UG Handbook - Your Supervisor

The Department aims to offer students outstanding and distinctive learning and teaching in an environment that encourages them to become independent thinkers and learners.  You will be allocated an academic supervisor who is there to offer you support and advice throughout your degree programme.  Your supervisor will meet with you in each semester to discuss your academic progress and check that all is well with you and your studies.  This is an important point of academic contact for all students.  Your supervisor will encourage you to develop your academic and personal skills (see /wiki/spaces/PsyDocArch/pages/11163265) and can also act as a referee for any applications you might make in the future.  They can advise what to do if things go wrong and refer you to the right people in the University for help with more personal matters.

How does supervision work in the Department of Psychology?

  • Students are allocated an academic supervisor when they arrive at the University.  Whenever possible, they have the same supervisor for the duration of their degree.
  • There are usually one or two scheduled meetings with your supervisor per semester.  However, students should feel free to contact their supervisor at any time during the term to discuss any issues that they are concerned about.
  • If a student fails to attend a scheduled meeting, they are offered an alternative date. 
  • The Department has a file for each student.  Confidential information about student progress is kept in this file.
  • Supervisor meetings are often arranged to fall in Week 6 or 7 of each semester.  You will receive marks and feedback on assignments throughout the year and a key role of the supervisor is to discuss your academic progress and how this can be improved.
  • If you are for any reason not happy with your supervisor, you can contact the Academic & Student Services Manager, who will provide an alternative supervisor.
  • Each student will be expected to complete an Employability Plan which will be discussed at an additional supervision meeting in semester 2.


To contact the Student Documentation maintainers please email psychology-student-docs-group@york.ac.uk (use your University of York email address).