Working with a Supervisor
If you're working on a minor thesis, ideally you have been assigned a supervisor. The supervisory relationship can be a very rich learning experience, but it is important for both student and supervisor to clarify expectations of each other from the beginning and set some basic ground rules to make it work well. An important thing to understand about having a supervisor is that he/she is there to support and guide you, but not to tell you what to do or impose his/her ideas or methodologies upon you. You are in fact an independent scholar and should strive to develop a sense of yourself as such.
Choosing a supervisor
Typically in a coursework postgraduate degree a supervisor will have been assigned to you. He/she will have been selected carefully based upon his/her research and methodological background, and when possible, his/her interest in your project. If you haven't been assigned a supervisor, you'll need to choose one yourself. To do so, follow a few basic steps:
- Check out the staff profiles on the department website and choose staff with research interests and background closest to your project.
- Approach a number of staff to discuss your research proposal to see who is most suitable in terms of experience and personality.
- Ask other students for their opinions of the staff you are considering, but maintain the independence of your own informed opinion as well.
Key responsibilities
Here are some of your key responsibilities in your supervisory relationship:
- Read the course guide and faculty handbook to familiarise yourself with your faculty's expectations, and your rights and responsibilities.
- Know the Code of Conduct for Research
- Familiarise yourself with the University's policy on Intellectual Property.
- At your first supervision meeting, set up a regular schedule of consultations that suits you both and is of an appropriate frequency for your project and discipline (this may vary greatly between faculties).
- Keep records/notes of your meetings.
- Arrive at supervision meetings with a plan - questions, discussion points, concerns or ideas - and if you want your supervisor to read a piece of your writing, submit it in advance in order to have a proper discussion during the meeting.
- Inform your supervisor of any changes of direction in your research.
These are the key responsibilities of your supervisor:
- To provide regular and thorough feedback on aspects of your work.
- To be available for regular consultations.
- To suggest readings.
- To raise questions and concerns about your topic that you may not have considered.
- To suggest alternative strategies.
Your supervisor is not expected to:
- impose ideas on you;
- motivate you to complete the project;
- edit your work or write any of it; nor
- read everything you write.
If problems arise
As discussed in the section on grievances, there are a number of support mechanisms for students who feel they've been unfairly disadvantaged by the actions or decisions of a staff member. The first step is ideally to speak directly with your supervisor about the problem to try to solve it locally. Failing that, you may need to speak to your postgraduate coordinator or head of department. And of course there is always the Advocacy Officer and Coursework Officer at UMPA.
