What makes a good PhD supervisor?

Your PhD advisor will play a key role in ensuring your Doctor of Philosophy is a rewarding and enjoyable experience.

Choosing a PhD supervisor can therefore be a daunting prospect. But we’ve enlisted the help of 2 UQ PhD advisors and researchers, Dr Loic Yengo and Professor Marina Reeves, to pinpoint exactly what you should be looking for. Better yet, they share their tips for maintaining a positive and fruitful working relationship with your PhD advisor throughout the typical 3-4 years of your candidature.

In this article, they'll cover:

• the role of a PhD supervisor
• how to choose a PhD supervisor
• the qualities of a good PhD supervisor
• tips for the first meeting with a PhD supervisor
• how to maintain a positive relationship with a PhD supervisor
• how to give and receive PhD supervisor feedback
• advice for ensuring a mutually beneficial relationship between candidate and advisor.

Meet Professor Reeves: UQ PhD advisor and Deputy Associate Dean Research (Researcher Development), Faculty of Medicine

Professor Reeves’ research is focused on the role of diet, physical activity, and weight/body composition in improving outcomes and quality of life for women diagnosed with breast cancer. She is currently an advisor to 2 PhD candidates whose research concentrates on breast cancer survivorship.

“One of my candidate’s research is focused on understanding more about behaviours that disrupt circadian rhythm (our body clock), like when we sleep and eat, and the role these behaviours may play in improving the health and wellbeing of women after a breast cancer diagnosis,” says Professor Reeves.

"The other is focused on the subgroup of women with triple negative breast cancer, the most aggressive breast cancer subtype.”

This PhD project uses specific data to understand more about the incidence and survival of the different breast cancer subtypes.

“Her research is also exploring whether modifiable risk factors like body weight are associated with prognosis in women with triple negative breast cancer.”

Meet Dr Yengo: UQ PhD advisor and Group Leader of the Statistical Genomics Laboratory, Institute of Molecular Bioscience (IMB)

Doctor Yengo’s research involves matching genetic differences with particular character traits to help predict how societies will evolve. He is currently an advisor to 3 PhD candidates whose research topics are in a similar vein.

“PhD candidates in my lab work on a wide range of projects connected to the analysis of large-scale datasets containing DNA sequences of millions of individuals from across the world,” says Dr Yengo.

“One project is about using DNA patterns to understand how people choose their spouses; another one is about discovering genetic variations that cause disease in specific populations.”

The findings could help policymakers and health professionals better prepare for – and therefore reduce the burden of – genetic disorders and diseases. But how do Dr Yengo and his team draw meaning from such vast quantities of data?

“For each project, we often develop novel statistical techniques to analyse these large volumes of data to answer the fundamental questions that we are interested in,” he says.

“By ‘developing' novel statistical techniques, I mean deriving the maths underlying the algorithms, and also programming these algorithms into new software tools.”

“Our research is intrinsically multi-disciplinary but we do love maths and stats in the Lab!”

The role of a PhD supervisor

When it comes down to it, what exactly is the role of a PhD supervisor? And how will a good PhD advisor guide you with your research?

For Dr Yengo, it’s about achieving a balance between teaching practical skills and providing inspiration and support for the PhD candidate to pursue their passion.

“I believe that the role of a PhD supervisor is to help the candidate develop their own program of research, eventually,” he says.

“That includes teaching key skills such as reading a lot, asking the relevant questions, managing time and energy (this is a hard one) and not being afraid to dream big!”

Professor Reeves singles out 3 key roles:

• advising and guiding on the research process and research topic
• being an advocate for your PhD candidate – providing encouragement and opportunities, and helping them to open doors by introducing them to your networks
• being a role model – modelling integrity and championing others’ success.

Choosing a PhD supervisor

Choosing a PhD supervisor can be a tricky business. Undertaking your Doctor of Philosophy is a lengthy process, so you’re going to be in a professional relationship with your supervisor for a pretty long time. The pressure is on to find ‘the one’. But how do you know they’re going to be the right fit? Dr Yengo and Professor Reeves have a few tips to help you reach a conclusion.

The first step? Ironically, it’s doing your research on the researcher.

“I would suggest researching what the supervisor works on and what they have published before,” says Dr Yengo.

Professor Reeves acknowledges the importance of this step too.

“There needs to be a good alignment between their area of expertise and the PhD project so they can guide you appropriately.”

Step 2 is, according to both advisors, to not be afraid to shop around.

“Engage in informal chats with potential supervisors early in the process, especially when you are undecided,” says Dr Yengo.

“These discussions can help you form your own research questions and define a suitable direction for your research.”

Professor Reeves also encourages potential PhD candidates to seize opportunities to work with prospective advisors before locking them in.

“Whether that’s as an honours or other research coursework supervisor, summer research project, or research assistant work – it will allow you to see if their supervisory style and research is a good fit for you,” she says.

Qualities of a good PhD supervisor

A good PhD advisor requires a careful balance of traits and skills. You want them to provide guidance without being overbearing, and to offer advice while letting you figure things out yourself too. There's a lot to consider when choosing a PhD supervisor, so Dr Yengo and Professor Reeves have pinpointed a few of the most important qualities to look out for.

The first and arguably most critical is more of a requirement than a quality, and it’s that your potential PhD advisor is simply available. They need to have the time and energy to commit to you and your PhD.

A few other essential qualities of a good PhD supervisor are:

• clear communicator
• dependable
• generous
• caring and approachable
• a leader in their field of research
• open to learning from others.

“By generous, I mean someone who is willing to share their wisdom and time to dedicate to your growth and development as a researcher,” says Professor Reeves.

She also advocates for finding an advisor who promotes a healthy work/life balance.

Dr Yengo explains that it’s important for a PhD advisor to be both a coach and a mentor, where as a coach they will help you find your own solution, and as a mentor they would share their experience and lead by example.

Tips for the first meeting with a PhD supervisor

Professor Reeves advises on using the first meeting with a PhD supervisor to outline expectations of both the advisor and candidate.

“A clear discussion on expectations up front is crucial – expectations around the working relationship and the project itself.”

“Find out how often they would meet with you, what resources and support would be available for you, what their research vision is or what they believe the impact of the PhD project will be.”

When Dr Yengo approaches the first meeting with his PhD candidates, he likes to find out:

1. What is motivating the student to start a PhD?
2. What are their technical skills and why are they interested in the topic?
3. What are their career aspirations after completing their PhD? (Note that this can change in the process of doing a PhD.)

Heading into your first meeting prepared to outline your expectations and listen to theirs, and answer these questions, is a good way to create a solid foundation for the relationship between you and your PhD advisor.

The PhD supervisor relationship: keeping it positive

When it comes to maintaining a positive working relationship between PhD advisor and candidate, Dr Yengo and Professor Reeves both agree that the focus should be on the process, rather than the outcome.

“It’s important that the advisor takes an active interest in the candidate’s development as a researcher,” says Professor Reeves.

“A PhD is a research training process, so the focus shouldn’t just be on the outcome of the research project, but equally on the development of the candidate as a researcher.”

Dr Yengo says regular meetings are important for this reason. It encourages candidates to ask questions and share updates on their work.

“Candidates don’t have to wait until (they think) they have solved all the problems before discussing with their supervisor. This is often very counterproductive,” he says.

“Supervisors should create a culture that welcomes questions and mistakes, because that’s what it takes to learn.”

When considering the desired professional outcomes of a PhD, Professor Reeves encourages continued discussions around the candidate’s career plans, to ensure the research experience is always contributing to career goals.

“Regular conversations around the candidates’ career plans and development are important for maintaining a positive working relationship but also a successful outcome for the candidate post-PhD.”

Giving and receiving PhD supervisor feedback

A huge part of the PhD advisor and candidate relationship is giving and receiving feedback. And doing this effectively.

“The most important thing is to understand that feedback is part of the learning cycle,” says Dr Yengo.

“Feedback is never a definitive assessment or an exam; therefore, it should emphasise what can be improved in any given situation and towards a well-specified objective (e.g. a paper or a specific analysis).”

According to Professor Reeves, feedback should be:

• critically thought-out
• constructive, with clear guidance on what is needed to improve and what the next steps are
• positive – it should go beyond pinpointing constructive changes, to also identify what has been done well and what has improved from previous versions
• consistent – not changing from week to week
• timely.

“If you aren’t getting this with your feedback, don’t be afraid to ask for more detail or guidance,” says Professor Reeves.

She also outlines the importance of acknowledging the receipt of feedback and voicing when you respectfully disagree with it.

“There will come a point in your candidature where you will be more of an expert on a topic than your advisor,” she says.

“So, if you disagree with feedback, instead of just disregarding it, explain why you disagree. That’s also helpful for your development in terms of being able to justify and defend your thesis.”

When it comes down to it, feedback isn’t only for the advisor to give.

“Both candidate and supervisor should be patient and willing to learn from each other,” says Dr Yengo.

Making it mutually beneficial

Like all relationships, the one between a PhD advisor and candidate is a two-way street. Both must be invested in the working relationship for it to flourish. While the purpose of the process may be for the candidate to receive guidance and advice, you can also have a lot to offer your future advisor too.

“Interacting with PhD candidates can be extremely exciting as they often get a fresh perspective on problems,” says Dr Yengo.

“The professional relationship flourishes when we equally want to know the answer to the question. This can lead to fast and productive cycles of discussions, which often generate the most creative ideas.”

Professor Reeves believes mutual respect is key to a successful advisor/candidate relationship, as well as a shared vision.

Both advisors acknowledge the challenges of achieving a positive work/life balance while completing a PhD, and Professor Reeves points out how personal and professional respect can come into play here.

“I think it helps when they can see that you, as the advisor, care about the work and research, but also care about them as a person."

So, what makes a good PhD supervisor? Balance. Balance between professional and personal approaches to work and life, constructive and positive feedback, coaching and mentoring, leading and learning. Search for an advisor who can demonstrate balance in these areas, and you’re sure to have an enriching PhD experience.