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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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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009330.g001

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/

How to Find Your Ideal PhD Supervisor Using Google Scholar

By ProFellow Founder, Dr. Vicki Johnson

Many people are interested in pursuing a PhD because they have a specific topic of research that they would like to pursue through a PhD. In this article, I am going to show you how to find faculty members based at PhD programs who could be an ideal supervisor for your dissertation in your field of interest. 

A critical step to getting accepted to a PhD program is to find a faculty member who is interested in being your PhD supervisor . This is the faculty member who will be assigned by the university to guide and mentor you throughout your PhD studies, and so it is important to find the right scholar who is doing research in your area of interest. Building rapport with faculty members at PhD programs before you apply is also critical to getting accepted to a PhD program, because often the faculty members will choose PhD applicants who propose research that is in alignment with the research that they are already doing and have funding sources for. 

In the video above, I use a real-life example to walk you through my guidance on how to find your ideal PhD supervisor for your dissertation topic using Google Scholar. 

Here is the step-by-step guidance on how to find a PhD supervisor who is doing research in your area of interest using Google Scholar. 

Step 1: Search for recent academic papers in your subject of interest

Google Scholar is a Google search engine specifically for academic research articles and papers. This is the ideal search engine to find research publications by PhD faculty and other scholars. To start your search, open scholar.google.com and add the keywords of your proposed dissertation topic to the search bar. The papers that are returned will likely be in order of popularity and/or relevance to the keywords you entered (a typical Google algorithm). 

Step 2: Filter the results by year

I suggest using the Publication date filter on the left sidebar, beginning with the words Any time , and select the option that will return papers published in the last 5 years. (At the time of this article’s publication, that would be the selection “Since 2016”.) It is best to look at more recently published papers as those authors are actively publishing research in the subject now and may have funding for incoming PhD students to continue the work in this subject. 

Step 3: Identify papers of interest

You’ll find that the papers returned in this search will be on topics related to your subject of interest, or not. Identify the ones that appear to overlap with the research you would like to do. If you find yourself drawn to a particular sub-topic within the papers returned, you can also re-do your search using new keywords to find more papers like these. You can now click on a paper title and read the paper’s Abstract. 

Most papers have a paywall, which means you may need to pay to read the full text version, but you might be able to get the full text copy via Google Scholar. Look at the right sidebar of Google Scholar results for links to an [HTML] or [PDF] of the full-text version. Often you can also get access to full-text journal articles and book chapters for free through your university or local library. It will be necessary to gather these papers for reference as you prepare your PhD research proposal, which may be required as part of your application to the PhD program.

Step 4: Look more closely at the papers’ authors

If you find one or more papers related to your proposed dissertation topic, the next step is to look at the authors and the universities where they are based. Often, the authors’ university or institutional affiliations will be listed beneath the authors’ names. If you are seeking to study in the US, naturally you’ll want to identify authors who are based at US universities. When you do find one, you can click their name to view their Google Scholar profile (if they have one). For more information about the scholar, I would suggest googling the author’s name and university to find their profile on the university website. This will often tell you if the scholar is a post-doc, Associate/Assistant Professor, Full/Tenured Professor or other position. Ideally you’ll want to find faculty who are Full/Tenured professors, since Associate and Assistant Professors typically do not supervise doctoral candidates (although it is worth asking, as this varies from university to university!)

Step 5: Look at the Professor’s university’s graduate programs

Once you find a faculty member of interest, you’ll need to confirm if they are based at a graduate school that offers a PhD program (and ideally, a fully funded PhD program! Learn more about fully funded PhD programs here ). If the school does not, you may have come to a dead end. However it may still be worthwhile to reach out to the faculty member for their advice on who is doing research in your subject of interest. They may be willing to introduce you to other faculty members that are not so easily found on Google.

If you discover that the university does have a PhD program, you should also look into whether the program offers full funding to incoming students. Not all PhD programs offer full funding. It is my sincere advice that you only pursue fully funded PhD programs – meaning programs that offer full tuition waiver and an annual stipend to all incoming PhD students. This is because it is very difficult to achieve enough external funding to fund your PhD studies.

You also want to look at the eligibility requirements for the PhD program. Identify whether you need to have a master’s degree and/or an undergraduate degree in the same discipline, whether they require GRE test scores, and the academic profile of their students, which may indicate if your own background will be competitive for acceptance.

Step 6: Email potential PhD supervisors of interest

Once you found an ideal PhD supervisor based at a PhD program, it’s time to do your email outreach. This article describes how and why you should do this outreach before you apply. Keep in mind this outreach is critical to success. Do not skip over the step of opening a conversation with the faculty member as you may find that they are not accepting graduate students the following year, or they’re moving in a new direction of research that is no longer in alignment with your topic of interest. This information is important to know before you apply and indicate your interest in working with them in the application. For guidance, read Questions to Ask Potential PhD Supervisors: Step 1 in Applying to Fully Funded PhD Programs .

Best of luck my friends as you develop your applications!

Would you like to receive the full list of more than 1000+ fully funded programs in 60 disciplines?  Download the FREE Directory of Fully Funded Graduate Programs and Full Funding Awards !

Dr. Vicki Johnson is Founder and CEO of ProFellow, the world’s leading online resource for professional and academic fellowships. She is a four-time fellow, top Ph.D. scholar, Fulbright recipient and an award-winning social entrepreneur. She is the Creator and Director of  Fully Funded , an award-winning online course and mentorship program for graduate school applicants seeking to find and win full funding. 

© ProFellow, LLC / Vicki Johnson 2021, all rights reserved.

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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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How to choose the right PhD supervisor

4 red flags to be wary of in the search for a good match.

Gemma Conroy

Credit: Thomas Barwick/Getty

23 June 2020

Thomas Barwick/Getty

A PhD supervisor can make or break a candidate’s progress. It’s estimated that roughly half of all PhD candidates in North America do not complete their doctoral studies due to a lack of support from their supervisor.

“It’s a decision that should be taken very seriously,” says Anna Sverdlik, an educational psychologist at the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada.

“This is the person you could be working with for several years and it can shape who you are as an academic.”

Below are four tips that can help PhD candidates choose a suitable supervisor , and the red flags to watch out for:

1. Interview the supervisor

While most candidates focus on trying to impress a prospective supervisor, Emma Beckett took the opposite approach when she was choosing between institutions for her PhD.

“I approached each meeting as if I were interviewing the supervisor, and not the other way around,” says Beckett, a molecular nutrition scientist at the University of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia.

“Forget the power dynamic and remember it’s about what’s best for your development.”

Asking the right questions can give students a better sense of whether a supervisor is the best match for them, says Sverdlik, who studies motivation and wellbeing in doctoral students.

“Talk to them and see what kind of person they are,” she says. “Students are often too grateful when someone shows an interest, and this puts them at a disadvantage.”

Red flag: If a potential supervisor is difficult to pin down for a meeting, they are unlikely to treat their students as a priority down the line, says Beckett.

2. Get an outside perspective

Reaching out to former students, collaborators, and lab members can be a good way of forming an accurate view of a supervisor’s reputation, says Gerard Dericks from Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom, who studies PhD student satisfaction.

“You want to do a mini background check, as it’s difficult to tell how honest a researcher is during an interview.”

Speaking with former co-authors can also give candidates a better idea of how collaborative a supervisor is and how well their skills and research interests match, says Dericks.

Paying attention to how colleagues interact with the supervisor can also prevent candidates from entering a toxic situation.

Beckett says she experienced this first-hand at a lab meet-and-greet session when she was searching for a postdoc position. “Multiple students came knocking on the principal investigator’s door in tears,” she recalls. “That’s definitely a bad sign.”

Red flag: If a supervisor seems to prefer working alone or doesn’t include students as co-authors on their papers, it’s unlikely that they will help the candidate build their resumes, says Sverdlik.

3. Look beyond the PhD

Candidates should look for a supervisor who can help them develop the skills they need to progress in their career after completing their PhD, says Beckett.

“Too many students get caught up in the PhD topic or project, but it’s about building skills that can help you pivot into what you want to do next,” she says. “The outcome of a PhD is not about output, but who you are as a scientist.”

Sverdlik says that candidates should discuss professional development opportunities with potential supervisors, such as writing workshops , training in advanced statistics, and research integrity seminars.

Red flag: Too much emphasis on publishing papers can be a sign that the potential supervisor lacks integrity and isn’t focussed on helping their students’ skill development, says Beckett.

4. Consider the supervisor’s working style

Rather than choosing a supervisor for their prestige and research interests, Beckett says candidates should pay attention to the workplace culture and how things run day-to-day.

This can mean discussing expectations before committing to a potential supervisor, such as working hours, meeting frequency, and how the supervisor tracks their candidates’ progress, she says.

“Some students like to be micromanaged, while others prefer to do things in their own time,” says Beckett. “Finding out whether your day-to-day controls and procedures are compatible is a way of understanding their ‘big picture’ ethos without actually asking.”

Red flag: Prospective supervisors who expect candidates to work on weekends or be on-call outside of working hours are likely to be more interested in a student’s productivity than their growth and development, says Beckett.

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Educational resources and simple solutions for your research journey

How to Find the Right Research Supervisor for Your Research

Deciding to pursue a PhD is a significant decision one takes for his/her career. And before starting on the doctoral journey, one needs to consider many factors like identifying their research topic, choosing the right university and department, and most importantly, knowing how to find a research supervisor who will be able to guide you in the right manner. The right PhD supervisor can strongly influence the success and quality of your degree and consequently, makes a significant impact on your academic career. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that you know how to find a research supervisor for your PhD program.

Table of Contents

Why a good supervisor is an invaluable asset

Obtaining a PhD is not easy and is often fraught with challenges. Hence, finding a research supervisor who will support you when your experiments fail, encourage you when you are plagued with self-doubt and guide you towards successfully presenting your thesis is vital. The roles and responsibilities of a research supervisor are to guide you through your research journey, and there are many ways they can help you do so. They can:

• help you refine your research ideas
• identify the knowledge gaps in the field of study and guide you through difficulties
• offer valuable insights and provide advice on the most effective research methodologies to use.
• help you to develop necessary research skills such as, critical thinking, analysis, and interpretation to conduct a successful research project.
• offer you emotional and academic support in the ups and downs of your doctoral journey.

Hence, it is very critical to spend time finding a PhD supervisor who will be a great fit for your research project.

How to find a research supervisor that fits your needs

There are certain qualities of a good research supervisor that you will have to look for, in your own supervisor. Here are some basic things you should look for.

Choose an expert in your subject area: One of the most critical factors to consider when choosing a PhD supervisor is their research expertise. A good place to start your search for a good PhD supervisor would be the faculty profiles of universities and research institutes. Look for faculty members who have focused expertise in your research field and whose research interests align with your own. An ideal PhD supervisor must be someone who has authored a good number of articles, chapters, and books. This indicates that your supervisor is up-to-date on recent developments in your field and can provide you with the guidance and support you will need to write your thesis.

Look for someone whose mentoring methods match your learning style: If you are thinking about the questions to ask research supervisors, ask them about their mentoring style. Take time to learn as much as possible about them, ask them questions especially about their thought process, past work, and current projects. Also, try to understand the proposed supervisor’s mentoring style and ensure that it matches your learning style and preferences .

Consider personality traits and communication abilities: A PhD supervisor who is supportive, approachable, and possesses good communication skills can make a significant difference in your doctoral journey. While some supervisors can be hands-off and may offer minimal guidance, there are others who are more involved and will provide detailed feedback and guidance when required. You want to find a PhD supervisor who is easy to talk to , listens to your concerns and questions, and is respectful of your ideas and opinions.

Evaluate the success of past students and ask for feedback: Check the track record of your proposed PhD supervisor.  Find their previous students and see if they were able to complete their PhD on time. Were they able to publish in top-tier journals? Were they successful in securing academic positions? Answers to these questions will help you determine if they are a good fit for you. You can also talk to other students and faculty members in your department to get recommendations and insights into different supervisors.

Remember, finding the right supervisor goes beyond their reputation or academic achievements. It is essential to assess their mentoring style, availability, and willingness to invest in your growth as a researcher. A supportive and collaborative supervisor can provide invaluable guidance, enhance your research skills, and open doors to new opportunities.

Choose wisely, collaborate closely, and let your research thrive under the guidance of a supportive and knowledgeable supervisor.

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How to Choose Your PhD Supervisor

Your PhD supervisor will be one of the most influential people in your academic life. Throughout the course of your doctorate, your supervisor will play the role of mentor, confidant, cheerleader, and advisor. They will be crucial to your PhD’s success so it’s important to make a prudent choice.

Social sciences, arts, and humanities PhD programs often require applicants to indicate a potential supervisor when applying. It is recommended that you contact this person before submitting your application. However, in STEM fields it is more common to apply for a predetermined PhD research project with a supervisor attached. In this case, applicants can still benefit from either researching or contacting the supervisor assigned to the research project.

Before you can start evaluating potential supervisors you must have a clear idea of what you want to research. Since you’re planning on doing a PhD it’s likely you have already identified some of your research interests. Your supervisor should be someone who has expertise in one of these areas. If you want to pursue a PhD in social sciences, arts, or the humanities it’s a good idea to develop a project proposal or at least some specific research questions in mind before starting to contact potential supervisors.

Come Up With a List

Now it’s time to do some research and come up with a list of potential supervisors. Are there certain names that come up again and again when you research this topic? If you’re having a hard time coming up with some scholars on your own, it can be incredibly helpful to talk to a professor in your department about potential supervisors. They know the field better and will be able to suggest some researchers who work on your research topic.

Once you make the initial list, it’s time to whittle it down. Read up on each person on your list. Are they still an active researcher? Do they still work on your research topic? Are they currently supervising students? What are the admissions criteria for the institution they work at? The answers to these questions will probably eliminate a few potential supervisors from your list leaving you ready for the next step.

Make Contact

The easiest way to approach the people on your shortlist of potential supervisors is by sending them a quick email. To make a good impression, this email should be well-written, concise, and personalized to the recipient. Your email should:

• Clearly state your interest in doing a PhD with them
• Describe your academic background and research interests
• Explain why they are the perfect person to supervise you (by making reference to their work)
• Mention any funding you are applying for
• Ask if you can arrange a time to meet or talk on the phone about the project
• Include your CV ( here’s a handy template ) and research proposal
• If you don’t hear back from them in two weeks, send a follow-up email. If you don’t hear back in another two weeks, start to look elsewhere. There may be many reasons the professor doesn’t answer you; don’t take it personally.  

Meeting Face to Face

When a professor responds that they are interested in you and your project, they will probably want to meet you (either in person or virtually on Skype ). This meeting will allow your potential supervisor to learn more about you and determine if your personalities are a good fit. The will have several questions for you and, likewise, you should prepare some questions for them so that you can decide if you really want to do a PhD with them. Relevant questions would be:

• What are the characteristics of a successful PhD student?
• What do you expect of the students you supervise?
• How do you mentor students?
• What are your past students doing now?
• How many students are you currently supervising?
• How much time would you have for me?
• What do you think of my research proposal?
• Do you have any sabbaticals planned during the time I would be doing my PhD?  

The answers to these questions will tell you a lot about their supervision style. Choosing a supervisor is a personal choice and each applicant will value different qualities over others. Generally, your supervisor should be someone you get along with who is approachable, has a good placement and publication record, and is enthusiastic about your project.

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Choosing a PhD supervisor? 9 Key Factors to Consider

10 Tips to Select PhD Supervisor

PhD supervisor is the most powerful person in any PhD scholar’s academic career. From the beginning of the research to the end, a good supervisor plays different roles like mentor, advisor, and cheerleader. A scholar gains confidence in research only through his/her supervisor. Therefore, it’s important to make a wise choice in choosing a supervisor for the successful completion of your PhD program. In this article, iLovePhD listed the nine key factors when you choosing a PhD supervisor.

“A good teacher knows how to bring out the best in a student!!” Charles Kuralt

Selecting a PhD supervisor is one of the most crucial and difficult decisions for a young researcher to make. Your decision will be influenced by the subject area you wish to carry out your work. Remember, when you are pursuing your research, there will be extreme highs and extreme lows throughout your PhD, so you should try to choose a supervisor with whom you can collaborate effectively during challenging circumstances.

How will you choose your PhD supervisor depends on whether you’re applying for an R&D-funded project or putting forward your research proposal.

9 Key Factors to Choose a PhD Supervisor / Guide / Advisor

1. r&d funded project or own research proposal.

• If you’re applying for an R&D-funded project , the process of choosing a supervisor is simple.
• Usually, they will be the principal investigator of the project, you can join as a JRF ie., Junior Research Fellow in the project to do the project work, and at the same time you can use this data to get your PhD degree, provided the principal investigator of the project and your research supervisor should be the same.
• The advantages of working in the funded project are that you will get the complete roadmap of your work at the initial stage of your PhD and you will get the fellowship during the project period.
• On the other hand, if you’re proposing your research proposal, you have to do some groundwork to choose a supervisor whose research interests align with your interests.
• You have to be clear in your area of research and should have a rough idea of what you want your PhD topic to be.
• In this way, you can narrow down the potential supervisors by research interests and then focus on those who have expertise in your area of research.

2. Check Scientific Databases

It will give you lots of data with which you can refine your search.

• This allows you to look for the most cited articles and thus helps you to choose who the leading researchers are.

3. Career stage of your potential supervisor

• Then look for the career stage of your supervisor.
• A professor at the beginning of their career might have fewer professional commitments and therefore they find more time to supervise you.
• A senior professor may have a busy professional life – but this could be counter-balanced by their expertise and experience.

4. Check Recent Publications

Let us assume that you have short-listed 10 professors, now you need to check for their publications and give more importance to their recent publications so that you will get to know about the current research works going on under their supervision.

5. Prior Meeting

Once you’ve done your search for a supervisor and have a clear idea of your proposed research topic, you should make a shortlist of around three potential supervisors to contact.

Make sure that you understand their academic background and current projects so that you can make an excellent first impression when you get in touch with them.

6. During the meeting

If you’re able to meet your potential supervisor and discuss your research proposal, you need to have a good research plan of what you want to achieve with your PhD research.

Meeting them in person is a great way of gauging their personality and your chemistry.

You are going to work with them for a minimum of three years, so you can make sure you are going to get on with them.

Also, it’s good to know the other details like If they’re planning to retire or change institution, because that could affect your research later down the line.

You should have a supervisor who is going to stick around for the duration of your PhD.

7. Status of Current PhD Scholars

• Find out what sort of research work the supervisor is currently involved in.
• You can normally see a list of current research scholars on the department website.
• You can get feedback from them regarding the supervisor’s methodology of guidance.

8. Research Facilities and Funding

• Check for research facilities available in the department or Centre.
• Make sure that the laboratories are equipped with the state-of-the-art instrumentation and equipment facilities needed to carry out your research.
• Check whether the institution or the department has a well-established library facility to access reputed and peer-reviewed publications and e-journals.
• Check for any fellowships available in the department/University for PhD research .

9. Collaboration

• Depending on your preferences, you can decide whether you want to work within a small, specialized department or a larger team that allows more scope for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Some of you may want to carry out PhD program under the part-time category. In this case, you need to get NOC ie., a No Objection Certificate from the organization where you work. If your organization permits you, you can register your PhD in the University you want to do. You may have to choose a co-supervisor or a joint supervisor. And he/she may be your head of the organization. Also, ensure that your organization is registered as a research center under that University. Otherwise, they need to sign a MoU. These procedures depend on the University guidelines and it may vary from one University to another. So, you need to be aware of all these details too.

Now that you know how to choose a good supervisor for your PhD. You will be spending a lot of time with them during your PhD, so it pays to understand what to look for in-terms of personality traits, expertise, and experience. There are many supervisors out there, and it is always feasible to choose supervisor with whom you can work well and produce a good research. Ultimately, you need to get your PhD degree. So, it’s a decision that should be taken very seriously.

Happy Researching!

Bonus: Secret Tips in Choosing a PhD supervisor?

iLovePhD has stated some of the secret tips for choosing a good supervisor to do PhD:

• PhD supervisor should be an expert in your area of research. Check for the supervisor’s recent publications.
• Prepare a project proposal or some specific research ideas clearly before contacting your supervisor.
• Talk with the experts about your research interest in person before finalizing the one who is going to supervise you.
• Talk with the scholars who are working currently under the professor/expert.
• Check the research facilities (Library, Instrumentation, access to journals) available in the department.
• Also, check for fellowships/scholarships available in the department/University. Check for R&D project with supervisor to carry out Ph.D. with fellowship.
• Talk to other students who have already worked with the potential supervisor to get an honest review of their experience.
• Look for supervisors with an active research program that interests you.
• Consider the supervisor’s availability and how accessible they will be for guidance and support.
• Look for someone with the knowledge and experience relevant to your intended research field.
• Explore whether the supervisor has funding for new projects, as this may impact your ability to conduct research.
• Ask yourself if you think the supervisor is someone you can connect with and can trust.
• Find out if the supervisor is willing and able to attend conferences and workshops, as this could provide networking opportunities.
• Ask if the supervisor’s institution offers resources that may be beneficial to your research and development, such as a library, laboratories, or computing facilities.
• Make sure to understand the requirements of the supervisory team, and if applicable, any co-supervisors, before accepting an appointment.
• Learn about the expectations and requirements of the supervisor so that you can determine if you are comfortable working with them.

In conclusion, a PhD is not just a degree, it’s a process of understanding your research area. Therefore, it’s a scholar’s responsibility to choose a good supervisor for their research career.

All The Best!

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Also, Read Top 38 Possible PhD Viva Questions How to Become an Academic Journal Reviewer?|Step by Step Guide

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• Artificial intelligence

• What You Should Expect from Your PhD Supervisor
• Doing a PhD

A good supervisor will act as your mentor. They will not only help you progress through each stage of a PhD program  but can also act as a source of information or someone to bounce ideas off. To get the most from your supervisor, it’s essential to first understand what their role and responsibilities are in relation to you and your PhD. This won’t only help you understand the different ways they can support you, but also enables you to define clear boundaries which will go a long way to ensuring an enjoyable and respected relationship between the two of you.

1. Expertise in Your Subject Area

You should expect your supervisor to be an expert in the subject you are focusing your PhD on. This is crucial as your supervisor will act as your primary means of support during your PhD. Therefore, the effectiveness of his or her support directly corresponds to their knowledge of your chosen subject, which could be the difference to your PhD succeeding or not.

In addition to this, a supervisor who is an expert in your chosen field could save you from unnecessarily adding a year or more to the duration of your PhD. This is because, as an expert, they will already possess an in-depth understanding of what can and cannot be achieved in the field and have an appreciation as to what would and what wouldn’t help your research stand out. This trait will help them keep you on track, which helps ensure your time is being used most effectively.

Ideally, your supervisor should have experience in supervising PhD students. Although you could theoretically tackle your PhD alone, there are many areas applicable to all PhDs, such as literature reviews, methodologies, experiments, thesis, and dissertations, that an experienced supervisor can guide you on.

2. Regular Supervisory Meetings

As good as your supervisor may be, their ability to support you only comes into fruition if you interact with them. You will be expected to arrange regular meetings with your supervisor, and if necessary, other members of your PhD panel. This will allow you to report back on your latest progress, discuss any issue you’re facing, and review any plans to identify potential improvements, etc. Some supervisors will suggest meeting at regular intervals, i.e. every other week, some will suggest meeting on completing a milestone, i.e. completion of your first draft of the literature review, and others will suggest meeting specifically as and when you need their support. While none are notably better than the other, the key is to pick what works best for you and to ensure you’re meeting them frequently, even if that means having to combine two or all of the approaches.

It’s important to appreciate your supervisor is going to be busy. They are not only going to be supervising you, but they’ll likely be providing supervision to several other students, teach undergraduate classes and have their own research projects going on. However, if you can’t meet your supervisor as often as you would like because of this, your communication doesn’t need to suffer. Instead, make use of email . Not only will your supervisor appreciate this as it gives him time to respond on his own schedule, but you’ll likely get a more detailed response.

3. Feedback on Work in Progress

Another vital aspect to expect from your supervisor is to receive continuous feedback on your work. With your supervisor being an expert in their field, he should be able to review your work and identify any issues or areas for improvement. Gaining feedback on your work is critical through all stages of your PhD. Initially, feedback will be imperative to ensure you’re staying on track. Besides this, it gives your supervisor the opportunity to help set up aspects of your PhD in ways they’ve witnessed first-hand to be most effective, for example, by suggesting an alternative way to structure your literature review or record your research findings. During the ending stages of your PhD, your supervisor will play an essential role in supporting you in the production of your thesis or dissertation. The more you liaise with them during this process, the smoother the process will be.

4. Advice and Support

The advice and support that your supervisor can offer you throughout your degree will be invaluable. As an old saying goes, you can never be distracted if you get the right advice from the right person, which in this case will be your supervisor. As well as providing technical support, many supervisors will also look to provide emotional support through words of encouragement when the moment warrants it. Having once undertaken the journey themselves, they fully appreciate how challenging and stressful the journey can be.

It’s important to note that although your supervisor is there to provide support, they are not there to help with the minor details or every problem you may encounter. The role of the supervisor is to mentor, not to teach, or do it for you. It will be your responsibility to plan, execute and monitor your own work and to identify gaps in your own knowledge and address them. Your supervisor may help by recommending literature to read or suggesting external training courses, however, you should expect nothing more intrusive than this.

5. Mediation and Representation

All universities and departments will have their own rules and regulations. As a professional academic student, you will have to adhere to these rules. These rules are unlikely to be limited to behaviour only with several rules influencing your work as a PhD student. These rules may relate to how you are expected to submit documentation or to the experiments that require special permission before being conducted within their labs. If you have any queries about any rule or regulation, your first point of contact should be your supervisor.

Before starting a PhD, it’s reasonable to have many expectations in mind. However, of all expectations, the one of your supervisors is likely to be the most important. Your supervisor will act as the backbone of your research project and should provide you with continuous support throughout each stage of your degree. A great supervisor may not only be the difference between a smooth and turbulent process, but sometimes may also be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful PhD.

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How to find a suitable PhD supervisor

By Dinsa Sachan 2022-03-29T08:45:00+01:00

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Five tips for identifying who will give you the support you need

A good lab leader cares about people as well as science

‘We’re not robots; we are people,’ says  Michael Mauro , a cell biologist who defended his PhD at Yale University, US, in September 2021. ‘We bring baggage from outside life into the lab … having a PhD adviser who’s aware of that and can understand that if you need a minute, you got to take a minute, that’s really important.’ In fact, a functional relationship with an adviser is critical to a doctoral candidate’s wellbeing.

If you’re entering a  pre-designed PhD programme , such as those offered by many institutes in the UK, you are likely going to work under the researcher heading the programme. But if you’re among the many PhD aspirants worldwide who are crafting their unique research projects, then you’re likely to explore a few research groups before you finalise one. In some parts of the world you may even have the opportunity to do lab rotations  (work for a short whil in several different labs). Whatever your situation, it’s important to investigate whether you’d work well with a potential supervisor.

Find someone who matches your needs

Every researcher has a unique mentoring style. Some advisers like to check in with their students more regularly, while others allow them more freedom. As you start discussing your research project with interested scientists, ask them about their approach directly so you know whether it is suitable for you. However, ‘you don’t need to get all the mentorship from your [adviser],’ explains  Anish Rao , a postdoctoral researcher in Spain, who often reached out to other faculty members in the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, in Pune, India, where he did his PhD in chemistry, to talk about things outside of his research. He had many philosophical questions, such as how does one choose a particular scientific discipline, that he found another professor to ask. ‘I [would] just go to his office and tell him all these questions,’ says Rao. ‘He was very smart and kind. So, he would entertain me.’ 

Choose someone who respects your boundaries

You have to be clear about your boundaries from the word go, especially if you are a caregiver or have children. Don’t be afraid to ask practical questions about work–life balance before you make a move. ‘Ask them the hard-hitting questions,’ says Mathew Anker , a lecturer in inorganic chemistry at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. ‘Am I going to be in the lab every day? Do I need to work seven days a week? See if they’ve got flexible working hours; that’s a really important one.’ Rao suggests searching for professors who care about topics such as mental health – if they do, they are likely to talk about it during classes or post about it on Twitter. 

Be flexible on the research front

You need to have a genuine proclivity toward the topic of your research project, but you may want to be a little flexible with the actual research question. Ultimately, you want to find the sweet spot where you like the topic as well as the research group. ‘You can be really interested in a subject, but if you’re not with the right person to do that research, then you’re not going to enjoy it,’ says Anker. 

Learn to spot a true ally

Sophia Hayes , a professor of chemistry and the interim vice-dean of the office of graduate studies in arts and sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, US, received a solid piece of advice from a mentor that can help you find not just a supportive PhD adviser but a lifelong cheerleader. ‘They told me to only work with people who equate your success with their own,’ she says. But how do you ascertain this during initial meetings? ‘You can kind of sense it,’ says Hayes, adding that you need to pay attention to small cues during those discussions. ‘When I speak about my students, I’m incredibly proud,’ says Hayes: ‘When some great discovery happens in my lab, I tend to focus on the student, the student’s role, and all the things that they did.’ Additionally, ask potential advisers about how the students who have recently completed their PhD are faring. ‘If it doesn’t match where you see yourself in 10 years, then that may not be the right place for you,’ she adds. 

Don’t skimp on background research

Use any opportunity you get to spend time in your shortlisted labs to talk to the other members of the lab, too. If a potential adviser claims they care about work-life balance, see if the lab members agree with that. Moreover, you want to also judge how you feel about working with the lab members. ‘Go and talk to these people and see if you’re going to get on because you’re going to spend a lot of time in close proximity for the next [few] years,’ suggests Anker.

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Ten types of PhD supervisor relationships – which is yours?

Lecturer, Griffith University

Disclosure statement

Susanna Chamberlain does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Griffith University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

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It’s no secret that getting a PhD is a stressful process .

One of the factors that can help or hinder this period of study is the relationship between supervisor and student. Research shows that effective supervision can significantly influence the quality of the PhD and its success or failure.

PhD supervisors tend to fulfil several functions: the teacher; the mentor who can support and facilitate the emotional processes; and the patron who manages the springboard from which the student can leap into a career.

There are many styles of supervision that are adopted – and these can vary depending on the type of research being conducted and subject area.

Although research suggests that providing extra mentoring support and striking the right balance between affiliation and control can help improve PhD success and supervisor relationships, there is little research on the types of PhD-supervisor relationships that occur.

From decades of experience of conducting and observing PhD supervision, I’ve noticed ten types of common supervisor relationships that occur. These include:

The candidate is expected to replicate the field, approach and worldview of the supervisor, producing a sliver of research that supports the supervisor’s repute and prestige. Often this is accompanied by strictures about not attempting to be too “creative”.

Cheap labour

The student becomes research assistant to the supervisor’s projects and becomes caught forever in that power imbalance. The patron-client roles often continue long after graduation, with the student forever cast in the secondary role. Their own work is often disregarded as being unimportant.

The “ghost supervisor”

The supervisor is seen rarely, responds to emails only occasionally and has rarely any understanding of either the needs of the student or of their project. For determined students, who will work autonomously, the ghost supervisor is often acceptable until the crunch comes - usually towards the end of the writing process. For those who need some support and engagement, this is a nightmare.

The relationship is overly familiar, with the assurance that we are all good friends, and the student is drawn into family and friendship networks. Situations occur where the PhD students are engaged as babysitters or in other domestic roles (usually unpaid because they don’t want to upset the supervisor by asking for money). The chum, however, often does not support the student in professional networks.

Collateral damage

When the supervisor is a high-powered researcher, the relationship can be based on minimal contact, because of frequent significant appearances around the world. The student may find themselves taking on teaching, marking and administrative functions for the supervisor at the cost of their own learning and research.

The practice of supervision becomes a method of intellectual torment, denigrating everything presented by the student. Each piece of research is interrogated rigorously, every meeting is an inquisition and every piece of writing is edited into oblivion. The student is given to believe that they are worthless and stupid.

Creepy crawlers

Some supervisors prefer to stalk their students, sometimes students stalk their supervisors, each with an unhealthy and unrequited sexual obsession with the other. Most Australian universities have moved actively to address this relationship, making it less common than in previous decades.

Captivate and con

Occasionally, supervisor and student enter into a sexual relationship. This can be for a number of reasons, ranging from a desire to please to a need for power over youth. These affairs can sometimes lead to permanent relationships. However, what remains from the supervisor-student relationship is the asymmetric set of power balances.

Almost all supervision relationships contain some aspect of the counsellor or mentor, but there is often little training or desire to develop the role and it is often dismissed as pastoral care. Although the life experiences of students become obvious, few supervisors are skilled in dealing with the emotional or affective issues.

Colleague in training

When a PhD candidate is treated as a colleague in training, the relationship is always on a professional basis, where the individual and their work is held in respect. The supervisor recognises that their role is to guide through the morass of regulation and requirements, offer suggestions and do some teaching around issues such as methodology, research practice and process, and be sensitive to the life-cycle of the PhD process. The experience for both the supervisor and student should be one of acknowledgement of each other, recognising the power differential but emphasising the support at this time. This is the best of supervision.

There are many university policies that move to address a lot of the issues in supervisor relationships , such as supervisor panels, and dedicated training in supervising and mentoring practices. However, these policies need to be accommodated into already overloaded workloads and should include regular review of supervisors.

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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.

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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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Deakin has more than 2000 research experts, many of them ranked among the top 1% globally. We provide a qualified team of at least two supervisors who will guide and support you through every stage of your research degree or PhD. No matter what your passion is, we’re committed to broadening your career opportunities through accredited research training and industry placement.

How to find a research supervisor

Consider your research topic, find an expert in your field.

Browse our directory of experts to find the perfect supervisor for you. You can search by name, faculty, research area or keyword to find an expert in a particular field. You can then click into an expert's profile to learn more about them and scroll down to check if they are available for supervision.

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Once you have considered a topic and found an available supervisor in your field, you'll need to email the expert directly to discuss your research interests and supervision opportunities.

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My supervisor trusted my skills and motivations despite me not having direct work experience. I love my supervisor’s flexibility when managing my PhD project. This experience helped me understand that your supervisor is there to provide project guidance, but at the end of the day it is your project.

Anne Eichholtzer

PhD in conservation science

Choosing the right supervisor for you

We know doing a research degree or PhD is a big commitment and choosing a supervisor can be a critical first step. To help you find an ideal, dedicated supervisor in your field, here are some things you might want to consider:

• what areas of research the supervisor specialises in or has previously had experience supervising
• preferred working relationship and communication style
• the research culture at their workplace
• the outcomes of previous candidates the supervisor worked with.

What to expect from your supervisor?

If you're offered a place as a research candidate, Deakin will provide a qualified team of at least two supervisors recommended by the Head of Academic Unit and Faculty Executive Dean. They will provide instruction, assistance and a sounding board for ideas, as well as being available to review written material. Towards the end of the project, you’ll become the authority on the topic and your supervisor will become a senior colleague.

How Deakin’s supervisors provide support

Gaining a competitive advantage with an industry placement.

During her PhD, Dr Bigelow shares how her supervisor played an important role in securing her industry placement.

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With the support of world-leading supervisors within his field of astronomy, Dr Saeed Salimpour's work in cosmology is inspiring new generations to be true citizens of the cosmos.

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PhD candidate Amrita describes her supervisors as the ‘perfect mentors’ to help strength her academic profile.

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How to be a PhD supervisor

The relationship between phd students and their supervisors is often said to be the most intense in the academy, with huge implications for student success. yet most supervisors receive little if any training. here, six academics give their take on how to approach it .

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The anomaly of academics receiving years of training in research but none in teaching is often remarked upon. But, equally notoriously, what that research training amounts to very much depends on the individual supervisor. After all, academics are not trained in research supervision either, and both supervisors and supervisees have their own set of expectations, needs and aptitudes.

How much and what variety of direction is appropriate? And to what end? Is the PhD still best conceived exclusively as an apprenticeship for would-be academics, even though many doctoral graduates end up – willingly or otherwise – in other walks of life? Indeed, is it realistic to expect all PhD students to be proficient in independent research at the end of the process? And what to do with those who are not? Is it the supervisor’s task to make sure they drop out early? Must supervisors always be optimistic and encouraging, offering whatever level of micromanagement is necessary to get the student through?

Here, six academics give their own takes on where the lines should be drawn in the doctoral quicksand.

  ‘A PhD is about becoming an independent researcher’

If a final-year PhD researcher isn’t regularly telling me that I’m wrong, I worry; something has gone badly awry. They should argue that there’s no way my latest hare-brained experimental design could ever work, that my interpretation of the data can’t possibly be correct because it doesn’t take very basic physics into account, and that the paper published months ago by Professor W. Leader’s group at Prestige University described exactly the type of measurement I suggested in our most recent meeting. Why the heck wasn’t I aware of this? Don’t I read the literature? (They get extra credit for peppering their arguments with suitably chosen expletives.)

Demonstrating that level of project “ownership” is essential because otherwise I feel that I’ve failed in my supervision, not least because my university’s criteria for awarding a PhD – in line with those of every other university out there – stipulate that the candidate must have developed “the general ability to conceptualise, design and implement a project for the generation of new knowledge, applications or understanding at the forefront of the discipline, and to adjust the project design in the light of unforeseen problems”.

They must also demonstrate “a systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge which is at the forefront of an academic discipline or area of professional practice”. I’ve never been able to square the rather perverse circle of requiring a student to be at the forefront of an academic discipline; someone whose doctoral work is, by definition, at the forefront of a discipline is most definitely not a student; they’re an expert defining the direction of their particular sub-field (or, as is more usual, their sub-sub-sub-sub-field). Still, it is clear that they should at least be in a position to swear with conviction at someone who is at the forefront of the discipline.

So I’m firmly of the opinion that we should ditch the term “PhD student” and instead use the rather more accurate “PhD researcher”. I am not alone in this. Jeff Ollerton, professor of biodiversity at the University of Northampton , has been making compelling arguments against the use of the term “PhD student” for quite some time. Retiring the “student” label would help drive a culture change that not only better recognised the core contributions made by PhD candidates to the research “ecosystem” (including those many first-authored papers submitted to the research excellence framework) but could also help improve their status in the eyes of that – hopefully dying – breed of PI who see early career researchers as the hired help, rather than the peers they should be. I was very fortunate to have a PhD supervisor with whom I genuinely collaborated; ideas were debated, discussed and dissected and I was never made to feel that I should “know my place”. I’ve since learned that this is not always the norm.  

Of course, not all PhD researchers are created equal; I am not so naive as to imagine that every doctoral candidate in every lab or library is capable of generating “a substantial body of knowledge at the forefront of an academic discipline”. But isn’t it then about time that we came clean about this? And wouldn’t phasing out the “PhD student” term help send a strong message to those who are considering taking on the formidable challenge of a doctoral programme?

A PhD is about becoming an independent researcher. The process is a universe away from the exam-and-coursework cycle that drives the vast majority of undergraduate degrees. There’s no curriculum and no textbook that map out a PhD from start to finish; no neatly annotated problems whose solutions are helpfully given in the back of the book. PhD researchers in effect write the textbook for the next generation of undergrads – what else do we mean when we say a doctoral thesis should be about expanding the body of knowledge in a particular field?    

In physics, we’ve become rather more open with PhD applicants in recent years about their chances of ultimately securing an academic position, should that be their goal. Let’s go one step further and be entirely upfront about the level of independence and self-direction involved in a PhD.

I’ve already followed Ollerton’s example and stopped referring to doctoral candidates as students. Why not join us? I suspect that your PhD researchers will appreciate the change.

Philip Moriarty is professor of physics at the University of Nottingham .

‘Being a decent supervisor means being a decent human being’

My PhD supervisor taught me a valuable lesson about good supervision: it involves far more than teaching a doctoral student how to be a good writer and researcher. It is about believing in students’ academic potential, fostering their confidence and supporting them on whichever of life’s pathways they choose to take.

From the outset of my own PhD, I got a strong sense from my supervisor that he had faith in my abilities as an academic – he wanted me to succeed, and he never stopped telling me that he believed I could succeed. He was therefore committed to helping me develop the skills I would need when it came to navigating the postdoctoral job search. He advised me to do some tutoring early on, so that I could learn more about the art of teaching. He alerted me to job opportunities and gave some invaluable advice about performing well at interviews. He encouraged me to spend a semester at an overseas institution, which proved particularly fruitful, allowing me to develop my confidence on both personal and academic levels. Lastly, he instilled in me a passion for networking and collaboration, both of which have proved invaluable throughout my academic career.

Over the past few years, as I have taken up the mantle of PhD supervision, the lessons I learned from my supervisor have stayed with me. As well as guiding my students’ research and writing, I always take time to share some of the transferable skills that I acquired. I encourage them to participate in projects that will build their self-confidence as academics and in the wider world. I nudge them to present regularly at key conferences and have invited some to collaborate in writing projects with me. I seek opportunities for them to network with other academics in their field, or apply for a tutoring job, or gain experience and confidence in talking about their research. Following the example of my own supervisor, I want my students to know that I will do my best to nurture their abilities and support their endeavours as much as I can.

Nevertheless, good supervision is not solely focused on students’ future job prospects. Being a decent supervisor means being a decent human being, and showing students your respect and support. I always recall that, just before I began my PhD, my supervisor offered to assist me with my doctoral funding application; he knew I needed the funding and he wanted me to succeed. Despite being already overstretched with other academic commitments, he took time to look through my application with me, using his own rich experience to highlight its weaknesses and strengths. And throughout my studies, he supported me quietly as I went through the personal traumas of a family bereavement and a relationship break-up.

This basic sense of kindness is wrought from an acknowledgement that our PhD students are human beings, just like us. They look to us as role models – both academic and otherwise – and it is our responsibility to show them that we are good academics and good people. Hopefully, they will carry on this tradition if, in later years, they become supervisors themselves.

Kindness is something I place at the forefront of the relationships I share with all my students, and, honestly, it’s not that hard. Words of encouragement during moments of self-doubt, a listening ear when life’s stresses get in the way, a shared coffee or lunch when money is tight – small gestures that, as I recall myself, can go a long way in making the PhD journey that little bit easier.

Caroline Blyth is a senior lecturer in theological and religious studies at the University of Auckland .

‘Providing structure is hugely beneficial to both the student and the supervisor’

Some of life’s most important roles come with no training – you have to learn everything on the job. Being a parent is one of those, and being a PhD supervisor is another. The similarity between these undertakings probably extends even further – to me, being a PhD supervisor means having the opportunity to nurture a young researcher, and to provide them with a strong and secure foundation on which they can establish a career.

This involves figuring out how best to support and encourage them, while also establishing strong expectations and boundaries. It means being present and available to provide input and feedback, while at the same time fostering confidence, independence and a sense of responsibility for their own future. It means being a role model, and inculcating skills and values (such as academic integrity) that will serve them throughout their career, whether that is in academia or beyond. It also means supporting them through the inevitable hard times, and revelling in their successes. In other words – it’s a pretty hefty responsibility, and often a difficult and stressful one.

I have a rather unconventional supervision history – my first faculty position did not permit PhD student supervision – so the bulk of my experience comes from more informal supervisory relationships with people from a variety of backgrounds, from recent bachelor’s graduates, to postdoctoral fellows, to more senior researchers. But these experiences, together with my memories of my time as a student and my growing experience as an undergraduate, MSc and PhD supervisor, have taught me some important lessons.

Among the most significant is the importance of structure: setting clear and explicit expectations, including deadlines and milestones (such as submission of papers for peer review), backed up by regular meetings with a specific agenda, action items and student follow-up. Providing such structure can be a lot of work, but it is hugely beneficial to both the student and the supervisor.

For students who are making the transition from the undergraduate or taught MSc setting, one of the most challenging features of the research PhD is often the lack of deadlines and the feeling of achievement that comes with meeting them, as well as the benchmarking that feedback on assignments or exams provides. Easing that transition allows the student to gain a sense of achievement and awareness of areas of growth and weakness, but it also alerts the supervisor to any signs of difficulties that might stand in the way of completion, such as mental health difficulties that may need support and a potential revision of the PhD plan and timeline. It can also provide a clear basis for communicating with a student that things are not progressing as they should, and that completion may not be a realistic goal at all.

All that said, I have to acknowledge that I often find it difficult to follow my own advice. Academic time goes by at warp speed, and sometimes attempts at structure just fall by the wayside. I also think that the onus for managing the relationship should not fall on the supervisor alone: students must also take responsibility for their own progression.

Figuring out these roles and responsibilities can be one of the most challenging aspects of being a PhD supervisor, and seeking out formal training in good management skills (now offered by many universities) can be immensely beneficial. But, ultimately, the nature of the PhD structure is necessarily dictated on a case-by-case basis by both the supervisor’s and the student’s personalities and working styles. For some students, a “micromanagement” style may prove necessary, while for others, a lighter touch will be more effective. I naturally shy away from the former and find it difficult to implement.

No doubt many academics – who, by definition, were proficient at working semi-independently during their own doctorates – feel the same. But if we have admitted a student to a doctoral programme, we have to accept that it is incumbent on us to give them the help they need to succeed.

Sometimes, of course, a gap will remain between expectations and student progress. In such cases, structures for performance tracking and feedback can help supervisors to determine whether or not the completion of the PhD is within reach. Given the recessive job climate in academia, stepping off the PhD track can often be a sensible option, and should be thought of as goal adjustment, not defeat.

Clare Kelly is Ussher assistant professor of functional neuroimaging at Trinity College Dublin and adjunct assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at New York University .

‘We can augment research skills with practical talents that build resilience and hone interpersonal intelligence’

PhD dropout numbers are approaching 50 per cent for many scientific disciplines in the US. That is because – speaking exclusively of scientific training – the truth is that not every doctoral student is cut out for independent research. In light of that, we should reconsider the true importance of possessing a doctorate.

After all, independent research is not the only walk of life in which the deep subject expertise and critical thinking skills acquired during doctoral study have enormous value. The years spent learning complex material, performing experiments and analysing data are immensely beneficial to anyone capable of doing these things. And sharing that information is necessary for the rest of society, too.

We need credentialed experts in every field, spread broadly, to enrich the lives of others who may not be so fortunate to have such opportunities. This is especially essential today, when misinformation is more believable than fact, and people confuse opinion with scholarship. Ideally, experts of every discipline should be embedded at all levels of the community, from teachers to church leaders, from small business owners to corporate leaders, to connect people to wisdom.

Perhaps the first step towards achieving this goal would be to remove the term “non-traditional career” from the academic advising vocabulary – even while keeping it very much inclusive of the production of PIs. We are living in a time of immense innovation, so fresh thoughts about employment trajectories should be equally novel. A student who ends up working outside academia should not be regarded by their supervisor as a failed self-cloning experiment. A PhD teaches students how to think, but we can broaden the scope of our mentoring to augment research skills with practical talents that build resilience and hone the interpersonal intelligence that is valuable in a wide range of careers.

In many US universities, students intent on entering the research phase of their doctorates have first to pass a two-day written and a one-day oral candidacy exam, so we already have sufficient preliminary evidence of their subject content mastery. When their suitability to be an independent researcher is in doubt, I try to direct my own students into jobs that may better suit their skills within academia. One example is student instruction; I offer teaching opportunities in my undergraduate courses in the form of 1–2 credit hours of independent study. This allows the doctoral students to prepare a topic, present it and create test questions, as well as to host and moderate the associated discussions on the electronic learning platform. The postgraduates are often surprised at how difficult and time-consuming this is.

For instance, pharmacology or biochemistry students with talents that may be more suited to the biomedical industry could be partnered with industry experts in their field who offer internships beyond the bench, to see how they fit in a non-academic environment. Many academic scientists have their own ties to industry, so it is not too much of a stretch to imagine that this could be arranged for the few students a year – perhaps as early as the second year of graduate school, before the research phase begins.

Some will say that PIs are not in a good position to prepare people for careers with which they themselves have no personal familiarity. But we were trained to develop young scientists and to get them to their destination. Whether that destination mirrors our own should be irrelevant.

Jennifer Schnellmann is associate professor of pharmacology at the  University of Arizona .

‘Students need to bring their interests into conversation with the discipline as a whole’

I’ve always conceived higher education to be a process of negotiation between the consumption and the production of knowledge. Students who are capable consumers of knowledge – usually those who do well in examinations – do not necessarily become equally capable producers of knowledge: that is, researchers. The reverse is also true.

Production of knowledge should start early, ideally in the form of undergraduate research papers. But, of course, it comes much more strongly into focus during the doctorate. There are debates about whether the dissertation is the last work of the research trainee or the first utterance of the professional. Perhaps it is a bit of both, but the proportions typically vary according to whether the student is working in the humanities or the natural sciences.

Research in the humanities is, for the most part, done by individuals, while scientific research is more of a group activity, led by a principal investigator. What this means is that anyone who has completed a doctorate in the humanities – my field – is, by definition, capable of independent research – unless the degree has been obtained by unfair means! Advisers share their expertise in the larger subfield, but the dissertation project itself is very much the student’s own.

I’ve known advisers who recommend that their students do not publish before completing their degree; and I’ve known advisers who encourage students to publish, present and network as much as possible even before the dissertation is completed. The conflict is between an approach that sees a doctorate as a complete, disinterested immersion in scholarship versus one that conceives it as professionalisation – which includes socialisation into the institutional lives of a given discipline, as well as more material functions such as seeking jobs, grants and fellowships. Scholarship and professionalisation are related and mutually reinforcing, of course, yet they are not the same and some people are better at one than the other.

My recommendation to my advisees is that they pursue a middle course. The origin of their scholarship, I tell them, should be something that sparks their passion, but once the fire is started, they need to bring their interests into conversation with the discipline as a whole. So, yes, they should use publication to enter into the conversation, but they should guard against letting professionalisation take over the independence and integrity of their intellectual lives. Dissertations should not be shaped in response to the jobs market. But once they have their scholarly trajectory in place, they should identify how it addresses needs and gaps in the discipline as practised today.

One of the big debates in my field, literary studies, is the book versus dissertation question. Should a doctoral student concentrate on fulfilling the traditional expectations of the very small group of people who will ever pay their dissertation any attention, adorning it with copious footnotes and a lengthy literature review that even the examiners won’t read? Or should they write with the wider book audience in mind right from the beginning?

My personal recommendation is to try to write the book. “Try” is the operative word: it is not easy to write something that coheres and reads like a book, especially for the first-time writer, yet aiming to do so will still lead to a radically more readable style. And this is important in the humanities, where the product and the process are not easily separable. It is probably OK for an article describing a new drug to be written in a dull or inaccessible style. But in literature, scholarship must also bring pleasure, even to academic readers.

In any case, students will be revising their dissertations for publication soon enough. Why waste huge chunks of time during their postdoctoral fellowship or first tenure-track job doing so? Much better to cut out the flab from the very outset.

Saikat Majumdar is professor of English and creative writing at  Ashoka University . He is the author, most recently, of  College: Pathways of Possibility  (Bloomsbury India, 2018).

‘The paltry credit offered in the US system disincentivises true mentorship’

Over the past half-decade I have directed well over a dozen graduate projects, and I believe more than ever that the effectiveness of the process should be replicated across the curriculum.

Working one-to-one with a senior scholar expert in the field is a unique boon for student persistence and engagement. To the extent that a thesis, dissertation or other extended research project effectively reduces the corporate scale and increasingly impersonal feel of higher education, it is a process worth celebrating. Because it is also labour-intensive, time-inefficient and messy, it offers an antidote to the brand of assembly-line education preferred by degree mills.

The thesis and dissertation serve as invaluable reminders that student engagement in the 21st century, regardless of level, has everything to do with helping scholars find authorship and agency. When students propose their topic, research it and ultimately defend it, they are more likely to experience the kind of ownership that produces the best, most accountable scholarship. Even removed from faculty guidance, extended independent research projects are valuable for the self-directed, iterative learning processes they cultivate.

However, the idea that a doctoral or master’s candidate could derive significant value from the dissertation or thesis even without faculty supervision raises the question of how meaningful, in practice, the role of director is. For example, graduate students often enrol in thesis or dissertation hours equivalent to a full-credit course, then re-enrol in those hours to work on their credit-bearing project for a second semester. However, if contact hours with supervising faculty members are minimal, as they often are, can we consider those credit hours well earned? The integrity of the thesis and dissertation process depends in large part on the activeness and availability of the director; if that director only meets in-person with their advisee once or twice a semester and again at the defence, have they not become mostly ceremonial figures, there to cement the illusion of academic legitimacy?

It isn’t that thesis advisers and dissertation directors are lazy, but that the paltry credit offered for their labours in the US system disincentivises true mentorship. While a graduate student may earn the equivalent of two full classes’ worth of credit for two semesters of thesis or dissertation work, the faculty member who signs on as director does well to earn a quarter of the credits they would otherwise earn teaching in the classroom.

Provosts may argue that because the thesis and the dissertation qualify as independent research, any credits awarded supervising faculty should reflect that supporting (read: secondary) role. Such logic works in cases where the graduate student is self-motivated and intellectually prepared, but it fails spectacularly in instances where the degree candidate needs significant retraining or academic acculturation.

The thesis or dissertation process works best with fully engaged supervisory faculty properly credited for their work. It is vital that director and degree candidate be realistic about what may be achieved in a given period of time. In my view, both grad students and their supervising faculty members are better served by shorter theses and dissertations, where greater focus and depth make for a truer simulacrum of life. PhD candidates will need to add chapters at a later date to merit publication by a scholarly or university press in any event, and the intervening years between the completion of the thesis or dissertation and its ultimate book publication serve to age the scholar and their scholarship. With candidates for advanced degrees getting younger, the postdoctoral years become more conducive to the maturative process that ripens the writer and refines the research.

For my money, the thesis or dissertation is best regarded not merely as pre-professorial training but as the beginning of collaborative intellectual enquiry designed to last a lifetime.

Zachary Michael Jack is associate professor of English at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.

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A Letter to My PhD Supervisor

16 th August 2022

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PhD supervisors are the unsung heroes of doctoral degrees, helping students stay calm, complete their assignments and achieve excellent results throughout the course. If there’s a problem that you need to talk through or want to bounce an idea off of someone, PhD supervisors are there to lend an ear. As such, it seems only fair to shine a light on the guidance generously given by these wonderful experts. Siung Ghai is studyinga PhD in Space Physics at the University of Sheffield . He explains how much his supervisor has done for him during his degree, and why they’re so important in assisting you with your PhD studies…

Ever since I was young I have always wanted to be an astronaut. However, whenever I have told people about this, they have laughed at me. But now that I’m studying towards a PhD in Space Physics, and through this have had the opportunity to work with scientists, NASA and the European Space Agency, they’re not laughing anymore!

One person who never laughed at me was my brilliant supervisor Simon. When I told him my dream was to go to outer space he listened to me with 110% concentration. Our first meeting was a moment that I'll never forget. There was no laughter, just unwavering support for my passion and dream, something which I’ve come to greatly appreciate in my time at university as a postgrad.

The best supervisors are those that stimulate and foster your talents and ability with unconditional support. I passed my degree with flying colours and excelled in my current PhD work but could not have done any of this without the support and guidance of my supervisor.

When you’re a PhD student it’s often easy to feel lonely as the reality of independent study sets in. It’s important that your supervisor is as available as possible to you – and I was lucky to find someone who was always ready to listen to any of my concerns.

Throughout my studies Simon was proactive about putting networking opportunities in front of me, not just with others within the UK with an interest in my discipline, but also on the overseas stage. I was invited to give academic presentations at three international space assemblies in Turkey, the USA and Japan, largely thanks to his support.

Space may be the final frontier, but many countries have an interest in the field. It’s impossible to work in isolation so a supervisor who can support you with international collaboration opportunities will be a huge asset to you. I was lucky to benefit from his connections and was paired up with scientists from NASA for my current research – something which I could only have dreamed of, when starting out as an undergrad all those years before.

But as much as support is valuable, it’s about inspiration too. A supervisor who can motivate you to go the extra mile, to do that little bit more, will pay dividends in terms of the quality and standing of your eventual research output. Simon inspired me not only to dream big, but dare to achieve bigger than anything I thought possible. It’s easy to feel intimidated by someone who is a leading expert in their field, but when this person can make you feel as though you are on the same level it is easy to be inspired to do more.

I’m not for a second pretending that a wonderful supervisor will make your PhD a walk in a park…there will be challenges, it will still be hard work. But if you can find a PhD supervisor just a little bit like Simon, you will be very lucky indeed. I can’t be more grateful to have had him as part of my research journey.

Next: Search for Doctorate Degrees in Astronomy and Space Science

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A top Chinese university fires a professor after a student accused him of sexual harassment

Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — A top Chinese university has fired a professor a day after a graduate student accused him of sexual harassment and posted recordings online as evidence. The woman said the professor and former vice dean at Renmin University of China physically and verbally abused her. The school concluded her accusations were true and reported the incident to authorities. After the university announced its decision, the woman’s 59-minute video post on Weibo disappeared. Police said later Monday they were investigating the matter. Public accusations of sexual harassment have become rare in China after the government snuffed out a brief rise of a #MeToo movement.

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