The initial supervision meeting
A meeting is held between the supervisor and the student within 4 weeks of the supervisor being allocated. The student adviser gives contact details to both the student and the supervisor, and the supervisor calls the meeting. At the first meeting, both parties go through the supervision agreement, the ground rules and the ethical guidelines for supervisors at UiO. It is important that both the student and the supervisor talk about expectations, parameters (e.g. the time frame), ambitions and goals for the supervisory relationship, and devise a plan for the progress of the work.
Supervision must be regular
The student is entitled to:
- 18 hours of supervision during a 60-credit Master’s study programme
- 9 hours of supervision during a 30-credit Master’s study programme
The supervisor and student must jointly plan how this time will be spent, and should independently log the time spent. The student and supervisor may agree that it is useful for some of the supervision to take place via e-mail. The time spent on this will be included in the total number of hours. In order for the supervisory relationship to work, the student must regularly submit new text as agreed between the parties. Both the supervisor and the student have a duty to ensure that the supervision takes place on an ongoing basis throughout the period of study.
Meetings and minutes
Before the end of the supervision meeting, the supervisor and the student must set a date for the next meeting. They should agree on how the work should have progressed by the next meeting, and agree on a deadline for written material to be submitted. It may be useful for the student to take brief minutes of each supervision meeting, and send a copy to the supervisor. The minutes should reflect the student’s understanding of the meeting, and any misunderstandings and ambiguities can be clarified. The minutes should also clearly indicate agreements on further work.
Progress and delays
The supervisory relationship assumes nominal study progress, and follows the recommended nominal study period of a Master’s study programme. If a student takes longer than this, the supervision agreement must be renegotiated with the department (by applying for an extra semester). If a student wants to become a part-time student or to apply for leave, he/she must apply to his/her programme of study.
Research leave and travel
In the event of prolonged absence due to leave or research visits, it is the supervisor’s responsibility to inform the student about this in good time. The supervisor must also make the necessary arrangements for supervision during the relevant period so that the supervision continues despite the supervisor’s absence.
Illness
In cases of prolonged illness, the student must give written notification to the supervisor, with a copy to the programme adviser. It should be noted that students are at greater risk of mental health problems than other groups. SiO Counselling and the student health service at the Blindern campus provide helpful assistance to students in relation to psychological or social problems (including writer’s block). Students are free to contact SiO Counselling even for seemingly trivial issues – there is no shame in that. The supervisor does not have expertise in this field, and cannot take on non-academic responsibilities.
Changing your supervisor
If the supervisory relationship does not work satisfactorily for either the student or the supervisor – for academic or other reasons – the student or the supervisor can ask the student adviser or head of studies to be released from the supervisory relationship, and a new supervisor will be appointed.