Below follows a description of the supervisors' responsibilities and duties. For more information about supervision, formal appointment of supervisors, qualification requirements, descriptions of responsibilities and the practical aspects of supervision in doctoral studies, see guidelines for supervision and study follow-up in doctoral studies.
Supervisors' responsibilities and duties
Supervisors at the University of Skövde must have a professional approach to PhD studies. This entails that supervisors must
- be well familiar with the national legislation on doctoral studiesas well as the University's own regulatory framework for such
education, - take responsibility for that the planning and implementation of
the doctoral studies are of a high quality and with a realistic
scope in relation to the PhD student's time plan, - be responsible for that administrative routines for supervision
are followed, - be accessible to the PhD student, be clear and consistent in their
supervision and provide critical review of the results, - continue to develop their competence in supervision,
- not take on more PhD students than they are able to provide
adequate supervision to, - be attentive to judicial disqualification in themselves and the PhD
student's other supervisors as well as in examiners, opponents or
other involved parties, - promote equal terms by clearly counteracting any form of
discrimination or harassment.
Main supervisor
In addition to the supervisors' general responsibilities and tasks, the
following is also included in the role as main supervisor:
- To have scientific competence within the PhD student's subject
area. - To have overall responsibility for the supervision in terms of
planning and implementation of the PhD student's doctoral
studies. - To jointly and in consultation with the PhD student, their
supervisors and the Director of PhD studies draw up the
Individual study plan no later than three months after admission.
The Individual study plan shall after that be annually followed up
and revised. - Together with the PhD student be responsible for that the
Individual study plan and the General syllabus are followed. - To be responsible for ensuring that the PhD student advances on
the salary scale. - To be responsible for reporting degree of activity, type of
financial support and registration for continued PhD studies to
student administration.
To be a main supervisor, a minimum requirement is the
qualification required for appointment as a Docent. The main supervisor must
have undergone formal supervisor training or have the equivalent
prior learning.
Assistant supervisor
In the addition to the supervisors' general responsibilities and tasks,
the following is also included in the role as assistant supervisor:
- To contribute with relevant complementary expertise and
scientific competence. - To support the PhD student in their education, for example
through knowledge of the implementation of empirical studies
and experiments. - To participate actively in planning the work to ensure the PhD
student's progression in the studies towards the intended
learning outcomes.
An assistant supervisor must have at least a doctoral degree. At least one of the assistant supervisors must have undergone formal supervisor training
Available supervision resources
A PhD student is entitled to regular meetings with the supervisors.
The frequency of these meetings is determined by the supervisors and
the PhD student in the Individual study plan and may vary over time
to suit the current need.
For each PhD student that has been admitted at the University, the
group of supervisors has 160 hours annually at their disposal for
supervision. The distribution of this time is based on expected work
effort; however, the majority of this time shall be given to the main
supervisor. The distribution of supervision resources is specified in
the PhD student's Individual study plan.
Training for supervisors
The University of Skövde offers the opportunity for doctoral supervisor training.
Visit the Staff Portal ('MAP') to find out more about applications and the times of current courses (login needed).
Super Vision Seminar (sVs)
As part of the continuous pedagogical development for current and future supervisors within the University's PhD studies, a seminar series is offered, Super Visor Seminar (sVs), which highlights and discusses relevant issues in postgraduate education. The purpose is to provide support for development through the exchange of experience. The seminar series replaces the former 'Handledarkollegiet'.