Art History: Masters supervision
Supervision arrangements
Arrangements for Masters and PhD supervision are made through the Research Coordinator of your discipline. PhD students will be assigned a principal supervisor and an associate supervisor, while Masters students will usually work with one supervisor.
When you are writing a research thesis, your most significant contact in the School is your supervisor and it is important to develop a good working relationship with this person. The burden is on both you and your supervisor to come to an understanding of how best to accommodate specific needs. These can vary enormously, so please don't assume your supervisor has the direction of your research already mapped out for you.
Frequency of Supervision
On average, most students meet a principal supervisor once or twice a month, but you may want more frequent consultations during the first six months of your candidature as you establish and refine your topic, and during the final months as you prepare your final draft for examination. (The Arts Faculty's recommendation for supervision consultations is a half-hour meeting per fortnight.) You should make it clear to your supervisor how frequently you wish to meet to discuss your work, and make appropriate appointments to do this. For example, at the beginning of each semester you and your supervisor may wish to arrange a regular monthly / fortnightly appointment so that both of you know what to expect over the coming six months. In general, you should make every effort to establish an understanding with your principal supervisor about frequency of consultations, what kind of advice or assistance you need, and so forth. One of the most common problems in research for a higher degree results from the student and the supervisor having different expectations of the relationship. Again, it is crucial that you talk to your supervisor about what you each expect and what you would find most helpful.
If you give your supervisor a draft of a chapter, a week might be a reasonable time between delivery of the draft and an interview to discuss your work. At peak teaching or marking periods in the undergraduate calendar, detailed feedback may take a bit longer.
Ask your supervisor for assistance with establishing a bibliography for your topic, for advice on obtaining Inter-Library Loan material, and about any aspect of the School or the University's operations, conferences, possible jobs, and so forth. Most importantly, don't hesitate to raise any doubts or anxieties about your work and its progress. If you run into difficulties at any stage, it is very important to keep in touch with your supervisor. Even if such difficulties are personal or financial, your supervisor will sometimes be able to advise how best to manage your candidature and the progress of your research in these circumstances.
Problems with Supervision
If you experience any persistent difficulties with your supervision, or have questions or concerns that cannot be dealt with by your supervisor, you should in the first instance consult the Research Coordinator of your discipline or the Head of Discipline. The School's Chair of Research and the Head of School are also available to postgraduate students by appointment, via the Research Manager, and any concerns you bring to them will be dealt with sympathetically and with due confidentiality. In the unlikely event that a problem cannot be resolved satisfactorily within the school you may consult the Associate Dean of Arts (Research and Research Training), who can be contacted through the Faculty of Arts Research and Postgraduate Studies.