What follows is aimed at stimulating discussions between supervisors and students at the start of their PhD project, and is also aimed at providing the relevant information and points of contact in case an issue arises (see Support for students heading below).

It is not a contract, and students or supervisors could explain, where appropriate, why they would prefer to deviate from any of the recommendations below.

This document, and its Guidance for supervisors counterpart, draws primarily on the College 'Mutual expectation' listed below with other useful links, but also includes additions resulting from discussions between Physics PG students and some members of staff.

In the following, 'You' refers to the supervisor(s).

Academic development

  • Display initiative and drive my project forward.
  • Take responsibility for the direction of my thesis by staying informed on my topic area.
  • Attend any technical or research skills training required to progress my research.

These could take the forms of attending Summer/Winter Schools focused on my research topic.

Managing our partnership

  • Recognise that your primary role is not to dictate but rather to advise, guide and oversee my research.
  • Work collaboratively with colleagues in my lab or office.
  • Do my best to maintain an open and honest dialogue with you throughout my PhD

Supporting good health and wellbeing

  • Do my best to look after myself and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
  • Take holiday leave. Requests for holiday leave will be made with you in good time, and at a time which is appropriate to my research, noting that my funder may have specific requirements.
  • Understand that if I am concerned about our partnership, I can raise this with you, the group academic mentor, the Department's PGR Tutor (Jerry Chittenden: j.chittenden@imperial.ac.uk) or with the Director of Postgraduate Studies (Ben Sauer: ph.dps@imperial.ac.uk).

Professional development

  • Take the opportunity to share the findings of my research with the wider College community.
  • Take the opportunity to share the findings of my research externally.
  • Discuss my professional development with you and complete the required number of Graduate School Professional Skills courses and compulsory online plagiarism awareness course. I understand that the thesis must be all my own work and that all quotations from other sources, whether published or unpublished, must be properly acknowledged.
  • Although the most important goal of my PhD is to learn how to conduct research and work in academia, writing papers based on my research will provide me a unique opportunity to present my work to wider scientific communities and to share my ideas with them, hence contributing to advances in science and technology. However, I will also remember that it would be unrealistic to directly compare myself to others (in person, or 'in publications') who have been working in this field for many more years than I have. I am also reminded that publishing a paper is not an official requirement, but useful advice, from College to obtain a PhD in Physics at Imperial.
  • Prepare summary of my work for the 3M, ESR and LSR reviews, as described in the schedule of study.

Final point

The purpose of the student-supervisor partnership is not merely a passing down of knowledge but rather a collaboration between two people in order to achieve a common goal.

You can find out more about what to expect from a student-supervisor relationship in the links below:

The College's Mutual expectation document can be found on the Graduate School website.

Support for students

The first port of call for issues related to supervision, in case an open dialogue with supervisor does not resolve the problem, is the group mentor and/or the PGR Senior Tutor Jerry Chittenden (j.chittenden@imperial.ac.uk). Make sure you have met your group mentor by now*.

If you would rather speak to another member of staff then you can contact any of the mentors and individuals listed on the academic contacts page.

  • For admin issues and queries regarding regulations, contact Roxanne Ray and Loli Sanchez (l.sanchez@imperial.ac.uk).
  • For emergency situations in which immediate action is needed contact Mery Fajardo (m.fajardo@imperial.ac.uk) and/or College Security: from an external phone dial 020 7589 1000, from College phone dial 58900, from College phone (in an emergency) dial 4444.
  • For any issues related to wellbeing, and if, for any reason you do not wish to discuss this with your supervisor, contact your group mentor, and/or the PGR Senior Tutor Jerry Chittenden (j.chittenden@imperial.ac.uk).
  • A summary of available resources in Physics and across College is available here: PhD student support contacts.

*In the event that your supervisor is also a group mentor, please agree together on a third person who could take that role.

Back to the postgraduate research student handbook