A Guide for Productive Supervisory Relationships

Guidelines for Advisors/Supervisors and Graduate Students 

The aim of this guideline is to provide clarity on supervisory expectations for both graduate students and supervisors. Graduate supervision is an important part of training scholars. Positive, respectful, professional, and productive working relationships are paramount to the success of graduate students and their advisors/supervisors. This guideline is provided to help create an environment where such a professional working relationship can flourish. It does so by promoting dialogue about matters that, if not addressed, can potentially result in a less than ideal working relationship – unclear or mismatched expectations and responsibilities. By ensuring that expectations and understanding of responsibilities are aligned at the beginning of the relationship, and that each party has gained a thorough understanding of their respective role in the relationship, the path is paved for a smooth journey. 

Graduate students hold the primary responsibility for the completion of their degree and are required to secure a supervisor and committee member(s). When graduate students are selecting their supervisor and committee members, they are responsible to research which senior scholars have similar research interests and expertise. Students then email and/or meet with the professors who seem like the best fit, and provide information about their student status, research interests, while providing their transcript, research proposal and CV so that the professor can decide if they are interested, and available or not. Once a full team has been selected then all members sign the appropriate forms which are then submitted to the GPA and the GPD for approval. If applicable, ensure to send the committee and the supervisor any Letter of Accommodation via the Student Accessibility Services portal, once the committee has been approved.  

Graduate study requires independent learning, as well as constant collaboration between the student and their supervisor. Generally, students meet with their supervisors at least once a month, and no less than once a term. In accepting admission to a graduate program, the student is agreeing to pursue studies and scholarly work on a full-time basis (if registered full-time) or part-time basis (if registered part-time) under the supervision of a faculty member, to meet the deadlines established by the Faculty of Graduate Studies, and to maintain open and regular communication with the supervisor. The student is expected to solve problems independently, progress well in research goals, to pursue opportunities to learn or advance necessary skills and ultimately to produce and defend a thesis. 

Supervisors are expected to be available for mentoring, and to provide guidance, advice, and educational opportunities. They are anticipated to provide timely and thorough feedback of the student’s work on the thesis, scholarship applications, grant proposals, abstracts, and manuscripts for publication if applicable. To make sure that the relationship continues smoothly, expectations need to consider changing circumstances and new information. The parties may wish to review this guideline on an annual basis, perhaps at the same time as the annual progress report, to keep mutual expectations aligned. 

Roles and Responsibilities 

Questions and Discussion Topics for both Students and Supervisors may include: 

• Have we discussed reasonable expectations for student workload, including a discussion of hours devoted to study and other professional development activities? 

• Have we agreed on a meeting schedule that will support the timely completion of the degree? 

• Have we discussed program time limits and how to ensure all degree requirements are completed within that timeframe? 

• Have we discussed the extent and nature of intellectual property issues related to our collaboration? See http://gradstudies.yorku.ca/current-students/thesis-dissertation/intellectual-property/ for details of the factors that come into play. 

We understand that conflicts can sometimes arise in the student-supervisory relationship and that we may seek assistance from the Graduate Program Director or other offices. See https://www.yorku.ca/gradstudies/students/graduate-supervision/#:~:text=The%20supervisor%20should%20document%20the,arranging%20informal%20consultation%20and%20mediation for conflict resolution policy, halfway down the page. 

We agree that this guideline may be re-visited during the annual research progress evaluation or at any time deemed necessary. 

Questions and Discussion Topics for Supervisors may include: 

• Have I made reasonable efforts to ensure that the student’s learning and research environment is adequately supported with guidance in choosing appropriate course work, exam details, if any, and in overseeing the thesis or dissertation writing process? 

• Have I ensured that the student’s project has an appropriate hypothesis/question and achievable goals that can be reasonably completed within program time limits? 

• How can I best establish a professional and respectful working relationship to guide the student in research and thesis completion in a timely manner? 

• Am I guiding the student in learning to work independently and/or as a member of a team (as appropriate)? 

• I plan to inform the student well ahead of time (ideally, at least one month prior) about any upcoming extended absences (e.g., leaves, sabbaticals, other) and arrange for how the student will receive appropriate supervision during these absences. 

• I am expected to provide timely and thorough written feedback on research proposals, drafts of thesis and manuscripts (normally 3 weeks, depending on the length of the document), and communicate with students so they can anticipate when feedback will be available. 

• I am expected to give credit in an appropriate manner to graduate student contributions to scholarly activity, e.g., professional meetings, publications, or in applications for grants. 

Questions and Discussion Topics for Students may include: 

• I will learn skills and approaches to thinking about problems that are suitable for an advanced degree. 

• I must exhibit independent judgment, academic rigor, and intellectual honesty. 

• I will interact with fellow students, both graduate and undergraduate, staff and faculty in a professional and mature manner. 

• It is expected that I will devote full time to scholarly studies and make timely progress towards completion of degree within program time limits. 

• I will complete the annual Report on Progress as per Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements and submit it to my supervisor for review and discussion. 

• Have I completed any mandatory safety and training courses requirements are required for the research (e.g., Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), Animal Care, Research Ethics)? 

• I must be aware of current policies, program requirements, procedures and deadlines for course work, research, and thesis completion via the program’s web site, the Graduate Program Assistant and/or Faculty of Graduate Studies. 

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS: 

• The supervisory committee guides the student throughout the stages of the comprehensive examination and ensures to be knowledgeable of the processes and expectations of the student’s program. 

• All committee members meet with the student to discuss their comprehensive exam topic and help to choose important core texts to add to the Reading Lists. Supervisors and committee members should actively participate in this process to ensure that the student is learning important theories, arguments, and relevant information about their topics. 

• All committee members should provide feedback after the student writes their problematic statements to assist students in addressing any potential gaps in their literature review from the Reading Lists. 

• The supervisor and committee members conduct an oral exam after the written exams to ensure that the student is prepared to proceed with their dissertation research. 

DISSERTATION AND ORAL DEFENSE: 

• The supervisory committee guides the student through the dissertation and oral defense processes. 

• The supervisory committee must agree that the dissertation proposal is appropriate to the dissertation topic and is ready to be examined. 

• The supervisory committee evaluates the dissertation in terms of its readiness to go forward as the basis for the Oral Defense. 

• The supervisor Chairs the oral examination and determines when the questioning has been exhausted.  

• The supervisor submits the Examination Report with the Graduate Program Office. 

PUBLICATIONS: 

Graduate Students & Supervisors - It is our joint responsibility to: 

• present research results that are publishable in reputable, externally refereed journals, thereby achieving the goals of creating new knowledge and reporting it to the appropriate community. 

• discuss expectations and roles for different authorship roles (first, second, last author) in the discipline and what types of research contributions would normally constitute co-authorship on a paper. 

• as early as feasible, determine authorship of planned manuscripts in a fair and collegial manner, in keeping with discipline-specific conventions and in consideration of the importance of first authorship for the student. 

STUDENT FUNDING: 

• students are expected to apply for internal and external scholarships appropriate to program of study and well before deadline seek advice and feedback from supervisor to improve application success. 

• discuss the student’s graduate student support and the variety of sources (e.g. RA/TA/GA, York Fellowship, scholarship funding, bursaries, and research funds provided by the supervisor), if appropriate. 

• supervisors/advisors are expected to provide timely advice and feedback to students about scholarship and bursary applications and to provide letter of reference when needed, given reasonable notice (normally three weeks). 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: 

• work together to find opportunities for students to attend suitable conferences and present research findings and investigate sources of funding for travel. 

• encourage participation in non-academic programs for professional development, such as effective writing courses, teaching training programs, and the Graduate and Postdoctoral Professional Skills program. 

We thank the students and faculty who developed this resource.