1. Building a relationship with your supervisor
Niamh NicGhabhann, Assistant Dean (Research),
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, UL.

2. Establish good working practices from the start
Decide on when to meet, how often, and where.
Make sure that you are clear about the length of time – c. 30 minutes - 1 hour for a supervisory meeting.
If you want to have material read in advance, particularly long chapters or findings, make sure that you send them at least 2 weeks in advance of your meeting.
If you think you are going to miss a deadline that had been agreed, let your supervisor know in good time and rearrange the meeting.
If you have specific questions that you would like addressed, you should send them in advance to maximize the meeting time.

3. Make your meetings worthwhile
Come to the meeting with a specific purpose – either to get advice and direction or feedback;
If sending work for comment, send complete drafts of work to be read to your supervisor where possible
Proof-read your work and make sure that your citations are in order (check out the Regional Writing Centre resources around this)
You want the meeting with your supervisor to focus on the subject of your research, rather than formatting or citation issues, so try to deal with these using the resources available to you through the university.
Make your meetings worthwhile

4. Clarity – essential for a good working relationship
In each meeting, take written notes of any advice or comments provided;
If you are unclear about any point, don’t be afraid to ask for advice or clarification. Every PhD supervisor was a PhD student once!
Write up a short record of the meeting and any actions decided on and send them to your supervisor after the meeting to make sure that you both agree;
Decide on the next meeting or course of action to be taken in that meeting.
Check your official UL regularly! Communicate using UL to avoid things going astray.

5. Balancing self-direction with direction from your supervisor
Whether you are part of a structured PhD programme, or working on a traditional model, PhD work involves working on your own and being self-directed.
Managing your own time is an essential skill – making sure that you meet deadlines, manage your own productivity, and notice and act on any problems or issues arising in good time.
In the beginning, you might work more closely with your supervisor, taking specific direction from them, but you should work more independently as your work progresses.
Balancing self-direction with direction from your supervisor

6. Handling criticism
Getting criticism on your academic work can be difficult to handle, but it is part of a supervisor’s job to provide supportive and constructive criticism as part of the learning and supervision process;
While it can be hard to hear, understand that peer criticism is a central part of ALL academic work - it is part of the process;
Supervisors want you to do well, and for you to develop a successful PhD project, so bear this in mind!
Make sure you understand what you need to do in order to address the criticism. If you feel you need extra training or resources in order to fully address it, then communicate that clearly.

7. If problems arise, keep in touch
If an issue arises (academic, financial or personal – these things happen), try to stay in touch with your supervisor;
They might not be able to help you directly, but they should be able to point you towards the right services within the university who may be able to help;
Don’t cut off contact – if you are worried about academic progression, let your supervisor know and they may be able to develop a course of action that can help support your skills – it could be around auditing a module or taking a course at the Writing Centre.

8. Show up to things! Take part.
Attend the departmental seminars and events that are advertised even if they are not required as part of your programme; 1
These events will expand your sense of your field, and your sense of the broader workings of your academic unit. They can also help to expand your academic and professional network. 2
Take the opportunity to attend workshops and training events offered at UL – many of these will address questions that could turn into problems later on. Try to make sure that you attend c. 3 events per semester. 3
If there are opportunities to present within your department, take them! It’s a great way to get feedback and develop experience. 4