how to find a thesis supervisor

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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
• Reader Comments

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 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009330.g002

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/

Choosing the right PhD supervisor for you

Choosing the right phd supervisor.

This is advice we’ve collected for students who have decided that a PhD is the right path for them, are aiming to do impactful research and seeking an academic supervisor.

This post does not cover whether or not you should be doing a PhD. If you’re unsure whether to pursue a PhD, you might find useful advice in our post on testing your fit for a research career instead. You could also apply for our coaching for more personalised advice.

• The supervisor-supervisee relationship will probably have a big impact on your experience of getting a PhD, your development, and your prospects after your PhD. Your supervisor will likely be your primary mentor for several years, so it’s worth investing time in finding a good match.
• 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 academic reputation. Also consider the  departmental/lab community you would be joining.

We’re sharing this advice because:

• We want to support impact-oriented students, who have decided a PhD is the right path for them, to make good decisions when finding a supervisor.

In the process of writing this advice we received feedback from a number of people based on their PhD experiences; thanks to Caspar Oesterheld, Matt Coleman, Vivian Belenky, Bill Wildi, Linda Linsefors, Adrià Garriga-Alonso and Jaime Sevilla for their valuable feedback and ideas. Contributors to this post didn’t necessarily review or agree with all points made, and all errors remain our own.

How important is finding the right PhD supervisor?

Your supervisor will likely be your main point of contact for academic support during your PhD. The quality of your relationship and your supervisor’s availability, style of supervision and alignment with your goals will probably make a big difference to your experience – in terms of your wellbeing, whether you’re supported to do the research you want, and even whether you complete your PhD.

Your supervisor’s research skills will likely also affect your own development as a researcher. This paper ( see the summary here ) finds that supervisors who produce prize-winning academic research seem to increase the chance their supervisees go on to do the same; ‘students who studied under a future prizewinner were almost six times more likely to become superstars in their field than equally talented students of non-prizewinners.’

When should you search for a supervisor?

Universities often expect that students will identify and connect with a specific supervisor before formally applying for a PhD. Even if you’re applying to a programme that involves spending a year or two doing classes before choosing a research focus and supervisor, it’s still useful to reach out to check if the supervisor(s) on the programme seem like a good fit for you. Anecdotally, your application is also more likely to be accepted if a supervisor is already excited about working with you. 

Before you reach out, check there’s no rule against reaching out written on the supervisor’s profile or programme webpage, as some universities and programmes have a rule against students contacting supervisors before formally applying.

There are many guides online if you want to see the steps typically involved in finding a PhD programme in different countries, for example this and this overview for the UK, this guide for the USA or this series about PhD study in various countries.

Factors to consider when searching for a supervisor

In addition to considerations like location and funding availability, here are some key factors that might be useful to gather information on during the process of finding a supervisor.

The supervisor’s research expertise

Working with a supervisor and research group with particularly strong research skills and a strong track record is very helpful if you want to stay in research long term (if you’re pursuing a PhD primarily for credentials, it is likely not quite such an important factor). Looking at the h -index of supervisors you’re considering, reading research papers yourself and considering the opinions of other academics are some ways of getting a general sense of this. 

In terms of specific expertise, while it’s certainly helpful if your supervisor or research group has a good understanding of the topic or concept you want to study, strong expertise in a methodology you want to master may be more important to your development as a researcher, as long as they are receptive to your topic. Having a secondary supervisor with strong expertise in the specific topic or concept you want to study, as well as a primary supervisor with expertise in the methodology you want to use, can be a good way to balance this, although programmes and supervisors will have different policies on this.

Researchers and research teams will also have their own ideologies that you will likely need to adopt to some extent in your own research, so look at some of their research and check if the approach resonates with you when deciding if they would be a good fit.

The supervisor’s and university’s academic reputation

Particularly if you want to pursue an academic career, a supervisor’s academic reputation and research success is also worth considering because the reputation of your supervisor will affect how a letter of recommendation from them is received if you apply for academic or postdoc positions after your PhD. For careers outside of academia, such as policy and public-facing roles, having attended a top university is also particularly likely to be useful.

Style of supervision

Consider what style of supervision would work well for you – how independently or intensively do you want to work, for example? When talking to a potential supervisor or students who have worked with them, you might want to ask about the supervisor’s interpersonal style, what their expectations are of students, and how ‘hands on’ or ‘hands off’ they are ( this post goes into more detail about the different dimensions you could consider regarding the latter point).

You can make some guesses about these factors before meeting potential supervisors or students. For example, if an academic is earlier in their career, their progression will depend on supervising students , so there’s generally a greater incentive for them to be more engaged as a supervisor and to graduate students quickly. More established academics often have wider research interests and allow supervisees more autonomy and flexibility.

As well as the style of support that will suit you in the near-term, consider what will help you achieve your long-term goals. Particularly if you may want a career in research, it’s useful to have a supervisor who will encourage you to publish, so you could check whether they have a track record of publishing with students and whether the papers are published in respected journals. If you’re largely doing a PhD because the credentials will further your career, you may generally want to seek out less time-intensive and challenging PhD experience.

Your impression of the departmental or laboratory community

The research community you join will likely also affect your wellbeing and development as a researcher. If you’re in a collaborative setting, postdocs and more experienced PhDs may play a key role in providing informal supervision, which might be particularly relevant if you want to work with a supervisor who has limited availability.

If you’re seriously considering a PhD programme, try to talk to students and postdocs you’d be working with to get a sense of the culture you’d be joining. You could also look at alumni’s careers, the research of current students and the ranking of the university to try to gauge how the environment would help you develop as a researcher. If you want to learn more about university rankings and what aspects of them are relevant to PhD students, check out this article from findaphd and see the Times world university rankings and QS World University Rankings .

Finding potential supervisors

Where to look.

If you’re looking for a potential supervisor, you may find it helpful to:

• apply to access our database of potential supervisors working in the research directions we recommend .
• network at conferences and lectures.
• look through the department faculty webpages of universities that meet your location preferences and/or that are the top universities for your research area.
• ask PhD students and academics working in your preferred research direction for recommendations. Professors at your university may be willing to leverage their own network to help you, and academics involved in EA may also be willing to help.
• read the abstracts of research articles, papers, and recently submitted dissertations relevant to your interests and note down the authors whose work you particularly like. This step can also be useful to increase the chance of a successful application later.
• follow academics doing relevant research on ‘academic twitter’ (i.e. the informal network of academics who use twitter to discuss research, opportunities and experiences). This can be useful for seeing recent papers and discussions, learning about open PhD positions, and getting some insight into potential supervisors.
• do a database search to find researchers who have produced highly cited and relevant publications. Options include Web of Science , Scopus , Dimensions , Semantic Scholar and Research Rabbit . You could also use Elicit , an AI research assistant. 

When you find a potential supervisor you’re interested in, check whether they are accepting students during the upcoming application cycle before investing more effort. Consider keeping a spreadsheet of the programmes and supervisors you’re interested in, with relevant factors (e.g. location, research fit and funding) to help you narrow options down. When you start reaching out to supervisors, this will also help you follow up 1-2 weeks later if you have a record of who you contacted, as well as keeping track of application deadlines. (If you do this, we’d love to see the results! Please send them to us here ).

Contacting potential supervisors

Writing an initial email.

Below are some tips for reaching out to potential supervisors.

Do your research

Before you contact supervisors, check whether their university profile has relevant information about their availability or details about whether and how they want to be contacted. Assistant and associate professors are particularly likely to be seeking students. If their profile doesn’t say they are seeking students, check this with them briefly before sending a longer email.

Academics get a lot of emails, so make your email easy to engage with.

• Use a subject line that makes it clear why you’re reaching out (e.g. ‘initial enquiry about PhD opportunities for Sept 2021’)
• Keep it short -– a couple of paragraphs is usually enough.

Briefly but clearly describe your goals

Explain the research question you want to answer, why you believe it’s important, and, if possible, how your previous research connects to it and how it would fit into the broader picture of your goals. You’ll stand out more if you’re sincerely trying to answer an open research question in your field. However, if there’s some flexibility in your interests then mention this too – it might increase the likelihood the supervisor will be open to working with you.

Be informative

You should generally also include:

• your qualifications.
• that you’re emailing regarding a specific opportunity if this is the case.
• your funding status, for example if you’ve already secured external funding or are planning to apply for funding.

Build connection

• Check the supervisor’s title (e.g. Professor/Dr) and use it in the first email (after that it’s fine to follow their lead).
• Say if you were referred by a current/former student, saw them give a talk or have read their research.
• Explain why you are interested in working with them (and ideally how their recent research connects to your topic).
• Offer to schedule a call if the supervisor wants to discuss things further (or ask if they’re open to a call if you want to meet with them). Use a tool such as Calendly to make scheduling easier.

If you don’t hear back

We suggest sending a check-in email 1-2 weeks later, and then it’s best to move on. Not hearing back doesn’t mean you got anything wrong – academics usually get more emails than they can keep on top of.

Meeting potential supervisors

If you arrange a meeting with a potential supervisor, you could ask them if they want to see your research proposal (if relevant) prior to the meeting (this will also give you the chance to ask for feedback during the meeting).

Potentially useful topics to discuss include:

• how much contact they have with students they supervise.
• how much collaboration occurs between their supervisees.
• what they expect from the students they supervise (e.g. is there a certain number of papers students need to publish? What work hours do they expect?).
• the extent to which they let students choose topics themselves.
• what characteristics they consider important in supervisees.
• your knowledge of your own working style and goals, and whether they feel you would be a good fit for each other.
• what topics they would be most excited to have a PhD working on, to give you the opportunity to better tailor your formal application to these interests if they overlap with yours.
• whether they have suggestions of things you should do to supplement your PhD or whether there are professional development opportunities they encourage.
• whether they have feedback on your proposal, if they saw this before meeting.
• whether having a secondary/external supervisor is something they would potentially be supportive of, if secondary supervision is something you think you will need.
• if there might be funding available from them, or whether you will need to seek external funding (and any sources they recommend).
• whether they’re intending to stay at the university for several years (e.g. whether they have a sabbatical planned) and what would happen if they moved institutions during your PhD.
• whether they can connect you with some of their current PhD students.
• whether there is a project you could work on with them as a way of testing fit. This can provide particularly strong evidence of your ability, as it enables the supervisor to observe your work directly, and it gives you additional opportunities to learn more about whether the supervisor and broader environment would be a good fit for you.

Experiences of other students

If you’re seriously considering a particular supervisor/lab, we suggest contacting some current or former students to ask them about their experiences (you might find students’ names on the lab’s, department’s or supervisor’s webpage). Although meeting with supervisors can be very useful, we suggest giving more weight to students’ experiences of what it is like to be a researcher in the lab or to be supervised by the academic you are considering.

Potentially useful topics include:

• the supervisor’s interpersonal style.
• how available the supervisor is and what kind of support they offer.
• the work culture (e.g. how collaborative it is).
• how much autonomy students have in deciding what to work on.
• expectations of students, for example regarding work hours.

Finding a secondary supervisor

Much of the advice above will be applicable to a search for either a primary or secondary supervisor. If you find a researcher who seems like a great fit as your supervisor but can’t be a primary supervisor, take note – they may be willing to be a secondary supervisor if you need one, or collaborate with you at some stage of your PhD.

If you feel support from a secondary supervisor is necessary, discuss this with your primary supervisor first, to check they are supportive in principle.

Finding a secondary supervisor can be particularly helpful if:

• there’s some aspect of your topic or approach with which your supervisor or research group isn’t very familiar or aligned (which is more likely if you’re working on a topic that is relatively neglected).
• you intend to work on an interdisciplinary topic and having a secondary supervisor from a different disciplinary background would be useful.

Some suggestions for finding secondary supervision or mentorship are:

• applying for our coaching , so we can connect you with relevant researchers.
• reaching out to academics in our list of potential supervisors .

Finding further advice

We think it’s valuable to seek out additional advice tailored to your situation (e.g. that’s specific to your location, discipline and the research direction you’re interested in).

Here are a few ways to get further advice:

• Apply to our coaching and we’ll help you reflect on your plans and connect you with experienced researchers who can advise you further.
• Apply to our online community of students. We can also introduce you to students we think you’re particularly likely to find helpful to talk to.
• Email people who are where you would like to be in a few years in their careers, and ask if they are willing to talk to you. We think most people don’t reach out to others enough for this kind of advice, but many people are happy to share their experiences. Check out this Clearer Thinking podcast episode for a brief discussion of how to increase the value of these conversations.

Good luck with your search! 

We’d like to hear more about people’s experiences and tips for finding and working with supervisors (and academics’ experiences of supervising students!). If you want to suggest changes or additions to this advice, please reach out to us . Thanks!

Read next: Tips for writing a successful PhD application →

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Thesis supervision

Find a thesis supervisor.

Thesis supervisors must be authorized by their Faculty to supervise theses.

Finding a thesis supervisor arrow_drop_down

Before thinking about a supervisor, students should make sure they are committing to the area of study that most interests them. They should ask themselves whether they are enthusiastic enough about a topic area to sustain this enthusiasm over the period of time it will take to prepare the thesis. Speaking to students and professors who do research in the proposed area of study will help clarify the students’ thoughts. The students should make sure they are well-informed before they approach any potential supervisors.

A professor is not obligated to take on a student if he or she feels the match-up would not be a good one, or if the professor lacks lab space, time or funding.

A student may have more than one supervisor. When mention is made of the thesis supervisor, it is implicit that there may be a co-supervisor.

• Information to collect before contacting a potential supervisor
• Questions to ask after the meeting with the potential supervisor
• Professors, by research interest

Appointment of a thesis supervisor arrow_drop_down

From the uoZone Application tab, click Service Requests to create a service request and appoint a thesis supervisor.

Meetings between the supervisor and the student arrow_drop_down

Preliminary meetings.

Before a student begins researching and writing a thesis, the supervisor and the student should have a detailed discussion of expectations and requirements. Below are examples of general and specific issues to be discussed during the preliminary meetings.

As soon as possible, the student should obtain ethics approvals or any other required approvals to conduct research. The student should discuss with the thesis supervisor and visit the  Office of Research Ethics and Integrity  Website.

• General and specific topics to be discussed

Regular meetings

The student and the supervisor should plan to meet regularly whether or not the student has any finished work to show to the supervisor.

If it is a major meeting, the student should draw up and deliver to the supervisor an agenda beforehand. If the meeting is to discuss text that has already been written, the student must send the draft well in advance of the meeting. 

After the meeting, and based on this agenda, the student prepares a brief report on what was discussed and decided, and shares this report with the supervisor.

It is important to be productive at these major meetings, but it is also crucial to just keep in touch.

Components of a typical agenda

• a summary of the purpose of the meeting
• a review of what was discussed at the previous meeting and what has been accomplished to date
• a discussion and clarification of the current topics, ideas and issues
• next steps as a result of this discussion
• agree with a date for the next meeting

Feedback and revision arrow_drop_down

All along during the thesis preparation process, a student will receive feedback and should expect to do revisions. Revising a thesis based on feedback from the thesis supervisor, advisory committee (if applicable) and from the jury is an important part of the thesis preparation process.

Part of the advancement of knowledge that preparing a thesis fosters involves engaging in dialogue and learning from these discussions, learning how to communicate clearly, and responding appropriately to suggestions for improvement

Already a student?

Types of supervision, co-supervision arrow_drop_down.

A joint management with a professor in another discipline may be considered if the research project of a student is favoured.

Cotutelle arrow_drop_down

A doctoral student may prepare a thesis under a cotutelle agreement. You find below additional information to help familiarize yourself with the roles played by each of the stakeholders.  

Learn more about Cotutelle.

Thesis advisory committee arrow_drop_down

In many academic units, a thesis advisory committee, also referred to as thesis committee, is assembled as soon as a student finds a thesis supervisor. Please note that not all academic units have thesis committees, the students must check on the protocol in their own academic unit.

Constitution of the thesis committee

How the thesis committee is formed varies from academic unit to academic unit. The thesis supervisor plays the biggest role by approaching colleagues who have the expertise and inviting them to join the committee.

A thesis committee is made up of:

• the student
• the thesis supervisor, and
• usually at least two other professors.

The thesis supervisor is usually the chair of the thesis committee.

Role of the thesis committee

While the roles and responsibilities of thesis committees may vary from one academic unit to another, members of the committee should provide guidance to the student on thesis planning, research and writing; be available to discuss ideas or for consultation on any other matter related to the thesis; and, if this is the practice within the discipline, evaluate the thesis after submission.

Thesis committees meet according to a schedule set either by the academic unit or by the committee itself. The student is usually responsible for initiating the meetings. When concerns about the progress of the research arise, the supervisor and/or academic unit may require meetings at more frequent intervals.

Useful information

Contracts arrow_drop_down.

Some supervisors and students have contracts or agreements to formalize the expectations and delineate the responsibilities in the preparation of a thesis.

Although these agreements are not considered official documents with force of law, they set out the expectations of the student and supervisor in relation to many of the issues covered in this Website section and help avoid conflict and misunderstandings.

A student should not make assumptions about who will do what in the research and who gets credit for any new discoveries or inventions. A supervisor should not assume the supervised student is aware of any assumptions the supervisor has or any authorship or credit protocols that may exist in the area of research.

Professors who use contracts do so because they have found such agreements are a good tool for helping students achieve their goals and finish their theses. However, while a written agreement can be very useful, one of the keys to a successful supervisor–student relationship is good communication and mutual trust. Both sides need to foster and build on that. 

Absences arrow_drop_down

Sometimes a potential supervisor is approached by a student looking for a thesis supervisor and both the student and professor agree it would be a good match, but the professor is going on an academic leave partway through the period in which the student will be preparing this thesis. In the event of a scheduled absence from the University for more than one month, the thesis supervisor must make the necessary arrangements with his students and the academic unit concerned to ensure that students continue to be accompanied during the supervisor's absence.

A thesis supervisor who is going to be away should let the student know well in advance. The same goes for the student. The student should discuss this with the thesis supervisor well ahead of time. In case of illness, the student should let the supervisor know the expected timeline for recovery.

If the student is planning to suspend work on the thesis for a term or more, for whatever reason, the student needs to apply for and receive approval for a leave of absence. Please note that absence has an impact on eligibility for funding.

Form - Request for leave of absence (PDF)

Professionalism arrow_drop_down

As a student, the development of professional skills—for example, communicating appropriately in writing and in person, responding promptly to e-mails, coming prepared to meetings, following up after meetings, respecting deadlines, tracking changes to the text so that it is easy for the supervisor to review each draft after revisions—is important in the preparation of the thesis. Some faculties offer courses in professional skills.

If the student feels aspects of the supervisor’s behavior are unprofessional, he or she should consult the graduate program director or the chair of the academic unit.

Changing supervisors arrow_drop_down

As for changing supervisors partway through a thesis, this is not recommended. Keep in mind that as long as the thesis is logical and the conclusions drawn from the data are valid, the student and the supervisor do not need to be in total agreement on methodology, analysis or interpretation.

The thesis committee may be able to fill in whatever gaps the student perceives in the relationship with the supervisor. If the research goes off in an unexpected direction, one that is not very familiar to the thesis supervisor, the student could see what opportunities are available and what guidelines the academic unit has for this situation. The student could consider joint supervision as an alternative to finding a new supervisor.

If the student has explored all other options and still wish to change supervisors, he or she should talk to the graduate program director. If the supervisor happens to be the graduate program director, the student should talk to the director of the academic unit. If the student remains uncertain or dissatisfied, he or she should talk to the vice-dean graduate studies of his/her home faculty. Beyond that, the student can talk to the university ombudsperson. The student can request that the exchanges with any or all of these individuals (directors, vice-dean, ombudsperson) remain confidential.

The student should be sure to explore options carefully before withdrawing from the supervisory arrangement—a student who terminates the relationship with a supervisor before finding another supervisor may have difficulty securing another supervisor and compromise the thesis project.

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Honors Program

• Thesis Supervisor
• Online Submission Instructions
• Online Approval Instructions
• Thesis Extensions
• Publishing in Open Commons

Your choice of Honors thesis supervisor shapes how you personalize the final stages of your academic studies at UConn and in Honors. You will select a thesis supervisor who will work closely with you and serve as a scholarly guide throughout the development, implementation, and conclusion of your thesis project.

What does the thesis supervisor do?

Your thesis supervisor is an expert on your thesis topic and will work closely with you in all stages of your project. Your supervisor is an important mentor for the process of completing your thesis as well as your specific topic, but they are not expected to be knowledgeable about other aspects of Honors.

Your Honors advisor is generally not your Thesis Supervisor; both are important toward your completion of your Honors thesis. Your advisor is knowledgeable about Honors requirements for your major, but they may not know as much about your specific topic. Keep them informed throughout your thesis work, because your Honors advisor must approve both your Thesis Plan and your final thesis . Your Honors advisor will continue to provide advice and support in your final semesters, including your choice of coursework.

Your Honors advisor and your thesis supervisor may be the same person if (a) your thesis topic aligns with your Honors advisor’s research, or (b) your department’s policy is to switch your Honors advisor to your thesis supervisor.

Who can be a thesis supervisor?

Your official thesis supervisor must be a faculty member at UConn (including UConn Health or regional campuses). Graduate students may not serve as official thesis supervisors, although they may be directly and actively involved in your thesis process. Your Honors advisor will need to approve your selection of thesis supervisor.

You should consult faculty members and advisors in your field to find the best person to help guide you through the thesis process. Select someone you can envision working with for multiple semesters; this relationship is critical to the success of your thesis!

Tips for securing, retaining, and managing the relationship with your thesis supervisor:

• Although your thesis timetable will differ based on your department, in general  you should have secured a thesis supervisor no later than the 2 nd semester of your junior year. For some majors, especially the sciences, thesis research arrangements should be made by the end of your sophomore year or very early in your junior year.
• Use the steps in the suggested timeline to learn what faculty members in your department or related departments are working on.
• Request a meeting to discuss shared interests and determine if the partnership is a fit. This in-person meeting is critical; don’t ask someone to be your thesis supervisor via email. Learn more about the best ways to connect with faculty .
• During or after the meeting, confirm with the faculty member that they are willing to serve as your thesis supervisor . A faculty member who agrees to work with you on “Honors research” has not necessarily agreed to supervise your thesis!
• Create a timeline with your thesis supervisor and set expectations for how often you will communicate and meet, as well as any internal deadlines.
• Stay in touch with your thesis supervisor throughout the process. Stick to deadlines, but communicate and seek help when you need it.
• Ask questions about your thesis, your field, and their journey in the field. Make the most of having this mentor.

Finding a supervisor

A supervisor is a professor who oversees your research and the development of your thesis. They provide mentorship, support, and guidance throughout your studies. 

Your relationship with your supervisor will be an important factor in your experience and success as a graduate student. Focus on finding a supervisor who shares your research interests, complements your research and learning style, and supports you in your research and academic goals.

Learn more about supervisory roles and responsibilities in the  Guide for Graduate Research and Supervision .

This video will help you as you prepare to research, contact, and select a supervisor for your graduate studies.

Do you need a supervisor?

Looking for a supervisor, contacting potential supervisors, meeting potential supervisors.

Supervisors are not required for Waterloo professional coursework and professional  online programs .

Some research-based master's and doctoral programs require a supervisor prior to applying while others may assign a supervisor once you have started in your program. Contact your department/program  graduate co-ordinator  to determine if having a supervisor before you apply is required for your program.

Your graduate coordinator will be able to answer questions about program requirements, the admission process, supplemental materials, and funding opportunities.

Visit Faculty or Department websites to learn more about faculty members in your desired field. Faculty profiles or websites will often provide details about conference participation, course instruction, publications, and CVs. Consider how your research interests and experience may intersect with a faculty member's and identify opportunities to expand you knowledge in a desired area.

Use your findings to create a shortlist of potential supervisors to explore further.

The next step is to contact the supervisors on your list. Be sure to tailor your email for each potential supervisor. Your goal is to stand out and generate interest in working with you.

• Use proper letter format, formal salutations – Professor/Dr. (last name) and close with “Yours sincerely” followed by your full name and contact information
• Attach your CV and current transcripts
• Specify the program for which you are applying
• Ask if they are accepting graduate students under their supervision for your desired admit term
• If you already have funding or a scholarship, specify the source, value, and duration
• Explain your interest in graduate studies, your academic and career goals, and your research experience
• Explain your interest in the faculty member and discuss how your research aligns with theirs (this can be a great way to differentiate yourself and make a strong case for your candidacy)
• Suggest a follow-up meeting with options for date and time

Once you hear back from an interested potential supervisor, you may wish to arrange for a phone call or virtual meeting. We suggest using that time to learn more about the faculty member’s experience, expectations, and availability.

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What Makes A Good PhD Supervisor?

• By Dr Harry Hothi
• August 12, 2020

A good PhD supervisor has a track record of supervising PhD students through to completion, has a strong publication record, is active in their research field, has sufficient time to provide adequate supervision, is genuinely interested in your project, can provide mentorship and has a supportive personality.

Introduction

The indicators that you’ll have the best chance of succeeding in your PhD project are multi-factorial. You’ll need to secure funding, find a research project that you’re interested in and is within your academic area of expertise, maybe even write your own research proposal, and find a good supervisor that will help guide you through PhD life.

As you research more into life as a doctoral student, you’ll appreciate that choosing a good supervisor is one of the most important factors that can influence the success of your project, and even If you complete your PhD at all. You need to find a good supervisory relationship with someone who has a genuine research interest in your project.

This page outlines the top qualities to look for as indicators of an ideal PhD supervisor. But before we get to that, we should be clear on precisely what the supervisor is there to do, and what they are not.

The Role of a PhD Supervisor

A PhD supervisor is there to guide you as you work through PhD life and help you make informed decisions about how you shape your PhD project. The key elements of their supervisory role include:

• To help ensure that you stay on schedule and maintain constant progress of your research so that you ultimately finish your PhD within your intended time frame, typically three to four years.
• To advise and guide you based on their knowledge and expertise in your subject area.
• To help you in the decision-making process as you design, prepare and execute your study design.
• To work with you as you analyse your raw data and begin to draw conclusions about key findings that are coming out of your research.
• To provide feedback and edits where necessary on your manuscripts and elements of your thesis writing.
• To encourage and motivate you and provide ongoing support as a mentor.
• To provide support at a human level, beyond just the academic challenges.

It’s important that you know from the outset what a supervisor isn’t there to do, so that your expectations of the PhDstudent-supervisor relationship are correct. A supervisor cannot and should not create your study design or tell you how you should run your experiments or help you write your thesis. Broadly speaking, you as a PhD student will create, develop and refine content for your thesis, and your supervisor will help you improve this content by providing you with continuous constructive feedback.

There’s a balance to be found here in what makes a good PhD supervisor, ranging from one extreme of providing very little support during a research project, to becoming too involved in the running of the project to the extent that it takes away from it being an independent body of work by the graduate student themselves. Ultimately, what makes a good supervisor is someone you can build a rapport with, who helps bring out the best in you to produce a well written, significant body of research that contributes novel findings to your subject area.

Read on to learn the key qualities you should consider when looking for a good PhD supervisor.

Qualities to Look For in A Good PhD Supervisor

1. a track record of successful phd student supervision.

A quick first check to gauge how good a prospective supervisor is is to find out how many students they’ve successfully supervised in the past; i.e. how many students have earned their PhD under their supervision. Ideally, you’d want to go one step further and find out:

• How many students they’ve supervised in total previously and of those, what percentage have gone onto gain their PhDs; however, this level of detail may not always be easy to find online. Most often though, a conversation with a potential supervisor and even their current or previous students should help you get an idea of this.
• What were the project titles and specifically the areas of research that they supervised on? Are these similar to your intended project or are they significantly different from the type of work performed in the academic’s lab in the past? Of the current students in the lab, are there any projects that could complement yours
• Did any of the previous PhD students publish the work of their doctoral research in peer-reviewed journals and present at conferences? It’s a great sign if they have, and in particular, if they’re named first authors in some or all of these publications.

This isn’t to say that a potential supervisor without a track record of PhD supervision is necessarily a bad fit, especially if the supervisor is relatively new to the position and is still establishing their research group. It is, however, reassuring if you know they have supervision experience in supporting students to successful PhD completion.

2. Is an Expert in their Field of Research

As a PhD candidate, you will want your supervisor to have a high level of research expertise within the field that your own research topic sits in. This expertise will be essential if they are to help guide you through your research and keep you on track to what is most novel and impactful to your research area.

Your supervisor doesn’t necessarily need to have all the answers to questions that arise in your specific PhD project, but should know enough to be able to have useful conversations about your research. It will be your responsibility to discover the answers to problems as they arise, and you should even expect to complete your PhD with a higher level of expertise about your project than your supervisor.

The best way to determine if your supervisor has the expertise to supervise you properly is to look at their publication track record. The things you need to look for are:

• How often do they publish papers in peer-reviewed journals, and are they still actively involved in new papers coming out in the research field?
• What type of journals have they published in? For example, are most papers in comparatively low impact factor journals, or do they have at least some in the ‘big’ journals within your field?
• How many citations do they have from their research? This can be a good indicator of the value that other researchgroups place on these publications; having 50 papers published that have been cited only 10 times may (but not always) suggest that this research is not directly relevant to the subject area or focus from other groups.
• How many co-authors has your potential supervisor published with? Many authors from different institutions is a good indicator of a vast collaborative professional network that could be useful to you.

There’re no hard metrics here as to how many papers or citations an individual needs to be considered an expert, and these numbers can vary considerably between different disciplines. Instead, it’s better to get a sense of where your potential supervisor’s track record sits in comparison to other researchers in the same field; remember that it would be unfair to directly compare the output of a new university lecturer with a well-established professor who has naturally led more research projects.

Equally, this exercise is a good way for you to better understand how interested your supervisor will be in your research; if you find that much of their research output is directly related to your PhD study, then it’s logical that your supervisor has a real interest here. While the opposite is not necessarily true, it’s understandable from a human perspective that a supervisor may be less interested in a project that doesn’t help to further their own research work, especially if they’re already very busy.

Two excellent resources to look up publications are Google Scholar and ResearchGate .

3. Has Enough Time to Provide Good PhD Supervision

This seems like an obvious point, but it’s worth emphasising: how smoothly your PhD goes and ultimately how successful it is, will largely be influenced by how much time your research supervisor has to provide guidance, constructive academic advice and mentorship. The fact that your supervisor is the world’s leading expert in your field becomes a moot point if they don’t have time to meet you.

A good PhD supervisor will take the time to meet with you regularly in person (ideally) or remotely and be reachable and responsive to questions as and when they arise (e.g. through email or video calling). As a student, you want to have a research environment where you know you can drop by your supervisors’ office for a quick chat, or that you’ll see them around the university regularly; chance encounters and corridor discussions are sometimes the most impactful when working through problems.

Unsurprisingly, however, most academics who are well-known experts in their field are also usually some of the busiest too. It’s common for established academic supervisors to have several commitments competing for their time. These can include teaching and supervising undergraduate students, masters students and post-docs, travelling to collaborator meetings or invited talks, managing the growth of their academic department or graduate school, sitting on advisory boards and writing grants for funding applications. Beware of the other obligations they may have and how this could impact your work relationship.

You’ll need to find a balance here to find a PhD supervisor who has the academic knowledge to support you, but also the time to do so; talking to their current and past students will help you get a sense of this. It’s also reassuring to know that your supervisor has a permanent position within your university and has no plans for a sabbatical during your time as a PhD researcher.

4. Is a Good Mentor with a Supportive Personality

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. You want to have a supervisor with the necessary academic knowledge, but it is just as important to have a supportive supervisor who is actively willing and able to provide you constructive criticism on your work in a consistent manner. You’ll likely get a sense of their personality during your first few meetings with them when discussing your research proposal; if you feel there’s a disconnect between you as a PhD student and your potential supervisor at this stage, it’s better to decide on other options with different supervisors.

A good supervisor will help direct you towards the best outcomes in your PhD research when you reach crossroads. They will work with you to develop a structure for your thesis and encourage you to set deadlines to work to and push you to achieve these. A good mentor should be able to recognise when you need more support in a specific area, be it a technical academic hurdle or simply some guidance in developing efficient work patterns and routines, and have the communication skills to help you recognise and overcome them.

A good supervisor should share the same mindset as you about finishing your PhD within a reasonable time frame; in the UK this would be within three to four years as a full-time university student. Their encouragement should reflect this and (gently) push you to set and reach mini-milestones throughout your project to ensure you stay on track with progress. This is a great example of when a supportive personality and positive attitude is essential for you both to maintain a good professional relationship throughout a PhD. The ideal supervisor will bring out the best in you without becoming prescriptive in their guidance, allowing you the freedom to develop your own working style.

Finding a PhD has never been this easy – search for a PhD by keyword, location or academic area of interest.

To sum up, the qualities you should look for in a good PhD supervisor are that they have a strong understanding of your research field, demonstrated by regular and impactful publications, have a proven track record of PhD supervision, have the time to support you, and will do so by providing mentorship rather than being a ‘boss’.

As a final point, if you’re considering a research career after you finish your PhD journey, get a sense of if there may any research opportunities to continue as a postdoc with the supervisor if you so wanted.

Self-plagiarism is when you try and pass off work that you’ve previously done as something that is completely new.

An abstract and introduction are the first two sections of your paper or thesis. This guide explains the differences between them and how to write them.

Do you need to have published papers to do a PhD? The simple answer is no but it could benefit your application if you can.

Join thousands of other students and stay up to date with the latest PhD programmes, funding opportunities and advice.

Browse PhDs Now

Is it really possible to do a PhD while working? The answer is ‘yes’, but it comes with several ‘buts’. Read our post to find out if it’s for you.

Starting your PhD can feel like a daunting, exciting and special time. They’ll be so much to think about – here are a few tips to help you get started.

Dr Tuohilampi gained her PhD in Mathematics Education from the University of Helsinki in 2016. She is now a lecturer at the University of Helsinki, a Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales, Sydney and has also founded the company Math Hunger.

Dr Anwar gained her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Helsinki in 2019. She is now pursuing a career within industry and becoming more active in science outreach.

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• Schools & departments

How to find a research supervisor

Check that the University can provide a suitable supervisor to support you while you undertake your research.

We recommend that you get in touch informally with your prospective supervisor or, more generally, the relevant school, before you submit a formal application.

Some schools may ask that you submit a research proposal before you formally apply, but others prefer you to submit a formal application at first – you should check the information provided by the school or research institute offering the programme you are interested to find out how they would prefer you to contact them in the first instance.

Research supervisors are either staff members of the University, or based in one of the research units or institutions associated with the University.

Supervisors are in high demand and may not be able to respond to your enquiry immediately, so please be patient. Some may already be supervising the maximum number of PhD students they can, and won’t be able to take on any new students.

To find a potential supervisor:

Find the school or research institute that is most relevant to your area of interest. If your proposed research is interdisciplinary, you may need to look at more than one school  -  List of our schools and departments  

• Browse through the staff profiles on the school or institute website     
• Check the procedure for contacting the potential supervisor with your initial enquiry or research proposal    
• Check the availability of facilities and resources necessary for your research    
• If you can’t find this information, or if you have further questions, you should contact the school's administrator

Multidisciplinary research

We welcome applications from students with interdisciplinary research interests.

You should contact supervisors in the areas you would like to research. You can discuss the possibility of being supervised collaboratively by people in different academic units.

The University of Edinburgh hosts a number of Global Academies, which facilitate interdisciplinary research across the world.

Global Academies

Research proposals

You will almost certainly need to write a research proposal in order to apply for your PhD.

Talk to your supervisor about whether you need to do this. You should also check the degree finder to see if you are expected to include anything specific in your proposal.

Our guide to writing a research proposal will take you through the process step-by-step:

How to write a research proposal

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The majority of graduate programs are NOT impacted by recent government announcements about tuition increases. PhD students from the rest of Canada will continue to pay Quebec fees. International PhD fees will see the same 3% increase as Quebec fees.

Connecting with a Supervisor

How to find and connect with potential supervisors.

Your relationship with your supervisor will be one of the most important factors contributing to the success of your graduate studies. Taking the time to find a supervisor who will complement your research and learning style will help to ensure the success of this relationship. Below are some important considerations to assist you in your efforts.

Do you need to select a supervisor?

Every department at McGill has different admissions procedures. While some will expect you to connect with a potential supervisor prior to applying, others will assign a supervisor to you after you have been accepted. Make sure to carefully read the requirements of the program into which you are applying, available on the departmental website, to find out the supervisory procedures for that department. If it is unclear, contact the Graduate Program Director to clarify.

Identify Potential Supervisors

• Browse our Program Pages to identify the department in which your research of interest is taking place.
• Develop a shortlist of potential supervisors from the Faculty members working in your area. In comparing them, try to identify who would be the ideal supervisor for you both in terms of research interests and teaching/learning style.
• Review Faculty member research profiles to locate potential supervisors with research interests similar to your own. Check Departmental websites under the menu heading ‘Faculty’.
• Think laterally – if you don’t find what you’re looking for in one department, look at the research profiles of Faculty in related fields.

What to look for

By looking at a Faculty member’s CV and talking to them as well as to their current and former students, you can get a good idea as to who might be the best supervisor for you. 

A good supervisor should be able to provide you with some direction, while allowing you to take initiative. There are a number of factors that can promote a successful supervisory relationship. These include:

• Expertise : Are they working on your area of research?
• Experience: Have they supervised many students before?
• Availability : Will they be available to meet with you when you need them?
• Research agenda : How active is their research?
• Publishing: How often do they publish? Do they co-author with other professors in the department or with students?
• Collegiality and interpersonal relationship: How well will you get on with each other?

Make a connection

Prior to researching and speaking to potential supervisors, make sure to contact the academic unit offering your program in order to establish a relationship. 

The Graduate Program Coordinator will be your main contact person within the unit and will provide you with pertinent information. They will answer your questions about program requirements, the admissions process, supplemental materials, funding opportunities and the procedure for finding a supervisor within the department.

When you are ready to contact potential supervisors, approaching them by email is a good initial step. Ensure that your messages are tailored to each professor, not generic. You must catch the interest of the professor quickly and make a good first impression.

• Write a concise and professional letter.  The message should start with Dear Professor/Dr. (lastname) and end with "Yours sincerely" followed by your full name and contact information (or the formal equivalent in a message written in French). 
• Attach your Curriculum Vitae and unofficial transcripts. Note, you may complete and submit the Canadian Common CV . State why you are writing  (e.g.  I am applying to the M.Sc. program in specify program).
• State why you are interested in graduate studies (including career goals) and emphasize any research or leadership experience and analytical skills.
• If you already have funding, state the amount, duration and source.
• State why you are approaching this particular professor, and why your research interests and goals are a good match. Refer briefly to specific published articles by the professor that interest you.
• Offer an opportunity for further discussion (teleconference, videoconference, or if you are in Montreal, an in-person interview).

Questions and issues to discuss with potential supervisors:

• Capacity:  Does the professor currently have graduate students? Not enough? Too many? Looking for more?
• Expectations: Working hours, frequency of student-supervisor meetings, group meetings, reports, record keeping, contribution to general duties, assistance from and to other personnel/students, and meeting program milestones.
• Expected attendance at journal clubs, seminars, etc, aside from official requirements of the Graduate Program.
• Financial considerations: stipend, presentation/attendance at conferences.
• Conventions on authorship (within the norms of the discipline and McGill’s Regulation on the Conduct of Research .
• Review of written work : extent of supervisor’s involvement with student’s presentations, thesis preparation, time frame for return of comments, etc.
• Supervisory style: keeping in mind the questions above.
• Student Success :   how many students have they supervised through to graduation? Have the students finished their program in good time? Have many of the students published? How have the students done in the job market?
• Personality: trust your instincts as to whether you would be a good match.

Visit Campus

If at all possible, try to visit McGill and meet with your potential supervisor. Not only will this give you an opportunity to show them how excited you are to work together, but it will also allow you to get a sense of their personality. After identifying potential supervisors, call or email them to find out if they are taking on new students.

Away from McGill?

If you are unable to visit with your potential supervisor in person, you will need to rely on communication by phone, email or videoconference. Even if you are communicating at a distance, try to establish a personal connection. Show your potential supervisor why you are interested in working with them in particular.

Talk to current/former students

Talking to the current and former students of a potential supervisor is a good way to find out about their supervisory style, and will allow you to determine whether you work in a similar way.

• If you are visiting McGill, consider meeting up with some students in person to discuss working with this supervisor.
• If not, ask either the professor or the Graduate Program Coordinator/Secretary to provide you with email addresses or phone numbers.

Questions to ask current/former students

• What has been their experience working with this supervisor? Is the supervisor readily available when questions or problems arise?
• What is expected of them as graduate students working under this supervisor? Does the supervisor take a hands-on or laissez-faire approach to supervision?
• What do they feel are this supervisor’s strengths in terms of graduate supervision?
• What do they feel are their weaknesses in terms of graduate supervision?

Department and University Information

Graduate and postdoctoral studies.

Sample emails to your thesis supervisor

A good thesis requires good communication between you and your thesis supervisor. This includes emails! Yet, even a simple email can lead to stress and overthinking. If you struggle to communicate with your thesis supervisor via email, have a look at six sample emails for inspiration.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase using the links below at  no additional cost to you.  I only recommend products or services that I truly believe can benefit my audience. As always, my opinions are my own.

General tips for emailing your thesis supervisor

Sample email to thesis supervisor inquiring about potential supervision, sample email to thesis supervisor setting up a meeting, sample email to thesis supervisor sharing post-meeting action points, sample email to thesis supervisor asking for feedback, sample email to thesis supervisor asking for support, sample email to thesis supervisor when not meeting a deadline.

Every relationship between student and thesis supervisor is unique. And everyone has a unique (email) writing style.

Nonetheless, there are a few general tips for emailing your thesis supervisor:

• Properly address your supervisor. In some contexts, it is acceptable that students address their supervisors on a first-name basis. In others, it would be completely unthinkable! So make sure to follow context-specific standards, and learn how to address your supervisor depending on their position and rank in the university hierarchy . When in doubt, always go for the more formal option (Dr. x, Professor x, Prof. Dr. x, Mr. x, Ms. x).
• Keep your emails short. No one wants to read an email of the length of a novel. Too much text can bury your main request. Always state clearly what you want. Don’t expect your thesis supervisor to read between the lines.
• Create accompanying calendar invites to your emails. Once you and your thesis supervisor/s agree on a meeting date via email, make sure that you send everyone involved a calendar invite via email. It will be greatly appreciated.
• Don’t overthink your emails too much. You may obsess about formulating a certain sentence or making sure no word is missing and no grammatical mistake is made. While emails to your supervisor should not read like a jotted-down text message, overthinking your emails is also a waste of time. Your supervisor will not judge you if your email includes one whacky sentence or a single spelling mistake.

The first email to a potential thesis supervisor tends to be very formal. If you have never met the potential thesis supervisor in person before, make sure to check out tips on how to cold-email professors. In the following sample email, however, we assume that the student and the potential thesis supervisor met before.

Successful (postgraduate) students are proactive and take matters into their own hands. Reaching out to their thesis supervisors to set up a meeting is one part of it. The following sample email contains a simple request from a student to meet with her thesis supervisor.

To get the most out of thesis supervision meetings , it is highly recommended that the student takes notes during the meeting. Based on these notes, the student then summarises the key takeaways from the meeting, or action points, so to speak. These action points will guide the student’s work until the next meeting, and provide a written record of agreements.

Sometimes, it does not make sense to wait for feedback until the next supervision meeting. Of course, students should not bombard their supervisors with constant questions via email. However, a kind request once in a while is usually accepted and appreciated. The following sample email showcases a student asking for feedback.

As a student, it can also happen that you get stuck. Often, it is better to reach out and ask your thesis supervisor for support, both in terms of content or any other challenges you experience. Don’t suffer in silence. The following sample email shows an example of a student asking for support.

And lastly, there are the unfortunate occasions where you made agreements with your thesis supervisor, which you cannot meet. Pulling an all-nighter is generally a bad idea, as sleep is crucial for efficient thesis writing . It might be smarter, to be honest, and open about it and to inform your thesis advisor in advance. In the following sample email, the student informs the supervisor that he cannot meet the agreed deadline.

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Asking for a recommendation letter from a PhD supervisor

How many conferences postgrads should attend, related articles.

The top 10 thesis defense questions (+ how to prepare strong answers)

Getting the most out of thesis supervision meetings

How to prepare your viva opening speech

How to write a unique thesis acknowledgement (+ FAQs)

Dr. Heidi Toivonen

Psychologist

How to Make Your Thesis Supervision Work for You

1. it’s your thesis and nobody else’s.

This sounds like a self-evident thing, right? Surprisingly often, it is not. So what does it mean in terms of how to make your thesis supervision work for you to say that it is your thesis and not your supervisor’s? It means of course that you do all the required parts of the thesis from literature review to the data analysis and the interpretation of the results. But it also means something more than that. It means taking intellectual responsibility of your thesis. Most of the time, your supervisor (at least if it’s me), will give you suggestions, not orders. It’s up to you to decide how you implement them.

If I ask you, for example, to write something in a clearer way, you are the one who has to figure out how to make this happen in actual sentences that you type on your keyboard. If I leave comment in the margins of your thesis asking for you to build a clearer bridge between two paragraphs and you respond to it by writing a comment like “But how?”, the answer to the question is that I won’t tell you. That’s why I’m your supervisor, not your co-author. Your job in writing a thesis is to figure out some things out all by yourself. You need to try and build that clearer bridge, not ask your supervisor to do it for you. If you are still stuck with building this metaphorical bridge after trying, then ask your supervisor. Perhaps they can help you think of some ways to make it happen.

You will make the most out of your thesis supervision and -writing as well as ensure a functioning working relationship with your supervisor, if you from the beginning, at every step of the process, remember that it is your thesis, not theirs. That being said, if you are a BSc or a MSc thesis writer, I do recommend that you always take into account the concrete and specific suggestions of your supervisor, whether they are about doing some part of your analysis differently or reading a specific article. Doing a PhD is a bit different and might occasionally require you to be more independent and even deviate from the suggestions of your supervisor. Sometimes this turns out to be a mistake, sometimes not.

However, I’m by no means arguing that supervisors know everything or that their advice is always flawless. The advice you get from me as a supervisor is not a word of Divine truth but rather a well-informed opinion on something. Doing research is a dynamic and complex process, not a school exercise where things are right or wrong and advance in a linear manner. I’m going to tell you more about that in the next chapter.

2. Have a Flexible Mindset and Tolerance for Dynamic Processes

Research is never a linear and simple process. Doing a thesis is not like taking a multiple choice exam, where an answer is either correct or not. In all likelihood, writing your BSc or MSc thesis is your first experience of doing something that resembles real world research. Welcome to the world of dynamic and complex processes!

I supervise only qualitative theses, that is, works that analyze textual data. My own research has been mainly qualitative, because I have always been most interested in how people talk about things and how they build different phenomena in their verbal interactions. In other words, for me, the most meaningful data is verbal and stems from for example therapy conversations, interviews, or reading groups. Thus, I’m very happy to be acting as a first supervisor in different kinds of qualitative thesis projects. If you want to learn more about qualitative research, you can look for example here .

I might venture to say that the world of qualitative research is even more dynamic than that of quantitative. This means many things. It means that you might decide your actual research question and analytical method only after having already read through all of your transcribed interviews. It means that you might have started happily conducting a Discourse Analysis on transcribed sessions of reading group meetings, while you realize that this method is too detailed and takes you theoretically to a direction where you don’t want to go. Then you switch to Thematic Analysis and do everything again from the start. You will probably write your method section only after you have actually finalized your results, because the back-and-forth, iterative movement between data, analysis, and literature causes the research process to be complex. You cannot articulate what and how you did until you are ready with the results. I could give you more examples, but I think you get the point. So what does all this mean in terms of your thesis supervision?

It means that you will get something that students call “conflicting feedback”. Sometimes, my students complain that my feedback changes from session to session and conflicts with what the second supervisor says. You know what, I would be worried if that was not the case! If the supervisor does not write different and even conflicting comments in the margins of your different thesis versions and if the feedback does not change at all from session to session, it might be because of two things. Either the supervisor is not really reading your thesis and/or has decided only to feedback a certain section once and no more. The other option is that you are stuck with your process and the thesis is not going through the journey it should. There is simply not enough there to give conflicting comments about!

A thesis is a complex piece of work. If you change something in your conclusions and how you discuss them, it probably means something needs to be changed in the introduction. If you change how to present your results, you might have to tinker with something in the method section. From this it often follows that at one point your supervisor will tell you to do X and in the next phase they change their mind and tell you to do Y. In many cases, you will get feedback about your introduction before you have your results figured out. It’s obvious that the introduction needs to be edited once you have the results down. Changing even a small section of your thesis might cause a domino effect requiring further changes made elsewhere in the work. In this kind of scenario, a good supervisor changes the feedback they gave earlier and tells you something different. This might feel like it’s contradictory, but it might still make sense in the bigger picture when you think about it.

In addition, remember that your supervisor is not there reading your thesis over your shoulder all the time. The versions the supervisor sees might be months apart from each other. When the student says “But you said something completely different last time!”, the answer is “Yes I did, but your thesis wasn’t the same then.”

In the world of research, contradictory feedback is the usual feedback you get. This is because normally, you will have several different people looking at your paper and sharing their thoughts of it. Let’s look at how things work outside thesis writing, in the world of peer-reviewed research papers. You will have two experts reviewing your paper. They will not know whose paper they are reading and you will never get to know who these reviewers are. In the usual case, the Reviewer 1 loves something and the Reviewer 2 hates it. The Reviewer 1 tells you to not include certain kind of literature in your discussion and the Reviewer 2 will tell you put more of it there. You get the point? It’s up to the researcher to decide which advice to apply and how, and whether it is possible to find a middle ground that meets the wishes of both reviewers.

In the same way, if you have two supervisors, you are actually lucky if they give you some contradicting feedback. That means you have more than one possible perspective to think about and more than one road to walk! Often, your 1st and 2nd supervisor might have different research interests in their own work and have experience from completely different kinds of analytical methods. They are also just two different human beings. In addition, since a thesis is not a multiple choice exam where answers are either correct or not, your supervisors are more than likely to say different things about your thesis. In the case of your supervisor giving mutually exclusive and completely conflicting advice, the obvious next step is to have an open and transparent conversation about what is the best course of action. Chances are that you will find a good solution as to what to do next by just negotiating, and that’s all that matters in the end.

What I wish to say is that the core in how to make your thesis supervision work for you is having a flexible mindset and being ready for things changing along the journey. Don’t expect the supervision and the feedback you get to be entirely predictable and black-and-white. You are not doing basic calculus where the supervisor can say “right” or “wrong”. Allow the journey to happen with some unexpected turns along the way.

3. Always Maintain Your Professional Attitude

Writing a thesis is not always easy and fun. There will be days of frustration, anger, even despair. In fact, if you don’t at any point feel like you are lost and don’t understand what you are doing, then you are probably not venturing much outside of your comfort zone. As a supervisor, I always try my best to be understanding and compassionate about the personal struggles of the students. Being kind and understanding is also a professional skill and very important in academia that can be quite cold and harsh sometimes. It’s not always easy to stay polite, calm, and nice when to-do’s keep piling up and the stress levels are peaking, but I will always make an effort to stay that way. I hope you will, too.

A professional attitude means that you behave like a polite, mature human being. You take responsibility, respect other people’s time and effort, do what you promise when you promise. Supervisors need to respect their students and students need to respect their supervisors. Without a respectful and professional attitude, no good theses will be written.

In practice, what I mean with maintaining a professional attitude is that you don’t accuse your supervisor for things such as not making sure you can get a high degree or a green light (the official ok to defend your thesis at a colloquium). Sometimes I have heard students accuse their first supervisor for not telling them earlier that they will not be getting a green light for their thesis. This accusation does not make any sense. A green light decision is, at my current university, reached independently by two supervisors. It is given for the version of the thesis the student hands in for their last supervision meeting before “colloquium”, the event where they present their thesis and answer questions about it. The student cannot be told that they are or are not going to get a green light before they actually hand in the last draft of their thesis, the green light version.

In a similar vein, your supervisor cannot promise you a certain grade. They can probably tell you what kind of a grade you would approximately be getting with a certain version of the thesis. However, thesis drafts change all the time. I have seen cases where a relatively decent thesis becomes worse between two meetings, because the student misunderstands crucial feedback. I have also seen how a relatively decent thesis becomes mind-blowingly good in just a couple of weeks. Your supervisor might be a fantastic scholar, but they are not a fortune teller. Hence, don’t ask for a certain grade and don’t assume anything. If you are disappointed about a grade, ask for clarifications for why it was given. Just don’t assume that your supervisor is grading you low because they are mean and don’t care about you.

Examples of non-professional behavior are more than complaining about your grade. Other things I would avoid are sending out countless emails to the supervisor to ask questions to which you need to find an answer yourself. Another thing is not taking into account the feedback your supervisor is giving. I have heard about (but not personally supervised) students who think that they are on top of the academic world and their supervisor is stuck in the Middle Ages. Let me inform you that if you are doing an MSc thesis, then your supervisor has a PhD. Having a PhD in most cases nowadays means having published at least two peer-reviewed scientific articles at the time of the PhD thesis defense. A BSc or a MSc thesis is not a peer-reviewed scientific article.

Try to see your supervisor as an expert of whose knowledge you can benefit in your thesis rather than as someone you need to compete with or challenge. In many cases, when a student thinks they are very smart in challenging their professor, it is actually quite an embarrassing event to be witnessing. Humbleness is a very useful quality in academia in general. It means you know where your limits are and are willing to expand them by learning from others who have already walked further on their journey.

What If There Is No Way to Make Your Thesis Supervision Work for You?

It’s time to acknowledge that not all supervisor-student -relationships are fruitful and functional. What does it mean to be professional in case things are just not working out between you and your supervisor? Well, let’s first think about what it means that things are not working. Is your supervisor skipping meetings that you know you are entitled to have? Are you not getting any feedback at all? Is your supervisor acting in a disrespectful way towards you? After trying to discuss the issue with your supervisor directly, do not hesitate to contact other people at your department.

Different universities and departments have different protocols on these things. If the university’s website doesn’t help you to figure out who to talk to, try the study advisor, your second supervisor, or the thesis coordinator. Ask someone -anyone!- what to do.

You don’t need to tolerate substandard supervision. I myself asked to have my supervisor changed during my Master’s, because he would never reply my emails, would not organize the meetings I knew I had a right to, and acted disrespectfully. The new supervisor was great and I ended up doing a decent job. End of story.

Sometimes professional behavior entails asking difficult questions and confronting someone directly about how they do their job. Just be aware that supervision is a two-line highway. I will myself not hesitate to tell a student if they are out of line when example complaining about a no green light decision or are sending me too many emails with questions that they could try asking Google first.

Last Words on How To Make Your Thesis Supervision Work for You

I cannot speak for all supervisors in the world, but as a supervisor, I really hope that you will always tell me if you are stuck, lost, confused, or anything like that with your thesis. Tell me if you didn’t understand some feedback or if you need extra help in finding relevant literature. One of the most important rules of acting professionally is that you are honest, open, and ask for what you need. If I don’t know where my student is mentally or academically, I cannot guide them to the best of my capacity.

Lastly, I want to say that I hope writing a good thesis is important to you. If you are not interested or motivated about your thesis, the supervisor should know. Perhaps there is something to be done to make the process more inspiring.

Being a thesis supervisor is a very important job for me, and I take pride in doing it extremely well. I care about the students and their theses (to see how another professor from a different discipline also cares about their supervisees by writing out some rules of engagement, check here ). That’s why you are always welcome to give me feedback, too. That is the only way to keep growing in what one is doing!

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How to Find a Supervisor for a Master’s or Ph.D. Thesis

The concept of a supervisor

Supervisor – an experienced teacher, a teacher of the department to which the graduate student is attached, writing a thesis under their supervision. Their task is to guide the writing of the work in the right direction, to suggest an algorithm.

According to the WritingAPaper researcher, a mentor is assigned to support the graduate student in writing a research Ph.D. thesis. Each university has its own approved regulation on the procedure for appointing a supervisor.

Requirements for the thesis supervisor

• Assigned from among the professorial staff.
• Has the title of professor or doctoral degree in the field in which the graduate student writes the thesis.
• Has research activities in the area of the Ph.D. student’s chosen field of study.
• Has published works related to the topic of the thesis.
• Participates in approbation of the results of their activities at conferences (including international).
• Supervises no more than 20 dissertations at a time.

Why do you need a mentor, and how to get the most out of it?

The effectiveness of your Ph.D. thesis preparation depends on the proper choice of mentor. A good supervisor will motivate their mentee and provide them with psychological support.

Functions of the supervisor

• help with the choice of the topic and drawing up a plan;
• advise where to find the necessary information;
• share experience in planning a research paper;
• advise on preparing for a defense;
• provide appropriate assistance throughout the process.

To get the most out of your meeting with a Mentor, you should prepare carefully for each consultation. Write out for yourself all the questions you are going to ask. Think in advance about what kind of help you need and what you can ask for. Then your meetings will be productive and will not take much time.

Main responsibilities

• Supervise the dissertation’s writing process (participate in drawing up an individual plan of preparation, recommend literature, and coordinate the content of each section).
• Monitor compliance with the deadlines of the individual training plan.
• Provide advice, guidance, and other necessary assistance.
• Keep the writing of scientific articles and the central part of the thesis under control.
• Organize and advise the research and experiments.
• Keep under control the passing of the compulsory practice of the candidate.
• Assist in preparation for the graduate student’s final examinations.
• Participate in their certification.
• Provide an opinion on the graduate student’s research work.
• Draw a review of the mentee’s scholarly work from an objective point of view.
• Prepare a written decision on the Dissertation Council’s consideration of the finished work.
• Find reviewers and opponents.
• Assist in preparing the candidate for the defense (help with answers to anticipated questions, check the prepared dissertation and opening statement).

The supervisor’s review of the thesis

In the review, the supervisor gives a general description of the candidate and his assessment of the research:

• indicates the period of study in doctoral studies and current progress;
• if available, mentions all available certificates, diplomas, and certificates received for mastering programs of additional professional education during this period;
• notes the merits of the mentee in professional activities;
• describes in general terms the problem solved by the dissertator in work, its content, and positive aspects;
• indicates the forms of approbation of the results of the candidate’s research activity and their presentation;
• evaluates the research conducted by the thesis candidate from the point of view of its compliance with the established requirements of the Higher Attestation Commission (HAC);
• analyzes the results of the defendant’s participation in the research of the university, faculty, and department;
• lists positive personal qualities of the mentee, their interest in the topic chosen for the thesis and research activity in general, creative approach to problem-solving, independence, and initiative.

Speech of the supervisor at the thesis defense

After the graduate student presents their scientific work and their response to questions, the thesis supervisor speaks. The supervisor characterizes the applicant as a candidate for the role of a scientist, tells about their attitude to the work on the dissertation, and assesses their personal qualities.

After that, the supervisor goes directly to the general evaluation of the applicant’s scientific work. The writers from the best writing services state that, at the same time, the supervisor’s goal should not be to pre-empt possible objections from the opponents; this should be done by the thesis candidate when defending their work.

The supervisor’s speech aims to give an objective assessment of the results of the research work conducted under their supervision and to substantiate why they consider it possible to recommend the dissertation for defense.

Defending a thesis without a supervisor

Is it possible to defend a thesis without a supervisor? Each dissertation candidate is mandatorily assigned a supervisor. Even if a graduate student conducts all research independently or formally, it is still considered that they write their dissertation under the guidance of an experienced mentor.

The thesis supervisor can be absent from the defense if there are good reasons for this. But in this case, they must provide the Academic Secretary of the Council with their thesis review to read aloud. In the case of a lethal outcome, another supervisor is appointed to represent the thesis candidate at the defense.

How the supervisor is assigned

The supervisor is appointed by the Vice-Rector for Science and Innovation no later than 3 months from the enrollment date in the graduate program. The following documents must be submitted for an appointment:

• Information for the last 3 years on the research work of the prospective supervisor.
• Statement of their consent to supervise the work of the specified graduate student.
• Extract from the protocol of the university academic council meeting on admission to the supervision of the thesis (if previously had no such experience) with a petition for the appointment of the specified instructor as an academic advisor.
• A petition from the applicant to appoint a specific faculty member as a supervisor.

Sometimes, the department decides whom to appoint as the thesis supervisor.

How to Choose a Supervisor

Choosing a mentor is a responsible step for a graduate student since you will have to communicate with them throughout the study and writing of the thesis.

Step 1. Decide on the topic of your Ph.D. thesis . It is easiest to continue and develop the topic started in the master’s thesis.

Step 2. Find out which faculties, departments, and research units train graduate students in the profile you are interested in. Familiarize yourself with the faculty, their research activities, and their supervised dissertation topics.

Step 3. Select a potential supervisor based on the information gathered.

Step 4. Contact them or the head of the department. Preferably do so in writing, detailing your research interests and requesting agreement to be your supervisor.

The perfect supervisor: what are they like?

The ideal mentor should perform the following functions:

• accompany and support the applicant in all stages of the preparation of the thesis , including its defense;
• maintain a cooperative, equal relationship with the mentee;
• not claim to be a co-author, but at the same time give all the necessary recommendations for writing the thesis;
• advise sufficiently on the chosen topic;
• adjust the research plan in a timely manner and modify tasks as required;
• coordinate with the graduate student on the proper design of the thesis;
• analyze the results of the research and summarize them.

On this basis, it is necessary from the very beginning, when entering graduate school, to take the choice of supervisor seriously. Even if you decide to have the best essay writing service to do your thesis, you still need a suitable supervisor who will help you better understand what you are doing.

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