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Role of supervisors

All students admitted to the DPhil in Population Health will be allocated two or more supervisors, at least one of whom will be based within the department.

2 students

The role of supervisors is to:

  • Provide guidance and encouragement and bear overall responsibility for the direction of the student's work on behalf of the student’s department or faculty.
  • Establish a timetable of regular meetings for detailed discussion of the student’s progress.  This should include a one to one formal meeting at least once a term where research and progress are reviewed and the contents of the termly submitted supervision report discussed and agreed.  Supervisors should ensure that they personally meet their students at least twice a term.
  • Agree a research plan and programme of work, and establish clear academic expectations and milestones.
  • Agree with the student a timetable for the submission of written work and return work to the student within a reasonable time.
  • Assess formally the student’s subject-specific and personal and professional skills training needs on a regular basis and ensure that these needs are met.
  • Co-operate with the student to produce a detailed joint report on their progress at the end of each term.
  • Ensure that the student is aware of the formal requirements in relation to transfer and confirmation of status and final submission, and help the student to incorporate these into their plan of work.

The role of the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) is:

  • To provide strategic leadership and development for the programme.
  • To act as the first point of contact where differences of opinion arise between supervisor and student.
  • To ensure that students are aware of all university requirements and that relevant administrative matters (transfer and confirmation of status, appointment of examiners etc) are completed in good time.

The role of the College Adviser is:

  • To provide support to the student independent of the department.
  • To deal with matters relating to hardship.
  • To provide additional support to the student experiencing difficulty with matters relating to issues other than research work/study.

The responsibilities of supervisors and students are set out in full in the University’s Policy on Research Degrees.

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