Student Perceptions of Postgraduate Supervision – A Case Study in Engineering

Abstract

Postgraduate students reap academic rewards when a successful student-supervisor relationship exists. The purpose of this article is to investigate the perceptions of postgraduate engineering students with regard to the student-supervisor relationship in order to identify any misconceptions. A student perception/awareness model is presented, highlighting the cycle of how student perceptions may lead to student awareness with a number of benefits. A standardized role perception rating scale was used as the main data collection instrument. Results indicate that engineering students differ widely in their perceptions of the relationship with their supervisor, with more than 50% of students expressing misconceptions regarding the selection of a topic, scheduling contact time and structuring of the thesis. It is recommended to use this rating scale at the start of every supervision process in order to address any possible misconceptions of new postgraduate students that could hinder their academic success