Supervision is not limited to subject-specific support of a doctorate, but is a relationship of trust (for a limited period of time) that needs to be established. Setting standards for supervision is important here, but at the same time, it must be taken into account that there are quite different ideas of what makes for quality supervision.
Finding a Supervisor
We would like to encourage you to actively shape the supervisory relationship. But how do you find a suitable supervisor for your doctorate?
Your choice of supervisor will depend primarily on the topic of your dissertation. But since it takes several years to complete a doctorate, it is important that your working styles are compatible and that you have a certain “chemistry”. We therefore recommend that you contact a potential supervisor directly and ask to meet to discuss the possibility. You should also send a copy of your current curriculum vitae and a project description of five to ten pages (proposal) along with your request. At this meeting, you should discuss the content of your dissertation as well as other aspects of the supervision including mutual expectations in regards to working styles, exchange with other doctoral researchers, the content of the supervision agreement and funding options. Read more about important aspects to consider when choosing a supervisor in this nature article.
As soon as you have found a supervisor, you should register with the relevant faculty on the list of doctoral researchers. Additional requirements for admission are listed in the doctoral degree regulations of the faculty where you intend to do your doctorate. After you are admitted as a doctoral researcher, the faculty is obligated to ensure supervision even if your original supervisor is no longer available.
The supervision of doctoral researchers should be carried out by several individuals, for example, by a Thesis Advisory Committee. This committee usually consists of the first supervisor, the second supervisor (possibly external) and a postdoc, thus ensuring the principle of multiple perspectives. The selection of the members for the Thesis Advisory Committee is usually made by the doctoral researchers and primary supervisors. The Thesis Advisory Committee meets at regular intervals so that the doctoral researcher can report on their progress.
Implementing the Supervision Agreement
All agreements and stipulations, as well as the rights and duties of the doctoral researchers and supervisors, should be defined in a supervision agreement and then applied. It is important that the agreement is adapted to the individual needs of the doctoral researchers and supervisors.
To date, one faculty at Leipzig University explicitly requires that a supervision agreement be completed, based on its Doctoral Degree Regulations, whereas the other faculties do not (yet) have this requirement. For several years now, we have observed a change here as an ever-increasing number of supervision agreements are being completed in the faculties. We strongly recommend that you complete a supervision agreement and have developed a template for this purpose which you can use and expand on.