Supervision, supervisors and you
Supervision
This page and the sub-pages are meant to help supervisors and PhD students make the best of their collaboration and thus to enhance the quality of the PhD education at LIFE.
Principle and supplementary supervisors
A PhD study at LIFE is carried out with the support of one or more supervisors. All PhD students have a principal supervisor who is responsible for the overall PhD study.
Furthermore, one or more supplementary supervisors may be appointed at the Faculty or elsewhere in order to cover the scope of the PhD project in the best possible way. If the research project is based at an institution / company outside LIFE, a supplementary supervisor is often appointed at that particular institution / company.
The PhD Board approves the supervisors
The PhD Board approves the team of supervisors for each PhD student. The Graduate School of Life Sciences usually requires that there is more than one supervisor.
Create a helpful relationship with your supervisor
The supervisory process is based on a professional relationship between the PhD student and the supervisor(s). At LIFE this generally works very well, and we experience very few supervisory problems. However, the supervisory relationship is of great importance for a successful PhD study, and it is worthwhile to invest some effort in building a good working relationship.
Agree on the type of supervision
An agreement on the mutually preferred type of supervision must be discussed during the PhD planning meeting and stated in the PhD plan, see form F2.
Mutual responsibilities
Keep in mind that the responsibilities are mutual: The principal supervisor is responsible for checking that the PhD student completes the PhD programme according to the PhD plan, while the PhD student is responsible for keeping the supervisor(s) updated on the project progress. Here is more information about the PhD student’s responsibilities and supervisor’s responsibilities.
How to create a good working relationship with your supervisor
At the following pages you will find inspiration for establishing a good relationship and a good supervisory practice. We also have a page mainly aimed at supervisors on how to strengthen supervisory competences, and a page mainly aimed at PhD students on where to go with problems.
Paragraph 2.7 in the PhD regulations is about supervisors, supervision and change of supervisor. Please see the PhD regulations for more information.
The PhD Board has collected good advice in this booklet; Good PhD Practice.
Jeppe Berggreen Høj, - last update:1 July 2010