Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile leads the generation of Doctoral Thesis Direction policies

As UC Graduate School we seek to promote excellence in doctoral training at our university, cultivating an independent researcher’s mentality in the student, through the generation of flexible research environments that provide space for creativity, with a clear regulatory framework and shared knowledge.

That is why we decided to be pioneers at national and regional level by developing specific policies and tools for:

• Promoting consensus between the student and the thesis supervisor.
• Strengthen the support mechanisms for monitoring the progress of the thesis.
• Explain in detail the roles and responsibilities of all the actors of the UC community involved in doctoral training.

In this context, the second version of the Guide to Support the Direction of Doctoral Theses and the Guiding Framework for Good Coexistence in the Doctorate was born, which after being launched in January of this year, were socialised in a first stage with Directors and Heads of Programmes. In this second stage, during the whole month of November, they were socialised among academics from the faculties and students from all doctoral areas.

What do these documents contribute to the development of the thesis?

• Guide to Supporting the Direction of Doctoral Theses
  • Its aim? To set the expected standard for thesis supervision at our university.
  • What tools does it have? Three: alignment of expectations between the thesis supervisor and the student; the thesis supervision agreement based on the consensus of the work between supervisor and student; and the thesis logbook, which will keep a record of the doctoral research.
• Guiding Framework for Good Coexistence at the Doctoral School
  • Its aim? To encourage all actors to contribute responsibly to the establishment and maintenance of a healthy academic relationship.
  • What tools does it have? It contains the protocols suggested by the Graduate School for the resolution of conflicts between students and their thesis supervisor; a summary description of some university regulations (including disciplinary and academic infractions, sexual violence, ownership of intellectual property and conflict of interest); and the main student support services offered by the DAE.

Access to both documents HERE.

How did our community reacted?

After the presentation of the thesis direction policies, we collected the opinions and comments of the attendees on the event and the tools presented .

Paola Casanello, an academic from the School of Medicine and attendee of the conference, described the event positively, commenting that “it has been an excellent experience. It was a path that was very necessary to take, and I think it greatly enhances the supervisor-thesaurus work, making it more dynamic and vital”.

Other comments received through our survey, answered by academics and students, were:

“The talk presents materials and processes that are very necessary for a proper research process and a good relationship with the tutors. It will be very useful for me to organise the communication and work plan for my thesis“.

“I think it is a very valuable effort that is being made. It is very positive that it is being socialised.

“It is positive to spread this initiative, because it aims to improve the student-director-doctoral programme relationship. It is also good that this initiative is designed to be gradual, to accommodate the learning curves, especially on the part of the thesis supervisors.

“Being aware of this event allowed me to feel supported in case I had difficulties”.

If you were unable to attend these sessions, we invite you to watch our capsules and review the Doctoral Thesis Direction documents. We anticipate that in January 2022 we will continue to socialise this work, so stay tuned to our agenda of activities.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this work, you can write to: apoyodirecciondetesis@uc.cl