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Your supervisor supports you to produce research of the highest quality. They provide professional advice and guidance throughout your candidature.
You are required to have at least one research supervisor and one secondary supervisor.
Your supervisor’s role is to guide you through your higher degree by research program and usually involves:
When you start at the University of Sydney, you should discuss your proposed progress with your supervisor. You’ll create a research progress plan and outline realistic milestones for your research.
You should establish a communication plan that allows you to regularly meet or correspond to discuss your progress. This will help you keep on track and provide an experienced and expert sounding board for your ideas.
Problems sometimes arise between candidates and their supervisor(s). It’s best for these issues to be addressed as quickly as possible.
You may want to consider the following to resolve any difficulties.
If you are not able to resolve any issues directly with your supervisor, you can seek the help of the postgraduate coordinator, head of department/school or any other member of permanent staff.
You can also seek advice and support from the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association (SUPRA), Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS) or compliance officers (for international students).
As you progress with your research, you might move into different areas of interest or your thesis topic might change.
In this case it may be beneficial to have additional or alternative advice. You can complement your supervisor’s experience with an academic staff member in another discipline or faculty.
You can also explore Research Supervisor Connect to discover the research interests, experience and publications of University academic staff.
Once you find suitable academic staff, talk to them about your research and supervision options. Consult your current supervisors and discuss any new supervision arrangements.
You can then submit a request to change your supervisor. This will need formal academic approval.
Submit your request through Sydney Student. Go to ‘My studies’, ‘Research details’, then ‘Request change of supervisor’ next to your current supervisor.
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