The document outlines the roles and responsibilities of supervisors and students in MSc/PhD supervision. It discusses that supervision is a partnership that should guide students to answer their research questions, not manage them. The key stages of supervision include proposal writing, registration, research/progress reporting, thesis writing, seminars/conferences, and thesis submission. At each stage, both supervisors and students have distinct roles to ensure effective supervision and progress towards completing the degree. Productive supervision is built on mutual respect, agreed expectations, commitment to research goals, and open communication.

1. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN MSc/PhD
SUPERVISION
ASSOC. PROF. W. OKULLO

2. The University of Nairobi
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN SUPERVISION
q Role is the function assumed or part played by a person or
thing in a particular situation.
q Responsibility is the state or fact of being accountable or to
blame for something.
q Supervision (in general) is the action or process of watching
and directing what someone does or how something is done.

3. SUPERVISION (What is Supervision?)
v Research supervision, in academic domain, is:
q Guiding the student to answer the questions of the
study.
q Not managing a student to answer the questions of
the study.
v Although supervision is teaching one-on-one, the supervisor
should strike a balance between supervision as teaching and
supervision as listening (learning experience for supervisor).

4. The University of Nairobi
ROLE PLAYERS IN MSc/PhD SUPERVISION
Supervision is a partnership of shared goals.
PGS

5. The University of Nairobi
STAGES IN MSc/PhD SUPERVISION
For effective supervision, every key player must play
his/her rightful role in each stage of the supervision.
Proposal
writing
Provisional
Registration
Full
Registration
Progress
Reporting
Thesis writing
Seminars
Conferences
Publications
Thesis
submission
Defense

6. ROLES IN PROPOSAL WRITING
q The supervisor assists the student with the selection
and planning of a suitable and manageable research
topic.
q The supervisor should be sufficiently familiar with
the field of study to provide guidance and/or has
a willingness to gain that familiarity before agreeing to
act as a supervisor.
q The student should assume the leading role in writing the
proposal to internalize the subject of the study.

7. ROLES IN PROVISIONAL REGISTRATION
q The student files the application, provides certified
academic transcripts and certificates (BSc and MSc).
q Student pays application fee and submits a
synopsis/proposal.
q The supervisors sign the synopsis/proposal as their
commitment to guide the student.
q The Department/School/University receives and processes
the application to grant preliminary admission.

8. ROLES IN FULL REGISTRATION
q The student refines the proposal using the library
services of the university (or online academic resources)
guided by the supervisor.
q The supervisors sign/approve the proposal after
ascertaining its adherence to format and its quality.
q The student submits the refined proposal to the
Departmental, faculty and/or School postgraduate
committees for evaluation.

9. ROLES IN FULL REGISTRATION
q The student gives a Departmental/School seminar on the
proposal (for finetuning).
q So never miss out on weekly talks and seminars which are
mandatory.
q The Department/Faculty/School receives and evaluates
and PGS processes the proposal to grant full registration.

10. ROLES IN RESEARCH/PROGRESS REPORTING
q The student is expected to assume control and
responsibility for the research.
q The supervisor should be accessible to the student
for consultation and discussion of the student’s
academic progress and research.
q The supervisor should meet the student one-on-one in
a conducive environment. The student should not
be embarrassed in front of peers.

11. ROLES IN RESEARCH/PROGRESS REPORTING
The supervisor should ensure:
q That the research environment is safe, healthy and free
from harassment, discrimination and conflict.
q Compliance with the university requirements of
submitting reports as a means of monitoring student
progress.

12. ROLES IN THESIS WRITING
q The student should be the primary writer of the thesis.
q The supervisor should NOT be the editor of the thesis, but
provide guidance on structure of the thesis.
q The supervisor should verify the accuracy of the
discussions and conclusions.
q The supervisor should ensure school/university guidelines are
followed.
q The university should provide library services (in ideal situations).

13. ROLES IN THESIS WRITING
q The supervisor should respond timely and thoroughly to
written work submitted by the student, with constructive
suggestions for improvement and continuation.
q The turnaround time for comments should not exceed
three weeks.
q The supervisors must also ensure that their students’ work
meets the standards of the University and the academic
discipline.

14. ROLES IN SEMINARS & CONFERENCES
q The supervisor should encourage the student to make
presentations of research findings within the
university and outside at scholarly or professional
forums as appropriate.
q The supervisor should guide the student to prepare and
deliver a quality presentation.
q The university/department should organize the venue of
the seminar and provide audio-visual facilities.

15. ROLES IN PUBLICATIONS
q The student/supervisor identifies the important
themes of the study to be formulated in the article.
q The student drafts the paper in consultation with the
supervisor.
q The supervisor should acknowledge the contributions of
the student via joint authorship.
q The supervisor identifies the relevant journal for the
article and guides the student in formatting the article
based on the guidelines of authors.

16. ROLES IN THESIS
SUBMISSION/EXAMINATION/DEFENSE
q Supervisors assess the quality of the thesis and
approve for submission.
q Supervisor identifies the internal and external
examiners.
q The student submits the thesis to PGS

17. ROLE OF THE SUPERVISOR (GENERAL)
The supervisor should be available to guide the
students at every stage, from:
ü Formulation of the study,
ü Establishing the methods,
ü Discussing the results of the study,
ü Presentation (seminars or conferences),
ü Publication of journal articles,
ü and writing of the thesis.

18. PRODUCTIVE SUPERVISION (Summary)
A productive relationship in supervision will arise from a
process of negotiation based on agreed goals and values
such as:
q Mutual respect
q An understanding of the expectations of each other
q Shared commitment to the goal of the study
q Open communication