A Handbook for Doctoral Supervisors

Stan Taylor and Margaret Kiley (2025) A Handbook for Doctoral Supervisors. 3rd Ed. London, Routledge.

Based on the latest research and covering key recent developments in supervisory practice, the third edition of A Handbook for Doctoral Supervisors is designed to support new and established supervisors in reviewing how they may enhance their supervisory practice.

This new edition has been fully updated and extended to provide guidance on all aspects of the supervisory role, including:

• Recruitment and selection, emphasising candidate diversity;
• The establishment and management of research projects, from conception through to completion and examination;
• Relationships with candidates and co-supervisors, including the ‘respect’ agenda;
• Personal, professional, and career advice, including monitoring the wellbeing and mental health of doctoral candidates;
• The implications for supervisors of online supervision and examination.

With a self-interrogatory style which enables supervisors to reflect upon and, where appropriate, consider how to enhance their practice, this key handbook is a crucial read for those directly involved in doctoral supervision, those who manage supervisors, as well as policy-makers, administrators, and scholars within the field of doctoral education.

https://www.routledge.com/A-Handbook-for-Doctoral-Supervisors/Taylor-Kiley/p/book/9781032557731

The Experience of Examining the PhD

The Experience of Examining the PhD. An international comparative study of processes and standards of doctoral examination. Edited by Michael Byram and Maria Stoicheva (Routledge in press)

The Experience of Examining the PhD provides an overview of the criteria and standards of the doctorate across a wide range of international settings, with a particular focus on the practices of examining.  Presenting case studies and research from 13 universities in 13 countries across Africa, Asia, North and South America, Australia and Europe, the book is based on in-depth interviews and comparative analyses of the PhD examining experience. It reveals the variations and similarities in different academic traditions and investigates the extent to which there are comparable expectations and standards across countries. It suggests that criteria and standards – both written and unwritten – are broadly similar, but shows that there is a need for much more explicitly formulated criteria and standards for an internationalised approach to doctoral assessment. 

The Making of Doctoral Supervisors

Stan Taylor, Margaret Kiley and Karri Holley (eds.) (2022) The Making of Doctoral Supervisors. London, Routledge

The quality of supervision has been shown to be a major factor in determining the learning experiences of doctoral scholars and their chances of success. However, relatively little is known about the ways in which doctoral supervisors are selected for their roles, supported to perform them, and recognised for their efforts. This book looks at these matters in 21 major doctoral awarding countries, collectively responsible for over 90% of global doctoral awards. Each case study constitutes a stand-alone contribution to the literature on doctoral supervision in that country and:

• provides a brief introduction to the national context of doctoral education;
• outlines policies and procedures for the selection of supervisors;
• discusses the support and development available to supervisors and gives examples of good practice;
• comments on if and how supervision is recognised and rewarded.

In the final section, the editors compare and contrast national approaches to supervision, comment upon their robustness and identify examples of good practice.

Doctoral Examination: Exploring Practice Across the Globe

Vijay Kumar, Stan Taylor and Sharon Sharmini (eds.) (2023) Doctoral Examination; Exploring Practice Across the Globe. London, Routledge.

The doctorate is the highest award made by universities, and this book considers how the main doctoral awarding countries from across the globe examine doctoral degrees. It systematically outlines the similarities and differences on a cross-national basis providing insights about the different ways in which countries have sought to ensure that the standards of awards are comparable. Through detailed case studies of examination practices in 20 countries  which collectively are responsible for nearly three-quarters of global doctoral awards, chapters explore how doctoral degrees are defined and examined including arrangements for submission, the nomination of examiners, the criteria for examiners, the extent of externality in the examination process, the use of pre-examination procedures, and the form of the viva. 

EUROMEC

Byram, M. & Stoicheva, M. (Eds.). The doctorate as experience in Europe and beyond: Supervision, languages, identities. Routledge.

The Jean Monnet Network on European Identity, Culture, Exchanges and Multilingualism

Research strand 2: New European young researchers’ identities. Exchanges and doctoral studies – an international study of processes and outcomes in the EU

The research in this strand of this project explored how doctoral study was experienced and perceived by students, supervisors, examiners, and programme leaders in universities within the European Higher Education Area. Drawing on qualitative data (in-depth interviews), interpretative methods, and insider experiences, the research investigated the structures—formal (e.g., regulations), and informal (e.g., expectations of supervisors, students)—that exist, shape, and evaluate the doctoral study process. The research comprised seven case studies (at universities in Bulgaria, China, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom), and comparative analyses of the dimensions of research identity, the processes of supervision, and the use of languages for teaching and learning and conducting research.

More about the study can be found in a related publication:

The Doctorate as Experience in Europe and Beyond presents a detailed account of completing a doctorate from the perspectives of researchers, supervisors and students.

Given the popularity of doctoral studies and their increasing importance outside academia, the PhD has needed to evolve and develop, particularly given its role in the internationalization of universities. Drawing on in-depth interviews with international participants, this book explores case studies and comparative analysis of the dimensions of researcher identity, the processes of supervision and the use of languages for teaching and learning and conducting research.

The Experience of ‘Defending’ the Doctoral Dissertation

Byram, M. & Stoicheva, M. (Eds.). The Experience of ‘Defending’ the Doctoral Dissertation. Routledge.

This volume describes, compares, and analyses the experience of ‘defending’ the doctoral dissertation in a final oral examination in universities and traditions in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and beyond.

Forming the basis for a comparative study of the different traditions, 11 case study chapters include analysis of the regulatory framework; semi-structured interviews with candidates, examiners, and supervisors; and ethnographic observations of the defence. Cases are drawn from universities in Bulgaria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, the USA, and China. Further chapters analyse comparatively the findings in the case studies and explore crucial themes such as the nature and purpose of the defence, the composition of examining committees, the role of supervisors, and the idea of the defence as ritual and performance.