(IMHO) Good Practices for Graduate Supervision

Jonathan NewmanDirector, School of Environmental Sciences

jonathan.newman@upguelph.ca

Some General Principles

• Master and apprenticeship? • Mentor your students:– Academia is the alternative career path– Help them engage in career enhancing activities– What’s good for them vs. easy for you?

• Different students require different sorts of supervision — what worked for you won’t work for everyone!

Some General Principles

• Model good behaviour:– Time management– Financial management– Giving/receiving criticism

• Set clear and reasonable expectations– Yours for them, theirs for you, theirs for

themselves– What is your job versus their job?

Some General Principles

• It’s a relationship– Requires work– Can ‘go bad’– Difficult to judge from the outside– Doesn’t involve equal partners

• Friendly vs. friends– There’s the power thing– There’s the money thing– Being their ‘boss’

Some Specific Advice

• Choose wisely!– Grades vs. research experience– ‘Meet’ them — invest the $$ if need be– What would it be like to work closely with this

person?– Have them meet (some of) your current or past

graduate students, without you, and tell your students to be honest!

– Ask them to write something and/or read something for your meeting

Some Specific Advice

• Regularly scheduled meetings: as individuals and as a group

• Use work plans from day one– Help them set small goals and stick to them– Have them provide written reports on progress

• Use the damn form!• Use the damn committee!• If/when they seek outside help for their

relationship with you

Advice to Remember

• Get some from others — there are no revealed truths about graduate training