The past decade has given rise to a proliferation of doctoral programmes globally (49,000 graduates in the US
by 2011; 6,780 in Australia, India aims to graduate 20,000 by 2020). There has been significant pressure to
increase postgraduate registration in Ireland also, with limited forethought as to how to tailor large scale
supervision for mature students, with life experience, with diverse overlapping, academic and professional
identities (Smith 2008) or how that might intersect with an increase in academics who may not have similar life
experience.
Doctoral supervision is a long term commitment of one to one engagement and is changing in nature with
avenues now such as professional doctorates, traditional doctorates, structured doctorates, doctorate by
publication comprising a range of taught elements, workshops, seminars, plus shorter (in some cases) thesis or
equivalence. Wellington and Sikes (2006) characterise it as a continuum characterized by diversity not
dichotomy.
Based on an empirical study, qualitative in nature, that examined the supervisory experiences of doctoral
students, this paper will outline the complexity of doctoral supervision in this changing context. Taking a
Foucauldian power analysis it will elucidate the changing models of doctoral supervision, making the case for flexible and critical pedagogical approaches to supervision that have empowerment at their core.