Supervisor Resources
Understanding the Graduate Student Experience
One of the most effective ways to strengthen graduate supervision is to become familiar with the resources, information, and supports available to graduate students. Understanding what students are encouraged to learn, access, and engage with throughout their graduate journey can help supervisors reinforce key messages, identify support opportunities, and facilitate meaningful conversations about academic success, professional development, well-being, and community engagement.
Supervisors are encouraged to explore:
Graduate Student Orientation modules to understand the information provided to students as they begin their graduate journey.
The Graduate Student Hub (SharePoint) to become familiar with resources, announcements, professional development opportunities, and student supports available throughout the year.
Student-facing School of Graduate Studies resources and webpages to better understand the policies, procedures, services, and opportunities students are navigating and accessing.
The Graduate Student Experience & Medicine Wheel to explore the holistic framework that guides student supports and programming within the School of Graduate Studies.
By engaging with these resources, supervisors can better support students across the Physical (Knowledge), Mind (Wisdom), Emotional (Awareness), and Spirit (Understanding) dimensions of the graduate student experience, while helping students connect with the services and opportunities that contribute to their success.
Internal Resources
Graduate Student Orientation Modules
Graduate Student Hub
Funding Resources
Professional Development Resources
External Resources
Graduate Student Journey Guide
Graduate Student Experience & Medicine Wheel
Student Support Services
Graduate Student Resources
Effective graduate supervision is a practice that evolves over time. Supervisors regularly balance supporting student learning, fostering independence, navigating challenges, providing feedback, and helping students prepare for a variety of career pathways. Accessing supervision resources can help supervisors strengthen their skills, explore evidence-informed practices, and build supportive and productive relationships with graduate students.
The School of Graduate Studies is developing a collection of resources to support supervisors at all stages of their supervision journey. These resources will include institutional policies, templates, guides, best practices, professional development opportunities, and tools designed to support student success and effective graduate supervision.
Through these resources, supervisors can explore approaches that support graduate student development across the dimensions of the Graduate Student Medicine Wheel:
Physical (Knowledge): Supporting academic progress, research development, scholarly achievement, and degree completion.
Mind (Wisdom): Supporting professional growth, skill development, mentorship, and career preparation.
Emotional (Awareness): Fostering respectful communication, inclusivity, well-being, and supportive supervisory relationships.
Spirit (Understanding): Creating a sense of belonging, purpose, community, and connection throughout the graduate journey.