Your personal supervisor
Every student on a taught programme has a personal supervisor who supports your progress and helps with problems.
What does a personal supervisor do?
Your personal supervisor is a key support contact for you and is there to help you make the most of your time at York. Their role is to:
- Provide advice and support for your academic progress, including making academic choices
- Support your personal development and acquisition of academic and employability skills
- Provide general wellbeing guidance, assisting you to identify appropriate specialist support should you require it
For Hull York Medical School students, the equivalent role to supervisor is that of personal adviser, which is described in more detail in your departmental handbook.
Related links
Meeting your personal supervisor
You should meet with your personal supervisor twice each semester for around 15 minutes.
At least one of the meetings in each semester will be in-person and one-to-one. Postgraduate taught students also need to meet their supervisor over the summer.
Your department or school allocates your personal supervisor to you when you arrive and you should meet them in your first few days. Your supervisor should let you know how to arrange meetings with them. If you’re unclear about anything, contact your department or school.
What happens in a meeting with your personal supervisor
Discussions with your personal supervisor may cover:
- What to expect from your time at York
- How well you feel your studying is going and any worries
- How to prepare for your assessments
- How to understand your assessment feedback
- Module choices
- Your current wellbeing and any support you might need
- Your career aspirations or plans for the future
- Participation in wider student life outside of your academic programme
- Any questions you have or anything you want to focus on
It is important that you tell your personal supervisor about anything affecting your academic work.
Your personal supervisor can act as a referee in job applications after you complete your studies so make sure they know all about you!
What happens if you miss a meeting?
It is really important to meet with your personal supervisor regularly - the more you put in, the more you’ll get out of the relationship. They are your ready-made guide to student life at York and can help you with key academic decisions and champion your progress.
If you do miss a meeting with your personal supervisor then contact them and make sure you attend the next. Don’t feel awkward or embarrassed - they want to help you.
Changing your personal supervisor
Ideally you should have the same personal supervisor throughout your time here, but if they are away for an extended period you will be allocated a different personal supervisor by your department or school.
Occasionally the close relationship that we hope will develop fails to do so. If you find that you cannot communicate well with your personal supervisor, for whatever reason, then contact your Chair of the Board of Studies or your Head of Department. You’ll find their contact details on your department/school web pages.
Undergraduate students can change their personal supervisor without giving a reason. For postgraduate students, more academic issues arise because of specialist subject expertise, but some flexibility is usually possible.