Is it possible to have my main supervisor at my university, and have co-supervisor at a different university?

[h56cho]

Hello,

Is it possible to have my main supervisor at my university, and have co-supervisor at a different university, if my supervisor is okay with it?

Thank you,

[Sigaba]

Yes.

Please make sure that you do your due diligence at least two times.

• Is your supervisor really okay with it?
• What do others in your department who have power over you think?
• What are the bureaucratic and administrative hurdles you have to clear? 
• What kind of unforeseen hoop jumping may you have to do?
• Who is the first among equals among the co supervisors?
  • What's the plan if Professor Xavier is the main person and you decide you want to follow Professor Grey's recommendations instead?
• How will things work of your AO is in lockdown at crucial times?
• What kind of information is available about previous iterations of the specific partnership?

[BeanWater]

Yeah.

How this goes down in practice may differ from university to university. From my experience majority of the PhD students I interact with (and of course myself as well) have one "main supervisor" from our own university, and then a second supervisor from another university. So I'd say that depending on where you are, not only is it okay, but it's fairly common too.

 

[Modulus]

I wouldn't say it's common here in the States (at least not among those I know) but I am actually in this situation. Just make sure you know your University and department rules regarding committee members for your thesis/dissertation so you don't get a nasty surprise that your external mentor cannot serve.

[Miss Brightside]

In Europe it's very common through mutual agreements between unis and supervisors. There are also some specific Masters and Doctorate degrees that are hosted by more than one unis. There is also the Erasmus Mundus, although I don't know that much about it.

Edited April 16, 2021 by Miss Brightside