The RSVP Collection

This report, authored by Professor Stan Taylor, uses available data from 149 research degree awarding institutions in the UK. It builds on the 2018 Eligibility to Supervise: a study of UK Institutions report and provides a snapshot of the current professional development provision for, and reward and recognition of, supervisory practice. The report concludes by recommending that institutions review the duration and content of their development programmes, to better reflect the complex nature of modern research supervision.

This report is the first in a series of published findings from focus groups held with diverse stakeholders in research supervision practice including: Deans and Directors of Doctoral Schools, Industry Supervisors and Academic Research Supervisors. The report summarises discussions with research supervisor based at the five core consortia partners (Universities of Nottingham, York, Coventry University, Sheffield Hallam University and King’s College London). The report is organised around the projects’ four core areas: the role of team supervision, supervising different types of research degree, supervision in different disciplines and understanding and combatting poor supervision practice. It explores in detail the expectations and experiences of supervisors in relation to professional development.

This report, based on qualitative statements from five years’ worth of survey responses (2021-2025), provides a unique lens on the PGR experience in the UK, and highlights what candidates want and need from supervisors and institutions. It uncovers significant patterns in how supervision shapes the PGR experience—not just in terms of academic progress, but in respect of isolation, wellbeing, and professional identity. The analysis also highlights how the intersection of supervisor support, team dynamics, and institutional culture contributes to a positive, or less positive, PGR experience.

We have been seeking the perspectives of Deans and Directors of Doctoral Schools (DDDs) to understand doctoral supervision from an institutional perspective. This focus group report explores how DDDs understand good and poor supervision practice, how supervision concerns are identified and addressed, and how institutional structures, policies, and development activities support supervision quality. The report also considers the role of Doctoral Schools in strengthening the postgraduate researcher voice, supporting supervisors, and shaping research supervision culture.

RSVP is committed to enhancing doctoral supervision practice and developing appropriate onboarding and continuing professional development (CPD) for all those involved in doctoral supervision. As such, we have sought the opinions of external doctoral supervisors – professionals in organisations outside higher education who contribute to the supervision of doctoral (PhD) researchers – to inform the design of novel CPD resources and to improve our understanding of the contribution that external supervisors make to the doctoral process.

The focus groups involved almost 70 participants across various sectors, and have helped us to understand how external supervisors approach their roles, support doctoral candidates, and work with university-based supervisors.