Questions tagged [supervision]

Questions relating to academic supervision, which is broadly defined as the supervisory relationship between advisors and their students.

The following is a sample definition of the academic supervision from the University of Saskatchewan. This definition may vary by university and discipline.

Upon admission into the Department, each student will be assigned an academic advisor, whom he/she should contact for advice regarding courses, possible thesis topics, etc. Once the student identifies a thesis topic, he/she may, with the advice of the academic advisor, arrange to have another faculty member serve as research supervisor. The research supervisor is usually a member of the Department. An Advisory Committee will be established for each student as early in the program as possible. The Committee consists of at least three members, including the Department Head or designate and the research supervisor. Faculty from other departments may be included if appropriate. Each student is responsible for ensuring an annual review of progress towards a degree is conducted.

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How to supervise a bad PhD student

I am a postdoc helping in the supervision of a PhD student who is finishing his 2nd year now. This is in Europe, meaning the student came in with a MSc degree and these 2 years have been of research. "Helping in the supervision" actually means here…
confusedpostdoc
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What do you do when your PhD student is spending too long on a problem?

I am in math and I am fairly new in supervising PhD students, so I need some advice. I have a fairly good student who has made very good progress initially. But after a promising start, he's been stuck at the same problem for over one year, without…
user119481
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How to supervise and support a smart but rebellious student?

Last term I was supervising a very good student for his B.Sc. graduation project. Upon his request, I suggested the topic and gave a clear reading list, tasks, and a roadmap for the entire project. I know that had he followed it we would've ended up…
Fizicklyn
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Are professors obligated to accept supervisory role? If not, how does it work?

Firstly, I am not specifically talking about PhD supervision. I think that's less relevant for my question since a PhD supervision is usually a mutually beneficial arrangement, as the professor gains a PhD student to help them with related research.…
efeowo
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What are/were the most helpful 'things' your supervisor, mentor, university, other staff did to help you complete your PhD?

I am currently applying for a position similar to an assistant prof where I will have the responsibility to supervise two PhD students. For this application I am required to provide a "supervision concept", which got me to thinking what kind of a…
Leonie
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Supervisor not Constructive

I'm a PhD student and I just had my half-time examination. My supervisor thinks my data is "crap", my report "wasn't good", and my presentation was "a disaster". Maybe he is right. However, he doesn't seem to know how to provide feedback…
noumenal
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Is it required for a supervisor to understand the technicality of his PhD student's research

In my department, there are 2 styles for a supervisor to supervise student. In the first one, a supervisor understands his PhD student's research deep enough to provide technical advices such as which algorithms to try, possible solutions for a…
user12635
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How should a supervisor deal with a PhD student who behaves badly

If a PhD student who behaves badly, e.g being rude to other PhD students/staffs, distracting people in the same office by talking loudly or making noise..., should his/her supervisor do anything to deal with that student? If the answer is yes, what…
user12635
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Lack of supervision at end of PhD - how approach publishing?

My PhD supervisor, who was from an external organisation, got my PhD started with initial ideas and guidance, but wasn't an expert in the topic, thus my PhD research has been mainly self directed. About a year ago my supervisor retired, and has…
geometrikal
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Advising students taking part in a competition: how to provide direction, but not to contribute?

I was asked to supervise a team of undergrad students who are taking part in a case competition. I decided to look through the competition website to find out more about what is expected of a faculty advisor. The website writes: The primary role of…
I Like to Code
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Etiquette for dealing with supervisor comments on written work

I have a lot of respect for my supervisor; I get very good feedback from them, they are very knowledgeable in their field and I feel that they want me to do well in my reseach. When I submit written work, my supervisor adds comments and then…
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How to be honest with my second option for a project?

I will try to briefly summarize my dilemma. I'm a master's student and we have the option to do "Guided Research", which is a module worth some credit points and requires us to conduct research in some area, possibly with a publication as a…
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My supervisors take long time to respond to me

I am a PhD student. I need to finish my study in 6 months. My story and problem: I always send my work to my supervisors on time. For each work (objective), they take about one to two months to respond to me. Therefore, I need to send them a…
Maryam
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How can I navigate my research assistant position when I am performing very poorly and unable to get help from my supervisor

I am currently a research assistant at an american university. I have worked under my current supervisor since my first year of undergrad. I am now working under them in a postbac position. Thus, this is my 5th year working under them. During this…
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How might one find students interested in working on research projects remotely?

Often graduate students work with professors within their local University on research projects. However, I am aware of a few institutions that allow (or actually require) students to seek outside collaborations for research projects (e.g. capstone…
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