Practices of PhD supervision

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The doctoral dissertation supervisor is responsible for supporting the doctoral researcher in carrying out the dissertation research and planning the studies included in the degree. Each doctoral researcher has at least one primary supervisor and may have additional supervisors. In addition to supervisors, all doctoral researcher are assigned a coordinating academic and a thesis committee who provide feedback to the doctoral researcher and support them in completing the degree, monitor the quality of supervision, and support the doctoral researcher in planning their future career.

A good supervision relationship requires commitment from all involved parties. At the very beginning of the dissertation work, it is important to agree on the duties and rights of all involved parties, as well as the division of labour between the supervisors. To agree on the ground rules of the supervision relationship, a supervision plan (often also called supervision agreement) is made, and it can be updated as the dissertation work progresses.

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What can the doctoral researcher expect from their supervisor?
What can the supervisor expect from the doctoral student?
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What can the doctoral researcher expect from their supervisor?

  • The supervisor is responsible for providing the doctoral researcher with sufficient professional guidance for their independent work.
  • The supervisor gives the doctoral researcher regular feedback on the dissertation research and prepares for the meetings as agreed.
  • The supervisor helps the doctoral researcher in planning the studies included in the doctoral degree.
  • The supervisor provides support in the doctoral researcher’s integration with the scientific community and guides them, for example, in applying for funding and finding suitable conferences.
  • For their part, the supervisor ensures that the doctoral researcher adopts good scientific practice as well as general and discipline-specific ethical norms.
  • The supervisor informs the doctoral researcher in good time if major changes are to be expected in the supervision relationship.
  • The supervisor supports completing the doctoral dissertation in the target duration.

What can the supervisor expect from the doctoral student?

  • The doctoral researcher is primarily personally responsible for completing the degree.
  • The doctoral researcher adheres to the agreed schedules and prepares carefully for the meetings.
  • The doctoral researcher actively asks for feedback and advice, and takes the received feedback into account.
  • The doctoral researcher works methodically on the dissertation project, adopts the practices of their discipline and aims to actively search for information and participate in the activities of the scientific community.
  • The doctoral researcher keeps their supervisor updated on the progress of the dissertation project and discusses factors that may cause delays. The supervisor must be able to plan their schedule without having to guess at the reasons behind or the duration of a delay.

More information

More information on the good practices in PhD supervision and the division of duties is available in the Instructions for Students -service. Please note that both the supervisors and doctoral researchers are also expected to acquaint themselves with the guidelines on the responsible conduct of research of the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK.