Supervising doctorates in creative writing: what is the lived experience?

Ellison, E; Batty, C; Joseph, S; Owens, A

Supervising doctorates in creative writing: what is the lived experience?

Ellison, E Batty, C Joseph, S

Owens, A

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Publisher:: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: New Writing, 2025, 22, (4), pp. 543-564
Issue Date:: 2025-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Ellison, E
dc.contributor.author	Batty, C
dc.contributor.author	Joseph, S https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4978-6633
dc.contributor.author	Owens, A
dc.date.accessioned	2026-02-10T23:45:41Z
dc.date.available	2026-02-10T23:45:41Z
dc.date.issued	2025-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	New Writing, 2025, 22, (4), pp. 543-564
dc.identifier.issn	1479-0726
dc.identifier.issn	1943-3107
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/193378
dc.description.abstract	Universities are increasingly focussed on the accountability, standardisation, professionalisation, completion rates and graduate outcomes of doctoral degrees. This is particularly pronounced in countries where doctoral completions count towards national research excellence evaluations or return a significant monetary value from government re-investment. As such, the supervision of doctorates is a growing field of research inquiry, including in creative writing where in some countries (e.g. Australia, New Zealand, UK) there are many doctoral candidates. While research to date explores supervisory practices from a variety of perspectives–including quantitative investigations of variables affecting completion time, supervisor management styles, and student and supervisor conceptions of supervision–the lived experience of supervising attracts less scholarly attention. Aspects such as supervisor training, candidate pastoral support, and supervisor workload and career development are real issues for supervisors and are arguably more pronounced in the creative doctorate, where thesis paradigms and research methodology are still not universally agreed upon. This article offers findings into what we call ‘the human dimension’ of doctoral supervision, drawing on a survey undertaken across Australia by supervisors of creative writing doctorates.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
dc.relation.ispartof	New Writing
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1080/14790726.2025.2572568
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1302 Curriculum and Pedagogy, 1904 Performing Arts and Creative Writing, 2005 Literary Studies
dc.subject.classification	3602 Creative and professional writing
dc.subject.classification	3901 Curriculum and pedagogy
dc.subject.classification	4705 Literary studies
dc.title	Supervising doctorates in creative writing: what is the lived experience?
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	22
utslib.for	1302 Curriculum and Pedagogy
utslib.for	1904 Performing Arts and Creative Writing
utslib.for	2005 Literary Studies
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/School of Communication
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design and Society
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design and Society/School of Communication
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2026-02-10T23:45:39Z
pubs.issue	4
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	22
utslib.citation.issue	4

Abstract:

Universities are increasingly focussed on the accountability, standardisation, professionalisation, completion rates and graduate outcomes of doctoral degrees. This is particularly pronounced in countries where doctoral completions count towards national research excellence evaluations or return a significant monetary value from government re-investment. As such, the supervision of doctorates is a growing field of research inquiry, including in creative writing where in some countries (e.g. Australia, New Zealand, UK) there are many doctoral candidates. While research to date explores supervisory practices from a variety of perspectives–including quantitative investigations of variables affecting completion time, supervisor management styles, and student and supervisor conceptions of supervision–the lived experience of supervising attracts less scholarly attention. Aspects such as supervisor training, candidate pastoral support, and supervisor workload and career development are real issues for supervisors and are arguably more pronounced in the creative doctorate, where thesis paradigms and research methodology are still not universally agreed upon. This article offers findings into what we call ‘the human dimension’ of doctoral supervision, drawing on a survey undertaken across Australia by supervisors of creative writing doctorates.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/193378