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• master's thesis supervision
• student-supervisor relationship
• student characteristics
• supervisor characteristics
• supervisor actions
• systematic literature review

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T1 - Effective master’s thesis supervision – A Summative Framework for research and practice

AU - Grohnert, Therese

AU - Gromotka, Lena

AU - Gast, Inken

AU - Delnoij, Laurie

AU - Beausaert, Simon

N1 - Data availability All studies reviewed in this study are listed and described in the paper proper

PY - 2024/2

Y1 - 2024/2

N2 - Each year, more students worldwide enter graduate school to complete their master's degree. A cornerstone of their education is the master's thesis. Respectively, master's thesis supervisors hold a key role in higher education teaching, yet no evidence-based overview currently exists of elements that make thesis supervision effective. Based on a systematic literature review, this study presents a summative framework of what is currently known about elements and their relationships that constitute effective master's thesis supervision, focusing on the interactions between individual students and supervisors. We develop an input-process-outcome framework based on 36 existing studies, identifying student and supervisor outcomes, characteristics of an effective student-supervisor relationship along with actions that students and supervisors can take to create and maintain it, along with student and supervisor characteristics that serve as critical inputs for an effective supervision process. We find that current research emphasizes the role of supervisor attitudes and actions in relation to the student-supervisor relationship, while future research is needed on student actions, supervisor learning over time, and contextual characteristics. Following our framework, we generate avenues for future research and summarize effective supervision practices in the dynamic and complex context of master's thesis supervision.

AB - Each year, more students worldwide enter graduate school to complete their master's degree. A cornerstone of their education is the master's thesis. Respectively, master's thesis supervisors hold a key role in higher education teaching, yet no evidence-based overview currently exists of elements that make thesis supervision effective. Based on a systematic literature review, this study presents a summative framework of what is currently known about elements and their relationships that constitute effective master's thesis supervision, focusing on the interactions between individual students and supervisors. We develop an input-process-outcome framework based on 36 existing studies, identifying student and supervisor outcomes, characteristics of an effective student-supervisor relationship along with actions that students and supervisors can take to create and maintain it, along with student and supervisor characteristics that serve as critical inputs for an effective supervision process. We find that current research emphasizes the role of supervisor attitudes and actions in relation to the student-supervisor relationship, while future research is needed on student actions, supervisor learning over time, and contextual characteristics. Following our framework, we generate avenues for future research and summarize effective supervision practices in the dynamic and complex context of master's thesis supervision.

KW - master's thesis supervision

KW - student-supervisor relationship

KW - student characteristics

KW - supervisor characteristics

KW - supervisor actions

KW - systematic literature review

U2 - 10.1016/j.edurev.2023.100589

DO - 10.1016/j.edurev.2023.100589

M3 - Article

SN - 1747-938X

JO - Educational Research Review

JF - Educational Research Review

M1 - 100589

Real Learning Opportunities at Business School and Beyond pp 211–222 Cite as

Master Thesis Supervision

• Judith H. Semeijn 5 ,
• Janjaap Semeijn &
• Kees J. Gelderman  

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Part of the book series: Advances in Business Education and Training ((ABET,volume 2))

An increasing number of educators are actively involved in master thesis supervision as part of their daily responsibilities. Master of Science degrees are becoming increasingly popular, with a master thesis required for the completion of the degree program. As a result, the supervisory staff involved in the supervision process at universities and institutes of higher learning is broadening and includes people with limited supervisory experience.

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Semeijn, J.H., Semeijn, J., Gelderman, K.J. (2009). Master Thesis Supervision. In: Daly, P., Gijbels, D. (eds) Real Learning Opportunities at Business School and Beyond. Advances in Business Education and Training, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2973-7_14

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Thesis supervision

Find a thesis supervisor.

Thesis supervisors must be authorized by t heir Faculty to supervise theses.

Finding a thesis supervisor arrow_drop_down

Before thinking about a supervisor, students should make sure they are committing to the area of study that most interests them. They should ask themselves whether they are enthusiastic enough about a topic area to sustain this enthusiasm over the period of time it will take to prepare the thesis. Speaking to students and professors who do research in the proposed area of study will help clarify the students’ thoughts. The students should make sure they are well-informed before they approach any potential supervisors.

A professor is not obligated to take on a student if he or she feels the match-up would not be a good one, or if the professor lacks lab space, time or funding.

A student may have more than one supervisor. When mention is made of the thesis supervisor, it is implicit that there may be a co-supervisor.

• Information to collect before contacting a potential supervisor
• Questions to ask after the meeting with the potential supervisor
• Professors, by research interest

Appointment of a thesis supervisor arrow_drop_down

From the uoZone Application tab, click Candidate Center to create a service request and appoint a thesis supervisor.

Meetings between the supervisor and the student arrow_drop_down

Preliminary meetings.

Before a student begins researching and writing a thesis, the supervisor and the student should have a detailed discussion of expectations and requirements. Below are examples of general and specific issues to be discussed during the preliminary meetings.

As soon as possible, the student should obtain ethics approvals or any other required approvals to conduct research. The student should discuss with the thesis supervisor and visit the  Office of Research Ethics and Integrity  Website.

• General and specific topics to be discussed

Regular meetings

The student and the supervisor should plan to meet regularly whether or not the student has any finished work to show to the supervisor.

If it is a major meeting, the student should draw up and deliver to the supervisor an agenda beforehand. If the meeting is to discuss text that has already been written, the student must send the draft well in advance of the meeting. 

After the meeting, and based on this agenda, the student prepares a brief report on what was discussed and decided, and shares this report with the supervisor.

It is important to be productive at these major meetings, but it is also crucial to just keep in touch.

Components of a typical agenda

• a summary of the purpose of the meeting
• a review of what was discussed at the previous meeting and what has been accomplished to date
• a discussion and clarification of the current topics, ideas and issues
• next steps as a result of this discussion
• agree with a date for the next meeting

Feedback and revision arrow_drop_down

All along during the thesis preparation process, a student will receive feedback and should expect to do revisions. Revising a thesis based on feedback from the thesis supervisor, advisory committee (if applicable) and from the jury is an important part of the thesis preparation process.

Part of the advancement of knowledge that preparing a thesis fosters involves engaging in dialogue and learning from these discussions, learning how to communicate clearly, and responding appropriately to suggestions for improvement

Already a student?

Types of supervision, co-supervision arrow_drop_down.

A joint management with a professor in another discipline may be considered if the research project of a student is favoured.

Cotutelle arrow_drop_down

A doctoral student may prepare a thesis under a cotutelle agreement. You find below additional information to help familiarize yourself with the roles played by each of the stakeholders.  

Learn more about Cotutelle.

Thesis advisory committee arrow_drop_down

In many academic units, a thesis advisory committee, also referred to as thesis committee, is assembled as soon as a student finds a thesis supervisor. Please note that not all academic units have thesis committees, the students must check on the protocol in their own academic unit.

Constitution of the thesis committee

How the thesis committee is formed varies from academic unit to academic unit. The thesis supervisor plays the biggest role by approaching colleagues who have the expertise and inviting them to join the committee.

A thesis committee is made up of:

• the student
• the thesis supervisor, and
• usually at least two other professors.

The thesis supervisor is usually the chair of the thesis committee.

Role of the thesis committee

While the roles and responsibilities of thesis committees may vary from one academic unit to another, members of the committee should provide guidance to the student on thesis planning, research and writing; be available to discuss ideas or for consultation on any other matter related to the thesis; and, if this is the practice within the discipline, evaluate the thesis after submission.

Thesis committees meet according to a schedule set either by the academic unit or by the committee itself. The student is usually responsible for initiating the meetings. When concerns about the progress of the research arise, the supervisor and/or academic unit may require meetings at more frequent intervals.

Useful information

Contracts arrow_drop_down.

Some supervisors and students have contracts or agreements to formalize the expectations and delineate the responsibilities in the preparation of a thesis.

Although these agreements are not considered official documents with force of law, they set out the expectations of the student and supervisor in relation to many of the issues covered in this Website section and help avoid conflict and misunderstandings.

A student should not make assumptions about who will do what in the research and who gets credit for any new discoveries or inventions. A supervisor should not assume the supervised student is aware of any assumptions the supervisor has or any authorship or credit protocols that may exist in the area of research.

Professors who use contracts do so because they have found such agreements are a good tool for helping students achieve their goals and finish their theses. However, while a written agreement can be very useful, one of the keys to a successful supervisor–student relationship is good communication and mutual trust. Both sides need to foster and build on that. 

Absences arrow_drop_down

Sometimes a potential supervisor is approached by a student looking for a thesis supervisor and both the student and professor agree it would be a good match, but the professor is going on an academic leave partway through the period in which the student will be preparing this thesis. In the event of a scheduled absence from the University for more than one month, the thesis supervisor must make the necessary arrangements with his students and the academic unit concerned to ensure that students continue to be accompanied during the supervisor's absence.

A thesis supervisor who is going to be away should let the student know well in advance. The same goes for the student. The student should discuss this with the thesis supervisor well ahead of time. In case of illness, the student should let the supervisor know the expected timeline for recovery.

If the student is planning to suspend work on the thesis for a term or more, for whatever reason, the student needs to apply for and receive approval for a leave of absence. Please note that absence has an impact on eligibility for funding.

Form - Request for leave of absence (PDF)

Professionalism arrow_drop_down

As a student, the development of professional skills—for example, communicating appropriately in writing and in person, responding promptly to e-mails, coming prepared to meetings, following up after meetings, respecting deadlines, tracking changes to the text so that it is easy for the supervisor to review each draft after revisions—is important in the preparation of the thesis. Some faculties offer courses in professional skills.

If the student feels aspects of the supervisor’s behavior are unprofessional, he or she should consult the graduate program director or the chair of the academic unit.

Changing supervisors arrow_drop_down

As for changing supervisors partway through a thesis, this is not recommended. Keep in mind that as long as the thesis is logical and the conclusions drawn from the data are valid, the student and the supervisor do not need to be in total agreement on methodology, analysis or interpretation.

The thesis committee may be able to fill in whatever gaps the student perceives in the relationship with the supervisor. If the research goes off in an unexpected direction, one that is not very familiar to the thesis supervisor, the student could see what opportunities are available and what guidelines the academic unit has for this situation. The student could consider joint supervision as an alternative to finding a new supervisor.

If the student has explored all other options and still wish to change supervisors, he or she should talk to the graduate program director. If the supervisor happens to be the graduate program director, the student should talk to the director of the academic unit. If the student remains uncertain or dissatisfied, he or she should talk to the vice-dean graduate studies of his/her home faculty. Beyond that, the student can talk to the university ombudsperson. The student can request that the exchanges with any or all of these individuals (directors, vice-dean, ombudsperson) remain confidential.

The student should be sure to explore options carefully before withdrawing from the supervisory arrangement—a student who terminates the relationship with a supervisor before finding another supervisor may have difficulty securing another supervisor and compromise the thesis project.

Getting the most out of thesis supervision meetings

Chances are that postgraduate students meet their thesis supervisor/s only every few weeks, and for a limited amount of time. Therefore, it is extremely important to take full advantage of supervision meetings. The following tips help bachelor’s, master’s and PhD students to make the most of thesis supervision meetings.

What can you expect from a thesis supervisor?

Taking charge of thesis supervision meetings, pre-meeting progress updates before thesis supervision meetings, agendas and note-taking strategies during thesis supervision meetings, post-meeting action points after thesis supervision meetings.

Before diving into what you can do to get the most out of thesis supervision meetings, it is important to be clear on the roles during a thesis process:

A thesis supervisor supports and guides you through writing your thesis. However, ultimately you are responsible for your work.

What this role division means in practice is that students cannot expect their thesis supervisor/s to tell them exactly what to do. And the thesis supervisor/s will not simply provide students with solutions to their challenges on a silver platter.

That said, a supervisor’s role is crucial. He or she will guide you in your writing, point out weaknesses in your argument and approach, and make suggestions for improvement. Furthermore, you can benefit from their experiences and scientific knowledge.

Considering that students are ultimately responsible for their thesis, they do benefit from taking charge of supervision meetings.

First and foremost, it means that students should be proactive. They should stay on top of time planning. They should keep track of a regular supervision schedule. And they should let the supervisor/s know what they need in terms of support and advice.

Pre-meeting updates, a meeting agenda and strategy for note-taking, as well as post-meeting action points, help students to get the most out of thesis supervision meetings.

Each of these points will be explained in more detail below. Combined, they offer concrete and repeatable structure to prepare, take part in, and summarise thesis supervision meetings.

It is never too late to change your approach to thesis supervision meetings. Just introduce the new structure to your supervisor/s and explain how it helps you to keep track of your progress. Most supervisors appreciate it when students take responsibility for their learning.

Pre-meeting updates are a summary of the progress you made since your last meeting.

Both master’s and PhD thesis supervisors tend to supervise many students at the same time. They might lose track of the progress of individual students. Progress updates before a meeting help to bring everyone up to date.

Sending around progress updates before the meeting also saves a lot of time: during the meeting, you can dive much more quickly into the discussion of your challenges and how to move forward.

In the pre-meeting updates, it is also advisable to already share your main questions and struggles in advance. Be very clear in stating what you need from your supervisor/s. It helps them to prepare.

And of course, if you have written text for review, make sure to give your supervisor/s enough time to review it. Supervisors have busy agendas. So don’t hand in the written text an hour or a day before the meeting.

• Send around a progress update before the meeting.
• Specify the questions and challenges you would like to discuss.
• If applicable, share written text well in advance.

During a thesis supervision meeting, be prepared. Have an agenda ready, and share it with your supervisor/s at the beginning of the meeting.

The agenda should reflect the key points that you would like to discuss during the meeting.

In addition to the agenda, explain what your key objectives are for the meeting. Then, ask if your supervisor/s would like to add points to the agenda. Edit the agenda on the spot so that all points and objectives are reflected.

A good agenda helps to structure the discussion and it ensures that all relevant points will be addressed.

Furthermore, have a good note-taking strategy in place. Even if you understand everything that is said during a supervision meeting, it can be tough to remember it all.

Either take your time to take proper notes by hand or ask all parties present whether it is okay to record the meeting. You will thank yourself later.

• Come prepared, with an agenda and meeting objectives.
• Make space for unplanned discussions and feedback in the agenda.
• Take detailed notes or ask to record the meeting.

Phew! The meeting is over. What’s next?

Take a day or two to reflect on the meeting. Sit down, have a look at your notes, and then develop action points that came out of the discussion.

Action points can be agreements made with the supervisor/s on content, research methods, writing style, you name it. Compile a short but concrete list of the steps you will take to progress with your thesis. Where applicable, also include specific deadlines and notes on time-planning.

Then, send the post-meeting action points to your supervisor/s.

Why? Because there is a chance that you misunderstood each other. Asking your supervisors for brief feedback on your action points provides an extra layer of security. It shows whether you are on the same page and whether you are moving in the right direction.

Furthermore, it is always good to have your agreements in writing. It can help, for instance, if you run into trouble because you have to deal with conflicting feedback from different supervisors .

Lastly, already start to prepare for the next meeting. If you haven’t done it yet, send a calendar invite to your supervisor/s, so that everyone can block the time of your upcoming thesis supervision meeting in their agenda.

• Develop concrete action points after the meeting, and share them with your supervisor/s.
• Reiterate agreements on deadlines and time-planning.
• Send out calendar invites for the next meeting.

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Supervision of the Master's Thesis

Supervision is compulsory. You can not submit your master thesis without having actively participated in supervision

You will be assigned a supervisor at the end of the third semester of the Master's programme, after completion of the Master's Thesis seminar. The department appoints supervisors on the basis of the research proposal. The assignment of a supervisor presupposes that your research proposal has been approved. You may indicate a wish for a particular supervisor but the final decision of the assignment rests with the department. 

Scope of the supervision

You will receive up to 10 supervisory sessions with your supervisor. That also applies for two students writing the master's thesis together. Supervision can be given individually or in groups, by email, phone, Zoom or other digital platforms.

Guidelines for supervision

At the initial stage of the supervision, you and your supervisor must agree on the framework for the supervision, i.e. progress plan and expectations for guidance etc.

Topics you should discuss with your supervisor

The following topics should be discussed in the first meetings with your supervisor. To ensure an effective supervisory relationship, we recommend that you and your supervisor maintain a dialogue about the topics throughout the entire working process. 

The topics should be considered in relation to the supervision agreement and with  the Ethical guidelines for supervision relationships at UiO .

Distribution of supervisory sessions

In the first meeting with your supervisor you should agree on how to distribute the supervisory sessions over the course of the project. Will you schedule supervisory sessions at regular intervals, or will you contact you supervisor to make an appointment when needed? 

Expectations of supervisor’s role and function

It would be useful to discuss your mutual expectations around the supervisor's role with regards to i.e. development of research questions, choice of theories, analysis and choice and search for literature. 

Expectations of the student’s role

When discussing your mutual expectations of your role as a student, you may discuss expectations of how you should prepare for the supervisory session. Will you set an agenda for each session? And to what extent should you keep your supervisor informed about the progress of the project?

Expectations of the supervisor's feedback

The nature and format of the feedback your supervisor will provide should also be discussed. What kind of advice and feedback do you think would be most effective for your work? Should the feedback always be given in writing? Should it be given in advance of the sessions? Should your supervisor help you ensuring that the progress plan is being followed? 

Would you like your supervisor to make an assessment of grade? What do you think, and what does your supervisor think about this? Please note that your supervisor will not take part in the final assessment and grading of the master's thesis. 

Expectations of revision of drafts

When your supervisor reviews your drafts, what do you expect him/her to comment on? This should be a recurrent topic to discuss during the entire project period.

It is important that you clarify how many days in advance your supervisor must receive a draft in order to be able to prepare sufficiently for a supervisory session.

Expectations of how many times a supervisor should read a text

At a later stage this will be an important topic to clarify with your supervisor. It is especially important to discuss expectations of whether your supervisor should read the final draft of the master's thesis. 

The student's responsibilities

As a student, you

must contact your supervisor immediately after the assignment 

are responsible for submitting the supervision agreement to the department within the deadline February 1 st

must come prepared for the meetings with your supervisor

must follow the progress plan as agreed upon, and keep your supervisor informed about the work

must give your supervisor as much notice as possible if you cannot attend a scheduled meeting 

must immediately notify the department at the e-mail address [email protected] if serious cooperation issues occur

are responsible for familiarizing yourself and for following relevant guidelines for the master thesis

are responsible for notifying your project to Data Protection Services at Sikt (formerly NSD) if you are to process personal data in your master project

The supervisor’s responsibilities

The supervisor shall

carry out the guidance in accordance with the framework set by the department and with the Ethical guidelines for supervision relationships at UiO

ensure that the first supervisory session takes place as early as possible

offer the student up to 10 supervisory sessions, relatively evenly distributed throughout the semester

be prepared for the meetings with the student

provide guidance and advice on research questions, design, methodology and ethical issues and help ensuring that it is possible for the student to finalize the project  within the submission deadline

review and provide detailed written comments on a draft at least one time

keep himself/herself informed about the students progress through the supervisory sessions and assess the student's progress in relation to the progress plan

give as much notice as possible to the student if he/she cannot attend a scheduled meeting

ensure that the student notifies the project to Data Protection Services at Sikt if the project will process personal data

Termination of supervisory relationship

In cases of serious problems in supervision, the student and supervisor should immediately bring this to the attention of the department at [email protected] . In such cases the student or supervisor may request to be released from the supervision agreement and a new supervisor may be considered.

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Collective supervision of Master's thesis students

Dansk Universitetspædagogisk Tidsskrift

Collective supervision has become a common way to provide supervision at schools of higher education. This is also true for the supervision of master’s thesis students on the Master’s Programme, Security Risk Management at the University of Copenhagen. Based on experiences with collective supervision of master thesis students, this paper engages with the many understandings of feedback and learning in play in the teaching situation. In the scholarly literature, features such as multivoicedness, dialogue, process- and student-orientation are empha-sized when addressing collective supervision. Yet, our findings show a clash of expectations between a majority of the students (and supervisors) and these ide-als of collective supervision. Indeed, many students still believe feedback should be troubleshooting and product-oriented. In the final part of the paper we out-line a handful of ideas on how to improve future collective supervision to explicit-ly address the gap between expectation...

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Robert Walldén

Introduction: Thesis supervision is a critical part of students’ academic literacy development. Previous research has shown different dimensions of this development with limited attention to cross-cultural aspects. In particular, there has been little research on how students and supervisors negotiate supervision practices in non-anglophone contexts. This study aimed to explore students’ and supervisors’ reported priorities and experiences regarding the provision and reception of feedback in English as an Additional Language thesis supervision. Method: We conducted a qualitative case study to illuminate supervisor’s and students’ experiences of supervision in Sweden and Indonesia. It involved 39 participants (14 supervisors and 25 students) from one Swedish and three Indonesian universities. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed thematically using Biesta’s functions of education, Habermas’ communicative action theory, and perspectives on academic literacy. Findings: Firstly, we found that Swedish and Indonesian supervisors had different feedback provision priorities. Swedish supervisors described prioritizing contentfocused feedback to facilitate students’ socialization into academic writing. Conversely, most Indonesian supervisors expressed balancing content- and form-focused feedback with a greater emphasis on qualifying as English teachers. Despite these differences, supervisors in both contexts tended to isolate academic language use from discipline-specific values and practices. Secondly, students in both contexts largely expressed an instrumental orientation to achieving their goals and were frustrated by supervisors phrasing feedback as questions. Many students expressed unfamiliarity with necessary methodologies and theoretical frameworks, which made supervisors’ feedback difficult to decode. Discussion: Since only a few of the students viewed the feedback as a support for their process of learning, this study calls for a clear communication about the academic socialization intention through supervision. However, academic socialization cannot solely be the responsibility of supervisors but must be embedded in the curriculum courses.

Research on Language and Social Interaction

Sanna Vehviläinen

The article analyzes student-initiated advice sequences in Finnish master's thesis supervision, encounters where teachers and students discuss students' ongoing thesis work. Drawing from prior conversation analytic research on advice giving, advice is analyzed here as a problem-solving activity. The article presents two questioning formats used by students. Format I, less frequent, invokes a clear lack of knowledge or competence in a relevant thesis task. Through open-ended question elements and various other design features, these questions constitute a clear plea for help. They also tend to be successful in eliciting extensive advice and help from teachers. Format II, clearly more frequently used in the data, presents checks and proposals and thereby suggests potential solutions to potential problems in the thesis. Polar question or statement formats are used. These questions receive advice in the form of expansions: In addition to the minimal confirmation or disconfirmation, the teachers provide grounds and accounts for their responses. The article demonstrates that responding to student questions is a central pedagogical activity in supervision. In addition, the study shows that in their responding activities, teachers not only orient to the problem-solving task (remedy) but also to estimating the usefulness of the student's problem (relevance). The article discusses these results in terms of their pedagogical relevance and their contribution to the research on advice giving, especially in connection to institutional settings where advisees' autonomy and self-directedness need to be balanced with advice givers' expert perspectives.

Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal

Priyadarshini Muthukrishnan

The current global completion rate for postgraduates stands at 60 per cent, and one of the main problems cited is poor supervisory practices among postgraduate supervisors. Therefore, this qualitative study presents the views of nine PhD scholars on postgraduate supervisory practices from four universities in Malaysia. The thematic qualitative analysis categorized the supervisory practices into three main aspects, namely desirable, undesirable, and appalling practices. The findings of this study though not conclusive do shed some light on current supervisory practices. The findings imply that training and perhaps the call for accreditation of postgraduate supervisors is in order. Keywords: postgraduate study; supervisory practices; feedback; learning community; Supervisor-student interaction. eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativeco...

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Ken Larsson

International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship

Joanne Olson

Jimmy Jaldemark

South African Journal of Higher Education

Lesley Wood

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Master & PhD Thesis Supervision

CWTS staff members regularly supervise PhD theses and act as external Ma-thesis advisors. We offer a range of topics for students from several disciplines interested in science studies, research evaluation, bibliometrics, altmetrics, higher education studies, innovation studies, organizational sociology, and science policy.

Master Thesis Assignments

Master students develop a clear problem statement, explore relevant theoretical approaches, develop a research strategy, and collect and analyze data under supervision of CWTS staff. Topics should be closely related to the research conducted by the CWTS Focal Areas . All students are given the opportunity to participate in our research seminars.

PhD Thesis Supervision

The Netherlands is one of the few countries where PhD students are employees of the university. There are several ways to obtain a PhD:

• As an employee of Leiden University. If we have job vacancies we advertise them via the link below. If we do not have vacancies, candidates may look for funding in their own institute or country, or apply for a private scholarship.
• On a scholarship - arranged by candidates themselves - from a foreign government, an international organisation or a Dutch fund for example;
• As an external PhD candidate. Candidates work on their thesis in their own time, and the projects are self-financed or paid for by another employer. The thesis is written under the (co-) supervision of our senior staff.

If you have a scholarship or want to pursue a PhD as an external candidate, you can contact us for more information on opportunities, conditions and entry requirements.

In most cases PhD supervision will take place within the  Netherlands Graduate School of Science, Technology and Modern Culture .

If you have further questions please contact  [email protected] .

Konstantin Zeldovich, PhD

During my undergraduate and graduate studies under supervision of Prof. Alexei Khokhlov I was investigating the properties of polyelectrolyte systems with spatial inhomogeneities, such as microphase separation in polyelectrolyte gels and solutions, swelling properties of inhomogeneous charged gels, and the phenomena of polyelectrolyte adsorption and multilayer formation. In 2001, I have defended my PhD thesis, "Theory of inhomogeneous polyelectrolyte gels and adsorption layers".

My key achievements in computer area are the creation of the first dedicated computing cluster in Moscow State University (1998, together with Dr. Viktor Ivanov), and the development of realtime data processing applications, including the popular Oscilloscope for Windows (freeware).

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Camella pham, guarini '23, wins american comparative literature associations's top thesis honor.

Camella Pham, Guarini '23, has been awarded the American Comparative Literature Association's Presidential Master's Prize for Best Master's Thesis for "Colonial Translation Turned Vietnamization: Pham Quỳnh and the Discourse of Transculturation".

The award honors comparative work broadly construed at the level of a master's thesis. The work is judged on theoretical rigor, comparative breadth, and lucidity of exposition with an emphasis on work that is engaged in comparison across linguistic boundaries.   

"The ACLA Presidential Master's Prize is undeniably the most prestigious award I have received since embarking on my higher education journey in the U.S. Personally, this award serves as a testament to the exceptional support and mentorship I have received at both my undergraduate institutions and Dartmouth," said Pham.

Growing up in Vietnam immersed in multiple languages, including Vietnamese, French, English, and Chinese, Pham often pondered the abstract nature of language and its emotive power. Vietnam, with its many languages, was a perfect place to study how the interplay of languages created a "complex nexus of negotiations and transformations." Pham's thesis examines how "translation in colonial Vietnam played a pivotal role in the colonial and post-colonial periods as various factions "weaponized languages and scripts to serve their divergent aims."

Pham chose Dartmouth because of the breadth of faculty research specialization and their strong mentorship. "Dartmouth has all the faculty mentors whose research specializations are invaluable for the development of my intended project on colonial Vietnamese literature, which is marked by linguistic contestations and ideological interactions among various parties," said Pham. 

She credits the unwavering encouragement and tireless mentorship of her professors with her success winning the prestigious award. In the future, Pham hopes to enroll in a doctoral program in comparative literature with a focus on critical translation studies in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. 

Read the complete interview.

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Announcing the Dean of Graduate Studies Awards for Excellence 2022 & 2023 Recipients

We are pleased to announce the recipients for the 2022 and 2023 Dean of Graduate Studies Awards for Excellence.

These impressive individuals have made outstanding contribuitions to the graduate student community in the areas of service, leadership and supervision. Learn more about them and why they are receiving these awards.

Awards for Graduate Service

PhD Interactive Arts and Technology student, Reese Muntean receives an award for Excellence in Service

Former Graduate Program Assistant in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry (MBB)

SFU's Graduate Secretary in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies (GSWS)

Awards for Graduate Leadership

Professor in School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering (MSE)

Professor in Biological Sciences

Professors in the Department of Linguistics in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Awards for Graduate Supervision

Professor in Physics

Professor in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry (MBB)

Associate professor in Mechatronic Systems Engineering (MSE)

Professor in Biological Science’s Master’s of Environmental Toxicology (MET)

The 2024 Dean of Graduate Studies Awards for Excellence  are open for nominations. Deadline for nominations is May 17, 2024.

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Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Office of Graduate Education and Life announces Three-Minute Thesis finalists

Ten doctoral students will compete in the grand finale beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, in the Mountainlair Ballrooms as five faculty and staff members judge for first, second and third place winners. 

The WVU community is also invited to attend and vote for the People’s Choice Award.

The internationally renowned 3MT competition, originally founded by the University of Queensland in Australia, challenges doctoral students to present their research topic and its significance in three minutes using a single PowerPoint slide. 

Competitors develop academic, presentation and research communication skills while gaining experience pitching their research succinctly to a non-specialist audience. 

The 2024 finalists are as follows: 

Haidar Aldaach, Civil Engineering, Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Syeda Nyma Ferdous, Computer Engineering, Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources 

Tanner Hoffman, Plant and Soil Sciences, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design 

Brian Leonard, Chemical Engineering, Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources 

Kushal Naharki, Plant and Soil Sciences, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design 

Kinsey Reed, Plant and Soil Sciences, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design 

Denis Ruto, Environmental Engineering, Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources 

Kayla Steinberger, Immunology, School of Medicine 

Vaishakhi Suresh, Industrial and Management Systems Engineering, Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources 

Paige Zalman, Higher Education, College of Applied Human Services 

Grand finale prizes include $1,000 for first place, $750 for second place, $500 for third place and $250 for the People’s Choice Award.

Find more information on the 3MT competition.

For questions, contact Betty Mei at [email protected]. 

IGOR FEDOROVICH SHARYGIN

Moscow 1937 - moscow 2004.

Brief scientific biography

Contributions to education, relevant bibliography, publications on the teaching of mathematics.

"Igor Fedorovich Sharygin was a member of a mathematical circle which I ran for high school pupils. The circle produced a lot of known mathematicians. Igor was distinguished among other participants by a large modesty coefficient: the ratio of someone's real mathematical abilities to his opinion about them."

"Geometry is a phenomenon of human culture. ... Geometry, as well as mathematics in general, helps in moral and ethical education of children. ... Geometry develops mathematical intuition, introduces a person to independent mathematical creativity. ... Geometry is a point of minimum for the distance between school mathematics and the mathematics of high level. Native language and literature, physical training, and mathematics are three crucial components of secondary education. Of all these subjects, it is mathematics, and especially Geometry, that is concerned with the widest range of long- and short-term educational goals."

"Learning mathematics builds up our virtues, sharpens our sense of justice and our dignity, strengthens our innate honesty and our principles. The life of mathematical society is based on the idea of proof, one of the most highly moral ideas in the world."

• Biographical information on Igor Fedorovich Sharygin, ICMI Bulletin , No. 47 (December 1999)
• In memoriam: Igor F. Sharygin (1937-2004), ICMI Bulletin , No. 55 (December 2004), 67-72

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