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Choosing a supervisor

Our faculty of 206 academics is made up of world leading experts from every field of business and management. With more than a third of our staff from countries outside UK our faculty is also truly international and their expertise is reflected in the extensive range of subject groups and research centres, publications, and research led activities. All of our faculty are research active and the majority supervise doctoral research.

You will need to choose at least one prospective supervisor who is a specialist in your chosen field. A second supervisor is normally appointed towards the end of your first year of study with us, often to advise on specific aspects such as methodological issues.

Achieving a good match

Getting a good match between supervisor and doctoral researcher is essential. Please take some time to browse the sections relating to research interests and academic expertise on this website before you make your application. This will help you decide whether the research interests of our staff match your ideas. We encourage all applicants to discuss their research idea with their prospective supervisor, if possible, before applying.

Search options

There area number of ways you can search this website to help you choose a potential supervisor:

Explore key areas of interest for our groups

Each research group has a range of interests which they would be keen to see studied by potential new research students.

Search for a known individual

If you already have a good idea of your research topic and preferred supervisor, you can search our experts directory by typing in the supervisor's name or keyword. This will provide you with up-to-date information and link to the supervisor's web page. Even if you have a specific member of faculty in mind it is helpful to identify more than one potential supervisor in case your preferred supervisor is already fully committed, or is unavailable when you plan to start your research.

Search for a supervisor by subject

If you have a research topic in mind, but are not sure who might be a suitable supervisor for your study you can search by subject area. You will find further information about the range of research areas and the names of staff with expertise in each area. You can also browse our A-Z directory of academic staff.

Browse current doctoral research projects

You might also wish to browse details of research projects currently being undertaken by our doctoral students researchers.

Get to know their work

When you have identified a few prospective supervisors for your research, we advise you to read some of their publications to gain a better understanding of their research interests. This will enable you to decide whether you need to refine your research idea to ensure a match, or whether to search for a different supervisor.

If your chosen supervisor is unable to supervise your research, you may be advised to choose another supervisor or to defer your entry in order to work with him/her at a later date.

Recommended reading

Phillips E. & Pugh.Ds (2005) 'How to get a PhD - 4th Edition: A Handbook for students and their supervisors.' Open University Press, UK.