Information for Supervisors of WRDTP-funded students

The WRDTP works with supervisors across our seven partner institutions, to assist in the recruitment, training and development of students. This page looks to provide help and guidance by explaining the application process for prospective students, and how you as a supervisor can assist your ESRC funded student in gaining access to extra funding and resources.

Supervisor responsibilities:

Supervisors are required to help their students in the following ways:

to assist applicants with the application process and to complete the nomination form for the Studentship Competition.
to ensure timely completion of the PhD. Our expectation is that the thesis is submitted for examination within the funded period. Students must be made aware that it is a condition of their award that significant changes to the title and/or focus of their research need to be approved in advance by their supervisor. Such approval should not be given unless a clear justification is provided.
to develop a flexible programme of supervisory meetings in response to student needs.
to comply with institutional requirements concerning supervisory arrangements, formalisation of expectations of both staff and students in a learning agreement, keeping agreed written records of supervisory meetings and actions.
to oversee the Development Needs Analysis process and ensure that the award-holder’s training and personal development needs are assessed and accommodated.
to provide letters of support for funding applications to the DTP, when a student applies to make changes to their status, and to fulfil annual reporting requirements.
to address any concerns about their student’s progress, in a timely manner.

For more information on supervisor responsibilities, watch the recording of the recent supervisor induction session below.

Further details can be found in the ESRC Postgraduate Training and Development Guidelines. Please also note the following:

The ESRC expects ROs to ensure that all postgraduate students have access to the highest quality supervision and that procedures are in place to ensure consistent effective provision. The ESRC would normally expect supervisory arrangements to be put in place at the outset of a studentship regardless of the training structure or pathway followed.

The ESRC requires dual supervision, or supervisory panels, to guide the research. HEIs must have a clear policy on how new or inexperienced supervisors will be trained and developed, which might include being partnered with, and mentored by, an experienced co-supervisor.

- It is expected that within supervision teams, there will be at least one academic member of staff who has prior experience of supervision of PhD students to successful completion. Therefore, where an academic staff member has not yet successfully supervised a PhD student to completion, they should be paired with a more experienced member of the supervision team who has successfully supervised PhD students to completion. Colleagues are advised to also consult their University for any additional local requirements in terms of supervision arrangements.
- The student’s principal supervisor must be from within the student’s pathway and based in the same academic department/school.

The ESRC requests that supervisors are engaged with the DTP, as this is essential in ensuring that the student gets the most out of their ESRC studentship and the range of opportunities available to them.

Finally, supervisors will also need to ensure that they/their students are compliant with all local policies and regulations required by their HEI.

Additional funding available to WRDTP students:

WRDTP-funded students have access to a range of additional funding opportunities to support their studies and development. Further information relating to each scheme can be found on the Information for award-holders section of the website.

Key information for Supervisors:

Supervisors have a key role in the nomination of students to the WRDTP for ESRC funding in our annual Studentships competition. For further details and guidance, please see the following webpage:

WRDTP Studentships

Further information relating to the annual Development Needs Analysis process can be found on the Information for award-holders section of the website.

The WRDTP is required to report annually to the ESRC details of any external collaboration, societal/economic impact or international activity that ESRC funded doctoral researchers have been involved in during the last 12 months.

This information is captured via supervisors completing the WRDTP Collaboration and Impact Report Google Form (circulated by email, via the DTP Office) for each of their students by a specified deadline, on an annual basis.

Supervisors also receive a PDF document with this email, outlining the general student/project details we have on file for each of our funded students. Supervisors are asked to review this document, and let the DTP Office know of any changes (e.g. to their thesis title, if a student has since submitted their thesis etc).

Further information relating to the WRDTP’s training offer for doctoral researchers can be found on the Training section of the website.

The WRDTP has a diverse postgraduate community. As part of training during the PhD PGRs will establish networks with academic staff and encounter staff in a variety of contexts both professional and social. PGRs will also often act as staff members when they undertake teaching. When they do teach PGRs are expected to observe professional boundaries that apply to all staff members at the University in which they are employed.

It is a vital part of the PhD process that PGRs should be able to have regular contact with staff and to be able to engage with them intellectually. However, it is also important that where inappropriate conduct or behaviour takes place that there are transparent processes and clear guidelines that can be followed to protect both staff and PGRs. It is against this background context and following consultation with the WRDTP PGR forum that the following recommendations of best practice are proposed.

Concordat of the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership on Professional Boundaries between Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

How to get involved further in the work of the WRDTP:

Submit a project proposal for a WRDTP Collaborative Award – then recruit and supervise a PhD student to carry out the studentship project, with involvement from a collaborative partner in the public, private or civil society/third sector.
Apply to join one of the WRDTP’s seven interdisciplinary training pathway teams as a Pathway Director or Deputy. Vacancies are shared as news items on our website, and circulated to eligible department/schools at our partner universities via the WRDTP’s Academic Quality Committee. To check if there are any vacancies in your research area, please contact your AQC rep (details above) or the WRDTP Office. Please note that these roles carry a modest workload allocation, and permission will need to be sought from your HoD as part of the recruitment process.