Your relationship with your supervisor is likely to be the most important (academic) relationship you have during your studies (and likely afterwards). This relationship can make or break your research project, and your experience of your graduate studies. Below are some resources from UBC and elsewhere to help you navigate this important aspect of your academic journey.

Supervision

https://edst-educ.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2020/05/Compilation-of-Supervision-related-Resources-Updated-May-5th-2020.pdf

https://edst-educ.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2020/10/Graduate-Supervision-in-the-Department-of-Educational-Studies.pdf

Managing Expectations

https://edst-educ.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2022/06/EDST-Students-MA-and-Doctoral-Supervisor-Expectations-June-3-2022.pdf

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s1e2-how-to-work-with-your-supervisors/id1564583104?i=1000518569428

Styles of supervision

So, how do different people supervise? Here is a podcast episode from FreshEd where they discuss some of the different styles or approaches that professors take to supervising students. This might help you to think about how you work and what style of supervision you will need as a doctoral student.

https://soundcloud.com/freshed-podcast/285-questionnaire?utm_source=clipboard&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ffreshed-podcast%2F285-questionnaire

Asking questions

If you have questions for your supervisor, there might be some miscommunication or trepidation. Here are some resources we found online to help you lay out your communication with your supervisor to manage your relationship a bit more effectively.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00pAtOLf3Xg

Running into problems

What happens if your supervisor relationship becomes problematic? Here are some resources we found to help you assess the situation and respond to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwosZpwFzJM