The role of supervisors in Ph.D. studies
The role of supervisors is regulated by the Code of Study and Examination of Charles University and the Rules for the Organization of Studies at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University.
Supervisors are responsible for the quality of Ph.D. projects (topics) and for a student’s professional guidance. Supervisors are mainly academic or research staff who, with their expertise from a national and international standpoint, should be a guarantee of quality and proper student management and the reputation of the university. They also devote a sufficient amount of time to training students. Supervisors are appointed and recalled by the dean of the faculty on the proposal of the subject-area board. Supervisors may be a person other than an employee of Charles University if a contract is concluded between Charles University or the relevant faculty and the supervisor or workplace.
Only a professor or associate professor can be a supervisor. In justified cases, a supervisor may also be a graduate of only the Ph.D. programme of study or its equivalent. A supervisor who is a professor or associate professor can supervise up to ten students. A supervisor who is not a professor or associate professor may only supervise up to two students. In justified cases, the dean may grant an exemption to these limits at the request of the chair of the relevant subject-area board.
The role of supervisors is in particular:
- To compile together with the student a proposal for the individual curriculum, including the dissertation topic; after creating the individual curriculum, it must be submitted it to the subject-area board according to the schedule of the academic year within two months of the beginning of the academic year in which the student is enrolled. For students who start their studies in the middle of the academic year, this period runs from the beginning of their studies;
- To approve the dissertation topic proposed by the student or to assist in its formulation;
- To monitor on a regular basis fulfilment of the study obligations and to regularly consult with the student the results of their studies;
- To monitor whether the contents of the dissertation comply with the content of the student’s programme of studies; if they do not comply, propose a solution to the subject-area board;
- To regularly (at least one a year) evaluate in SIS fulfilment of the individual curriculum and submit this evaluation, which they are responsible for, to the subject-area board for approval; the obligations in the individual curriculum for each academic year must be specific and verifiable;
- To comment on the content of agreements, i.e. Cotutelle (agreements on co-supervision of a dissertation between Charles University and a university abroad), especially with respect to the individual curriculum;
- To recommend, together with the subject-area board, the student’s request to change the form of study to the dean; after the standard period of the study, his recommendation is no longer necessary;
- The supervisor can propose to the subject-area board the appointment of an advisor from the experts in the specific programme of study, who, thanks to their special knowledge or methodological and technical possibilities, is capable of guiding the student with respect to a certain part of the Ph.D. studies;
- To arrange for the student operational and technical support together with a training workplace;
- To train and guide the student, to recommend professional literature (sources), to instruct the student on how to function in a professional setting, how to lecture to the public when presenting the results of their research work (soft skills), to instruct them on how to obtain resources to finance their projects, to help them establish professional contacts at home and abroad with the international academic community, to teach them how to pass on knowledge when instructing students, to assist in performing the pedagogical activities set out in the individual curriculum.
The role of advisors in Ph.D. studies
Advisors, as top specialists in their field, are able to guide students and supplement the professional work of supervisors. Advisors are responsible for an assigned part of a supervisor’s duties. However, this cannot replace a supervisor’s primary responsibility for the professional side of the student’s Ph.D. studies. Advisors can be nominated by the supervisor or the student from among experts in a field of research. Thanks to their special professional knowledge or methodological and technical possibilities, advisors are able to guide students in certain tasks relating to their Ph.D. studies. The advisor for a specific student is appointed and recalled by the dean of the faculty on the proposal of the subject-area board; the appointment or recalling of an advisor by the dean must be included in the file of the Ph.D. student. Advisors are usually not from the same workplace as the supervisors. Advisors may be a person other than an employee of Charles University if a contract is concluded between Charles University or the relevant faculty and the advisor or workplace. They are co-responsible for implementation of the Ph.D. project. Advisors are in regular contact with the students; they also communicate with the subject-area board and the supervisor or dean.
Remuneration of supervisors
The remuneration of supervisors is regulated by the valid Rector’s directive no. 20/2018 Determining bonuses for supervisors of students after their graduation from doctoral programmes of study.
Remuneration is administered at the PhD Studies Office after a student graduates.
