How to choose a supervisor? To answer this, I guess it is better to start with another question; what is Ph.D. about? I believe that Ph.D. is neither about going through a formal education period, nor starting an occupation. It is a transition between the two, and precisely speaking, it is a period of apprenticeship. Ph.D. training is supposed to bridge the gap between being a student and being able to do research. As a student, you might feel the potential, inside, that you can learn many different subjects and solve different types of problems. However, Ph.D. is aiming to shape your potential and transform it into a real, but a narrow ability. You will become able to independently do research, in a very limited and specific field.
Keeping this in mind, to answer the primary question, it is very important to know your ideal picture of yourself after finishing this period of apprenticeship. Are you, primarily, going to be a university professor or a policy designer? Do you want to teach and train the next generations, or you want to focus more on your understanding? How much do you care about having money and free time? What about fame?
I believe that having a vision -not necessarily a complete one- of your future self is the first necessary step in choosing a supervisor. Having these in the back of the mind, I would like to mention some notes about choosing a supervisor. I recommend talking to the previous and current supervisees of your candidates about each of these four items.
- The first item, which might seem a banality, but in my view very often overlooked, is the quality of the connection between you and your potential supervisor. If you do not see him/her as a person who can help you in this process of transition, he/she is essentially not a candidate for you. You need a person with whom you can spend time discussing, while being able to convince him/her, and more importantly, feeling open to being convinced.
- The second important feature is the match between your ideal researcher-self and the real future-self which will be formed after finishing your Ph.D. What I mean by this, includes the type of expectations the potential supervisor has from you, his/her own idea and values of and in doing research, the working environment and conditions during your Ph.D., the field of research, the potential future placement, and his/her academic network. If you see there is a major element that makes it hard to transform into your ideal self, you better consider other options.
- The third element is the degree to which your potential supervisor is willing to invest in you. It is important to know how often you have him/her around, how much time he/she has for you, how much he/she is willing to support you, how much the person feels responsible for his/her supervisees, and to what extent he/she likes supervision as a personal type activity instead of a required task.
- The last one is freedom! I put this item at the end of the list because I want you to have it most present when you make the decision. As I have already mentioned, Ph.D. is an apprenticeship. You need to gain a variety of tools and skills during the process. Moreover, the essence of doing research is creativity, and creativity does not burgeon in a choking environment. So, I would say, first, one needs free time to work on the required skills such as presenting, writing, having knowledge of a wide range of general topics, etc. Second, one needs to be free of pressure and stress, at least in some of the working days, to freely think about the world outside and the questions, rooting there, which triggers him/her. I would not recommend working with a person who does not give you the room to grow multidimensionally and does not let you figure out how to be an independent researcher.