Departmental Guidelines for
Postgraduate Student Supervision

Traditionally, the terms of the critical relationship between the graduate student and her/his supervisor have been left almost entirely for them to work out. While this approach has often worked quite well, and has produced some good quality research work, sometimes it has proved unsatisfactory. In particular, some students have felt uncertain about the extent of supervision they are entitled to expect and are diffident in approaching their supervisors for help, while supervisors have sometimes found it difficult to make contact with their students or receive work from them in a timely manner. These problems can be particularly severe when part-time students and/or supervisors are involved. The guidelines set out below are designed to minimize these problems by providing a structure for supervision in which the rights and responsibilities of both student and supervisor are set out clearly.

1. Regular Meetings:

It is the supervisor's responsibility to arrange regular meetings with each student on an individual basis to provide guidance and feedback on the progress of the student's research project. It is the student's responsibility to attend such sessions and to be prepared to discuss the progress of their research. The frequency of such meetings should be agreed by negotiation between student and supervisor, and will vary according to the needs of the student, stage of research/writing reached, etc but in any case should not be less than three times per semester.

2. Maintaining Contact:

In addition to regular meetings, the supervisor has a responsibility to inform the student how s/he can be contacted in the event that any problem should arise. By the same token, the student has a responsibility to inform the supervisor and/or Department how they can be contacted to discuss any matters related to their programme. This is particularly important in the case of part-time or overseas students.

3. Deadlines for Written Work, Seminar Presentations, Final Submission:

It is the student's responsibility to meet all deadlines for submission of work which have been agreed with the supervisor or which are prescribed in University regulations. Any requests for extensions of deadlines should be made in good time and should be properly supported. It is the supervisor's responsibility to ensure that the student has adequate guidance for submission of work in time to meet deadlines, and to ensure that any written work received is marked and returned in a timely manner. It is also the supervisor's responsibility to ensure that the student receives full and constructive feedback on the quality of work submitted.

4. Evaluation of Supervision:

It is important that if problems arise, they are identified and dealt with at an early stage. It is the right of both the student and the supervisor to request a meeting with the Head of Department (or the Dean where the Head is directly involved) for advice or help if either finds the relationship unsatisfactory.

The common-sense guidelines set out above do not detail such matters as the nature of the supervisor's support - biographical, logistical, grammatical, etc. - since it is not possible to legislate in these matters. In addition, all parties need to recognise that in any working relationship there will sometimes be differences and personality clashes. It is hoped, however, that by ensuring that the supervision relationship is conducted in a professional and transparent way these clashes will be minimized.