This guidance is for supervisors. It mainly deals with non-academic matters, but also covers some general academic matters.
If you have any questions about formal regulations and procedures, refer to the postgraduate research (PGR) code.
If you're concerned about your student and don't know what to do, ask for help.
You, as a supervisor, are not expected to sort everything out on your own. You will have colleagues in your school, faculty and in the University who will know how to help you with unfamiliar topics; for example:
If problems arise, you should approach the School PGR Director, and, for non-academic matters, a member of staff with a pastoral or wellbeing role.
Others who might be helpful are experienced colleagues, your Postgraduate Administrator, and your Head of School, Faculty Head of Student Administration, and Faculty PGR Director.
Your main responsibilities are:
If your student is experiencing difficulties, then you need to alert the relevant University staff at an early stage so the student can get support.
All research students will have at least two supervisors. Clarifying your role and involvement at the start of the period of study is essential. This should be achieved by having an open discussion with the student.
If you are supervising a student and they are new to the University or Bristol, keep an eye on how they are settling in.
You should:
At the start of a research degree and at appropriate times from then on, you should discuss both, your and the student’s expectations:
The supervisor regulations state that the formal meetings should be at least monthly. If your student is studying on a student visa, there might be specific rules on attendance and formal supervisory meetings.
The regularity of supervisory meetings beyond the monthly formal meetings will depend on factors like:
You (the supervisor) are responsible for keeping a record of:
It is good practice for your student to keep notes of the meetings.
You should let your school PGR director know if you:
Ensure your student knows who to approach if any problems arise during your absence (for example, this can be their other supervisor).
If you have concerns about your student's academic progress or well-being while you're away, you should tell your School PGR Director as soon as possible.
All research students are required to have their progress reviewed annually
Your responsibilities are to:
As stated in student responsibility regulations, your research student may undertake paid work whilst doing their degree.
You should discuss work commitments with your student. Your faculty or school may have guidance about how much work students should take on, as well as restrictions on the amount of paid University employment.
Your student can apply for a travel grant from the Alumni Association.
Information about tuition fees and stipends as well as funding advice can be found on the Student Funding Office webpages.
You and the postgraduate team in your school are responsible for your student's academic training that is directly related to their research project and their development as researchers.
This can be achieved through:
Training outside a student's academic discipline can also be valuable. Bristol Doctoral College offer a range of courses covering, for example: project management, IT skills, applied foreign languages, innovation and enterprise, teaching, public engagement, and mindfulness and well-being.
Your research student may go through a difficult period in their studies, such as losing confidence and/or motivation. You may have your own strategies for providing encouragement and support during such a period. Colleagues can provide helpful advice.
If the student continues to struggle, you should inform your School PGR Director and discuss what the student’s options are.
If there are major concerns on progress, extra support (detailed in the enhanced academic support regulations in the Code of Practice) might be appropriate.
In the most serious cases, you may discuss with your student the option of transferring to another degree (for example, from a PhD to research masters) or withdrawing from the programme.
For non-academic problems, can include:
A suspension of studies might be appropriate. Another option is for the student to change from studying full-time to part-time.
If your student confides in you, do not share their personal information without their permission. However, there may be rare circumstances where you may need to do this. See our confidentiality statement.
If the student suggests that they have a disability, you should encourage the student to formally disclose their situation so they can receive support.
Leave allowance and absence guidance can be found on Current Students.
If your student is unexpectedly absent, try to find out why and if they are okay. If they do not respond, you should inform your postgraduate team, including:
If you have concerns about their wellbeing, you should contact your postgraduate team. Students can contact the wellbeing support team.
Your postgraduate team will know how to engage with them so that intervention, if needed, can be arranged as quickly as possible.
If the student is unwilling to suspend their studies despite concerns about their health or wellbeing, the support to study policy might be appropriate.
As supervisor, you can advise your student on pursuing an academic career, including how to:
Many students will benefit from advice about careers in sectors other than academia. You can help your student by enabling them to access career advice outside your discipline. This could be through colleagues, the Careers Service, recruitment events and internships.
Some students might be hesitant to share if they want a career outside of academia, for fear that their supervisor might be disappointed, or that they might lose standing as a scholar.
Try to give your best advice without overreaching your area of expertise, and try to be open minded about choices that may lie outside it.
As a supervisor, you should ensure that your students feel confident about what is poor academic practice and plagiarism, and that they make practice submissions to Turnitin.
Don’t just look at the match percentage on the Turnitin report. A single page of text taken from another source without clearly referencing it, could be serious plagiarism, even though it’s a small percentage of the thesis.
You must know your student’s submission deadline and regularly assess whether they are on track. Students should plan to submit at least six months before their final submission deadline.
Students who receive a stipend should usually aim to submit before their stipend finishes.
If a student has funding through to their submission deadline, they should aim to have their dissertation ready to submit well in advance.
As explained in the period of study regulations, extensions can be granted in exceptional circumstances, but an application must be made well in advance of the deadline.
You should review your student’s progress no later than four months before they intend to submit. Request an extension, if necessary, soon after.
The student applies for an extension and not you. You will be asked for a statement of support and to sign off on a timetable for completion.
Not having enough time to do everything in a dissertation that one had hoped is not a good reason for an extension.
The student is responsible for the content of their dissertation.
You are expected to:
Before the examination, do not:
The examiners' recommendations are not the official outcome. The outcome is decided by the Research Degrees Examination Board (RDEB). Once RDEB, has made a decision, you and the student will be sent copies of the examiners’ reports.
If your student is required to make corrections to their dissertation, you need to provide advice and support.
Students can contact the internal examiner (or the Independent Chair if there is no internal examiner) once after the oral exam (viva), to get clarifications about the requested changes.
