6 Things to Look for in a PhD Supervisor Part II

4. Supervisions in the past and in the present

Taking a somewhat closer look at this matter: if the person who is overseeing your PhD programme has experience in supervising previous doctoral candidates, what topics have they overseen, and who do they currently supervise?

It is not unheard of for a supervisor to be in charge of more than one PhD student at the same time. It is possible that they are members of the same lab group and are engaged in similar experiments. Or, it's possible that they're working on quite distinct projects inside the same overarching domain.

Additionally, it is likely that an established academic has acted as a supervisor for students in the past. It would be worthwhile to look into this previous and current experience in supervision.

Previous supervisions are a solid indicator of an academic's ability to successfully guide a PhD student to completion of their degree. However, if the potential supervisor of your postgraduate project is already working with other postgraduate students, you should make sure they will be able to support your research as well.

Although there is not necessarily anything wrong with a supervisor having a large number of current PhD students (in fact, being part of a cohort of 'PhD siblings' can be a wonderfully rewarding experience), this can lead to a very busy supervisor who has a bit less time for additional inquiries and help.

#5 - The views of the students

Remember that even though you may have one or two official supervisors for your PhD programme, there is no limit to the number of people you can ask for help. This is something that is very important to keep in mind. This is something you should keep in mind both before and during your doctoral studies.

Why don't you ask your fellow students about their experiences rather than putting restrictions on what you can do?

You could even be able to track down people who were mentored by the potential manager who will oversee your project, and then ask them in a cordial manner about the experiences they had working with that manager.

The following are examples of the kinds of questions you might wish to ask: "What is their supervision style? ", "How useful was their feedback? ", and "Could you correspond with them efficiently such as over email? "

You should make an effort not to be too domineering, but at the same time, you shouldn't be scared to ask what you might consider to be "silly" or "naive" questions. After all, one must begin their endeavours at some point.

Personality Rank Six

This may strike you as an odd topic, but it is something that you should surely take into consideration even if it does.

After all, if you want to be successful in obtaining your PhD, you and your advisor need to establish a productive working relationship.

So, tell me, what sort of character do you hope to find in the person who will be your boss?

Consider the professors you are already familiar with; which of them do you look up to? With which members of the faculty do you feel most at ease talking about your work and having casual conversations? What about these individuals inspires your admiration and why?

There is a significant probability that the kinds of attributes you admire in the academics you already know are also the kinds of qualities you'll desire (and benefit from) in a PhD supervisor. This is because you'll be working closely with this person to complete your dissertation.

Get in touch with possible supervisors so that you can schedule a meeting with them so that you can learn more about what to anticipate from working with them.