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Department of History

Supervision

In this section

  • Research Supervision

  • Timetable

Research Supervision

The relationship with your supervisor will be at the heart of your training in history here at Warwick. Every research student has a supervisor assigned when they commence their studies, and in some cases, joint supervisors may be appointed. It is the role of the supervisor to guide you in the design of your research and to offer constructive advice and intellectual support as you move through each stage of your project right up to your final viva voce examination.

Guidelines for PGR Supervision

Regular Supervisor Meetings

Your supervisor(s) will meet with you regularly to discuss your work, and agree on a programme of reading, research and writing with you. Supervision meetings should normally take place every three to four weeks during your first year of study, but they may be more frequent if necessary. Students being jointly supervised may sometimes meet with both supervisors, but more often you will meet only with one time - in the latter case, it is important to ensure that your second supervisor knows about the conversations that have taken place with the first. The planning of fieldwork, archival visits, and other aspects of your research design should be discussed in-depth with your supervisor. How often a student meets with a supervisor varies enormously from student to student, and is likely also to vary over time as your project reaches differing stages of development.

However, there is a university requirement that you meet with your supervisor at least once a month. Even if you are away from Warwick, undertaking fieldwork or archival research, it remains important to communicate regularly and report your progress to your Supervisor. It is mandatory for you to record these on Tabula with a short summary of what was discussed and action points for the future.

International students should be particularly aware of the consequences of missing or failing to record supervision meetings, as the Academic Office is obliged to report to the Home Office UK Visas and Immigration (formerly the UK Border Agency) if any Tier 4 students have been found not to be engaging with and attending their degree course. This will normally lead to the curtailment of their visas.

During the pandemic, the expectation is that supervisions will normally be conducted online, which may mean that jointly held meetings are easier to arrange. When the campus is open, it might on occasion be possible to have individual meetings with one supervisor in their office, provided a 2m distance is maintained and other protective measures are taken. Contacts via telephone, email, or Skype will be accepted as a demonstration of engagement where physical meetings are not possible, and the format of communication should be logged in your record of the meeting.

Timetable

You will agree on an overall programme of study with your supervisor, and this is likely to include tasks for you to complete to agreed deadlines, including writing. We have high expectations of you as a writer (as well as a researcher), and consider that one of the factors in the successful submission rate of research theses in the Department, is that we encourage and expect students to start writing very early in their programme of study.

Progress Reviews

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