Phd Supervision

[brainiac]

How often would someone studying for a PhD have to see the person supervising it? Is there any reason the postgrad would have to live in the town/city of the university awarding the degree - especially these days, would Zoom contact be enough?

[jim360]

It's completely variable, there's no hard-and-fast rule. Even within any individual PhD student's time it could vary from as often as daily to as rarely as monthly, although hopefully not rarer.

[brainiac]

Thanks, Jim. Didn't realise it could be as often as that - so it's not just the occasional 'how's it going' chat!

[jim360]

The times when it's daily are I would say fairly exceptional, and would correspond to when, for example, you're working towards submission of a paper or otherwise engaged in something technical. Might also vary by discipline, of course, as to how common that is.

At the other end of the scale, I went something close to six months while barely seeing my supervisor, because they were engaged in other projects and kept pushing my stuff back. Suffice it to say that this was not a productive time, but there we are, I got through it somehow.

[brainiac]

Apart from you, Jim, I think there's only one other ABer who has a doctorate, and that's 'theprof' who has TWO, one from Oxford and one from Cambridge. Mind-boggling!

[wolf63]

Does Dr Sqad not have a doctorate?

[jno]

I think medical people just have doctorettes, Wolf, they're not real doctors the way PhDs are.

[bednobs]

"Apart from you, Jim, I think there's only one other ABer who has a doctorate"
maybe those people who have a doctorate don't necessarily talk abot it on here?

[jim360]

Quite, bednobs. Approximately 1.4%, or 1 in 70, of the UK adult population has a PhD, so it seems likely that there's a few out there. I don't think AB has done a survey on it (or even should, for that matter).

[Sqad]

Wolf a PhD is not a recognised medical qualification, the nearest the medics have to that is an MD, that is a post graduate thesis.
In medicine and surgery we do have post graduate qualifications which are known as Fellowships e.g F.R.C.S

[Sqad]

Wolf.....I am not Dr. Just a Mr.in England that is.

[wolf63]

sqad - is it the same up here in Scotland? Or are you a mere doctor here?
☺

[Sqad]

Wolf surgeons in Scotland are Drs.

[Fiametta]

I lived far away from my supervisor while working on my dissertation, since like many post-graduate students, I had to do research abroad. Later, I followed my husband to his job in a city that offered excellent resources for my needs. Most of my fellow students did not remain in the city where our university was located after they completed coursework and took their exams. We generally communicated with our supervisors by phone and letter (this was pre-email), and only when we had something -- a chapter, for example -- to show them or had questions or problems to resolve.

Much is going to depend on your field and the nature of your research. I am a historian, but a scientist or social scientist might need to be in closer or more frequent touch with a supervisor or might see him or her regularly anyway owing to working in the supervisor's lab.

[skipandtry]

Hey there! It really depends on the university and program. These days, with technology like Zoom, physical proximity might not be a must. Many PhD students manage just fine with remote supervision. But it's always a good idea to check your specific program's requirements and flexibility. You might find some useful insights on https://academiainsider.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-a-phd-complete-a-phd-quickly/ too!