The regulations in this section cover the role of supervisors and how they are appointed for postgraduate research (PGR) students.
9.1. A PGR student must have a supervisory team to provide support throughout their period of registration.
9.2. Each supervisory team must have a main supervisor and one or more co-supervisor.
9.3. All members of the supervisory team must have defined roles and responsibilities, which must be communicated to the PGR student. The supervisory team must work together to supervise the student.
9.4. The main supervisor is responsible for supervisory support for the PGR student, including ensuring that relevant regulations, policies, and procedures are followed.
9.5. The main supervisor usually leads on the key intellectual input in supporting the student’s research project, but another member of the supervisory team can take the intellectual lead where this is appropriate.
9.6. Co-supervisors must be available to support the PGR student as part of the supervisory team.
9.7. The Head of School (or nominee) must select supervisors who meet the following conditions:
9.7.1. They have appropriate knowledge and skills.
9.7.2. They fulfil the relevant appointment criteria.
9.7.3. They do not have any actual or potential conflicts of interest in relation to the student. A conflict of interest is where a relationship between a supervisor and a student would prevent or adversely affect the impartiality of the supervision, such as through personal, family, or financial connections.
9.7.4. They have sufficient time designated in their workload allocation for supervision.
9.8. The Head of School (or nominee) can request advice from the Faculty PGR Director on the selection of supervisors.
9.9. If a PGR student’s research requires them to work elsewhere (for example, as part of a collaborative project), the Head of School (or nominee) must ensure that appropriate supervisory arrangements are maintained to cover periods where the student is away from the University.
9.10. The Head of School (or nominee) must ensure that main supervisors fulfil the appointment criteria for the role. A main supervisor must:
9.10.1. Be a member of academic staff holding an open contract of employment at the University of at least 0.5 FTE (full time equivalent). An open contract of employment carries full employment rights and has no fixed end date. Some staff with proleptic appointments will have open contracts depending on the nature of their individual contract of employment.
9.10.2. Expect to remain in a research-active position within the University for the anticipated duration of the student’s registration.
9.10.3. Be reasonably accessible to the PGR student and be able to provide the necessary guidance and support.
9.10.4. Understand school, faculty and University policies and procedures in relation to research students and to supervisory responsibilities.
9.10.5. Have experience of research degree supervision of at least three years and have successfully supervised at least one doctoral student to completion.
9.11. The Head of School (or nominee) can appoint a main supervisor who does not satisfy 9.10.4 and 9.10.5 if an experienced co-supervisor is appointed and if the Faculty PGR Director approves the appointment. The Faculty PGR Director can approve such an appointment if the following conditions are met:
9.11.1. The main supervisor complies with any faculty-specific training.
9.11.2. The experienced co-supervisor acts as a mentor to the main supervisor and will be the first point of contact for the student on non-academic matters.
9.11.3. The Faculty PGR Director is satisfied that the supervisory team can provide an appropriate level of support and guidance for the PGR student.
9.12. The Head of School (or nominee) can appoint staff from within the University as co-supervisors if they will be reasonably accessible to the PGR student and if they can contribute appropriately to the supervisory team. There are however some categories of staff that require approval from the Faculty PGR Director before they can co-supervise.
9.13. The Faculty PGR Director must approve co-supervisors who are in the following categories of staff. Staff in these categories cannot be main supervisors.
9.13.1. Staff with honorary or visiting status.
9.13.2. Emeritus and retired members of academic staff if they continue to be research active. This is only permitted where the academic continues to co-supervise an existing student and is not allowed for new students.
9.13.3. Staff who are currently registered for a research degree.
9.13.4. Academic staff who have not yet completed their initial service review.
9.13.5. Pathway 2 academic staff who are at level A (Research Associate) or level B (Senior Research Associate).
9.13.6. Professional and technical staff (if they have relevant expertise and experience).
9.14. The Head of School (or nominee) can appoint external supervisors where this is in accordance with a formal partnership agreement, including in relation to joint or dual awards. External supervisors appointed through a partnership agreement are normally given honorary status.
9.15. External supervisors must be reasonably accessible to the PGR student, and they must be able to contribute appropriately to the supervisory team.
9.16. The Head of School (or nominee) must ensure that external supervisors are given opportunities to engage in developmental and training activities.
9.17. All new staff at Lecturer or Senior Lecturer level (or equivalent) must complete a development session to prepare them for supervision.
9.18. The Head of School (or nominee) must ensure that new supervisors have a mentor when they start to supervise. Mentors must be established supervisors who have experience of successfully supervising research students to completion and who have a good understanding of relevant regulations, policies, and procedures.
9.19. The Head of School (or nominee) is responsible for changing supervisors if this is necessary to ensure that a PGR student has continuous supervision during their registration. New supervisors must meet the relevant appointment criteria.
9.20. The Head of School (or nominee) must consider the requirements of any sponsors when changing supervisors. If a studentship is attached to a particular supervisor or to a specific research grant, it might not be permissible to change the student’s supervisors.
9.21. If a supervisor has a long planned or unplanned absence and is not reasonably accessible to the PGR student, the Head of School (or nominee) must ensure that the student continues to receive adequate supervision. If necessary, temporary supervisory support can be put in place for the duration of the absence.
9.22. If a main supervisor has an unplanned absence (for example, through illness), which is anticipated to exceed six months, the Head of School (or nominee) must consider whether to appoint a new permanent main supervisor or to explore other options with the PGR student.
9.23. If the relationship between the PGR student and their supervisor/s begins to breakdown, the Head of School (or nominee) must arrange for alternative and independent advice for the student while attempting to resolve the problem.
9.24. If the relationship suffers an irreconcilable breakdown, the Head of School (or nominee) must consider whether to appoint a new supervisor/s or to explore other options with the PGR student. The requirements of any sponsors must form part of this consideration.
9.25. A PGR student or a supervisor can make a request a change the supervisory team to the Head of School (or nominee), who will decide whether to approve the request. The Head of School (or nominee) can request advice from the Faculty PGR Director. Changing the supervisory team in these circumstances usually requires the mutual agreement of the student and the supervisors. Any sponsor requirements must also be considered.
9.26. If a supervisor moves to another institution or leaves the University for another reason (for example, retirement), the Head of School (or nominee) must explore options with the PGR student and the supervisor.
9.27. A supervisor who moves to another institution or who retires can continue as a co-supervisor for the PGR student where this is appropriate, but they cannot be the main supervisor.
9.28. If a new supervisor from within the University is required, the Head of School (or nominee) must take all reasonable steps to appoint a replacement. If a new supervisor cannot be identified, it might be more appropriate for the PGR student to transfer to the supervisor’s new institution or for the Head of School (or nominee) to explore other options with the student.
