Meetings with your supervisor

Discussing the doctoral project one-to-one with your supervisor is a fundamental part of good supervision. Regardless of whether you are pursuing a doctorate as an internal or an external candidate, in a structured program or through individual doctoral studies, it is crucial for you and your supervisor to meet at least once or twice a year for detailed scientific discussions about the progress and challenges of your project, as well as possible next steps. In your supervision agreement, you may define the frequency of these progress report meetings. Doctoral candidates should prepare such meetings well.

Clear agreements between doctoral candidates and supervisors are strongly recommended in order to avoid misunderstandings. Clarify at the very beginning roles and responsibilities: e.g. how often you meet in person; your and your supervisor’s expectations; how (often) you will receive feedback on your research and general progress by your supervisor and so on.

In addition to meeting your supervisor, attending the research seminar/colloquium of your supervisor’s research group or institute is certainly advisable in order to obtain additional and valuable feedback on your scientific work from other researchers.