The role of your supervisors

As a full-time doctoral student at the University of Borås, you are entitled to continuous and needs-adapted supervision for at least 100 hours per year during the corresponding 4 years of full-time studies, or 80 hours spread over 5 years for doctoral students with a departmental duties of 20 percent. A part-time doctoral student is entitled to supervision to a corresponding extent for a maximum of 8 years. The supervision time is divided between the principal and assistant supervisors.

The main task of the supervisors is to support the doctoral student to develop into an independent researcher with a sound scientific approach. The supervisors plan the doctoral programme together with the doctoral student. The planning must be documented in the individual study plan (ISP), which must be updated at least once a year. Together with the doctoral student, the supervisors are also responsible for regularly discussing and following up on the development of the doctoral student's doctoral education and adapting the plan accordingly.

The supervision period includes the time that the supervisor and doctoral student work with the doctoral student's education, such as the research project, courses, and development talks, preparation and follow-up of individual study plan, text review, planning of seminars and doctoral thesis, and introduction of the doctoral student in national and international networks.

The supervisors are normally appointed in connection with admission. As a requirement for being a principal supervisor, a minimum of the merit of Docent/Associate Professor is required, as well as having completed a supervisor training course. Eligible as an assistant supervisor is someone who has a doctoral degree.