Programme
Supervisor Development
Professional CPD for Doctoral Supervisors — £1,200 total
Doctoral supervision is a demanding and rewarding professional responsibility. Brenkley Doctoral College's Supervisor Development programme provides structured, evidence-based professional development for academics and professionals who are supervising, or preparing to supervise, doctoral researchers. Designed for supervisors at all experience levels.
Part-time, online, with cohort learning elements
Full programme fee. Group rates for institutional partners.
Suitable for inclusion in CPD portfolios and institutional staff development records
Why This Programme
Supervision Is a Skill
Doctoral supervision is often treated as something that experienced academics simply absorb by doing. The evidence suggests otherwise. Effective supervision requires a specific set of skills — in feedback, in managing the supervisory relationship, in supporting researcher wellbeing, in navigating ethical complexity, and in understanding the particular demands of different kinds of doctoral research.
Many supervisors received little or no formal preparation for supervision. Brenkley Doctoral College's Supervisor Development programme provides that preparation — or, for experienced supervisors, an opportunity to reflect on, refine, and develop their practice through structured engagement with the evidence and with peers.
The programme is of particular value to supervisors working with practitioner-researchers in professional doctorate or DBA programmes, where the distinctive dynamics of insider research and professional context create challenges that traditional academic supervision training does not address.
Who Should Attend
For All Levels of Supervisory Experience
New Supervisors
Academics or professionals taking on doctoral supervision for the first time, who want a structured foundation in supervisory practice before beginning.
Experienced Supervisors
Supervisors with experience who want to reflect on and refine their practice, engage with current evidence on effective supervision, and address specific challenges they are encountering.
Institutional Teams
Graduate schools, doctoral training partnerships, or HEI departments seeking a development programme for a cohort of supervisors. Group rates and in-house delivery available — contact us to discuss.
Industry Supervisors
Industry or professional practitioners taking on a collaborative doctoral supervisory role and needing an introduction to the academic frameworks and responsibilities of supervision.
Programme Content
Six Months of Structured Development
Module 1: The Role of the Doctoral Supervisor
An evidence-based introduction to the supervisor role — the responsibilities, the boundaries, and the distinctive demands of supporting researchers to doctoral completion. Includes overview of UK Quality Code expectations and institutional frameworks.
Module 2: The Supervisory Relationship
What makes a supervisory relationship effective? This module examines the evidence on high-quality supervision, the dynamics of the supervisor-researcher relationship over time, and practical approaches to establishing a productive working relationship from the start.
Module 3: Supporting Research Quality
The academic heart of supervision — providing rigorous, developmental feedback on research writing, methodology, and argumentation. Includes structured practice with exemplar thesis chapters and peer feedback on supervisory practice.
Module 4: Wellbeing and Pastoral Responsibility
Supervisors have a duty of care that extends beyond academic guidance. This module examines the pastoral dimension of supervision — recognising signs of researcher difficulty, supporting mental health and wellbeing, and knowing when and how to refer to specialist support.
Module 5: Supervising Practitioner-Researchers
The distinctive challenges and opportunities of supervising researchers who are conducting research in their own professional contexts. Covers insider positionality, ethics of organisational research, managing dual-role tensions, and making the most of practitioner-researcher access advantages.
Module 6: Supporting Completion and Examination Preparation
The final stages of the doctoral journey — thesis writing, pre-submission review, viva preparation, and post-viva revision. Includes guidance on the supervisor's role in the viva process and in supporting researchers through corrections.
Cohort Learning
The Supervisor Development programme runs in cohorts of up to twenty participants. Three live online seminars are included — one at the start, one midway through, and one at the end — providing opportunities for peer discussion, case-based learning, and facilitated reflection on supervisory practice. These sessions are led by Dr. Zahra Salimi and Dr. Liz Blower.
Institutional Partnerships
Group and Institutional Rates
Brenkley Doctoral College offers group rates for institutions enrolling three or more supervisors on the programme simultaneously. We can also deliver the programme in a bespoke in-house format for institutions wanting a tailored version for their own supervisory team.
Contact us at research@doctoralcollege.ac.uk with the subject line "Supervisor Development — Institutional Enquiry" to discuss group arrangements.
Group Pricing
Bespoke in-house delivery available. Pricing on application.
Invest in your supervisory practice
Good supervision changes lives. The next cohort of the Brenkley Doctoral College Supervisor Development programme starts in September 2026. Enrolment is now open.