If you want to pursue a PhD, Master of Philosophy, or another HDR course, the most vital step is to choose a supervisor. Indeed, the choice of supervisor is, arguably, significantly more important to your career and wellbeing than is the choice of university. This document specifies how you should choose a supervisor at the University of Wollongong. You can, however, apply similar methods to choose a supervisor elsewhere.
Find a supervisor
How to choose a supervisor
- Step 1: Create a shortlist of supervisors
- Step 2: Email your potential supervisors
- Step 3: Evaluate the supervisors
- Step 4: Arrange a panel of supervisors
Step 1: Create a shortlist of supervisors
- Visit the UOW Scholars
- Enter your keywords—terms that correspond to your research interests, such as “diabetes remote”—to generate a list of names.
- Click each name to read more about these supervisors.
- Trust your intuition on whether you feel these supervisors might be suitable.
- Choose 5 to 10 possible supervisors
Tip: Seek advice from your Head of Postgraduate Studies
In some instances, after you search UOW scholars, you feel certain about which supervisors you want to contact. However, some applicants feel uncertain because
- they could not identify enough, or even any, supervisors they feel will be helpful,
- too many supervisors could be relevant and they cannot decide which individuals to contact.
To clarify which academics may be able to supervisor their proposed research topic, you may contact the Head of Postgraduate Studies in the relevant school.
Reach out to the Head of Postgraduate Studies relevant to your research interests. You may contact more than one Head of Postgraduate Studies.
Email example template
Dear [Title] [Surname],
My name is [your name]. I am working at [your organisation] and have completed [your degree]. I am interested in completing a PhD in the field of [research interest].
Specifically, I am fascinated by {your interest focus]. I enjoy [your enjoyment] and would like to learn more about [area].
I appreciate you may be very busy, but I was wondering whether anyone in your school might be interested in supporting me. For example, I was wondering whether I should contact [any potential supervisor/s from your search on UOW Scholars]?
Kind regards
Step 2: Email your potential supervisors
To email supervisors who may be suitable, you could adapt the following template.
Email example template
Dear [Title] [Surname],
My name is [your name]. I am working at [your organisation] and have completed [your degree]. I am interested in completing a PhD in the field of [research interest].
Specifically, I am fascinated by {your interest focus]. I enjoy [your enjoyment] and would like to learn more about [area].
I appreciate you may be very busy, but I was wondering whether you may interested in the possibility of supervision. Or, if not, would you be able to suggest someone else I should contact?
Kind regards
Step 3: Evaluate the supervisors
If one or more of these academics express an interest in supervising, you can then discuss your ideas and answer their questions, typically over email or videoconference. During these conversations, you should evaluate these supervisors.
Evaluation guide
Available
- The supervisors respond within a day or explains any delays in their response.
Accommodating
- The supervisors propose suggestions that accommodate your specific needs and circumstances.
- They might ask you questions about your circumstances—such as your family responsibilities, financial position, or skills—and seem interested in you.
- The supervisors might ask you whether you prefer a qualitative design, a quantitative design, or mixed method design.
- They offer advice that is sensitive to your answers.
- They should not impose their own preferences onto you.
- Supervisors who are not accommodating are not flexible enough to fulfill your needs.
Humble
- The supervisors show humility, acknowledging their limitations.
- They might also allude to their passion to learn.
- They may even refer to their hope they will learn from their interactions with you—and they will certainly be receptive to your suggestions and perspectives.
- Humble supervisors foster a more trustworthy relationship, encourage you to be candid about your capabilities, and organise useful collaborations.
Knowledgeable and passionate
- The supervisors demonstrate they have accrued some advanced and perhaps exclusive knowledge about the discipline, methods, or setting.
- The supervisors show some passion about this topic.
Step 4: Arrange a panel of supervisors
All candidates need to be assigned two or more supervisors from the university. At least one of these supervisors need to be experienced, called a principal supervisor. So, once you have chosen your first supervisor, you should collaborate with this person to select other supervisors. You should check that at least one supervisor has:
- developed expertise in the relevant discipline or disciplines,
- developed expertise in the methodology and methods you plan to use,
- is likely to be employed at the university during the entire candidature,
- has developed expertise in the setting or industry in which the research will be conducted, such as a First Nations community or a hospital.
Furthermore, in the future, your panel of supervisors should include:
- a potential end-user of the research—such as an industry partner,
- an early-career researcher who could benefit from a role in this project but may also appreciate the pressure of HDR more acutely.
I think it's really important in research to be part of a good team, and part of a supportive team. I work with Professor Martina Sanderson-Smith, who is the head of the Infectious Disease Research Group. I'm really fortunate that Martina is someone who supports me in a lot of different ways, and encourages me to step out of my comfort zone, to be independent, and to pursue the ideas that I come up with.