Do I Need Supervisor Training? Understanding the Institutional and Sector Expectations

This is a question many supervisors — especially those early in their supervisory journey — find themselves quietly asking. The answer, increasingly, is yes. Not because training is now mandatory in every context (although in many institutions it is), but because the role of the doctoral supervisor has become more demanding, more visible, and more accountable than ever before.

The contemporary supervisor is no longer expected to simply oversee research. They are expected to support wellbeing, guide career development, navigate institutional policies, ensure ethical practice, and contribute to timely completion — all while maintaining their own research, teaching, and administrative responsibilities.

In response, the sector has shifted. The UKCGE’s Good Supervisory Practice Framework, along with QAA expectations and internal institutional reviews, reflect a growing consensus: supervision is a professional practice that requires deliberate preparation and continuous development.

Training is not about being told how to supervise. It’s about being equipped with tools, frameworks, and insights that make supervision more effective, more inclusive, and more sustainable. It helps new supervisors feel confident, and experienced ones reflect on habits that may no longer serve today’s students.

“Supervision, like research itself, is a practice that evolves.”

Good training programmes also create a space for shared learning. They connect supervisors across disciplines and career stages, surfacing challenges and solutions that are often hidden behind closed office doors.

Importantly, engaging with training is a signal — to students, institutions, and colleagues — that we take our role seriously. It models the very kind of intellectual humility and professional integrity that we expect of our doctoral researchers.

So, do you need supervisor training? If you supervise doctoral students — or plan to — the answer is yes. Not because you’re unqualified, but because supervision, like research itself, is a practice that evolves.