Supervisory Qualification Programme (SQP)

The PhD-Supervisory Qualification Programme at UiS is offered to academic employees from all faculties at the UiS. Each spring, 30 participants, both potential, new and more experienced supervisors, complete the course.

Published Endret
Solastranden i Rogaland med strå i forgrunnen.

UiS PhD Supervisory Qualification Programme

The goal of the course is to provide knowledge and skills that qualify and provide security for new PhD supervisors, while simultaneously providing more experienced supervisors with tools and inspiration to do an even better job.

SQP 2023 will take place at Sola Strand Hotel at the following dates:

  • Module 1: 2 – 3 Februar 2023
  • Module 2:  27 – 28 April 2023
  • Module 3:  8 – 9 June 2023
Practical information

Course structure

The course consists of three modules, each with two full-day sessions held in Sola Strand Hotel, outside Stavanger. The sessions run from 09.00 to 16.00. The course modules are all placed within one semester. The course is open for employees from all faculties at the UiS.

Application

The course is offered once every year, during the spring semester. The course details will be published on the university intra-net (ansatt.uis.no), and by e-mail to the departments and faculties in November.

Head of departments will be asked to submit a list of potentital participants from their department. If you wish to participate in the programme, kindly contact your head of department.

Target group

Academic staff at the UiS.

Prerequisites

Applicants must have a doctoral degree or an equivalent qualification. The applicant will benefit more from the course if they already are doing some supervision (or have done some).

Language

English

Workload and participation

The course implies a high degree of activity from the participants, and when applying for the course, participants must confirm that they will be present at all sessions. The three modules and the assignments before and between the modules is estimated to a workload of approximately 100 hours.

Requirement for course approval

Participation in all three modules. Lost modules cannot be re-taken at a later stage, as the entire course must be completed within one semester.

Completing the preparations and assignments between the sessions .

Learning outcomes and literature

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of the course the participant should have knowledge of:

- Research education in national and international contexts
- Regulations and ethics relevant for research and supervision
- Different supervision approaches
- Relationship building and communication in supervision

The participant should be able to:

- Plan and carry out individualized supervision
- Facilitate a working relationship when supervising in pairs
- Elaborate on the role and responsibilities of a supervisor and how these change during the course of a PhD-project.
- Work within a scholarly framework to propose approaches to manage commonly occurring conflicts in connection with research education.

The participant should gain a general competence to:

- Identify challenges and reflect upon the role as a supervisor
- Place themselves as research supervisors in a local, historical and international context
- Discuss commonly occurring ethical and legal issues associated with doctoral supervision

Litterature

Participants will receive course material and practical information approximately three weeks prior to the first course day. Practical information will also be published in the Teams group for participants.

Taylor et al (2018), A handbook for doctoral supervision, 2nd edtition, Routledge ISBN 978-1-138-19479-3

Anne Lee (2012), Successful research supervision: Advising students doing research, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-66353-3

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching and learning methods will include lectures, case work, group work and individual assignments. Active participation is expected. The course content follows two interrelated workflows, where each day is divided between an overall topic and its corresponding theme related to the different phases in the process from starting to finishing a PhD-project. See below for more details on this.

Academic content

Module 1: To be a supervisor

  • Research training in national and international context
  • Approaches to supervision and the supervisor’s role
  • Regulations and guidelines for research ethics

PhD process I: Recruitment and selection and  II: Role clarification

Module 2: Communication and collaboration

  • A professional relationship
  • Challenges: Motivation, abilities and opportunities during the process
  • Handling cultural diversities
  • Conflict management

PhD-process III: Building and maintaining relationships and IV: Monitoring and mentoring progress

Module 3) Supervision and the PhD as part of the organizational framework:

Supervising the writing process

  • Formal, informal and non-formal organizing elements of the PhD and their influence on doctoral supervision
  • Learning contexts in doctoral education

PhD-process V: Developing texts and thesis and VI: Performing revisions and dissemination

Course certificate

The course certificate is awarded after satisfactory completing all three modules and the requirements for the assignments.

Administrative coordinator

Malin Henden, Research Department

Facilitators

The course is led by a group of academic UiS-staff and mainly run by using internal lecturers covering different topics of their expertise. The following lecturers will be teaching the course in 2023:

Academic staff
Professor Kristin Armstrong-Oma, Museum of Archaeology
Professor Atle Skaftun, Faculty of Arts and Education
Professor, Kolbjørn K. Brønnick, Faculty of Health Sciences
Professor Eirik Bjorheim Abrahamsen, Faculty of Science and Technology
Professor Ole Andreas Engen, Faculty of Science and Technology