The Politics of Supervising Postgraduate Students: A Viewpoint

Postgraduate research training and research supervision has come under close scrutiny at many UK university institutions. Students today who decided to take up postgraduate studies go through a demanding process. Moreover, postgraduate study has become more complex for universities to deliver because the postgraduate student sector has become more diverse in terms of internationalisation, part time studies and curriculum outline in courses. This paper seeks to critically explore the complex relationships between postgraduate students and their supervisor. It is suggested that both the student and supervisor are on a learning curve that tests each other’s ability in the higher education sector.