Relationships between area of academic concentration, supervisory style, student needs and best practices

Abstract

This article has its origins in exit surveys of 1335 graduate students (283 PhD and 1052 Master’s) conducted at a mid‐sized Canadian university from 1996 to 2005. The article explores the relationship between the perceived effectiveness of graduate supervision and the disciplinary background of graduate students. Students are categorized into four key groups: domestic, international, hard disciplines (pure/applied), and soft disciplines (pure/applied). The conclusions provide evidence that students, especially international students and those in soft disciplines, require a personal and holistic style of supervision to obtain maximum benefit from their graduate studies.