Policy and Guidance for the Supervision of Research Degrees

The following policy and guidance relates to the supervision of full-time and part-time Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs) of the following degrees:

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• Master of Philosophy (MPhil)

It sets out the minimum requirements regarding who can be a supervisor, how teams are appointed, and the roles and responsibilities of supervisors.

• Teams must have a lead supervisor and up to a maximum of three co­-supervisors;
• Teams must include as a minimum a lead supervisor and one co-supervisor.
• At least one supervisor must hold a doctoral degree.
• One supervisor should have experience of supervising at least one PGR to successful completion of a UK research degree or a degree considered comparable by Research Degrees Board.
• At least one co-supervisor should be able to deputise for the lead supervisor if at any point the lead supervisor is not available.
• In certain disciplines it may be necessary to appoint an industrial or external supervisor to cover industrial, vocational or clinical aspects of the research degree, or to enable access to equipment or data resources otherwise inaccessible to the PGR, or where PGRs are pursuing research which involves collaboration with an external body.
• Dual Award PGRs require a minimum of two co-supervisors, one from each institution.

Lead supervisors

Lead supervisors must:

• be a staff member at the university at a Grade 7 or above
• have the appropriate skills and subject knowledge to support, encourage and monitor the PGR effectively
• not be registered for a research degree at any university
• not be a visiting professor, visiting fellow or Emeritus professor
• not be a retired member of staff

All supervisors

All supervisors must:

• be actively involved in research or professional practice in the general field being researched by the PGR
• align with the expectation set out in the university Policy on Personal Relationships at Work
• have attended the PhD Supervisor Induction facilitated by the Doctoral Academy.
• where a collaborative agreement is in place with an external organisation, the collaborating supervisor is expected to have comparable research experience as the university supervisor.

Faculty Research Degrees Committee (FRDC) is responsible for approving the appointment of supervisors for each PGR within their respective faculties.

All supervision arrangements must be endorsed by the relevant Director of School (or nominee) prior to FRDC approval. 

No supervisor should undertake the supervision of more PGRs than they can give adequate guidance to. This is ultimately at the discretion of Directors of School. The normal expectation would be that no member of staff shall undertake the role of lead supervisor for more than six FTE students or equivalent for part-time.

Their combined purpose is to ensure that the PGR’s requirements, and any arising issues, are addressed and dealt with in a timely and constructive manner.

The university regards the satisfactory completion of a research degree within the allotted time as a matter of utmost importance. The expectations for formal progression milestones that PGRs must complete and the associated timelines are detailed in the Policy and Guidance for Reviewing Progress of Postgraduate Researchers.  Supervisors must support timely completion by familiarising themselves with registration periods, agreeing realistic schedules of work, and by making early interventions into lapses of study.

The supervisory team should be available to the PGR for consultation and advice on academic matters relating to the research programme, and to offer support and guidance on related pastoral matters, and skills and professional development.

It is the joint responsibility of PGRs and supervisors to harmonise the natural development of the research topic with the timescale required by the research degree framework. The university, the Research Councils and other sponsors normally expect full-time PGRs to complete a thesis for a PhD degree within four years.

Supervisors should be aware of the needs of PGRs with a disability, and should have an active awareness of the support available to the PGR and the means of accessing this support.

The individual responsibilities of each party is outlined below.

Lead supervisor

The lead supervisor will be assigned to a PGR at the time an offer of admission is made. The lead supervisor takes responsibility for the overall management and direction of the PGR’s research degree in addition to administrative tasks relating to the PGR’s registration and progression. Specific responsibilities are:

Understanding of regulations and policies

All supervisors should understand and adhere to the university's Research Degrees Framework. This includes an understanding of the process on eDoc and the associated milestones. Lead supervisors must:

• Ensure that the PGR is aware of regulations and policies of the university, and of the need to conduct their research according to ethical principles, and of the implications of research misconduct and plagiarism.
• Ensure that the PGR is aware of and adheres to equality, diversity, and inclusion policies, and health and safety regulations.
• Supervisors should instil in PGRs the importance of conducting research according to the nature and standards expected in their research. This includes helping them with ethical approval.

Project planning and support

Supervisors should work closely with PGRs to define their research project clearly and realistically from the outset. This involves ensuring that the project can be completed within the allotted timeframe and aligning with the standards of the award. Lead supervisors must:

• Provide guidance about the standard expected, literature and sources, and about requisite techniques (including arranging for instruction where necessary).
• Maintain contact with the PGR through regular scheduled meetings. The lead supervisor should ensure the team members record a minimum of 10 meetings (5 pro rata) per year on eDoc.
• Supervisors should support PGRs in drafting their thesis and must read and provide timely, constructive and actionable feedback on written work, reports and thesis drafts.
• Ensure that the PGR is made aware if progress is not satisfactory or if standards of work fall below that generally expected and give advice and guidance on how to improve it.
• Manage any budget provided for the research project.
• Ensure the PGR is aware of the health and safety regulations and that suitable and sufficient risk assessments are undertaken and recorded for all activities with significant risk.

Person-centred support

Lead supervisors must:

• Annually review research arrangements with PGRs, considering the personal circumstances of the PGR, such as caring responsibilities, alongside their ability to meet research goals and deadlines. Any agreed-upon change of circumstances should be recorded in eDoc.
• Ensure that the particular needs of international and/or other PGRs with diverse backgrounds are taken fully into account during the early stages of research and give help and advice on language use, signposting academic language support where necessary.

Academic progress, attendance and progression monitoring

The lead supervisor must agree on a reasonable timeframe for the work and track the attendance and progress of PGRs in eDoc. They should provide detailed advice on the necessary completion dates for each step of the research to ensure timely progress. Lead supervisors must:

• convene an annual review of progress with members of the supervisory team.
• ensure that the PGR is informed of any inadequacy of standards of work (for example below that generally expected from research students) and should suggest remedial action, or training, as appropriate
• offer guidance on improvement and escalate issues as per university policies if a PGR's progress is unsatisfactory (see the Policy and Guidance for Reviewing the Progress of Postgraduate Researchers)
• ensure that the attendance and progress of international PGRs who have entered the UK on a Student Visa is monitored in line with current Home Office (UKVIS) legislation, and according to the university’s formal monitoring system for international students.

Training and development needs

Lead supervisors are responsible for helping PGRs identify specific training needs and encouraging them to take up opportunities to develop the requisite skills. They must:

• help the PGR identify their specific training needs throughout the research, with reference to the knowledge, behaviours and attributes described in the Researcher Development Framework (PGRs can make use of the Training Needs Analysis tool on eDoc to support this process)
• ensure PGRs complete a Training Plan on eDoc as part of programme approval
• review training needs annually and a Training Plan on eDoc for each academic year

Examination preparation

The lead supervisor must ensure that PGRs are adequately prepared for the viva voce examination and ensure that examiners are nominated within the stipulated deadlines. Specific responsibilities are:

• To nominate examiners after discussion with the PGR, as set out in the Policy for the Examination of Research Degrees, and as part of the thesis submission planning process.
• To read and comment on drafts of the thesis before submission and provide feedback and a view of its readiness for submission.
• To ensure that the PGR understands the procedures for the submission and examination of the thesis and assist them in preparing for the viva voce examination, including offering a mock viva.
• Should the student be asked to resubmit their thesis, the lead supervisor will be responsible for continuing to provide support and supervision throughout the resubmission period.
• To discuss and agree with the PGR if there is a need to embargo the thesis and should sign off on the form which specifies any embargo requirements.

Co-supervisors

Co-supervisors are appointed at Programme Approval. Co-supervisors contribute complementary expertise throughout the development of the PGR’s research degree.

They should:

• be familiar with relevant university regulations and policies, including an understanding of how these are organised on eDoc
• agree the balance of responsibility for the PGR’s day-to-day supervision
• form part of the review panel for the PGR’s annual progress review
• be actively involved in the supervision by making themselves fully aware of the research plan that has been agreed between the PGR and the lead supervisor.
• contributing to feedback on written work
• be available to the PGR for consultation and advice on academic matters relating to the research degree
• deputise for the lead supervisor where the lead supervisor is absent or unable to continue supervising
• ensure that the PGR is aware of institutional-level sources of advice and support, including wellbeing services, careers guidance, and equality and diversity, making referrals when required
• pursue their professional development in the area of supervision through staff training
• provide effective pastoral support or refer the PGR to other appropriate areas of support, including institutional-level sources of advice, careers guidance etcetera

External supervisors

The duties of an external supervisor are complementary to those of the internal co-supervisor and should focus on providing critical commentary on planned research and the programme of work completed. Their main responsibilities are:

• to meet with the lead supervisor and the PGR at least twice per academic year
• to register and engage with eDoc, meeting the required workflows on time
• to be actively involved with the research plan that has been agreed and by contributing to feedback on written work

Ensuring that regular and frequent contact is maintained is the joint responsibility of supervisors and PGRs. Meetings between Supervisors and PGRs may vary according to discipline and local research culture. Nevertheless, ten meetings per annum are required as a minimum (pro rata for Part-Time PGRs) to take place normally once a month. The outcomes of meetings must be recorded on eDoc by the PGR and verified by the supervision team.

Where a PGR’s research programme involves collaboration with an external sponsor it is recommended that formal meetings of all personnel involved in the project, including external sponsor are held at least once each year.

The university cannot guarantee that PGRs will be able to work with a particular supervisor when they start their programme, or that they will have the same supervisor for the duration of their research degree, but, wherever possible, will endeavour to ensure continuity and alternative provision.

In situations whereby a lead supervisor retires, transfers to another institution or is absent from the university for an extended period of time due to illness, research leave or other reasons, then the co-supervisor should normally assume responsibility for the PGR until the lead supervisor returns. Where the period of absence is likely to exceed three months, it is essential that alternative arrangements are made in advance by the supervisory team, with the Director of School (or named alternate), to ensure continuity of supervision.

If the lead supervisor retires or becomes an honorary member of staff during the period of a PGR’s research degree, they can assume the role of co-supervisor, but a new lead supervisor must be appointed. Where a supervisor has moved to another institution, they may be able to continue to co-supervise but they cannot act as the lead supervisor.

Lead supervisors should inform their PGR in advance of any proposed periods of absence either on research and study leave, or any extended leave of more than 4 weeks. In the event of an absence of 4 weeks or more, lead supervisors should either arrange for another staff member to take up temporary supervisory duties, or provide contact details so that supervisory contact may be maintained with the PGR.

PGRs may wish to raise concerns about their experiences and normally these will be directed to supervisors or to School PGR Coordinators within schools/faculties. In the event that a supervisory relationship seems to have broken down, PGRs or supervisors may seek advice from their named Faculty Mediator(s).

PGR Faculty Mediators provide a safe and confidential environment for PGRs to raise issues and concerns. They assist the PGR to consider options, provide advice, inform about university resources and procedures, and to act as a “thinking partner.” They do not keep formal records, perform formal investigations, or advocate for either one party or another, but they advocate for fairness. Areas they cover include, but are not limited to:

• Interactions with members of the supervisory team.
• Conflict with other students.
• Clarifying expectations if a PGR is in doubt.
• Signposting resources or services.
• Identifying and discussing options for resolution.
• Making referrals to formal channels when necessary.

The formal complaints procedure sits with Student Governance. This is the same procedure as for all other students, starting with an attempt to resolve problems locally and informally, with the possibility of escalating the complaint to a formal stage requiring a formal hearing chaired by a third party.

All newly-appointed members of staff with responsibility for supervision, and existing members of staff that take on their first supervisory role, are required to attend the university’s PhD Supervisor Induction. Experienced supervisors are encouraged to attend School or Faculty supervisor forums, which are designed to support and develop a reflective supervisory practice within the relevant disciplinary contexts.