Supervise a PhD student
All doctoral students at the Faculty of Medicine must have both a main supervisor and at least one assistant supervisor.
The Research Studies Board formally decides on supervisors and assistant supervisors in conjunction with a PhD student’s admission to the doctoral programme.
Requirements for principal supervisor and assistant supervisor
Main supervisors at the Faculty of Medicine must:
- have completed a doctoral degree,
- be appointed as an unremunerated docent or principal recipient of a three-year project grant from a national or international funding body,
- be active at Lund University, Skåne University Hospital (SUS) or have another clear connection to the Faculty of Medicine, and
- have completed supervisor training approved by the faculty.
If the main supervisor is not at least an associate professor, the assistant supervisor must be at least an associate professor. The assistant supervisor must also have a doctoral degree and have completed supervisor training approved by the faculty.
Change of supervisor
An application for a change of supervisor is made to the Research Studies Board. The application must be signed by all concerned (the doctoral student, the new and previous principal supervisor and the new and previous assistant supervisor). The Higher Education Ordinance guarantees a PhD student’s right to change supervisor.
Time required for supervision
At the Faculty of Medicine the minimum time for supervision is 100 hours per year. The distribution of time should be related to the PhD student's degree of activity and be distributed according to need and to the phase of the programme. The supervision time includes the time that the supervisor and PhD student work with the student's education, such as research projects and courses. The supervision time also includes reviewing text and planning for the public defence.
Supervision time shall be divided between the principal and assistant supervisors during the semesters, and at least once a year the principal supervisor and PhD student must conduct a follow-up meeting and, when necessary, update the PhD student’s individual study plan.
If the main supervisor retires during the a PhD student’s time in the doctoral programme, an assistant supervisor with at minimum docent-level competency with both supervision and funding opportunities should be attached to the project. After reaching retirement age (according to Sweden’s Employment Protection Act), it is no longer permitted to hold the role of main supervisor.
The Research Studies Board has decided that close relationships or family ties between PhD students and their supervisors are not permitted. Neither are close relationships or family ties between supervisors who supervise the same PhD student.
The supervisor's responsibilities
The main supervisor must:
- participate in composing the PhD student's individual study plan. The study plan must state which research project the PhD student is working within and the courses included in their programme. The individual study plan must also describe the research programme under the headings of objectives, background, the PhD student’s own preliminary results, and planned investigations and their significance.
- ensure that the PhD student acquires the knowledge specified in the study plan.
- ensure that adequate resources for conducting the project are made available to the PhD student at the department.
- facilitate the PhD student's participation in relevant postgraduate courses, symposia and conferences.
- support, encourage and be available for discussions with the PhD student to the extent specified in the study plan. In order to broaden the PhD student's network at the department, it is often appropriate for the PhD student to present their project in seminar form at the beginning of their work and at regular intervals during their programme.
- be responsible for ensuring that the PhD student is well aware of the opportunities for study funding (e.g. the doctoral position, research within the framework of a medical service, etc.), which are available both at the time of admission and during the doctoral programme.
- ensure that the thesis work progresses at a reasonable pace so that the work is completed within the stipulated time. This is best achieved through continuous and close contact in the research work.
- be responsible for – and take initiative to ensure that – the half-time review is carried out.
- determine when the thesis work has progressed to the extent that it is ready for the public defence seminar. It is primarily the supervisor's responsibility to assess when the manuscript meets the requirements of an academic thesis in terms of both quality and scope.
- propose people to fulfil the roles of faculty opponent and examination committee members, and attend the examination committee's meeting in conjunction with the public defence and participate in the deliberations.
If the main supervisor cannot be available for an extended period of time due to, for example, illness, being away from home or other reasons, a deputy supervisor should be appointed.