An exploration of taught master’s student perceptions of UK dissertation supervision

This paper presents the results of an investigation into taught master’s students’ expectations and experience of being supervised during their final project. It does so using exploratory survey and focus group data from one UK institution with a high proportion of international students. The paper adds to the limited literature on master’s students’ experience and makes two further main contributions. It finds that students both expect supervisor engagement and respond well to it, and argues that focusing on key elements of the dyadic supervision process (supervisor availability and level of engagement, feedback provided, and provision of expert guidance on theory and method) can disproportionately improve students’ overall learning and satisfaction. In addition to furthering knowledge in this area, the research suggests numerous practical implications and lines of potential future inquiry.