Australia

Abstract

Since the PhD was introduced into Australia in the late 1940s, there has been substantial growth in both the number of universities and the output of doctoral graduates. Following the British precedent, doctoral degrees were mainly by research only, the dominant form of supervision was a single supervisor on the ‘master-apprentice’ model, and the primary requirement for supervisors was to be research-active in the area of the candidate’s research project.

But, over the past two decades, coursework has been introduced into most doctoral programs, and team supervision has become the norm. Following the guidance of the Good Practice Principles of the Australian Council of Graduate Research (ACGR), most Australian universities now have clearly defined multiple criteria for the appointment of supervisors as well as initial and ongoing development programs. Further, most universities now have a Supervisor Register of those academic staff who are eligible to supervise, and to stay in good standing require them to offer high-quality supervision and to engage in continuing professional development.

This chapter details these and other significant aspects of research supervision in Australia.