phd supervision plan

Successful PhD Supervision: A Two-Way Process

• First Online: 01 January 2011

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• Gitte Wichmann-Hansen 3 ,
• Lise Wogensen Bach 3 ,
• Berit Eika 3 &
• Michael J. Mulvany 3  

Part of the book series: Mentoring in Academia and Industry ((MAI,volume 10))

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It is the aim of PhD programmes to ensure that their PhD students become skilled researchers. 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 supervisor must give the necessary guidance, while the student must be able to take the initiative regarding the performance of the programme. Good communication between the supervisor and the student is necessary throughout, but especially at the start the expectations of both parts must be clarified and agreed. This paper seeks to describe some of the main elements of the supervision process. These include finding the right person, matching of expectations, project planning, meeting activities, optimising the research environment, and text production. The paper also describes some ways in which problems can be avoided and also, if they do arise, how these can be solved. In all cases, these questions are addressed both from the supervisor’s and the student’s point of view. The paper underlines that the supervision is a two-way process that continually needs to be nurtured.

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Clarifying expectations. The Australian National University. http://researchsuper.cedam.anu.edu.au/stages-candidature/clarifying-expectations (a very useful link about clarifying and matching expectations)

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Gitte Wichmann-Hansen, Lise Wogensen Bach, Berit Eika & Michael J. Mulvany

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Wichmann-Hansen, G., Bach, L.W., Eika, B., Mulvany, M.J. (2012). Successful PhD Supervision: A Two-Way Process. In: Castanho, M., Güner-Akdogan, G. (eds) The Researching, Teaching, and Learning Triangle. Mentoring in Academia and Industry, vol 10. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0568-9_5

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Supervision is an important part of doctoral education and the completion of the doctoral degree. Each doctoral researcher must have at least one supervisor to assist them with the scientific content of research and to support them in their growth as independent researchers. 

At the onset of the studies the new doctoral researchers construct functional research practices for themselves with the help of the academic community. As a doctoral researcher you are entitled to high-quality expert supervision. However, both you and your supervisor also have responsibilities related to creating and maintaining a good supervision relationship.

On this page

Doctoral researcher's responsibilities in a nutshell.

• Writing a doctoral dissertation is a major project requiring long-term commitment. During your doctoral studies you have the right to receive guidance and supervision, but ultimately you are responsible for completing your degree.
• Maintaining a good supervision relationship requires that agreed deadlines are kept and the supervisor is kept up to date with the progress of your research. Always discuss any issues with the supervisor that may delay the completion of the doctoral dissertation, whether they be personal or setbacks in the implementation of the study. The supervisors must be able to plan their schedules without having to guess at the reasons behind or duration of the delay.
• Be active in asking for feedback and advice , and take the comments you receive into account in your research and studies.
• Adopt responsible conduct of research practices and general ethical rules as well as those specific to your discipline.
• At the onset of your studies, acquaint yourself with the degree requirements of your doctoral programme and make sure that you will complete your studies within the deadline provided. In most doctoral programmes this means that the studies required for the degree must be completed by the time you submit your dissertation for preliminary examination. You can, for example, record your completed studies in Thessa to keep constantly up to date on what you have done and what remains to be done.
• The supervisor plays a major role in ensuring that you will become a part of the community within your discipline as well as the more extensive academic community. However, this also requires that you are active in this regard. Participate in conferences, workshops and other events in your discipline. Find out what kinds of courses and events your doctoral programme and the doctoral school organise and be an active participant in the activities. Being active will help you build important networks for the future as well as receive peer support in your dissertation work.
• Annual registration is every student's responsibility. If you fail to register during the annual registration period, you will lose your study right.
• If thesis committees are in use in your doctoral programme, your responsibility is to arrange a thesis committee meeting at least once a year. If you are writing your dissertation as a part of a research group, you are also responsible for ensuring that you do your part in the research group.

Supervision plan

All doctoral researchers are to complete a supervision plan with their supervisors at the onset of their studies. The supervision plan defines the rights and responsibilities of all parties and determines, for example, the division of responsibilities between the supervisors and the number of meetings. It is also recommended that the supervision plan be regularly updated according to changes in the circumstances. The supervision plans are drawn up in the electronic Thessa system used for the planning and monitoring of doctoral studies. Further information on the use of Thessa is available here.

Coordinating academic

In addition to supervisors, each new doctoral researcher will be assigned a coordinating academic (sometimes also called responsible person, responsible professor or responsible teacher). The coordinating academic is either a professor at your home faculty or a docent employed by the faculty well-versed in the rules and practices related to doctoral education at the University of Helsinki.

It is the coordinating academic’s role to ensure the continuity of the supervision arrangements and assist you, for example, in finding a new supervisor, should your current supervisor, for one reason or another, have to give up the supervision duties. If necessary, the coordinating academic will also assist you in acquainting yourself with the rules of doctoral education and the dissertation examination process. In some doctoral programmes, the coordinating academic approves the studies to be included in your degree. When it's time to start the examination process, the coordinating academic makes the faculty a formal proposal on the pre-examiners and opponent to be named.

The coordinating academic’s duties do not include actual supervision responsibilities, but one of your supervisors may be assigned to be your coordinating academic, if they meet the requirements of the coordinator’s position. In this case, the person assigned will act in a double role as both your supervisor and your coordinating academic.

Division of supervision responsibilities

The doctoral programme, the discipline and the academic community partake comprehensively in the supervision of dissertations. The responsibilities are divided as follows:

• The doctoral researchers are expected to be active with regard to supervision.
• Each doctoral researcher must have at least one supervisor to assist them with the scientific content of research and to support them in their growth as independent researchers. 
• Other possible supervisors will be responsible for the supervision of the dissertation, especially from the perspective of the content.
• The staff and the steering group of the doctoral programme provide support in solving issues related to the supervision relationship when needed.
• Support services: The staff of doctoral student services will support and advise the students and, if necessary, also supervisors in the practical arrangements of the doctoral studies and the public examination of the dissertation.

The supervision can also be arranged so that some of the supervisors represent various disciplines, faculties or universities, or are from expert organisations outside the University. Outside supervisors should follow the practices of the doctoral programme and reach an agreement about the practical matters pertaining to the supervision relationship before they are assigned as supervisors.

The doctoral dissertation is the core of the doctoral studies, but they also include studies developing the student’s competence and expert skills in their own discipline. When considering doctoral education as a whole, the doctoral school, the doctoral programme, the faculty and the academic community all have a role to play. The doctoral school and doctoral programmes organise teaching suited to be included in the doctoral degree and communicate on it. When necessary, the advisors at the doctoral programme and the faculty instruct doctoral students in problems with supervision and other issues related to the students’ rights.

Both the supervisors and doctoral students are expected to acquaint themselves with the guidelines on the responsible conduct of research of the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK .

Other ways to find supervision

Often only one-on-one discussions with the supervisors are considered supervision. However, doctoral researchers should seek a wide variety of supervision for their independent study. Supervision and guidance alternatives include:

• Conferences, congresses, seminars and symposiums: It is a good idea to draw up the presentation in such a way that it is easy to comment on.
• Peer support from other doctoral researchers: Study groups, groups dedicated to commenting on each other’s work and other low-threshold forms of peer support are well suited to independent work.
• Doctoral student’s thesis committee: You will receive feedback from the thesis committee members on the progress of your studies at least once a year.
• Studies included in the degree: Feedback on the studies also determines the course the dissertation work will take.
• Students of other fields or friends: It is good to receive feedback on the intelligibility of the text also from individuals who are not versed in the subject of the research.

Due to the nature of research activities, it is important to set a timetable for the progress and completion of the doctoral dissertation at the very onset of the studies. It is also vital to monitor the student's adherence to the schedule, especially at the early stages of the work.

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Tress Academic

#10: Good PhD-supervision: What you can expect

May 14, 2019 by Tress Academic

Are you wondering what one might typically be able to expect from a good PhD supervisor? Are you uncertain if your own supervision ticks all the boxes? Are you having one issue or another with supervision and you’re not sure if this is normal? We’ve compiled this exposé of ‘Five pillars of good PhD-supervision’ to give you more clarity on what to expect, plus an added bonus self-check ‘How good is my PhD supervision?’

We often find that PhD students are uncertain as to what they might actually be able to expect from a PhD supervisor, and what actions a good supervisor would or wouldn’t take. We also often meet PhD students who are having issues with supervision, but do not know if what they’re experiencing is common, normal or actually an exception. 

There is evidence from a range of studies of how important good supervision is for the PhD experience, process and outcome ( Woolston, C. 2017 , Max Planck PhD-net 2018 ). It is quite clear, that the difficulties in undertaking a PhD study become easier with a great supervisor by your side. That is not to say that individual PhD students- who do not have good supervision won’t make it, but there is a significant difference between just ‘completing ’ or handing in a great dissertation with a fantastic learning experience behind them. Everyone can benefit from the expertise of a superb and experienced supervisor. 

The aim of this blog-post is to give you an idea about these five essential elements, which together constitute the pillars of good PhD-supervision. This can help you to make an informed judgement about your personal situation and eventually encourage you to start improving aspects of your supervision, if you feel it necessary. For those of you who are right at the beginning of a PhD and have not yet chosen a supervisor (or not appointed all your supervisors), our five features can give you some orientation of whom to pick. Ideally, you get a trusted supervisor who will meet all five features. If you’re curious how yours stack up, we’ve included a self-check ‘How good is my PhD-supervision?’ for you to take at the end of this post! 

However, there is no black and white standard of exactly what your supervisor should do, so it can be difficult to evaluate based on a formula of “if this does not happen, then they’re not a good supervisor”. The boundaries are rather grey and a good relationship to your supervisor does not hinge upon the fulfilment of a single aspect. There are many ways  for good supervision to express itself. 

Still, we believe there are a couple of features that are essential and constitute “good supervision” and we want to outline these for you. If your supervisor lacks several of these essential features, it can be tricky to get sufficient support for your PhD in the long run. 

Today in many countries and disciplines, it is common to have a supervisory team, so you are advised by multiple people. The responsibilities are often shared between one main supervisor and 1-3 (and eventually more) co-supervisors. Supervisors may also be called mentors or advisors(just so you know that this is the same thing unless your PhD regulations specify another meaning in your case). 

So here are our five pillars of good PhD supervision:

1. Guidance

Guidance is the no.1 pillar of good supervision. You should receive guidance from your supervisor for all matters – big and small – regarding your PhD study. Your supervisor should give guidance in particular, regarding:

• Your research and individual aspects hereof. What do you research and how?
• The planning of your project. That means guidance on how to design, set-up and carry out a project in the given time span. 
• The outcomes of your PhD in terms of publications, patents or potential applications.
• The educational part of your studies. How you acquire the necessary skills to succeed with your project, and in a broader sense, how to become an independent researcher. This also includes complementary skills courses like the ones from TRESS ACADEMIC .
• The administrative aspects around your PhD , such as: PhD regulations of your university, deadlines and documents that have to be handed in to your graduate programme , composition of a supervisory team, examination board, submission of your dissertation, etc… 

2. Expertise

Good supervision means to have a supervisor who has expertise in the very subject area in which you undertake your PhD project. So they should have excellent knowledge of the discipline, know the latest innovations and cutting-edge questions, can anticipate future trends, and are  recognised scholar in your scientific community. Their research interest is your research interest and vice versa. 

Ideally, your supervisor is also trained pedagogically on how to supervise PhD students. The pedagogic expertise is complementary to the research expertise. You won’t benefit much from a superstar from  your field who shows little interest in transferring their knowledge to you, or does not concern themselves with  how they can help you learn. 

Your supervisor should support you in pursuing your goal of getting the PhD degree. Having a supportive supervisor means you have a person you can trust and who will be on your side. Support should include mental support, but it also means having  a helping hand when needed – to make contact with other scientists, get help with data permits or ethical clearances, gaining you access to data, or financial support. Having a person you know you can rely on when things get tough is a big plus. 

A supportive supervisor maintains a positive attitude towards your project and displays empathy. They should display a keen interest in seeing you succeed, encourage you to broaden your horizons and try out new things. They offer sympathy when something goes wrong, show understanding for your situation, and motivate you when you’re feeling down. 

While guidance emphasises the procedure of successfully steering you through the 3-4 years of a PhD, support is your safety net, when you’re off track or when there’s something to handle that exceeds your power.   

4. Regular interaction

Although ‘having regular interaction with your PhD supervisor’ sounds almost too obvious, we know that many PhD students struggle with this aspect. We often hear comments like ‘my supervisor is difficult to get hold of’, ’my last meeting with my supervisor was months ago’, ‘my supervisor often cancels/postpones meetings’, ‘it takes ages for my supervisor to give me feedback on my work’ and so on. 

The problem with a lack of interaction is that it is key to the other pillars. If you have little interaction, most other features become problematic as well. If you lack interaction, you also lack support and guidance. You can have the ‘internationally-acknowledge-no.1-specialist’ in your field as supervisor, but if they hardly ever meet with you, you won’t get much out of their supervision. 

A good supervisor maintains interaction by way of regular supervisory meetings and spontaneous encounters. Here’s a short characteristic of both types: 

4.1. Supervisory meetings

In these meetings your supervisor and you meet regularly to discuss aspects of your project and PhD progress. This is the time when you get your supervisor’s full attention. You get input, can exchange ideas, you receive constructive feedback, and – as part of the package –  quite a lot of –  criticism as well. Through feedback in regular meetings you learn and grow. Your supervisory meetings are scholarly disputes about your work among the expert and the novice. Supervisory meetings are also necessary to administer and manage your project – setting targets, checking progress, and making sure that whatever you have to hand in to the university or grad school gets there on time and as required. 

4.2. Spontaneous encounters

You should also be able to approach your supervisor spontaneously with a question, a problem, or some great news you want to share and vice versa. Spontaneous interaction allows you to ‘be-in-touch’ and get to know each other in different ways and built a collegial relationship. It can help to clarify an urgent question so that you can proceed with your work without having to wait until the next meeting. 

But ad-hoc encounters are never a substitute for the regular meetings. If you have no meetings, and you receive all your supervision in form of spontaneous chats or advice, there’s something wrong. 

5. Advice on progress

You’ve got a limited time to complete your PhD of 3-4 years normally. Your supervisor should be keen to see you finish in this time-frame. A good supervisor is aware of your time-constraints right from the start, and supports you in getting through the entire process in a timely manner. But, apart from guidance and support, advice on your progress needs specific actions from your supervisor. It is conscious and deliberate checking of the adequateness of your progress in the different phases of your PhD that will make the difference. 

At the beginning of your PhD project, you should get advice on the adequateness of the project itself. Your supervisor should be checking if the project you want to work on is suitable for completion, with the expected outcome, in the given time-frame. A good supervisor will also warn you if that is not the case, and suggest changes to your project. 

After the onset of your PhD project and further into the process, you’ll need a supervisor who is regularly checking-in with you regarding the progress of your work and it’s quality. Towards this goal, many PhD programmes have included ‘TAC’ (Thesis Advisory Committee) meetings as a fixed requirement that has to be completed in order to progress with the PhD, or getting the necessary credits for the accompanying graduate programme. In case you’re not familiar with this: during the ‘TAC’ meetings, which take place 1-4 times a year (frequency depends on your programme), all of your supervisors formally meet with you. You present your recent progress and latest results to  get feedback on the adequateness of your advancement. ‘TAC’ meetings may also be called ‘PAC’ (PhD advisory committee) meetings, or ‘Supervisory Committee’ meetings.

The crucial point here is that you have at least one supervisor (but ideally multiple) who give you candid feedback once in a while so you know if you are on track or not. If you have a main supervisor who regularly checks your progress, and you hold the required number of TAC-meetings, you’re minimising the chance that there will be problems with the acceptance of your PhD thesis and the potential for lengthy demands to make fundamental changes to your dissertation in the end. 

In the final year and months, a good supervisor will advise you on the completion of individual parts of your work and requirements for submitting your thesis and preparations for the defence and final examination. 

How good is your supervision?

Now, are you pondering how your supervision scores on the five mentioned pillars? Are you happy with your supervision? Do you get good guidance? Are you benefitting from your supervisors’ expertise? Does your supervisor meet regularly with you? Do you receive support when you’re feeling down and demotivated? And, is someone giving you frank feedback on your progress? 

If you’re curious, take our self-check ‘ How good is my PhD supervision?’  

So how were your results? Did you score super high and you have an amazing supervisor? Well great! You’ll get all the necessary support along the path to PhD completion. 

Or are you among those with quite modest scores and feeling  unhappy with your supervisory situation? Think about what you might do to improve it. Like in any other relationship you have a great deal of influence! Have you spoken to your supervisor about your requirements and made them explicit? Have you been honest about your struggles or difficulties? Your supervisor only has a chance to respond to your needs if you let them know what they are! Stay tuned to the SMART ACADEMICS blog for more supervision topics that give more detail on how to improve your relationship with your supervisor!

Related resources:

• Expert guide: 8 reasons why supervision can fail. 
• Self-check: ‘How good is my PhD supervision?’  
• Smart Academics Blog #12: PhD graduate school: Your game changer!
• Smart Academics Blog #57: Can’t get your message across to your supervisor?
• Smart Ac ademics Blog #68: PhD Support: Pick the perfect co-supervisor
• Smart Academics Blog #80: Do I have to include my supervisor as a co-author?
• Smart Academics Blog #81: Meet your PhD supervisor online!
• Smart Academics Blog #98: Should I replace my PhD supervisor?
• Smart Academics Blog #114: PhD-journey with obstacles and happy end!
• Woolston, C. 2017: A love-hurt relationship. Nature, vol. 550, pp. 549-552 .
• Max Planck PhD-net 2018: 2017 PhDnet report.  

More information: 

Do you want to complete your PhD successfully? If so, please sign up to receive our free guides.  

© 2019 Tress Academic

#PhDStudent, #PhDEducation, #Supervision, #PhDSatisfaction, #Doctorate 

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Graduate School of Social and Behavioural Sciences

Golden rules in PhD supervision at FSW

Being a supervisor is a demanding job. With these golden rules in mind, you'll do just fine. You can keep reading below, or you can download the PDF in which you find a visual representation on the rules.

Be professional

Be aware that all PhD candidates are different, with their own individual story, culture, competences and needs.

Being a supervisor is a demanding job. There is no template for supervision. Keep an open mind and adapt to the PhD candidate. Co-supervision can be difficult. Ensure that you come to a joint view on the process so that the PhD candidate is not left in a quandary.

Be committed

Be aware that doing a PhD is a lengthy process that requires long-term commitment from both sides.

PhD candidates need to feel that you care about the project’s progress and outcome. Even if the project is meant to develop the candidate’s competences, you are also involved in this journey, and your input on the project, topic or execution is essential. Take responsibility for the project. Be up to date and collect material with which you can give your PhD candidate valuable scientific input.

Be available

Be aware that your regular availability is key to the success of the project.

As part of your responsibility as a supervisor, you are to take initiative in planning regular supervision meetings. You are also expected to, in general, be sufficiently available to the PhD candidate in a way that is mutually beneficial, as well as professional. You should consider that, due to personal circumstances, individual PhD candidates may have different needs/ restrictions, e.g., in terms of meeting hours.

Be consistent and clear

Be aware that the (perception of) research progress should be addressed. It is crucial to be open about your expectations from each other.

Doing research is, by definition, charting unknown territory. Thus, it is unavoidable that the research evolves, including the supervisor’s view of what the next step(s) should be. Be honest about this and show ownership of your changing views. Remember what you say and advise.

Be time aware

Be aware that realistic planning is essential for a PhD candidate.

Obviously, the plan as initially foreseen, will change during the course of the project. Be prepared for a change by thinking about a plan B when the original plan needs revision. Set short term goals and celebrate the successes with the PhD candidate. Make certain that the PhD candidate knows what, in terms of thesis content, is sufficient to graduate.

Be willing to receive feedback

Be aware that for any professional relationship to work, feedback must be a two-way exchange.

You should expect feedback from the PhD candidate just as the latter expects it from you. Be open to the feedback you receive and take it seriously. If no feedback is given, ask for it. You are encouraged to do so a couple of times a year, but in any case, during the yearly progress interview with the PhD candidate. Remember that your reaction on the feedback will have an impact on the openness of your discussions with the PhD candidate.

Be willing to give feedback

Be aware that a PhD candidate needs regular feedback that must be professional, objective, constructive, and balanced.

Feedback may have a large (emotional) impact on the PhD candidate, thus you should be cautious in choosing where and when to give feedback, especially when the feedback is person-oriented and would not benefit others. You should be aware of the cultural/ethnic/gender/etc. variation in the research group and should employ language that is inclusive and not hurtful to people with different backgrounds and traditions. Positive feedback is as important as critical comments.

Be aware of stressors

Be aware that as a supervisor you are a role model for the PhD candidate, and should set a good example in terms of stress management.

Be aware that your (potentially unhealthy) work attitudes are easily seen as a professional standard. Stimulate the PhD candidates to take breaks. Be aware that the PhD candidate’s personal life story can affect their work.

Be future oriented

Be aware that a PhD student might need stimulation to think about a career after graduation.

Many PhD candidates do not think much about their next career step before their last year, nor do they know much about what comes after the PhD, especially outside academia. Having no prospects for future career development triggers and increases stress. Thus, it is very important to timely discuss this point with your PhD candidate. Make your professional network available to your PhD candidates.

PhD Programme / ILLC

Training and Supervision Plan - instructions

The Training and Supervision Plan is to be completed by the main supervisor of a PhD candidate within 3 months after the start of the PhD track. The plan must be agreed upon with the PhD candidate, and it must be approved by the director of the ILLC PhD Programme, the director of the ILLC and the dean of the faculty where the candidate is enrolled.

The Training and Supervision Plan acts as a guideline for both the supervision team and the PhD candidate and should be adjusted every year. Once this form is signed by you and at least your main supervisor, it should be submitted as a pdf to the ILLC PhD mailbox. The ILLC PhD team will upload it to your tracking page.

The form itself can be found on the personal tracking pages of the candidate.

personal tracking pages

What is expected for each section

Supervision.

Who are involved in the supervision of the PhD project? Be aware that a second supervisor and a promotor are mandatory right from the start of the project. What agreements are made regarding supervision?

At least the following points should be addressed:

• frequency of meetings
• role of different supervisors and division of responsibilites between them
• means by which the PhD candidate will report progress on research
• means by which the supervisors will provide feedback
• working title of the research topic
• brief description of the research project
• outline of the research plan for the entire duration of the project, per year
• description of what the 9-month report should comprise of and a planning towards the assessment interview at 12 months
• Research data management: is this applicable for your kind of research. If yes, make sure to read ILLC's RDM protocol, set up a plan and submit your RDM plan on the ILLC website.

ILLC's RDM protocol

The research plan should provide a timeline for the main research tasks in each year, including the expected output/results and the deadlines. If publications are part of the output, please indicate so.

• Information and regulation on training

The ILLC PhD programme advises that a number of scientific courses related to the subject area of the PhD candidate are selected, for example within the UvA Master's programmes (Master of Logic, Master in AI, Master in Cognitive Science, etc). Online courses can also be considered. In addition, the ILLC strongly encourages all PhD candidates to enrol in the MoL course "Logic, Language and Computation" (LoLaCo) in the first year of their PhD track, since this is an excellent way to get an overview of the different research topics within the institute.

Please include in this section:

• All scientific courses, time period and course title
• Any non-scientific courses that the PhD candidate will follow during the PhD track, time period and course title (no need to mention the transferable skills courses that are part of the obligatory ILLC PhD training programme)
• Summer schools, conferences and other training events the PhD candidate aims to attend and mention the time period
• Planned research visits: host institution, time period, and purpose of the visit. Research visits typically take place in the 2nd or 3rd year of a PhD track
• Possible planned internships: host institution, time period, and purpose of the visit, paid or unpaid, part of PhD project or not. Internships should only take place in the 2nd or 3rd year of a PhD track.
• Please include the national research school you are or will be joining.
• Information and regulation on teaching

Planned teaching tasks that will allow the PhD candidate to obtain teaching experience. Include the time period and if possible the course title.

Be aware that the actual teaching tasks are distributed by the ILLC PhD Council. What is included here can only be an indication.

Organisation

Organisational or administrative tasks which the PhD candidate will contribute to, such as seminar or workshop organisation, membership in the PhD Council, etc.

Career prospects

The plans and prospects for the future career of the PhD candidate. If appropriate, outline a plan of action - for example, regarding postdoc projects proposals or job applications.

Participation in activities organised within the University of Amsterdam (eg, career lunches and workshop, Life after ILLC, Pro-Actief, career markets).

• What is expected for the 9-month report? Include a short planning.
• How will be dealt with feedback?

Other remarks

Any other remarks on issues not covered above or comments on special circumstances.

How to prepare for PhD supervision meetings

Oct 14, 2020

Have you checked out the rest of  The PhD Knowledge Base ? It’s home to hundreds more free resources and guides, written especially for PhD students. 

Author: Dennis Riviera

Supervision and doctoral committee meetings are a necessary part of your PhD journey. They are a chance for your supervisors to evaluate the adequacy of your research project and monitor the progress of your work.

Or at least that is what we are usually told, right?

These meetings, however, are more than a mere report of your progress. They are the chance that all PhD students have to discuss their research plan, consider its strengths and weaknesses, and get advice from experienced academics in their field.

In essence, these meetings are essential to help you improve and carry out your studies.

To make the most of them, there are a few important things to remember. In this post, I’ll share them with you.

Hello, Doctor…

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You are responsible for organising the meeting

Make sure you organise your doctoral meeting well in advance and plan your agenda with time-realistic activities. A good way to do this is by rehearsing what you are going to present and then timing yourself.

Additionally, ask yourself if the information you are presenting is key to helping your mentors understand your research project, or if it is unessential. Remember that you want your committee meeting to give you advice, and you can best achieve this by focusing on specific problems or questions. Spending time on irrelevant information might give your supervisors and mentors the impression that their time is not being used effectively.

What should be on your agenda?

This depends on whether you are preparing your first meeting or subsequent ones. If this is your first meeting, it is always wise to allocate some time for brief introductions, especially if you have not yet had the chance to get to know the members of your doctoral committee.

Subsequent meetings might include a discussion on feedback that you received in previous meetings and how it has (or hasn’t) been helpful. In addition, you could include in your meeting an overview and standpoint of your research project, the training courses that you are taking or have taken, and the local and international conferences that you have participated in (or plan to).

Ask your main supervisor for the things to include or remove from the agenda and allocate some time for spontaneous discussion. Keep in mind that, depending on your university, the minutes of your meeting might need to be signed and sent to the graduate student office.

Help your supervisors and mentors prepare

Once you have organised your agenda and prepared what you would like to present, send your supervisors and mentors the agenda, together with a written summary of the things you have achieved.

The summary could include a short description of your research project, a timetable of all ongoing activities, and other documents that help them gain an overview of your progress. Consider the information that your mentors and supervisors need to know so that are best able to help you. For example, you could describe the type of data you have collected or expect to collect (in case they are not familiar with it), and the analyses that you plan to perform.

Lastly, do not forget to keep a professional tone in all communications.

Your PhD thesis. All on one page.

Use our free PhD structure template to quickly visualise every element of your thesis. 

The final thing on your agenda

Finally, remember to put yourself on your agenda. It is your PhD. You are the one who will be immersed in the literature, designing studies, collecting and analysing data, drawing conclusions, and writing academic papers. The doctoral committee is there to help you, to turn your weaknesses into strengths, and to share with you the best of their knowledge.

Listen intently to everything that your mentors and supervisors tell you, and speak forcefully when you update them on your progress. Be aware that the questions they ask are there to guide you and improve your research. Similarly, everything you say not only updates the committee, it also lets them know about who you are and the type of researcher you are becoming.

Doctoral committee meetings should not add pressure to an already hectic PhD journey. Use these meetings wisely to move forward with your studies.

Dennis A. Rivera obtained a Master of Education at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and is now a doctoral student at UCLouvain. The focus of his research is on improving the pedagogical design of MOOC forums to promote task-oriented socio-cognitive interactions.

Interested in group workshops, cohort-courses and a free PhD learning & support community? 

The team behind The PhD Proofreaders have launched The PhD People, a free learning and community platform for PhD students. Connect, share and learn with other students, and boost your skills with cohort-based workshops and courses.

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The Field Experience Manual outlines policies and procedures for field experience in the PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision program.

• PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision Field Experience Manual

You are required to read the PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision Field Experience Manual in detail and adhere to the policies included within. You must confirm that you have read and understand all the policies in this manual when you apply for field experience. Failure to comply with the policies within this manual is considered a violation of Walden’s Code of Conduct and Professional Competence Policy and may result in formal sanctions, including, but not limited to, award of a failing course grade, Code of Conduct inquiry, and dismissal from the university. See the Code of Conduct in the Student Handbook for details and contact the SOC-OFE with questions.

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Please download and review the Field Experience Student Checklist to ensure that you know what you need to do to prepare for practicum and internship.

• PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision Field Experience Checklist (PDF)

Determine when you will enroll in field experience and know your application deadlines!

Field experience takes place at the end of your program, first practicum (one quarter) and then internship (two quarters). You should refer to your Program of Study to determine the specific timing of your field experience, and contact your Student Success Advisor for additional assistance.

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These Professional Preparation resources may assist you in your search for a field site. While they are not a required part of your application, it is recommended you review the resources as they may help you in your future career search as well.

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Ph.D. in Counselor Education & Supervision

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Online Program Requirements

The School of Behavioral Sciences offers an  online  Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision . This is an online program with residential  intensive courses . Each will require you to come to campus for a week of instruction.

Additionally, you will complete a three-credit-hour practicum and a nine-credit-hour internship. Both may be completed wherever you are. Your proposal for your dissertation may also be completed elsewhere, however, you will need to come to Liberty to defend your dissertation.

• Go to the online  Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision  degree page
• Get more information about this program

Degree Completion Plan

• Counselor Education & Supervision (Ph.D.) DCP

The Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision is CACREP accredited. The  Council for Accreditation of Counseling Related and Educational Programs (CACREP)  is an independent accreditation agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The vision of CACREP is to provide leadership and to promote excellence in professional preparation through the accreditation of counseling and related educational programs. CACREP is committed to the development of standards and procedures that reflect the needs of a dynamic, diverse, and complex society.

Counselor Education & Supervision Handbook

• Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision Handbook (pdf)

The policies and procedures found in this 2023-2024 Ph.D. in Counselor Education & Supervision (CES) Handbook supersede all policies and procedures found in previous Ph.D. Counseling Handbooks and apply to all present Ph.D. students on all degree completion plans.

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