Doctoral Supervision
This course aims to strengthen participants’ capacity to provide pedagogically deliberate and context-sensitive doctoral supervision.
Description
The course is a thematic course, inviting participants to reflect upon how their supervisory role is dynamically framed by the historical, national, legal, political, and disciplinary contexts of doctoral education, as well as the specific organisational context(s) they operate in. From this point of departure, the course provides opportunities for participants to define and develop their own professional and context-sensitive supervisory approach with respect to responsibilities, ethics, power issues, different models for supervision, and doctoral students’ learning.
The course is based on lectures and interdisciplinary discussions in the classroom, where theoretical knowledge and experience sharing are equally important. Five assignments should also be completed outside the scheduled meetings. Three of these relate to themes in the scheduled meetings. The fourth assignment is based on the participants’ own choice of topic and consists of a short paper of relevance for doctoral supervision. In the fifth assignment, participants reflect upon their own learning through the course. Language of all instruction and communication is in English.
Course Dates
The course runs from 3 September 2024 – 5 February 2025.
The course facilitates the following classroom sessions:
- 3 September 09:15-12:00
- 7 October 09:15-15:00
- 15 October 09:15-12:00
- 4 November 9:15-15:00
- 2 December 9:15-12:00
- 21 January 9:00-12:00 (Group A-C); 13:00-16:00 (Groups D-F)
(Room to be announced)
All course activities take place in Room O104 at the MNO Building (Sölvegatan 16), unless otherwise stated.
Other Important Dates & Deadlines
- 2 September: Assignment 1 (one the day before we start)
- 4 October: Assignment 2
- 1 November: Assignment 3
- 10 January: Assignment 4
- 21 January: Day 6 – mandatory seminar
- 5 February: Assignment 5
Scope & Assessment
The course is equivalent to two weeks of pedagogical training, amounting to 80 hours of full-time work. To receive a certificate, course participants shall demonstrate achievement of the intended learning outcomes by:
- Passing all assignments.
- Actively participating during classroom sessions.
Participants can make up for absences by submitting a written assignment, provided the absences do not total more than one full day. The classroom session on 21 January is compulsory. If participants are unable to attend on this date, or if their absences accumulate beyond one full day, they will need to attend additional sessions in a subsequent course offering.
If a participant does not complete a course within the specified time, all course components must be submitted within three years of commencement in order to receive a course certificate.
To receive a course certificate, the participant shall demonstrate an ability to:
- Define his or her role and responsibility within doctoral education.
- Relate knowledge of doctoral student learning to modes of supervision and to other elements of doctoral education.
- Relate doctoral education and supervision to relevant laws, regulations, and policy.
- Reflect on ethical issues related to the practice of supervision.
- Introduce the doctoral student to his or her rights and responsibilities, and to other resources available for help and support.
- Together with the student design an individual study plan that is attuned to the intended learning outcomes and to local conditions for doctoral education.
The course is open for staff at Lund University who supervise, or will supervise, doctoral students. Supervisors outside Lund university can also apply provided their students are admitted to doctoral education at Lund university.
The course book will be handed out at the first course meeting:
Brodin, E., Lindén, L., Sonesson, A. & Lindberg-Sand, Å. (2020). Doctoral supervision in theory and practice. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
Who is this course for?
This thematic course is suitable for any staff who supervise, or will supervise, doctoral students.
This course is especially suited for individuals that:
- Seek to enhance their pedagogical approach to doctoral supervision.
- Wish to establish a solid foundation in their supervisory practices.
- Aim to develop a more structured and reflective supervisory practice.
- Wish to explore the impact of varying cultural and organisational contexts on supervision.
- Require formal supervisor training as mandated by Lund University or their respective institutions.
The course meets Lund University’s requirement for supervisor training.