Designation of Supervisor

8. Departments must specify the supervisory arrangements including the name of the main supervisor at the time it recommends an offer is to be made. Departments are strongly encouraged to operate a thesis committee system for their students or an equivalent method. A thesis committee is likely to include:

• I. a main supervisor, who carries primary responsibility for supervision
• II. a second supervisor or advisor who can offer further academic advice
• III. the Department’s Postgraduate Tutor (or her/his nominee) who is involved in monitoring progress but is independent of the supervisory team

Departments must be able to supervise the number of students they accept in relation to the resources available and all other demands on staff. The main supervisor must be a member of the academic staff of the University or be a Recognised Teacher from an Associated Institution under the provision of Ordinance 29.

9. The advantage of the thesis committee system is that there is a single point of contact (the main supervisor), but there are also others who are familiar with the student’s work and can support and monitor progress. For example, if a main supervisor is temporarily unable to continue supervising a student, the second supervisor or advisor can assume the role of the main supervisor.

10. A member of staff under probation should not usually be appointed as the sole supervisor. However, in order to promote research in new areas and to assist in building up research teams, it may be appropriate to appoint a suitably qualified probationer as the main supervisor. In such cases, the supervision should be monitored and assisted by a senior member of staff. More generally, the appointment of a member of staff on probation as a joint supervisor is to be encouraged in the interests of staff training and development.

11. There may be occasions where it is appropriate to appoint an additional supervisor who is not a member of staff of the University. The appointment of associate supervisors requires the approval of the Graduate Dean. In cases where an associate supervisor is appointed it should be clear that full control over the supervision rests with the University and there must always be a named supervisor who is a member of the academic staff of the University.