VRKM – 6 Things to Look for in a PhD Supervisor

In most cases, obtaining a PhD requires locating an appropriate PhD supervisor. In the fields of the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, this will typically be the person you get in touch with to talk about your research proposal. In the STEM fields, it is most likely to be the person who is promoting the project for which you wish to be considered and who will be leading the research group in which you will participate.

In either case, the supervisor is just as crucial to the success of the project as the latter itself. Both your relationship with them and their interest and competence, which will make your topic conceivable (whether directly or indirectly), will play a significant role in determining the nature of your PhD experience.

So, what exactly are the characteristics of an excellent PhD advisor? What should you look for when determining whether or not to apply to someone else’s project, or whether or not to approach someone with your own project?

#1 – Expertise in doing research

The quantity of research that an academic has completed is not necessarily indicative of how well they will be able to oversee you. Having said that, it is essential that they have a solid understanding of the steps involved in conducting research, seeing as how this is exactly what you will be doing.

You need to know that the competence of your potential PhD supervisor is aligned with the study topic that you wish to pursue with your doctoral degree. This is of the utmost importance.

You do not need to identify someone who has published on your exact topic (in fact, you want to avoid doing that because the PhD needs to be original, after all!). On the other hand, you should try to find a mentor who is familiar with the field in which you will be working and who is able to provide you with pertinent direction as you design your project.

You may quickly learn about an academic’s research outputs by researching their previous activities (which may include books, editorials, reports, and press articles in addition to public engagement activity such as putting on exhibitions or holding conferences).

Examining university websites (and/or using a standard internet search) is typically an excellent way to get started looking for something.

#2 – The most recent studies

You do want someone who is interested in it, even while you don’t want someone who is practically writing your PhD for you (see the previous sentence!).

Previous research interests might not be the most reliable indicator of success in this endeavour, which is an issue. Although it’s possible that Professor Smith wrote everything there is to know about Charles Dickens and periodical publishing in 1998, the question is whether or not she wishes to explore this topic at this time. If she has recently produced an article advocating for a shift away from canonical Victorian authors, it’s possible that this is not the case.

Naturally, another academic might be excited at the prospect of discussing their earlier work with an enthusiastic new student, particularly if you can discover some “unfinished business” for the two of you to work on together (this is something that could be mentioned in your research proposal).

If you are looking for a job that has been advertised, all of this may not seem like as big of a deal as it otherwise would. After all, this PhD should be the supervisor’s current interest if that’s what they’ve established up a laboratory to explore. If they’ve built up a laboratory to research it, then they should be interested in it. However, it is important to determine how interested they are in the topic and, possibly, how experienced they are.

3. Previous experience in a supervisory role

It takes a certain set of skills (such as people management, patience, mentoring, and pastoral support, among other things) to successfully supervise a PhD student. These are not the same skills that are required to produce an academic paper or even to instruct undergraduate students.

It is possible for any academic to acquire them (to a greater or lesser extent), but the easiest approach to determine whether or not someone has them is to determine whether or not they have supervised in the past.

Therefore, it is recommended that you examine their staff profile in order to determine whether or not your possible supervisor has previously mentored anyone else. It would be a really positive sign if they already had a few successful supervisions under their belt (all the way to the conclusion of the PhD).

Having said that, more is not necessarily better when it comes to PhD supervision: some good supervisors don’t end up supervising lots of PhD students, particularly if their area of research is quite specialised or if their university is located in a less well-known part of the country.

In the same vein, there is no hard and fast rule that states a person with no prior management experience will automatically be a poor supervisor. In point of fact, the occurrence of that scenario is highly improbable. A society in which every supervisor’s first student was unsuccessful in obtaining their PhD would, after all, be a world with a very small number of people who successfully completed their PhDs (or experienced supervisors!).

Therefore, if you think that an academic in their early career would be a good fit for your PhD, there is a good chance that this is the case. They will receive the help they require in order to be able to support you.

4. Supervisions in the past and in the present

Taking a somewhat closer look at this matter: if the person who is overseeing your PhD programme has experience in supervising previous doctoral candidates, what topics have they overseen, and who do they currently supervise?

It is not unheard of for a supervisor to be in charge of more than one PhD student at the same time. It is possible that they are members of the same lab group and are engaged in similar experiments. Or, it’s possible that they’re working on quite distinct projects inside the same overarching domain.

Additionally, it is likely that an established academic has acted as a supervisor for students in the past. It would be worthwhile to look into this previous and current experience in supervision.

Previous supervisions are a solid indicator of an academic’s ability to successfully guide a PhD student to completion of their degree. However, if the potential supervisor of your postgraduate project is already working with other postgraduate students, you should make sure they will be able to support your research as well.

Although there is not necessarily anything wrong with a supervisor having a large number of current PhD students (in fact, being part of a cohort of ‘PhD siblings’ can be a wonderfully rewarding experience), this can lead to a very busy supervisor who has a bit less time for additional inquiries and help.

#5 – The views of the students

Remember that even though you may have one or two official supervisors for your PhD programme, there is no limit to the number of people you can ask for help. This is something that is very important to keep in mind. This is something you should keep in mind both before and during your doctoral studies.

Why don’t you ask your fellow students about their experiences rather than putting restrictions on what you can do?

You could even be able to track down people who were mentored by the potential manager who will oversee your project, and then ask them in a cordial manner about the experiences they had working with that manager.

The following are examples of the kinds of questions you might wish to ask: “What is their supervision style? “, “How useful was their feedback? “, and “Could you correspond with them efficiently such as over email? “

You should make an effort not to be too domineering, but at the same time, you shouldn’t be scared to ask what you might consider to be “silly” or “naive” questions. After all, one must begin their endeavours at some point.

Personality Rank Six

This may strike you as an odd topic, but it is something that you should surely take into consideration even if it does.

After all, if you want to be successful in obtaining your PhD, you and your advisor need to establish a productive working relationship.

So, tell me, what sort of character do you hope to find in the person who will be your boss?

Consider the professors you are already familiar with; which of them do you look up to? With which members of the faculty do you feel most at ease talking about your work and having casual conversations? What about these individuals inspires your admiration and why?

There is a significant probability that the kinds of attributes you admire in the academics you already know are also the kinds of qualities you’ll desire (and benefit from) in a PhD supervisor. This is because you’ll be working closely with this person to complete your dissertation.

Get in touch with possible supervisors so that you can schedule a meeting with them so that you can learn more about what to anticipate from working with them.