Can any one tell me how many PhD students supervisors are able to take on? I am torn between two potential supervisors - one who has a research interest directly related to mine, but is very, very busy and i know he's already agreed to supervise a couple of others, and one who is less busy but field of interest isn't that relevant. Generally speaking, in your experience, are you kind of matched to supervisors, or is it within your control?

That depends entirely on your department! But I would choose your supervisor very carefully! They can make or brake your PhD as the saying goes!

1) Make sure the two of you are compatible i.e. that you can work with him/her and that your personality doesn't clash! It will save alot of hassle!
2) Make sure he/she is helpful and willing to spend time and take an interest in your research area! This really helps and it's good to know that you can count on their help and support!
3) Generally going for the person that is the most relevant to your field is the most useful. Unless there are others that can help!

It really comes down to who you feel most comfortable with. Different people have different supervisory styles (some are very hands on/ hands off, don't care you exist, or are happy to let you get on with it and glad to help when you ask for it etc ...) so it is very important to find one that suits you. The important points are that they are willing to help and knowledgeable in their field. It's a good idea to talk to the supervisor's current/previous students to see what they think (honestly!) and to get a feel of the place to help you decide although this is not always possible.

Good luck!
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I have been doing my PhD for nearly 2 years now with a very busy supervisor. He has a dozen students plus he's aggressively pursuing more funding and he's head a large research body. The bottom line is that I speak to him about my research once a month, if I'm lucky. Usually when I send him a paper to proofread, he's surprised at what I've been up to (i.e., he had no idea what I was working on in the last month). He also barely finishes reading the first page before sending it back - probably because he's got other more important/seemingly pertinent things to do. On the upside, things are lucrative because he's got contracts/money coming out his ears. So you could say, I'm a well-paid grad student who must work independently, hoping I'm on the right track. Hope that helps.

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I work with a supervisor who is what you would call the star academic. 300 (yes, actually 300) publications, 15 books, and the head of huge pan continent projects, ending one and starting another, ten times huger. Has many students, plus teaches masters.

Yet, we are in constant touch, she meets me every fortnight for an hour, reads 3000 word essays evry fortnight (yes, which means I write 3000 words every other week), gives me all kinds of opportunities, from conferenc papers, to writing, to speaking to RA-ing. She knows exactly what I am doing, which scholar interests me, what I am working on that month. And she is equally regular with every othr student of hers. An email usually takes about 2 hrs at the most before getting a response.

Yes, I myself am surprised at this level of involvement with students despite a phenomenally high research buy out and a starry list of publications, that's well into 300 plus already,and she is middle aged.

I would say, it is also a question of luck, usually it's difficult to lay down rules.

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I have 2 supervisors - my principal sup who is like PhDbugs...a star! and my co-sup who hasn't long finished his PhD...



My super-star sup is fantastic - meets with me weekly (when she's away at conferences etc she orangises "online meetings"), replies to emails almost as soon

as I send them, reads drafts at the speed of light, is completely "in-tune" with my project even though it isn't really her area of speciality etc etc. How she does it is beyond me - I am one of 10 students she currently has...+ all of her teaching and faculty responisibilities.



My co-sup who has a lot less on his plate than my super star sup never replies to emails, has drafts of things I sent him 12 months ago still unread, probably wouldn't be able to tell you what it is that I am doing, is always late to (or doesn't even show up for!) meetings...I can only ever get something from him/have him read things if my star sup asks him...and then it still takes him months... :-s



I guess it all comes down to the individual and how they view their responsibilities to their students...to my co-sup I think that I am more a mealticket to a few publications that he can have his name on and put in little work, whereas to my star sup I think that she is genuinely interested in what it is that I am doing etc

I'm afraid I can't give a glowing report about my sup, but all I would say is choose wisely! A good sup will make your PhD enjoyable, a poor one will have you mega-stressed for the next few years, as I have found out to my cost... See how much they've published recently, and how many students they've had recently. I would probably be inclined to go for the one who also has other students because a) it shows he/she is actively involved in research and b) if he turns out to be a poor sup, at least you have the other students to moan to!!

I have two supervisors, one is really good and reads and comments of stuff. the other is a bit more laid back, but is probably the world expert in one of the chapters I'm writing (so in a way it is good he is a bit on the fringe, I get a bit worried about quoting form either of them as I'm sure one day they are going to say,  'I didn't mean that at all'! ) I also have someone else who is in the supervisory team, but has been sidelined a bit by the other two, which is good as I know we have widely differing views on what I should be writing about. However no-one could be as bad as my MA diss supervisor, I saw him twice, -once at the beginning when he told me he knew nothing about the subject and talked to me about his motor-bikes, and once when it was finished, when he suggested I made one set of results into a table, which couldn't happen as each result was discrete, -and whenever I e-mailed him about something (which was about 5-6 times in total) he took ages to reply and he would say one thing one time, and something completely different the next - Oh and when I asked him when it had to be in (mine was a bit out of sync with the others as i finished in one and a bit years instead of two) he e-mailed back - 'I don't know' which was a great help, especially when a bit of ferreting around showed that it was due in the next week.

I have quite a senior academic as supervisor (only one). We have been meeting 2-3 times/year for about 20-30 mins until this year as I am writing up - when we meet about once a month for 30-45 minutes. At my last meeting he had not read my last draft - in fact he had lost it. I don't get detailed feedback. Business is not the crucial indicator for quality of supervision so mch as priorities - do they make teaching and supervision any kind of priority. Is there any way you could ask around and find out about the quality of supervisions? There are advantages to having a bigger name/more experienced supervisor - but it's worth finding out if there are steep costs attached.

LouMck, is there a possibility for you to check the supervisory style of these supervisors? Seems to me from the replies below that the supervisory style is more important than the number of students.

I have a rather busy supervisor. I am, however, always welcome at his office if I have some questions. But it can take a long time for him to read drafts.

Thank you all for your replies, I am going to meet with them both and try to see if i can get in touch with ex students etc before I settle for one or the other. THanks and good luck.x