD is your work. Make sure you and your mentor are on the same page before committing to what is fundamentally a professional contract akin to an apprenticeship (see “ Rule 3 ”).

Rule 5: Workstyle compatibility

Sharing interests with a supervisor does not necessarily guarantee you would work well together, and just because you enjoyed a course by a certain professor does not mean they are the right PhD supervisor for you. Make sure your expectations for work and work–life approaches are compatible. Do you thrive on structure, or do you need freedom to proceed at your own pace? Do they expect you to be in the lab from 6:00 AM to midnight on a regular basis (red flag!)? Are they comfortable with you working from home when you can? Are they around the lab enough for it to work for you? Are they supportive of alternative work hours if you have other obligations (e.g., childcare, other employment, extracurriculars)? How is the group itself organized? Is there a lab manager or are the logistics shared (fairly?) between the group members? Discuss this before you commit!

Two key attributes of a research group are the supervisor’s career stage and number of people in the group. A supervisor in a later career stage may have more established research connections and protocols. An earlier career stage supervisor comes with more opportunities to shape the research direction of the lab, but less access to academic political power and less certainty in what their supervision style will be (even to themselves). Joining new research groups provides a great opportunity to learn how to build a lab if you are considering that career path but may take away time and energy from your thesis project. Similarly, be aware of pros and cons of different lab sizes. While big labs provide more opportunity for collaborations and learning from fellow lab members, their supervisors generally have less time available for each trainee. Smaller labs tend to have better access to the supervisor but may be more isolating [ 5 , 6 ]. Also note that large research groups tend to be better for developing extant research topics further, while small groups can conduct more disruptive research [ 7 ].

Rule 6: Be sure to meet current students

Meeting with current students is one of the most important steps prior to joining a lab. Current students will give you the most direct and complete sense of what working with a certain supervisor is actually like. They can also give you a valuable sense of departmental culture and nonacademic life. You could also ask to meet with other students in the department to get a broader sense of the latter. However, if current students are not happy with their current supervisor, they are unlikely to tell you directly. Try to ask specific questions: “How often do you meet with your supervisor?”, “What are the typical turnaround times for a paper draft?”, “How would you describe the lab culture?”, “How does your supervisor react to mistakes or unexpected results?”, “How does your supervisor react to interruptions to research from, e.g., personal life?”, and yes, even “What would you say is the biggest weakness of your supervisor?”

Rule 7: But also try to meet past students

While not always possible, meeting with past students can be very informative. Past students give you information on career outcomes (i.e., what are they doing now?) and can provide insight into what the lab was like when they were in it. Previous students will provide a unique perspective because they have gone through the entire process, from start to finish—and, in some cases, no longer feel obligated to speak well of their now former supervisor. It can also be helpful to look at previous students’ experiences by reading the acknowledgement section in their theses.

Rule 8: Consider the entire experience

Your PhD supervisor is only one—albeit large—piece of your PhD puzzle. It is therefore essential to consider your PhD experience as whole when deciding on a supervisor. One important aspect to contemplate is your mental health. Graduate students have disproportionately higher rates of depression and anxiety compared to the general population [ 8 ], so your mental health will be tested greatly throughout your PhD experience. We suggest taking the time to reflect on what factors would enable you to do your best work while maintaining a healthy work–life balance. Does your happiness depend on surfing regularly? Check out coastal areas. Do you despise being cold? Consider being closer to the equator. Do you have a deep-rooted phobia of koalas? Maybe avoid Australia. Consider these potentially even more important questions like: Do you want to be close to your friends and family? Will there be adequate childcare support? Are you comfortable with studying abroad? How does the potential university treat international or underrepresented students? When thinking about your next steps, keep in mind that although obtaining your PhD will come with many challenges, you will be at your most productive when you are well rested, financially stable, nourished, and enjoying your experience.

Rule 9: Trust your gut

You have made it to our most “hand-wavy” rule! As academics, we understand the desire for quantifiable data and some sort of statistic to make logical decisions. If this is more your style, consider every interaction with a prospective supervisor, from the first e-mail onwards, as a piece of data.

However, there is considerable value in trusting gut instincts. One way to trust your gut is to listen to your internal dialogue while making your decision on a PhD supervisor. For example, if your internal dialogue includes such phrases as “it will be different for me,” “I’ll just put my head down and work hard,” or “maybe their students were exaggerating,” you might want to proceed with caution. If you are saying “Wow! How are they so kind and intelligent?” or “I cannot wait to start!”, then you might have found a winner ( Fig 2 ).

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Rule 10: Wash, rinse, repeat

The last piece of advice we give you is to do this lengthy process all over again. Comparing your options is a key step during the search for a PhD supervisor. By screening multiple different groups, you ultimately learn more about what red flags to look for, compatible work styles, your personal expectations, and group atmospheres. Repeat this entire process with another supervisor, another university, or even another country. We suggest you reject the notion that you would be “wasting someone’s time.” You deserve to take your time and inform yourself to choose a PhD supervisor wisely. The time and energy invested in a “failed” supervisor search would still be far less than what is consumed by a bad PhD experience ( Fig 3 ).

The more supervisors your interview and the more advice you get from peers, the more apparent these red flags will become.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009330.g003

Conclusions

Pursuing a PhD can be an extremely rewarding endeavor and a time of immense personal growth. The relationship you have with your PhD supervisor can make or break an entire experience, so make this choice carefully. Above, we have outlined some key points to think about while making this decision. Clarifying your own expectations is a particularly important step, as conflicts can arise when there are expectation mismatches. In outlining these topics, we hope to share pieces of advice that sometimes require “insider” knowledge and experience.

After thoroughly evaluating your options, go ahead and tackle the PhD! In our own experiences, carefully choosing a supervisor has led to relationships that morph from mentor to mentee into a collaborative partnership where we can pose new questions and construct novel approaches to answer them. Science is hard enough by itself. If you choose your supervisor well and end up developing a positive relationship with them and their group, you will be better suited for sound and enjoyable science.

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5. Smith D. The big benefits of working in a small lab. University Affairs. 2013. Available from: https://www.universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/career-advice-article/the-big-benefits-of-working-in-a-small-lab/

Roles and responsibilities of supervisors

Introduction.

Effective graduate student supervision requires complex interactions between graduate students and their supervisors. The role of a supervisor is threefold: to advise graduate students, monitor their academic progress, and act as a mentor. Supervisors not only provide guidance, instruction and encouragement in the research activities of their students, but also take part in the evaluation and examination of their students’ progress, performance and navigation through the requirements of their academic program with the goal to ensure that their students are successful.

Supervisors are responsible for fostering the intellectual and scholarly development of their students. They also play an important role in providing advice about professional development and both academic and non-academic career opportunities, as they are able, and based upon the student’s career interests.

While these expectations apply to all graduate students, supervising PhD students reflects a longer-term, more substantive commitment. The privilege to supervise PhD students requires that the supervisor hold Approved Doctoral Dissertation Supervisor (ADDS) status. The intent of ADDS policy is to ensure that faculty have the appropriate knowledge to facilitate excellence in PhD supervision.

Knowledge of regulations, policies and procedures

Effective graduate student supervision requires a knowledge and understanding of the University’s requirements and expectations. To this end, supervisors should:

2.1 Be knowledgeable and remain updated on department, Faculty and University regulations, policies and procedures, and have these protocols guide the supervisors’ decision-making and behaviour as they interact with graduate students. Supervisors are encouraged to take the necessary steps to be well-informed with those Policies identified in section 1.2 .

2.2 Be familiar with the support services available to students and faculty at the University including those articulated in section 1.2 . This information is normally available through department graduate co-ordinators, Faculty Graduate Studies Offices, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA), the Graduate Student Association (GSA) or the University Secretariat.

2.3 Be informed about University of Waterloo policies and procedures that inform academic integrity (Office of Research).

2.4 Be aware of the University of Waterloo and Tri-Agency policies and procedures associated with the conduct of research. Where appropriate, supervisors should be prepared to provide guidance to students on:

The responsible conduct of research, with particular emphasis on the Tri-Agency Framework as defined in the Faculty Association of University of Waterloo (FAUW) /University of Waterloo memorandum of Agreement (Section 14).
The ethical conduct of research (Office of Research) involving animals, animal or human tissues, and human participants

2.5 Have knowledge of the policies and procedures that govern international travel and security that can be found at Waterloo International.

Advice on program of study, research and professional development

As noted above, supervisors are expected to serve as mentors to their graduate students. To this end, supervisors should be prepared to provide well-informed advice on academics and professional development. More specifically, supervisors should be prepared to advise students on:

2.6 An academic program that is challenging, at the appropriate level for the degree being sought, and that can be accomplished within commonly understood and desirable time and resource expectations of the student and the supervisor.

2.7 The choice of courses and seminars needed to fulfil the degree requirements.

2.8 The development and construct of a research topic and proposal.

2.9 The development of a communication plan with the supervisory/advisory committee as to how the student’s progress will be assessed (including during thesis writing and completion), and the role of advisory committee members in the assessment.

2.10 The availability of internships, practica, co-op or other experiential learning opportunities as part of the program.

2.11 The availability of professional development resources for Waterloo graduate students to help advance the students’ career objectives.

Meetings/consultation

The establishment and communication of common expectations are critical elements to positive experiences for both graduate students and their supervisors. Achieving these outcomes can be facilitated by regular meetings and/or consultation between students, their supervisors, and where appropriate advisory committees. Especially important is timely feedback on students’ written submissions.

The University encourages supervisors to:

2.12 Ensure, especially important in the case of doctoral students, that the student has:

An advisory committee as required.
A program of study consistent with department and Faculty requirements that has been approved by the advisory committee as required.
A research plan that is appropriate in breadth, depth and time to completion (see Milestones in master's and doctoral programs ).

2.13 Arrange for regular (as agreed by the student and supervisor) meetings (which may involve the advisory committee) with students for consultation to ensure steady progress. The frequency of such meetings will depend on the discipline/field of study, type of program, and the student’s progress. At least two, preferably more, meetings should be arranged in each academic term. Supervisors should also be reasonably accessible for meetings requested by their students. The approach to these student meetings should be individualized to reflect the needs of the student. For example, some students may need more support while other may need less.

2.14 Communicate their evaluation of student progress to the department once a year or more often if required. The report should clearly indicate the status of the student’s progress (i.e., satisfactory or unsatisfactory). In the latter case, the report must include a clearly articulated set of conditions that if satisfied will restore the student’s status to satisfactory. Where the supervisor feels that the student will have serious difficulties finishing the program, the supervisor, in consultation with the advisory committee as appropriate, will inform in writing, both the student and the graduate officer of the nature of the problem(s), suggested remedies and may recommend withdrawal from the program. More information on assessing students’ progress can be found in the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar.

2.15 Thoroughly review and provide constructive feedback on all written materials relevant to the thesis or research paper submitted by their students. The supervisor and the student are encouraged to establish in writing expectations on what constitutes timely feedback; a timeframe of two to three weeks depending on the complexity of the document is commonly applied. However, this can vary depending on various circumstances such as travel or vacation. These circumstances should be discussed between the supervisor and student.

2.16 Have knowledge of the guidelines for evaluating students’ progress in a research program (Graduate Studies Academic Calendar).

2.17 Inform students about the broad spectrum of resources available (Writing and Communication Centre) to facilitate development of oral communication and writing skills.

2.18 Be active and supportive in promoting students’ well-being. This may include:

Inquiring about a student’s well-being, as appropriate.
Directing students to appropriate support services , including Mental Health and Wellness resources (Campus Wellness).
Displaying empathy towards the student.

2.19 Complete as appropriate the University requirements for Sexual violence awareness, referral and support training (Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion Office) to understand how to respond to disclosures of sexual violence and refer students to the appropriate supports.

The University recognizes that supervisors will be away from the University for extended periods of time (e.g., sabbatical, satellite campus, visiting professorship). Being physically away from the University does not preclude a supervisor from remaining engaged with their graduate students. In cases where the supervisor will not be available either in person or via electronic communications, the supervisor should:

2.20 Inform students, prospective students and the department of any anticipated extended period where communication will not be occurring. In cases when the absence is for a period of two months or more, supervisors should arrange for suitable communication methods. Interim supervision also must be arranged, for example, using members of advisory committees. Supervisors must inform the student’s department (chair/graduate officer) of the arrangements made for the period of absence, including supervision of laboratory or field work where graduate students continue to work during the absence.

2.21 Ensure students know that in situations where a supervisor works away from campus for two months or more and where their students can accompany the supervisor, the decision to remain on campus or to follow the supervisor rests entirely with the student. Students shall face no pressure (explicit or implicit) or consequences when making this choice and are not required to provide any reason.

As with the departmental representatives, supervisors have responsibility to advance safety. More specifically, supervisors should:

2.22 Ensure a safe working environment both on and off campus (working alone, field work) by assessing hazards and implementing appropriate controls. This must be in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Policy 34 (Secretariat) and department and Faculty regulations. All supervisors must complete mandatory health and safety supervisor awareness training (Safety Office) and must ensure that graduate students complete both mandatory and work-specific safety training. More information can be found on the Safety Office website.

2.23 Ensure that students obtain additional training when new safety risks arise and ensure training is kept up to date.

Inherent to graduate education are the dissemination of knowledge and the participation in scholarly activities away from the University campus. Travel (domestic and international) can include fieldwork, conferences, course work and other work related to the thesis. Supervisors are encouraged to support students’ travel to accomplish these important objectives. Supervisors should:

2.24 Follow or encourage students to follow Policy 31 (Secretariat) that governs University-sanctioned travel.

2.25 Categorize and report risk associated with travel. Low risk (Safety Office) are activities for which it is expected that participants will encounter hazards that are no greater than what they encounter in their everyday lives. Examples of significant risk (e.g. industrial sites, remote regions etc.) are noted on the Safety Office website . Travel or field work that involves significant risk must be documented using the Fieldwork Risk Management Form from the Safety Office . For low risk activities off campus, supervisors should:

Provide advice on preparation for pre-departure orientation and planning for any travel and including associated risk, as they are able;

2.26 Document the student(s) location and duration of travel, including personal and emergency contact information. Review the material provided by Waterloo International to understand how to best mitigate risk and ensure safety for international travel.

2.27 Encourage students to register using the Pre-departure Travel Form at Waterloo International .

2.28 Consult the Government of Canada Travel Advice and Advisories web page for the international destination and discuss the mitigation of risk with the students to the destination.

Financial assistance

Supervisors regularly provide financial support for their graduate students. Both the supervisor and the student benefit when a clear understanding exists of the value of funding, and the academic outcomes that should occur from the supported activities. Specifically, supervisors should:

2.29 Be informed about the spectrum of funding opportunities available through the department, Faculty and Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) for students in financial need and to communicate these sources to student.

2.30 Communicate clearly and in writing to their students the terms (e.g., amounts, length of time, conditions) of the financial commitment being made when financial assistance is to be provided from research grants or contracts under the supervisor’s direction.

2.31 Support students’ understanding of their funding, including a consideration of student expenses (primarily tuition and housing) and taxation, if appropriate.

Intellectual property

Increasingly, students and supervisors enter into their academic relationships with previously established intellectual property (IP). Moreover, students and supervisors may have an expectation that their collective work may produce new IP. Best practices include the articulation of students’ and supervisors’ understanding of IP relationships at regular intervals throughout the students’ academic program. More specifically, supervisors should:

2.32 Discuss issues related to intellectual property such as patents, software, copyright, and income from sales and royalties, and inform students of University policies about intellectual property and the conduct of research. It should be recognized that, in accordance with Policy 73 (Secretariat), intellectual property normally is owned by the creators. However, the University retains a royalty-free right to use, for educational and research purposes, any intellectual property created by faculty, staff and students. Ideally, supervisors and students should enter into a written agreement that expresses IP owned by either party prior to beginning the research relationship and the default way in which IP created by the researchers’ joint activities will be owned. A common example is an assumption in the absence of an explicit agreement of joint IP ownership, with each researcher owning an equal share.

2.33 Ensure that students are aware of implications and/or obligations regarding intellectual property of research conducted under contract. If appropriate, discuss with their students and any research partners the protection of intellectual property by patent or copyright. Any significant intellectual contribution by a student must be recognized in the form of co-authorship. Supervisors must convey to students, in advance of publication, whether they intend to recognize the student as co-author for work under contract.

Publications

Academic outputs – in various forms – document and demonstrate ownership of creative research and other scholarly activities. These outputs are important for advancing knowledge and catalyzing additional scholarly activity in these areas and should be encouraged. When supervisors and graduate students work collectively on these academic works, it is important for both that their relative contributions are represented appropriately. To achieve these goals, supervisors should:

2.34 Discuss with their students, at an early stage of their program, authorship practices within the discipline and University policies about publications ( Policy 73 on the Secretariat website).

2.35 Discuss and reach agreement with students, well in advance of publication and ideally at the outset of collaboration, the way in which authorship will be shared, if appropriate, between the supervisor, the student and other contributors for work conducted under contract.

2.36 Encourage the dissemination of students’ research results by publication in scholarly and research journals, presentation at conferences (domestic or international) and seminars;

2.37 Motivate the dissemination of research through non-traditional or non-academic avenues (e.g. Open Access resources, public presentations, and popular media).

Withdrawal of supervisory duties

In rare cases supervisors may determine that they are not prepared or able to continue in a supervisory capacity. When this occurs, the supervisor is required to:

2.38 Follow the guidelines in the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar regarding University Responsibilities Regarding Supervisory Relationships that outlines the steps for dissolution of the supervisory relationship.

Accommodation

The University is eager to establish conditions that maximize graduate students’ likelihood of success. To this end, supervisors:

2.39 Have a duty to engage in accommodations processes with AccessAbility Services , as requested, and to provide appropriate accommodation to the point of undue hardship.

2.40 Remain informed of their roles and responsibilities with respect to accommodations.

Guide for Graduate Research and Supervision

Roles and responsibilities of departments, graduate officers and graduate co-ordinators
Roles and responsibilities of graduate students
Roles and responsibilities of advisory committees

Choosing a PhD Supervisor

Written by Ben Taylor

Your PhD supervisor will play a vital part in your PhD, providing you with the mentorship, feedback and support you need to succeed. That’s why it’s so important to spend time finding a supervisor for your PhD who will be a great fit for you and your project.

The role of a PhD supervisor is to use their own experience and expertise to support you throughout your project. A good supervisor will show interest in your project and provide regular feedback on your work.

Each person’s supervision experience depends on their university, department and personal preferences. While it’s expected you’ll meet with your supervisor regularly, this might mean weekly for some, and monthly for others. It’s important to make sure both you and your supervisor’s expectations match so that you can receive the best possible support.

This page covers how to find and choose a PhD supervisor. We’ve also explained the qualities of a good PhD supervisor.

It’s still important to do your homework. Make sure you’re clued up on their research and able to ask sensible, specific questions about the project in your initial contact . Advertised projects – often with funding already attached – are much more common in STEM subjects , although you may still come across them in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences too.

If you’re proposing your own PhD project , you’ll need to do some investigation to find an academic whose research interests align with your own. The rest of this section will give you several pointers how you can do this.

Finding an expert in your field

First of all, you’ll want to have at least a rough idea of what you want your PhD topic to be. This is so that you can begin to narrow down prospective supervisors by research interests and focus on those that have expertise in your area.

This doesn’t necessarily have to mean finishing the final draft of your research proposal (that comes a little later), but you’ll need to have a decent plan of what you want to achieve with your PhD research so that you know you’re getting in touch with the right people (and not wasting your time – or theirs!).

There are several ways to do this:

Browsing the academic staff section of a university department website – This is where lecturers and professors will list their research interests, publications and the areas in which they’re keen to supervise PhD students. Some websites allow you to filter and search by interest. In other cases you’ll need to check these profiles individually – time-consuming but worth it.
Speaking to the academics at your current (or previous) university – These people will likely know exactly who the experts in your field are. They’ll probably even be experts themselves! If you already have a friendly relationship with a personal tutor or Masters dissertation supervisor, it’ll be good to have an informal chat about who they think could be a good fit for your work.
Checking who has been prolific in your research area – There are probably a few names that have come up repeatedly in your previous work at postgraduate level. It’s worth scouring bibliographies and chapters to learn more about the academics behind them. Read up on their current work and find out whether they’re accepting supervisees.
Scientific databases – If you’re a STEM student, scientific databases will give you lots of data with which to refine your search. This allows you to look for the most cited articles and thus find out who the leading researchers are.

Once you’ve done your research and have a good idea of the academic landscape around your proposed PhD topic, you should make a shortlist of around three potential supervisors to contact. Now is the time to make sure you’re really clued up on their academic background and current projects, so that you can make an excellent first impression when you get in touch with them.

Who can supervise a PhD student?

An academic doesn’t necessarily need to hold a senior role in order to supervise a PhD student. Junior research fellows and assistant professors often act as supervisors when their work is particularly relevant, as well as more senior professors and lecturers.

However, universities will have different policies on who exactly can supervise (and in what circumstances). It’s best to do your research if you think you’ve found the perfect supervisor candidate but they aren’t a lecturer.

Contacting a PhD supervisor

Our guide to contacting a PhD supervisor has everything you need to know about first contact, with tips on preparation, email etiquette, making a good impression and questions to ask.

How to choose a PhD supervisor

If you’re in a lucky enough position that you have two or more prospective supervisors that are happy to oversee your PhD project, there are several factors that you might consider when making your final decision:

What career stage your potential supervisor is at – An academic at the beginning of their career might have fewer professional commitments and therefore more time to supervise you. A senior lecturer or professor, meanwhile, may have an extremely busy professional life – but this could be counterbalanced by their expertise and experience.
Other supervisees – Find out what kind of work the supervisor has previously been (or is currently) involved in. You can normally see a list of current research students on a department website, for example. Are they engaged in similar work to you? See if you can find out what path previous supervisees took after finishing their PhD. Maybe stayed in the department or took up postdoc positions.
University facilities – If your choices of supervisor are at different universities, weigh up the benefits that might come with the specialist facilities and resources available at each institution.
University department – Depending on your preferences, you may want to work within a small, specialised department or a larger team that allows more scope for cross-disciplinary collaboration.

If you’re able to meet your potential supervisor – either in-person or via video call – that can also be a great way of gauging their personality and your chemistry. You’re going to be working with them for a minimum of three years, so you want to make sure you’re going to get on with them!

What are the qualities of a good PhD supervisor?

Now that you know how to find a supervisor for your project, you might be wondering about how to choose a good PhD supervisor. You’ll be spending a lot of time with them during your PhD, so it pays to understand what to look out for in terms of personality traits, expertise and experience.

#1 Substantial research expertise

The ideal PhD supervisor will be an expert in their academic field, with a wealth of publications, articles, chapters and books. They’ll also have a background in organising and presenting at conference events.

It’s also important that their expertise is up-to-date. You should look for evidence that they’re currently active in your research area, with recent publications and conference attendance. The quality of these publications is also important – prominent, peer-reviewed journals are ideal. If your prospective supervisor has lots of citations, that’s also a great sign.

#2 Clear about their career plans

After you’ve made initial contact with a supervisor, it’s good to get an idea of where they see their own future. If they’re planning to retire, go on sabbatical or change institution, that could cause problems for your PhD later down the line. It goes without saying that you want a supervisor who is going to stick around for the duration of your PhD.

#3 Previous experience as a PhD supervisor

Ideally, a supervisor should have a long track record of supervising PhD candidates, with plenty of experience helping them through the ups and downs that come with research. It’s well worth investigating how previous supervisees have done under the tutelage of your prospective supervisor – university websites, ResearchGate and LinkedIn are the best places to do this.

If you’re able to visit the department in person, speak to current PhD students to get an idea of how they’re getting on.

#4 Personality

It can be difficult to judge someone’s personality on the basis of emails, a video call or a chat over coffee, but try to decide if your potential supervisor is a good match for you on a personal level.

Do they seem enthusiastic about your work and inspiring about their own interests? Will they make a good mentor when it comes down to the hard work of completing your PhD? Are they more of a hands-on or hands-off supervisor?

#5 Organisational skills

Excellent organisational skills – both on your part and your supervisor’s part – are key to succeeding at a PhD. You’ll want a supervisor that is clear with their expectations, giving you deadlines where necessary but also having some flexibility that takes your personal situation into account.

You also want a supervisor who is easy to get hold of for feedback and advice, with regular office hours. Many academics are extremely busy, but you should expect your supervisor to find time for you where necessary.

Can I change my PhD supervisor?

There are a variety of reasons why someone may want or need to change their PhD supervisor. Issues with the working relationship or other circumstances could make a supervisor unable to provide proper support . Unfortunately these things happen, but universities are well equipped to help PhD students in these instances.

Usually PhD students wishing to change supervisors should contact their departmental head of postgraduate study to discuss the situation. They will then advise on the best course of action to take. If there is an available academic in the department with the right expertise for your project, then they will be assigned as your new supervisor. Otherwise, you may have to consider transferring to another university.

PhD supervisor guide

If you want to find out more about what it's like to work with a PhD supervisor, we've written a guide on what to expect from your PhD supervisor . Then, head over to our course listings where you can find information on interesting courses and their academic supervisors.

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What You Should Expect from Your PhD Supervisor
Doing a PhD

A good supervisor will act as your mentor. They will not only help you progress through each stage of a PhD program but can also act as a source of information or someone to bounce ideas off. To get the most from your supervisor, it’s essential to first understand what their role and responsibilities are in relation to you and your PhD. This won’t only help you understand the different ways they can support you, but also enables you to define clear boundaries which will go a long way to ensuring an enjoyable and respected relationship between the two of you.

1. Expertise in Your Subject Area

You should expect your supervisor to be an expert in the subject you are focusing your PhD on. This is crucial as your supervisor will act as your primary means of support during your PhD. Therefore, the effectiveness of his or her support directly corresponds to their knowledge of your chosen subject, which could be the difference to your PhD succeeding or not.

In addition to this, a supervisor who is an expert in your chosen field could save you from unnecessarily adding a year or more to the duration of your PhD. This is because, as an expert, they will already possess an in-depth understanding of what can and cannot be achieved in the field and have an appreciation as to what would and what wouldn’t help your research stand out. This trait will help them keep you on track, which helps ensure your time is being used most effectively.

Ideally, your supervisor should have experience in supervising PhD students. Although you could theoretically tackle your PhD alone, there are many areas applicable to all PhDs, such as literature reviews, methodologies, experiments, thesis, and dissertations, that an experienced supervisor can guide you on.

2. Regular Supervisory Meetings

As good as your supervisor may be, their ability to support you only comes into fruition if you interact with them. You will be expected to arrange regular meetings with your supervisor, and if necessary, other members of your PhD panel. This will allow you to report back on your latest progress, discuss any issue you’re facing, and review any plans to identify potential improvements, etc. Some supervisors will suggest meeting at regular intervals, i.e. every other week, some will suggest meeting on completing a milestone, i.e. completion of your first draft of the literature review, and others will suggest meeting specifically as and when you need their support. While none are notably better than the other, the key is to pick what works best for you and to ensure you’re meeting them frequently, even if that means having to combine two or all of the approaches.

It’s important to appreciate your supervisor is going to be busy. They are not only going to be supervising you, but they’ll likely be providing supervision to several other students, teach undergraduate classes and have their own research projects going on. However, if you can’t meet your supervisor as often as you would like because of this, your communication doesn’t need to suffer. Instead, make use of email . Not only will your supervisor appreciate this as it gives him time to respond on his own schedule, but you’ll likely get a more detailed response.

3. Feedback on Work in Progress

Another vital aspect to expect from your supervisor is to receive continuous feedback on your work. With your supervisor being an expert in their field, he should be able to review your work and identify any issues or areas for improvement. Gaining feedback on your work is critical through all stages of your PhD. Initially, feedback will be imperative to ensure you’re staying on track. Besides this, it gives your supervisor the opportunity to help set up aspects of your PhD in ways they’ve witnessed first-hand to be most effective, for example, by suggesting an alternative way to structure your literature review or record your research findings. During the ending stages of your PhD, your supervisor will play an essential role in supporting you in the production of your thesis or dissertation. The more you liaise with them during this process, the smoother the process will be.

4. Advice and Support

The advice and support that your supervisor can offer you throughout your degree will be invaluable. As an old saying goes, you can never be distracted if you get the right advice from the right person, which in this case will be your supervisor. As well as providing technical support, many supervisors will also look to provide emotional support through words of encouragement when the moment warrants it. Having once undertaken the journey themselves, they fully appreciate how challenging and stressful the journey can be.

It’s important to note that although your supervisor is there to provide support, they are not there to help with the minor details or every problem you may encounter. The role of the supervisor is to mentor, not to teach, or do it for you. It will be your responsibility to plan, execute and monitor your own work and to identify gaps in your own knowledge and address them. Your supervisor may help by recommending literature to read or suggesting external training courses, however, you should expect nothing more intrusive than this.

5. Mediation and Representation

All universities and departments will have their own rules and regulations. As a professional academic student, you will have to adhere to these rules. These rules are unlikely to be limited to behaviour only with several rules influencing your work as a PhD student. These rules may relate to how you are expected to submit documentation or to the experiments that require special permission before being conducted within their labs. If you have any queries about any rule or regulation, your first point of contact should be your supervisor.

Before starting a PhD, it’s reasonable to have many expectations in mind. However, of all expectations, the one of your supervisors is likely to be the most important. Your supervisor will act as the backbone of your research project and should provide you with continuous support throughout each stage of your degree. A great supervisor may not only be the difference between a smooth and turbulent process, but sometimes may also be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful PhD.

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Tips for new PhD supervisors: how to hold effective meetings

Supervisory meetings should be planned, regular and positive in tone. Here are key elements to include in thesis supervision meetings for academics new to the role

Alice Ling Jiang

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Planning is key to fostering effective communication between student and supervisor during the dissertation supervision process. Positive interactions will give doctoral students confidence and a strong sense of independence. Each PhD student’s needs differ significantly, and it is incumbent upon the supervisor to design appropriate strategies from the outset. A vast array of articles offering enlightening and inspiring approaches for communication and thesis guidance are available online.

In this context, a few well-focused points for new PhD supervisors would seem beneficial. Adequate preparation is one of the keys to a fruitful supervision meeting with PhD students.

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Key elements to an effective PhD supervisory meeting

What, however, should an effective PhD thesis meeting include? Three primary elements come to mind. First, the student needs to clearly report their research progress. Second, the supervisor provides feedback, guidance and in-depth insight into the student’s most critical areas of need. Last, the focus for the next stage of research needs to be identified in order to continue the dissertation preparation process.

These three objectives can be further supplemented by following these suggestions during supervisory meetings with your PhD students.

1. Prepare in advance for themes or topics requiring discussion

Well before the meeting, encourage the student to email a tentative agenda or proposal to you. Ahead of the meeting, you, as the supervisor, read the email and identify which focal points require discussion. The student’s email should include at least two elements: (1) a summary of main research work progress accomplished to date; and (2) the complexities or hurdles encountered during the research phase (such as refining the research topic, theoretical considerations, data compilation, analysis methodology or writing process) that require further discussion with their supervisor. Writing the pre-meeting email is the student’s opportunity to organise and structure their thoughts, a task that is highly conducive to effective communication during the meeting.

2. Encourage students to proactively articulate their thoughts

At initial stages of doctoral study, students may not have a full spectrum of ideas to present. During this period, it would be natural for the supervisor to speak more frequently than the student during supervisory meetings. However, as research work progresses, students are expected to contribute more actively. Indeed, presentation skills are considered an integral professional component of doctoral-level training. To prompt interactive conversation, ask the student to prepare five to 10 PowerPoint slides to facilitate the exchange of ideas. As students encounter difficulty during their research process, they should be encouraged to think, reason and reflect independently, and to implement potential solutions before discussion with their supervisors. Online resources are plentiful for assisting doctoral students in preparation of efficient meetings with the supervisor.

3. Student note-taking and audio recording can be used to highlight key points

Notes and recordings can enable students to encapsulate meeting content in short form and will promote students’ ability to reflect meaningfully on the supervisor’s comments, reinforcing pivotal thoughts and concepts. Audio recording, with the supervisor’s consent, can allow the meeting to proceed at a natural pace without interruptions while students catch up with their note-taking. Using the recording after the meeting, students can organise key points. Brief summaries of content are helpful in ensuring that students properly grasp and retain important ideas, themes, concepts or approaches before embarking on the next stage of developing the dissertation.

Students should also email their meeting summaries to the supervisor for retention of records. If there are errors, these summaries will assist both parties in rectifying any discrepancies or inaccuracies. These summations can be used at subsequent meetings to verify whether the issues discussed have been satisfactorily resolved or if there remain any items that require adjustment or modification.

Use positive language during supervisory meetings

All stages of doctoral research come with inherent challenges. During meetings, the supervisor should strive to use positive verbal expression and body language throughout discussions. Cognitive theorists and educational psychologists have found that positive emotions can enhance concentration, focus, memory and problem-solving skills, while also enriching critical and creative thinking . Students who are emotionally stable and confident will be more deeply committed to their research.

On the other hand, those who are stressed or lacking in confidence are less likely to engage in effective dyadic communication and may harbour more doubts as to the viability of their ideas.

In my experience, amicable greetings, smiles and sincere encouragement are central to building a good supervisory relationship. A friendly supervisor can motivate and inspire doctoral students to innovate and move forward boldly, while enthusiastically communicating with their departmental peers.

Set and define challenging goals

Although students often have an overarching plan for their progress, supervisors can set even higher standards to be achieved gradually. Indeed, calm seas never make skilled sailors . Expectations and deadlines for completion of each stage need to be specified. Students should be made aware of the nature of high-quality research and should become familiar with the proper strategies and approaches to doctoral study. The scope and number of reading lists, the structure and length of literature reviews, and staged achievement goals must be discussed early in the supervisory process. In mid-phases of research, goals should be discussed and determined by the supervisor in conjunction with the student, inclusive of number of samples to be collected, experimental equipment or modalities, funding considerations and which journals to target.

Hold regular supervisory meetings to encourage students to think deeply and formulate solutions

Ideally, expectations should be made open and clear in regularly scheduled initial meetings, taking into account shifting realities, as necessary. Flexibility is permissible, although students should be encouraged to honour the deadlines set by the doctoral programme, ensuring their timely graduation.

Alice Ling Jiang is a professor in marketing at the School of Business at the Macau University of Science and Technology.

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Bringing Out the Best in the PhD Student–Supervisor Relationship

Once you decide to embark on your PhD journey, one of the most important decisions is choosing a PhD thesis supervisor. Every research student grapples with the question of “How to find a PhD supervisor”, more so if they are dealing with physical disabilities or mental health issues. The final choice determines not only the success and quality of your research but also your well-being throughout the program.

Table of Contents

Qualities of a good PhD supervisor

Wondering how to choose a PhD supervisor or what to ask a potential PhD supervisor? Here are the key roles that your supervisor can (and should) play:

Bridging cultural differences

A good supervisor will do their best to make a student comfortable if they are in an unfamiliar geographical and/or cultural setting. They should help a student overcome barriers or biases faced if they’re part of a minority group. When finding a PhD supervisor, see if they make you feel at home and eager to start work.

Supporting students with physical or mental disabilities

When looking at how to choose a PhD supervisor, look for one who will advise how PhD students with disabilities can work effectively by suggesting suitable adjustments or flexibility. Awareness about neurodiversity is on the rise and it is one of the things that should be on your list of what to ask a potential PhD supervisor. Supervisors are becoming increasingly sensitive and more equipped to handle students’ emotional barriers such as lack of motivation, impostor syndrome, and fear of failure.

Navigating administrative and regulatory affairs

If you are new to the institute, system, or country, find a PhD supervisor who can guide you regarding university protocols and regulations, administrative and technical support, etc.

Choose a PhD supervisor who will help connect you with other researchers and forge collaborations and connections to further your research and career.

Being approachable and open to communication

When figuring out how to find a PhD supervisor, it is most important that you choose one who will be available and easy to contact.

Stimulating intellectual growth

An encouraging supervisor should throw challenges at you. They should encourage you to think out of the box and not follow the beaten path.

How to choose a good PhD supervisor

Now that you know the kind of support you can expect, here are some tips on how to choose a good PhD supervisor for your doctoral journey.

Read recent publications by potential supervisors

Check if their area of research is a match with yours and if their experience and expertise align with what you are looking for.

Talk to past and current students

Get an idea about the lab culture and ask about a potential PhD supervisor’s approach to students with disabilities and students from minority communities.

Meet in person if possible

Get to know the personality of your potential supervisor and understand their availability and commitment better. Inform them about any physical or mental health issues and ask your potential PhD supervisor about arrangements to manage these conditions.

Maximizing support and assistance from your supervisor

Your relationship with your PhD guide is not a one-way street. We just discussed the qualities of a good PhD supervisor and how to choose a good PhD supervisor. But how can you make sure that your guide will be happy to help you?

Identify specific needs

If you are managing a disability or chronic illness, here’s what you should do and what to ask a potential PhD supervisor:

Be upfront with your supervisor and discuss any likely effects of your condition in advance.
Ask a potential PhD supervisor about resources applicable to your particular condition (e.g., software to assist students with visual difficulties, communication aids, or additional financial support as a disabled student).
Work with your supervisor to draw up a realistic plan for conducting and monitoring your project to help keep your research on track.

Be honest

One key tip on how to find a PhD supervisor is to be transparent about your work and progress. Do not hide any inadvertent errors you may have made in your experiment or analyses. Always keep your supervisor “in the loop”! Honesty in every aspect of your work and working relationship will help build trust.

Be realistic

Ask your potential PhD supervisor about and align your expectations for work and a work-life balance with them. Set realistic expectations and targets; this will be even more important if health challenges are likely to affect your work pace. Your supervisor can then manage expectations and support your progress in the face of these challenges.

Be independent

No supervisor encourages hand holding. When choosing a PhD supervisor, you must demonstrate independence to inculcate your supervisor’s trust in you. Here are some ways you could to this:

Meet agreed deadlines and responsibilities as best you can.
Show that you have worked on feedback they have provided.
Offer your help on projects, especially if it helps you learn a new skill. Inform your supervisor that you are open to providing assistance with peer review, for example.

Knowing what to ask a potential PhD supervisor combined with a demonstration of responsibility

When choosing a Phd supervisor, know that your supervisor may be simultaneously running many projects. Different students might be at different stages of their PhD, and it is up to the supervisor how to manage each student’s requirements. Trust their approach on this.

Have open conversations

Have regular meetings with your supervisor (every week or 10 days) to discuss your research progress, drafts of upcoming papers, and even emotional roadblocks if any. Understand their working and communication style and adapt accordingly.

Have open conversations about your state of mind; your supervisor is sure to hear you out and offer guidance and motivation.

To conclude

Answering the question of how to find a PhD supervisor may take some effort and time. Moreover, arriving at a comfortable working arrangement with your chosen supervisor may also take some fine-tuning. You should strive to streamline your working style to motivate your supervisor to help you.

Choose a good PhD supervisor who will offer support beyond academic aspects for your overall welfare. That being said, recognize that your supervisor is not your de facto counsellor. You may even leverage other support systems (support groups, online forums, or professional counsellors) to complement the guidance and motivation provided by your supervisor.

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As a new PhD student, you will be assigned a supervisor, who is responsible for guiding your studies. You are, however, expected to have the capacity and enthusiasm to organise your own research and to work on your own initiative. You are expected to submit written work at regular intervals for discussion with your supervisor.

We very much hope you will not have any problems with supervision, but if a problem does arise – because, for example, your supervisor is on leave for an extended period or your research takes a new direction, or for personal reasons – you should contact, in the first instance, any of the following: the Director of Graduate Studies, your advisor, the Head of Department or your College tutor. With any of these, you may wish to discuss whether you want to continue along the more formal lines of complaint proposed by the Student Registry.

By the middle of the first term of your PhD the Degree Committee will appoint an advisor for you. You should be actively engaged in selecting your advisor. You are encouraged to submit written work to your advisor at any time, but the submission should not be so extensive that it would prevent the advisor acting as an internal examiner of your thesis. You should meet your advisor at least once a year.

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What makes a good PhD supervisor? Top tips for managing the student-supervisor relationship.

Jan 8, 2020

When I started my PhD, the entire cohort of incoming students had an induction session in the university’s great hall. There were around 500 of us, from every department and every imaginable discipline.

The induction itself was tedious, but there was one comment in particular that stood out immediately and stuck with me throughout my entire PhD journey. When a professor was asked in a Q&A what advice he would give incoming PhD students, he said to remember that, after your mother, your supervisor will be the most important person in your life.

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Now I’m at the other end of the PhD and I’ve graduated, I’ve got some advice of my own to add to his. You see, the professor overlooked something really important, and that is that, by the time we were sitting in the induction, we had already chosen our supervisors (or had them assigned, as in my case).

Why should that matter? Primarily because whether or not your supervisor becomes the most important person in your life depends how good that supervisor actually is, how well they are executing their duties, and how well you are managing the student-supervisor relationship.

In this guide, I want to dig in a little more into what makes a good supervisor, before discussing what they should and shouldn’t be doing, why you need to please them (and how you can go about doing so), and how to make the

How to choose a PhD supervisor

The most important piece of advice for someone about to embark on a PhD and looking for a potential supervisor is to actually make an effort to talk to them about your research proposal.

Now, for many, your potential supervisor may be someone you already know, such as a lecturer, Master’s dissertation supervisor or tutor. Or, it may be someone from your department who you don’t know so well, but whose work fits your research interests.

In either case, chances are you’ve interacted with them in a teacher-student kind of relationship, where they lecture and you take notes. Well, when thinking about your PhD and their role as a potential supervisor, it’s time to put on a different hat and approach them as a peer. Email them or call them and schedule a phone call or face-to-face meeting to talk about your proposal and solicit their advice. Be explicit about wanting them to supervise you and tell them why. They won’t bite. In all likelihood, they’ll be flattered.

Now, the same applies even if it’s someone you don’t know or have never interacted with (perhaps if it’s someone from a different university or country). Approach them, explain what you intend to do and tell them exactly why you think they should supervise you.

As you ask these questions, you’ll get a pretty good idea of what to look for in a potential supervisor. For one, their research interests need to align with yours. The closer they align the better. But, more than that, you need to consider whether they have published in your field (and whether they’re continuing to do so).

Often, though, the more high-profile academics will already be supervising a number of students. Try, if you can, to get an idea of how many PhD students they are currently supervising. This will give you a good idea of whether they’ll have the time required to nurture your project over the years it will take you to complete it, or whether they’ll be stretched too thin. Also, look at how many students they have supervised in the past and how many of them completed successfully. This will give you a good insight into their experience and competence.

Remember back to that advice I got on my first day: the person you’re choosing to supervise your study will become the most important person in your life, so you need to consider the personal dimension too. Do you actually get on with them? You’ll be spending a lot of time together, and some of it will be when you’re at your most vulnerable (such as when you’re stressed, under incredible pressure or breaking down as the PhD blues get the better of you). Do you think this person is someone with whom you can have a good, friendly relationship? Can you talk openly to them? Will they be there for you when you need them and, more importantly, will you be able to ask them to be?

Once you’ve considered all this, don’t be afraid to approach them at a conference, swing by their office, drop them an email or phone them and run your project by them. The worst they can do is say no, and if they do they’ll likely give you great feedback and advice that you can take to another potential supervisor. But they may just turn around and say yes, and if you’ve done your homework properly, you’ll have a great foundation from which to start your PhD-journey. They’ll also likely work with you to craft your draft proposal into something that is more likely to be accepted.

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What is the role of a supervisor?

Think of your supervisor like a lawyer. They are there to advise you on the best course of action as you navigate your PhD journey, but ultimately, the decisions you make are yours and you’re accountable for the form and direction your PhD takes.

In other words: they advise, you decide.

I appreciate that is vague, though. What do they advise on?

Primarily, their job is:

8. To a certain extent, they often provide emotional and pastoral support

How many of these jobs they actually do will vary from supervisor to supervisor. You have to remember that academics, particularly those that are well known in their field, are often extremely busy and in many cases overworked and underpaid. They may simply not have the time to do all the things they are supposed to. Or, it may be the case that they simply don’t need to because you already have a good handle on things.

What does a supervisor not do?

Your supervisor is not there to design your research for you, or to plan, structure or write your thesis. Remember, they advise and you decide. It’s you that’s coming up with the ideas, the plans, the outlines and the chapters. It’s their job to feedback on them. Not the other way around.

Unlike at undergraduate or masters level, their job isn’t to teach you in the traditional sense, and you aren’t a student in the traditional sense either. The onus is on you to do the work and take the lead on your project. That means that if something isn’t clear, or you need help with, say, a chapter outline, it is up to you to solicit that advice from your supervisor or elsewhere. They won’t hold your hand and guide you unless you ask them to.

Having said that, their job isn’t to nanny you. At PhD level it is expected that you can work independently and can self-motivate. It is not your supervisor’s job to chase you for chapter drafts or to motivate you to work. If you don’t do the work when you’re supposed to then it’s your problem, not theirs.

It’s also not their job to proofread or edit your work. In fact, if you’re handing in drafts that contain substantial fluency or language issues (say, if you’re a non-native English speaker), it’s likely to annoy them, particularly if you’re doing so at the later stages of the PhD, because they’ll have to spend as much time focusing on how you’re writing as they do on what you’re writing.

More troubling would be if you explicitly ask them to correct or edit the language. They won’t do this and will take a dim view of being asked. Instead, hire a proofreader or ask a friend with good writing skills to take a read through and correct any obvious language errors (check the rules laid out by your university to see what a proofreader can and cannot do though. As with everything in your PhD, the onus is on you to do things properly).

What you need to do to please your supervisor

The lines between what your supervisor will and will not do for you are blurred, and come down in large part to how much they like you. That means you should pay attention to pleasing them, or at least not actively irritating them.

There are a few simple things you can do that will make their life easier and, with that, boost their opinion of you and their willingness to go beyond their prescribed role.

First, and by this stage you shouldn’t need to be told this, meet deadlines, submit work to them when you said you would, and turn up to your supervision meetings on time. If you meet the deadlines you’ve set, they’re more likely to return work quicker and spend more time reading it prior to doing so.

Wrapping up

Managed well, you too can ensure that your supervisor is the most important person in your life. And you want them to be. Those who succeed in their PhDs and in their early academic careers are those who had effective supervision and approached their supervisor as a mentor.

Things don’t always go according to plan, though, and sometimes even with the best will in the world, supervisors under-perform, create problems or, in more extreme cases, sabotage PhD projects. This can be for a variety of reasons, but it leaves students in a difficult position; in the student-supervisor relationship, the student is relatively powerless, particularly if the supervisor is well known and highly esteemed. If this is the case, when things don’t go well, raising concerns with relevant channels may prove ineffective, and may even create more problems. In these extreme cases, you’ll have to draw on levels of diplomacy and patience you may never have known you had.

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How to Cope with a Problematic PhD Supervisor

by James Hayton, PhD
January 17th, 2022

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Why you (probably) shouldn’t do a phd, “i can’t contact my phd supervisor until i have something to show”.

“Is there any system that protects PhD candidates from having a problematic supervisor? For example, any ways to make complaints? Or would complaints not help but make the relationship worse?”

The simple answer is yes, usually there are ways to make formal complaints.

My view is that universities and supervisors have a responsibility to provide support, feedback and guidance to PhD students. There’s a trust that you place in them when you invest years of your life and possibly quite a lot of money in tuition fees, and they have a duty to provide adequate support in return.

If you’re not receiving that support, you’ve got to be assertive . You’ve got to speak up, and you’ve got to speak up early while there’s still time to find a potential solution rather than waiting until the last few months of your PhD when it might be too late.

If you don’t say anything because you’re afraid of their reaction, there will probably be much worse consequences later.

However, as you rightly point out, making a formal complaint to the university or to your department is likely to affect your relationship with your supervisor.

I think that it’s always best to try to resolve any issues directly with your supervisor, and formal complaints should really only be used as a last resort if you’ve made every reasonable attempt to sort things out, but the working relationship has completely broken down. At that point, it doesn’t really matter how they react because the relationship is already dead.

So how should you try to address problems in your relationship with your PhD supervisor?

The original question doesn’t specify what the problem is, so I’ll go through a few common issues and how you might be able to approach them.

Problem 1: A lack of contact

The first common problem is simply a lack of contact. This is especially common if you’re doing a PhD remotely and you’re entirely dependent on email for communication.

Sometimes this isn’t entirely the supervisor’s fault. Often I speak to students who say they emailed the supervisor three months ago but didn’t get a reply. They can then get stuck in a cycle of worry about whether the supervisor cares about the project or whether the work they sent was good enough.

But then when I ask if they’ve tried to follow up, often they say they’re afraid of appearing rude, or they don’t want to disturb their supervisor because they’re so busy and important.

But remember that academics struggle too. The day your email arrived, maybe they had 100 other emails in their inbox. Maybe they had a grant application deadline. Maybe they were about to reply and someone knocked on their door. And maybe they fully intended to get back to you and because they wanted to give you a considered reply they didn’t do it in the moment and then it slid further down their inbox.

Personally, I try to stay on top of my email, but sometimes things slip. It doesn’t mean anything that I haven’t replied, and It’s helpful to me if you follow up on a message I haven’t replied to.

So try not to project your fears onto your supervisor. Assume good intentions and just send a polite follow up.

If they consistently don’t reply, then yes, that’s a problem. What I would do is say that you would really value their input and whether it would be possible to have more frequent contact, whether there’s something you can do to make that easier… and if there’s still no response or if they say no or if they get angry, this is when you might consider trying to change supervisor.

Problem 2: Multiple supervisors & contradictory advice

You might have more than one supervisor. Maybe they aren’t communicating with each other or maybe they are giving you contradictory advice.

In this case it’s your responsibility to manage the communication, making sure that they are both copied into emails, and they each know what the other has said.

It’s also worth noting that, often, supervisors are giving you suggestions and it’s up to you to decide what to do with them. They will want you to have counter-suggestions, they will want you to have your own ideas and they will want you to make decisions.

So instead of seeing it as contradictory advice, maybe try to see it as a range of options that you can try, or even modify to come up with another option of your own

Then in your communication with both supervisors, you can say what you’re going to try first.

Problem 3: Harsh feedback

What if your supervisor keeps giving you overly harsh feedback ?

This can be difficult to take, especially if you’ve put a lot of work in and if you’re feeling a bit stressed. So there’s an emotional component that can sometimes affect the way you interpret feedback and it can make you feel demotivated and disengaged.

When you were an undergraduate and you submitted an essay you probably just received a grade and moved on. You weren’t expected to make any changes. But at PhD level, you’re learning to be a professional academic. And when professional academics submit a paper—unless they submit to a low quality journal that accepts anything—there will almost always be things they have to change in response to the reviewers comments.

That’s actually a good result, because a lot of the best journals completely reject the majority of submissions. So I can guarantee that your supervisor, no matter how good their publication record, will have had work rejected and they will have had harsh feedback. It’s not a personal judgement, It’s just part of the job and it’s necessary to improve your work and your writing.

What I’d suggest is really engaging with the feedback, possibly just one section at a time to make it a little bit easier, and making sure you really understand the points they’re making and asking them questions to clarify if necessary.

One of the biggest frustrations I hear from PhD supervisors is students not saying anything. Most supervisors would want you to ask questions, they would want you to tell them if there’s something you don’t understand and they would want you to discuss a point you disagree with.

So try to become an active participant in your feedback, rather than a passive recipient.

For more on this point, check out my video on dealing with harsh feedback .

What makes a good PhD supervisor?

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PhD: An uncommon guide to research, writing & PhD life

By james hayton (2015).

PhD: an uncommon guide to research, writing & PhD life is your essential guide to the basic principles every PhD student needs to know.

Applicable to virtually any field of study, it covers everything from finding a research topic, getting to grips with the literature, planning and executing research and coping with the inevitable problems that arise, through to writing, submitting and successfully defending your thesis.

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Why you shouldn't rely on AI for PhD research and writing

The false promise of AI for PhD research

Getting the most out of thesis supervision meetings

Chances are that postgraduate students meet their thesis supervisor/s only every few weeks, and for a limited amount of time. Therefore, it is extremely important to take full advantage of supervision meetings. The following tips help bachelor’s, master’s and PhD students to make the most of thesis supervision meetings.

What can you expect from a thesis supervisor?

A thesis supervisor supports and guides you through writing your thesis. However, ultimately you are responsible for your work.

What this role division means in practice is that students cannot expect their thesis supervisor/s to tell them exactly what to do. And the thesis supervisor/s will not simply provide students with solutions to their challenges on a silver platter.

Taking charge of thesis supervision meetings

Considering that students are ultimately responsible for their thesis, they do benefit from taking charge of supervision meetings.

Pre-meeting updates, a meeting agenda and strategy for note-taking, as well as post-meeting action points, help students to get the most out of thesis supervision meetings.

Each of these points will be explained in more detail below. Combined, they offer concrete and repeatable structure to prepare, take part in, and summarise thesis supervision meetings.

Pre-meeting progress updates before thesis supervision meetings

Both master’s and PhD thesis supervisors tend to supervise many students at the same time. They might lose track of the progress of individual students. Progress updates before a meeting help to bring everyone up to date.

And of course, if you have written text for review, make sure to give your supervisor/s enough time to review it. Supervisors have busy agendas. So don’t hand in the written text an hour or a day before the meeting.

Agendas and note-taking strategies during thesis supervision meetings

In addition to the agenda, explain what your key objectives are for the meeting. Then, ask if your supervisor/s would like to add points to the agenda. Edit the agenda on the spot so that all points and objectives are reflected.

Either take your time to take proper notes by hand or ask all parties present whether it is okay to record the meeting. You will thank yourself later.

Post-meeting action points after thesis supervision meetings

Why? Because there is a chance that you misunderstood each other. Asking your supervisors for brief feedback on your action points provides an extra layer of security. It shows whether you are on the same page and whether you are moving in the right direction.

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Speaker 1: If I was starting my PhD today, I would be stalking the living shit out of all of the PhD supervisors that I was thinking about working with for my PhD. Here's the thing, is that they leave little leading indicators of success around the internet. And I'm gonna show you in this video which ones are the most important for you. Now, the first thing I would head over to is their academic profile on their website. So this is actually my PhD supervisor. And the first thing I would be doing is looking for this, supervision. I'd be clicking on supervision and the first thing I'm interested in is their group size, the number of PhD graduates they've recently graduated, and also any indication of culture in the lab. So the first one, PhD group size. So I'm looking down here and I'm seeing that, okay, they've commenced in one, two, three. So they've got three PhD students at the moment. Okay, so there's five, they're current PhD students. So that is a good number of PhD students. It's not too many, it's not too little, but it's just kind of that okay, nice Goldilocks zone. Because you want a PhD supervisor who has got some evidence that they've actually graduated PhD students and they're actively supervising students, but you don't want someone that's completely overrun by students, that has 20 or so students that are essentially fighting for their time. So that's the first thing I'm looking at. Look, here's another friend of mine, Dr. Cameron Shearer. And so he's a relatively new academic. He's recently got a permanent position, well done Cameron. But I'm heading over to the supervision tabs that all of these sort of like academic profiles have. And I can see that at the moment, he's got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine PhD students that he's currently supervising or it's masters as well. Okay, so he's got nine masters and doctoral students that he's looking at at the moment. But remember, these people are either co-supervised or primarily supervised by him. So I'm really interested in primary supervision. One, two, three, four, five. There we are, there's another five primary supervised PhD students by Cameron. Once again, not too many, but I'd start to really worry if that started getting past, you know, eight or nine or 10 PhD students. That's far too many. And quite often a lab of that size, you always hear the same issues, which is I can't get in contact with my PhD supervisor. He's away, they're doing all these things. I can't sort of like pin them down to look over my thesis or my peer reviewed paper. That is all of the big issues. So make sure you're not in that boat. That's the first thing I'm looking for. The second thing is any evidence of recent PhD graduation. So I would be looking down here at past higher degree research supervision. So this is a co-supervisor of PhD. So that's good, Cameron. We've got some evidence. You're a new academic, but it's great you've seen what the process of a successful PhD means. And then for someone like Erica, you can see she's got loads and loads of past supervisions. I'm even in there at one point. Where am I? Here I am. Nanoparticle-based organic photovoltaic devices. That's me. Bing, here it is. Ooh, nice. Anyway, so I'm in that list and you can see she has got so, so much evidence that she can be a successful PhD supervisor. And importantly, we've got one this year and then it was a couple years ago she had the last bunch through. So there is evidence they can actually graduate PhD students, which is exactly what you're after. Now, here's the thing, is that you need to now look at evidence of any lab culture. And this is a tough one to kind of weigh up because you're looking for evidence that their lab culture is actually a nice one. If you're in person, you can go and ask their PhD students, but a lot of the time we're international PhD students, we don't know. So I'd be looking for their independently run web pages for their labs. And this is why I think every academic should have a website which is specifically for their lab. So this is a laboratory that I used to work nearby. I was never in this, but this is what I'm looking at. I'm looking for any evidence of culture. So yeah, we've got Colin Raston, who's the head of the group. We've got meet the group areas of interest. Let's say meet the group. So I'm going to meet the group and I'm going to look at the current members. This is 2023. This is about a year old, but this is a little bit of fun. Plan your work around your work of plan. Favorite TV program, Game of Thrones. It's all of these little things that are like, okay, well clearly they're having some sort of fun. Then I'm heading over to their social media, such as Twitter, their LinkedIn profile, wherever you can stalk from the bushes a little bit more. This is what's going on. And you're looking for evidence that they celebrate things. They celebrate things like birthdays. They celebrate things like papers being accepted. They celebrate Christmas things. Whatever kind of lab culture you can gain from this social media presence is always good. If there's nothing, I would just be a little bit wary that maybe this person or this lab doesn't necessarily sort of value that cultural aspect. And that can, over the many years of doing a PhD, really wear you down as a PhD student. So those are the top three things that I'd really be looking for, whatever I'm deciding to do, but there are plenty more and some of them are very, very important. All of the points in this video are covered in my course, which is the Ultimate PhD Kickstart. If you want to start your PhD strong, this course is for you. I look at the 12-point success system that I have seen every successful PhD student go through, and there's even a smart supervision sort of spreadsheet where you go through, and you can also also populate this with all of the information from the master sheet. I've created it for you, so go have a look at this course, because if you're starting a PhD, this will almost guarantee that you are starting off in the strongest light possible. Go check it out. The next big thing you need to look for is money. Is there any evidence that this person is able to bring in money? Because money changes the supervisor experience so much. If you've got a supervisor that doesn't have very much money, they are scrimping and saving, and it is a completely different experience to a supervisor who is just flush with cash. So you want some evidence that this supervisor, your principal or primary supervisor, can actually bring in money. And you go to their supervisor page, and you're looking for grants and funding, and you're looking for this number, and you're looking for recent grants that are sort of like being awarded to them, and then you need to sort of like make a decision, okay, in 2024, they got this grant, which is great. That's a significant grant. So will I be working on this project? If I am, it means that I'll be able to kind of like relax a little bit, because they're going to have some money to support my experiments, my ideas, send me to conferences, all that sort of stuff. So you want someone with money. The next thing I'd be looking at is thesis titles. Head over to their thesis titles, and actually have a look to see whether or not the thesis titles are interesting to you, because this is ultimately what you will be doing. You're producing a thesis around a project that they are an expert in. So if you're looking through their stuff, and none of them really take you, that tells you this shouldn't be your principal supervisor, and in fact, maybe not even your supervisor at all. So have a look, and look at what they're actually researching. So here's some more research topics. Photocatalytic generation of hydrogen under extreme conditions. Oh, that sounds good. I like the word extreme. What else have we got? And then this one, reduced graphene oxide supported, no, that's not really interesting to me as well. So this is what you've got to go through. Have a look at their past PhD thesis, and say, could I actually be part of this group? Because this is what this group is all about. This is what they love. And if you don't at least have a small interest in those thesis titles, maybe it's not the right group for you. The next thing that I would be doing is having a look to see what their past PhD graduates are currently doing. Are they in academia? Are they in industry? Are they doing something else that you would like to do? Because ultimately, when you are working with this person, you are also connected to their networks. You're also connected to the people that they've graduated in the past. And if you can't see yourself in a position that their recent PhD graduates are in, then maybe this isn't for you. If you are wanting to go into academia, you need to make sure that a lot of their PhD students actually end up in academia. If you want to go into industry, make sure that a lot of their PhD students go into industry. This is where you get a little bit sneaky. So what you can do is take these thesis titles, do a bit of a Google, and quite often you'll find a name related to that thesis title. And you have to make sure that you're absolutely okay with where they've ended up and whether or not it's something that you want to do. I would do that with maybe a handful of their recent PhD graduates and have a look to see, well, if I was to graduate under this person, these are the sorts of things that are, you know, the doors that are open to me. So does that excite me? Does that make me happy? Does that interest me? And it's just part of that kind of getting a sense for what you'll do after your PhD as well, which is so important and not enough people think about it. The last thing I'd be looking at is institutional reputation. Is this university actually useful to have on your resume? If you want to go into academia, that makes so much of a difference because people do judge you on where you went to university and also the principal supervisor that you had for your PhD. So if you had someone super famous from Oxford, you're in. That's like a guaranteed future as long as you don't sort of like screw it up. Whereas if you're from a lesser known university, it's a much harder sell on your CV to get someone to employ you in academia afterwards. So make sure that you take into account institutional reputation when you are deciding on a professor to work with for your PhD. If you like this video, go check out this one, which is an old school video about how to choose your PhD supervisor. It's got loads of valuable, timeless advice. Go check it out.

Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports

PhD defence: Liver fat...

PhD defence: Liver fat, metabolic dysfunction and effects of dairy foods in individuals with abdominal obesity

PhD defence by

Karoline Sandby

About the phd thesis.

It is well established that obesity and metabolic dysfunction are closely linked to the risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases. During the past decades, advances in medical imaging technology have increased awareness and understanding of fat stored in non-adipose tissue, such as the liver, and its link to metabolic function, even independently of total body adiposity.

While weight loss per se remains the primary strategy for reducing liver fat, achieving and maintaining a clinically significant weight loss is challenging. Nonetheless, evidence for dietary strategies for reducing liver fat independently of weight loss are scarce and inconsistent, and it is therefore important to explore strategies for reducing liver fat that are independent of weight loss (Paper I).

Observational studies suggest that consuming fermented dairy products, particularly yogurt, may have health benefits and reduce risk of cardiometabolic diseases. However, evidence on the impact of yogurt consumption on liver fat balance is limited.

Accordingly, the overarching aim of this PhD thesis was to explore the role of liver fat as a marker of metabolic function, and evaluate the effect of dairy foods, in particular yogurt, in modifying liver fat content in males with abdominal obesity during body weight stability.

To achieve this, we conducted a 16-week randomised controlled trial to investigate the effect of yogurt compared to milk on liver fat and cardiometabolic risk in males with abdominal obesity (Paper II). Additionally, a cross-sectional analysis was performed to compare individuals with low and high liver fat content, to further explore the role of liver fat as a marker of metabolic function independent of other common measures of adiposity (Paper III).

The results from this PhD thesis underline the importance of liver fat content as a marker of metabolic function independently of other adiposity markers (Paper III).

Contrary to our hypothesis, the effect of yogurt compared to milk was not superior in reducing liver fat and improving cardiometabolic risk during body weight stability. However, consumption of all included dairy products, fermented or not, led to similar mild improvements in some cardiometabolic risk markers without affecting liver fat content (Paper II).

Download Publications; Summary; Dansk sammendrag (Danish summary); Table of contents.

2024, 241 pages.

25 September 2024, 13:00

Festauditoriet, Bülowsvej 17. 1870 Frederiksberg C

Professor Inge Tetens (chair), Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Professor Leanne Hodson, Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism Oxford University, UK.

Clinical Associate Professor, Konstantin Kazankov, MD, PhD Department of Clinical Medicine – Hepatology and Gastroenterology Aarhus University, Denmark.

Principal supervisor

Professor Faidon Magkos, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Co-supervisor

Nina Rica Wium Geiker, Centre for Childhood Health, Denmark.

Time: 25 Sept. 2024, 13:00

Place: Festauditoriet, Bülowsvej 17. 1870 Frederiksberg C and online

Organizer: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen

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Supervisor(s).

Prof.dr. A.W.M. Evers
dr. H. van Middendorp
dr. H. W. van Hamersvelt

PhD dissertations

Approximately one week after the defence, PhD dissertations by Leiden PhD students are available digitally through the Leiden Repository , that offers free access to these PhD dissertations. Please note that in some cases a dissertation may be under embargo temporarily and access to its full-text version will only be granted later.

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COMMENTS

Ten simple rules for choosing a PhD supervisor
However, one of the earliest and most critical decisions you will need to make transcends most other decisions: choosing your PhD thesis supervisor. Your PhD supervisor will strongly influence the success and quality of your degree as well as your general well-being throughout the program. It is therefore vital to choose the right supervisor ...
What to Expect from your PhD Supervisor
Other universities may leave more of the details to the student and supervisor themselves. In either case, the following are some of the basic expectations a PhD supervisor should fulfil: Expertise in your subject area. Regular supervisory meetings. Feedback on work in progress.
PDF The Good Supervision Guide
planning the PhD process and managing the time you spend on supervision. 2. Listen, reflect and share This section provides advice on listening to students, communicating with fellow supervisors, and working effectively within institutional structures and making use of resources available. 3. Think outside the (thesis) box
Roles and responsibilities of supervisors
The privilege to supervise PhD students requires that the supervisor hold Approved Doctoral Dissertation Supervisor (ADDS) status. The intent of ADDS policy is to ensure that faculty have the appropriate knowledge to facilitate excellence in PhD supervision. Knowledge of regulations, policies and procedures
Choosing a PhD Supervisor
The ideal PhD supervisor will be an expert in their academic field, with a wealth of publications, articles, chapters and books. They'll also have a background in organising and presenting at conference events. It's also important that their expertise is up-to-date. You should look for evidence that they're currently active in your ...
What Makes A Good PhD Supervisor?
4. Is a Good Mentor with a Supportive Personality. A good PhD supervisor should be supportive and willing to listen. A PhD project is an exercise in independently producing a substantial body of research work; the primary role of your supervisor should be to provide mentoring to help you achieve this.
What You Should Expect from Your PhD Supervisor
Ideally, your supervisor should have experience in supervising PhD students. Although you could theoretically tackle your PhD alone, there are many areas applicable to all PhDs, such as literature reviews, methodologies, experiments, thesis, and dissertations, that an experienced supervisor can guide you on. 2. Regular Supervisory Meetings
Finding a PhD supervisor
You could find a supervisor through reading academic papers, being on academic twitter, looking at university faculty webpages, talking to students and academics, networking at conferences or via our database of potential supervisors. Key factors to consider when finding a supervisor include their research expertise, supervision style and ...
Tips for new PhD supervisors: how to hold effective meetings
These three objectives can be further supplemented by following these suggestions during supervisory meetings with your PhD students. 1. Prepare in advance for themes or topics requiring discussion. Well before the meeting, encourage the student to email a tentative agenda or proposal to you. Ahead of the meeting, you, as the supervisor, read ...
How to find a PhD supervisor
Once you decide to embark on your PhD journey, one of the most important decisions is choosing a PhD thesis supervisor. Every research student grapples with the question of "How to find a PhD supervisor", more so if they are dealing with physical disabilities or mental health issues. The final choice determines not only the success and ...
First meeting with your dissertation supervisor: What to expect
A better relationship often results in better and timely completion of a dissertation. This finding is backed up by science. This study, for instance, points out that student-supervisor relationships strongly influence the quality, success or failure of completing a PhD (on time).. Good communication with a dissertation supervisor is key to advancing your research, discussing roadblocks, and ...
Successful PhD Supervision: A Two-Way Process
A key factor in a successful PhD programme is the supervision process. This process is a partnership between the supervisor and the PhD student, where both parts must play a positive role. The ...
Your supervisor and advisor
As a new PhD student, you will be assigned a supervisor, who is responsible for guiding your studies. You are, however, expected to have the capacity and enthusiasm to organise your own research and to work on your own initiative. You are expected to submit written work at regular intervals for discussion with your supervisor.
What makes a good PhD supervisor? Top tips for managing the student
The most important piece of advice for someone about to embark on a PhD and looking for a potential supervisor is to actually make an effort to talk to them about your research proposal. Now, for many, your potential supervisor may be someone you already know, such as a lecturer, Master's dissertation supervisor or tutor.
PDF 7-A Supervisor'S Roles for Successful Thesis and Dissertation
Five supportive roles. of a supervisor involving the supervision system are specific technical support, broader intellectual support, administrative support, management, and personal support brings about the output of the study. A supervisor's roles. for successful thesis and dissertation is reported by using the survey on graduate students ...
PDF Best practices for doctoral thesis supervision
Introduction. This document aims to provide thesis supervisors with a series of best practices and recommendations for supervising doctoral students at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. The document is divided into four parts: Definition, Planning, Monitoring and Assessment. They cover the main activities developed by doctoral thesis ...
Effective master's thesis supervision
In the absence of past reviews of effective master's thesis supervision, we compared our summative framework with available literature reviews on a closely related teaching dynamic in higher education - research supervision at the PhD level (Gray & Crosta, 2019; Hassan et al., 2009; Masek & Alias, 2020; McCallin & Nayar, 2012). Overall, we ...
Doctoral advisor
Doctoral advisor. A doctoral advisor (also dissertation director, dissertation advisor; or doctoral supervisor) is a member of a university faculty whose role is to guide graduate students who are candidates for a doctorate, helping them select coursework, as well as shaping, refining and directing the students' choice of sub- discipline in ...
PDF The Role of the Supervisor on Developing PhD Students Skills
neral, it plays a huge role in the work of the dissertation. The supervisor is obliged to write his authoritative review of students' work, where he must provide. nformation on the admission or non-admission to protection. Inadequate supervision can lead to a significant impact on the students involved, affec.
How to Cope with a Problematic PhD Supervisor
Problem 1: A lack of contact. The first common problem is simply a lack of contact. This is especially common if you're doing a PhD remotely and you're entirely dependent on email for communication. Sometimes this isn't entirely the supervisor's fault. Often I speak to students who say they emailed the supervisor three months ago but ...
Full article: Relationship between doctoral supervisors' competencies
The PhD dissertation can be written as either a monograph or a set of articles, but most PhD candidates at the University of Helsinki write an article-based doctoral dissertation (over 70%; Pyhältö et al., Citation 2022), comprising three or four peer-reviewed published articles and a summary. Eligibility criteria for a PhD include having a ...
Getting the most out of thesis supervision meetings
Chances are that postgraduate students meet their thesis supervisor/s only every few weeks, and for a limited amount of time. Therefore, it is extremely important to take full advantage of supervision meetings. The following tips help bachelor's, master's and PhD students to make the most of thesis supervision meetings. Contents What can you expect from
How to Choose the Right PhD Supervisor: Key Factors to Consider
If you want to start your PhD strong, this course is for you. I look at the 12-point success system that I have seen every successful PhD student go through, and there's even a smart supervision sort of spreadsheet where you go through, and you can also also populate this with all of the information from the master sheet.
PhD defence: Liver fat, metabolic dysfunction and effects of dairy
About the PhD thesis It is well established that obesity and metabolic dysfunction are closely linked to the risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases. During the past decades, advances in medical imaging technology have increased awareness and understanding of fat stored in non-adipose tissue, such as the liver, and its link to metabolic ...
Finding the right fit
Supervisor(s) Prof.dr. A.W.M. Evers; dr. H. van Middendorp; dr. H. W. van Hamersvelt; PhD dissertations. Approximately one week after the defence, PhD dissertations by Leiden PhD students are available digitally through the Leiden Repository, that offers free access to these PhD dissertations.Please note that in some cases a dissertation may be under embargo temporarily and access to its full ...

Ten simple rules for choosing a PhD supervisor

Introduction

Rule 1: Align research interests

Rule 2: Seek trusted sources

Rule 3: Expectations, expectations, expectations

Rule 4: It takes two to tango

Rule 5: Workstyle compatibility

Rule 6: Be sure to meet current students

Rule 7: But also try to meet past students

Rule 8: Consider the entire experience

Rule 9: Trust your gut

Rule 10: Wash, rinse, repeat

Conclusions

Roles and responsibilities of supervisors

Knowledge of regulations, policies and procedures

Advice on program of study, research and professional development

Meetings/consultation

Financial assistance

Intellectual property

Publications

Withdrawal of supervisory duties

Accommodation

Guide for Graduate Research and Supervision

On this page

Finding an expert in your field

Who can supervise a PhD student?

Contacting a PhD supervisor

How to choose a PhD supervisor

What are the qualities of a good PhD supervisor?

#1 Substantial research expertise

#2 Clear about their career plans

#3 Previous experience as a PhD supervisor

#4 Personality

#5 Organisational skills

Can I change my PhD supervisor?

PhD supervisor guide

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1. Expertise in Your Subject Area

2. Regular Supervisory Meetings

3. Feedback on Work in Progress

4. Advice and Support

5. Mediation and Representation

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Tips for new PhD supervisors: how to hold effective meetings

Alice Ling Jiang

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Key elements to an effective PhD supervisory meeting

1. Prepare in advance for themes or topics requiring discussion

2. Encourage students to proactively articulate their thoughts

3. Student note-taking and audio recording can be used to highlight key points

Use positive language during supervisory meetings

Set and define challenging goals

Hold regular supervisory meetings to encourage students to think deeply and formulate solutions

It’s time: how to get your department off X

Bringing Out the Best in the PhD Student–Supervisor Relationship

Qualities of a good PhD supervisor

How to choose a good PhD supervisor

Maximizing support and assistance from your supervisor

To conclude

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How to choose a PhD supervisor

Your PhD Thesis. On one page.

What is the role of a supervisor?

What does a supervisor not do?

What you need to do to please your supervisor

Wrapping up

Hello, Doctor…