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Postgraduate research supervisors

The role of the supervisor is described in Section 3.2 of the Code of Practice, and in paragraph 5.2 of the degree regulations.  The appointment of supervisors is also subject to the business rules of the University. 

As with all the formal aspects of the registration of postgraduate research students, the authority to appoint supervisors rests with the College Postgraduate Studies Committee.  However, on a day to day basis, this authority rests with the Head of Graduate School. 

As a result, all supervisor appointments are subject to approval by the Head of Graduate School.

Types of Supervisor

Postgraduate research students can have 3 types of supervisor:

Supervisor Type	Description
Principal	Principal supervisors, sometimes know as first supervisors, have overall responsibility for the supervision of the student and are responsible to the Head of Graduate School for the student. They have institutional responsibility for the student e.g. contractual arrangements, arrangements for annual review etc.  They must be members of staff of the school in which the student is registered for study.
Assistant	Assistant supervisors, sometimes know as second supervisors, may be backup to the principal supervisor or may have day to day responsibility for the supervision of the student, and often supply complementary expertise. They contribute to the student’s annual reviews.  Assistant supervisors need not be in the same school as the student.
Co-supervisors	Co-supervisors have equal roles and responsibilities towards the student with respect to supervision of the student’s work. One co-supervisor must be nominated to have institutional responsibility – this is called the Lead Co-Supervisor role.

The supervisors for a particular postgraduate research student are collectively referred to as the Supervisory Team.

The Supervisory Team can therefore be:

• a Principal Supervisor with one or more assistant supervisors
  OR
• two or more co-supervisors (and assistant supervisors, if any).
  

Appointment of Supervisors

Within the School of Informatics the appointments are normally made as follows:

• The Principal Supervisor is appointed at admission and shown on the formal offer of admission issued by College
• At least one Assistant Supervisor is appointed by the end of first year and shown on the 1st Year Report.
  
• Co-Supervisors, if required, are appointed at admission and shown on the formal offer of admission issued by College.

The Principal Supervisor (or lead Co-Supervisor) may request changes to the Supervisory Team at any time by e-mailing the Graduate School Office (igs@inf.ed.ac.uk) with details of the proposed changes.

A change of Principal Supervisor should first be discussed with the Head of Graduate School as it normally represents a dramatic change for the student.

Following approval, the Graduate School Office will update both the School and University records and send an e-mail confirmation to all parties confirming the appointments.

There are potential problems with lack of independence and conflicts of interest in cases where a student has two supervisors who are partners. The Graduate School's policy is to avoid such situations arising by requiring a third supervisor to be added to the Supervisory Team in such cases.