Week 5: Supervision

Week 5 is here! This week we’re going to talk about the most difficult topic of all: supervision.

If your supervision relationship works well, absolutely cherish it! Supervision is difficult both for PhDs as well as for supervisors, so if there’s something to celebrate, celebrate it. If you are less lucky, and it happens a lot, I hope this week will give you some tools to start thinking differently about the supervision relationship, which will help you be more effective in getting your supervision needs met.

The most important concept of the week is to start ‘owning’ the supervision process. You need to get specific about what you need from your supervisor. I myself made the mistake of becoming far too passive in my relationship with my supervisors (there were good reasons for that to happen, but it didn’t do me any good, and it still makes me cringe when I think of it). Don’t allow it to happen. Be assertive. And if your supervisor can’t help you, find someone else who can. It is so rewarding to make connections in academia, something I found out towards the end of the PhD programme.

Unfortunately, the set-up of supervision in PhD programmes often lacks good reward structures, and can make you feel less than human. I hope this week’s tools will help you not let supervision get you down.

Lots of my personal PhD stories in the materials this week – hope they are instructive… (aka – don’t do what I did, and you are not alone!)

Good luck this week!

Amber