Student Blog Collection

Finding A Supervisor

Take it from me, the journey to an MSc degree is a long and arduous, but rewarding journey. I understood that there were going to be many moving parts (nine modules, a dissertation and everything else), and so it was very important to me that I minimized any unnecessary source of stress. First on the list was to find a the right supervisor early. There are two words there, right and early.

WMG has a very useful online Project Selection System, that matched MSc students at WMG with supervisors. The system lists a supervisor’s interest areas, maximum student capacity (maximum number of students that the supervisor is willing to accept) and whether or not that capacity has been reached. Students can then send a message to the prospective supervisor and even attach a proposal if they wish. In this way, supervisors can then choose to accept or reject a student.

Now for some tips!

Tip #1. Start early but take the time to make the right choice. A Supervisor-Student relationship is like a marriage. Once you commit and both parties make the decision to enter this relationship, it is very difficult to back out of it. So it is important to take some time and think about which supervisor is best for you.

Tip #2. Make sure that the supervisor you intend on approaching, is actually interested in the research area you are intent on pursuing. There is nothing but pain and frustration awaiting the student that locks in a supervisor who is disinterested in the area they are pursuing.

Tip #3. Ensure that your supervisor is interested in the geographical context (country) you’re thinking of looking into. Some supervisors will be upfront that they’re looking for students intent on pursuing dissertations with a focus in the Middle East or Africa, so make sure you are clear about this from the beginning. If you’re flexible and do not really mind the context, then great!

Tip #4. This was equally important as the others but far more of a priority. Find a supervisor you are likely to get along with. My supervisor was very open and chatty and was always keen to speak his mind. Our supervisor meetings usually began with 15 minutes of conversation about politics, business and developments in our personal lives. In this way, my supervisor felt more like a friend and a mentor, rather than simply a transaction academic partnership.

Karabelo Maloi - MSc Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IAE)