Postgraduate Supervision: Comparing Student Expectations from United Kingdom University and Malaysia University

This study presents empirical findings on postgraduate students’ expectations of supervision in Master’s programmes, comparing perspectives from the UK and Malaysia in particular. A cross-sectional design was conducted at two universities: one in the United Kingdom (hereafter University A) and one in Malaysia (hereafter University B). A t-test was conducted to examine the differences in expectations between these universities. Descriptive statistics, including measures of central tendency (mean) and frequency, were used to summarise respondents’ expectations for each university and boxplots provided a visual representation of the data. This study suggests that an effective Master’s supervisor should demonstrate qualities of affirmation and encouragement while clearly defining his or her role in the dissertation supervision process.