Supervision

Allocation of Supervisors

MA theses are jointly supervised by two academics: one from the third mobility partner university (the lead supervisor) and one either from the University of Tartu or University of Glasgow (co-supervisor). If the co-supervisor is appointed by the University of Glasgow, the University of Tartu assigns the Tartu programme manager as a formal co-supervisor who provides initial feedback on the first research proposal and is involved in the final defence. The formal co-supervisor is not engaged in the joint supervision.

Within the CEERES consortium, the second degree awarding partner will be the university at which the student spends Semester 3.

The MA thesis prospectus must be submitted in January of Year 1. The proposal will be circulated to the consortium partners to review and indicate which topics they are able to supervise. Based on this, Heiko Pääbo will assign the third semester mobilities and supervisors based on which partner has the best expertise on the proposed research topic. Students will receive an email with confirmation of the names and contact details of supervisors by mid-March. It is then the responsibility of the student to establish contact with their supervisors for feedback on their initial proposal and to arrange a first joint supervision meeting.

Supervision Process

The MA thesis supervision process will comprise of at least six mandatory online meetings. The meetings are initiated by the student, who is responsible for contacting both supervisors and organising a convenient date and time for everyone to meet on MS Teams or Zoom. It is up to you how you arrange the cooperation within your supervision team. Any changes to the thesis focus must be discussed and agreed with both supervisors.

It is the responsibility of the student to maintain regular communication with both supervisors. It is good practice to copy both supervisors into all email communication about the thesis so that everyone is kept updated.

Supervision Meetings

Below is a recommended schedule of supervision meetings. The six mandatory meetings are the minimum requirement and students are of course encouraged to also keep in touch with both supervisors outside these formal requirements.

Students are highly recommended to summarise each joint meeting using the Record of Supervision Session. Students are encouraged to write a report following each supervision meeting summarising the main points discussed and action points, which is then approved by both supervisors.

Year 1

N.B. During the two first joint supervision meetings, we recommend that you also decide whether the research topic requires a fourth mobility (remaining at the 3rd semester university or returning to Tartu or Glasgow does not count as a 4th mobility). If both supervisors feel that it is necessary to spend the fourth semester at one of the six consortium partners, the student should request the mobility from the mobility coordinator Heiko Pääbo by sending a short description of the aim of the mobility and potential academic contacts they would like to consult during the mobility. Students should CC both supervisors when sending the email to mobility coordinator.

Year 2

Submission of the Full Draft for Final Feedback

For students submitting in August, a full draft of their thesis must be submitted to both supervisors by 30 June for final feedback. Students should be aware that they will NOT BE PERMITTED to submit their final MA thesis unless a full draft has been reviewed and approved by both supervisors. However, students should take into account their supervisors’ vacation periods and they should be ready to submit the final draft earlier if the supervisors request it. The supervisors provide their final comments within two weeks of receiving the final draft. If necessary, a final supervision meeting can also be arranged to discuss the feedback. Within two weeks of receiving the full draft, the supervisors send their decision on whether to allow student to submit the thesis for defence or reject it for further improvement to the programme coordinators at each university, who then forward the decision to the consortium MA Thesis and Mobility Coordinator – Heiko Pääbo.

For students submitting in January, a full draft of the thesis must be submitted to both supervisors by 2 January. Students should be aware that they will NOT BE PERMITTED to submit their final MA thesis unless a full draft has been reviewed and approved by both supervisors. Within two weeks of receiving the full draft, the supervisors send their decision on whether to allow student to submit the thesis for defence or reject it for further improvement to the programme coordinators at each university, who then forward the decision to the consortium MA Thesis and Mobility Coordinator – Heiko Pääbo. If the supervisors approve the final draft, the students can improve their thesis based on the supervisors’ recommendations and submit the thesis for the defence.

Go to the final submission page for information about submitting the thesis.