UKCGE supervisor accreditation

The Academic Development team supports University of Edinburgh supervisors who apply to gain official accreditation of their supervisory practice with the UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE).

About the UKCGE and the Research Supervision Recognition Programme:

The logo of the UK Council for Graduate Education's Research Supervision Recognition Programme

The UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) are the representative body for postgraduate education and research who also provide guidance and official recognition for developing supervisory practice in doctoral research.

The UKCGE champions the Good Supervisory Practice Framework (GSPF), which sets out the wide-ranging, highly complex and demanding set of roles involved in modern research supervision.

The UKCGE offer two levels of supervisory accreditation, measured against the GSPF: the Recognised Supervisor (full award) and the Recognised Associate Supervisor (associate award).

Support for UKCGE accreditation:

UKCGE Scotland-wide Recognised Supervisor Writing Group

The Academic Development team co-leads a Scotland-wide reading and writing group for any supervisor based at a Scottish higher education institution, including the University of Edinburgh, interested in pursuing official accreditation of their supervisory practice.

This group runs annually and supports supervisors in their applications to UKCGE.

Information about the UKCGE Recognised Supervisor Scottish Writing Group

Join the UKCGE Accrditation Scottish Writing Group:
Enrolment Link

1-on-1 UKCGE Accreditation Support

The Academic Development team also has limited capacity for 1-on-1 support for supervisors seeking UKCGE accreditation but who do not wish to join the Scotland-wide group.

Depending on the number of submissions in progress for a calendar year, the Academic Development team will be able to provide feedback on either sections of or on your whole application before submission.

Please get in touch with us at phdsupervisors@ed.ac.uk to inquire about availability for 1-on-1 support.

Get in touch with the Academic Development team about UKCGE accreditation support:
Inquire about 1-on-1 support

Expand the sections below to learn more about support from the Academic Development team, the UKCGE awards, and frequently asked questions:

Generally, the Recognised Supervisor (full award) is appropriate for supervisors who have supervised doctoral researchers through to completion. Usually applicants for this award have seen at least 2-3 doctoral candidates through to final examination.

The Recognised Associate Supervisor (associate award) is appropriate for early career researchers, post-doctoral fellows, technicians, or member(s) of professional services staff who can evidence, some, but not yet all of the Good Supervisory Practice Framework (GSPF).

The UKCGE provides more information and answers to questions relating to levels of award and what evidence needs to be provided for each.

UKCGE Frequently Asked Questions

UKCGE Levels of Recognition


Any supervisor supervising at a Scottish higher education institution is welcome to join. This includes any supervisor at the University of Edinburgh.

You do not need to be able to attend every session to participate in the writing group.


The UKCGE Recognised Supervisor Scottish Writing group runs from January-September annually. The aim is to support supervisors to submit their applications for the award(s) in the October submission window for expected outcomes of applications in January of the following year.

Sessions run fortnightly online on Thursdays from 9.30-11.30am.

You do not need to be able to attend every session to participate in the group.

Information about the UKCGE Recognised Supervisor Scottish Writing Group


Yes, you are welcome to submit an application to UKCGE on your own. The support provided by the Academic Development team and the collaborative Scotland-wide support is optional and not required for you to submit an application for an award.

UKCGE Resources on How to Apply

If you do submit for an award independently, the Academic Development team would appreciate knowing if you were successful in order to maintain an accurate list of award holders at the University of Edinburgh. You can let us know by emailing phdsupervisors@ed.ac.uk.


The Recognised Supervisor (full award) application fee is £100 and the Recognised Associate Supervisor (associate award) application fee is £50.

The Academic Development team has limited funding available for supervisors who are applying for accreditation. Should you be unable to source professional development funding from local, School or College-level pots for your application, please contact us at phdsupervisors@ed.ac.uk.


You can submit your application to UKCGE at any point, but applications are not reviewed until the application windows close.

The UKCGE application windows are generally as follows:

Window opensWindow closesExpected Outcome
MarchJuneSeptember
JuneOctoberJanuary
OctoberMarchJune

Please see the UKCGE Application Deadlines for exact dates in these months as they are updated annually.

The Scotland-wide group aims to support applications for the October window.

1-on-1 support from the Academic Development team is available for any window suitable for your availability pending the capacity of the Academic Development team.


To apply for recognition, you must submit a reflective account of your supervisory practice against the Good Supervisory Practice Framework using the appropriate UKCGE template for your level of award.

The Recognised Supervisor (full award) should have: 

  • an overall length of approximately 5,000 words
  • a reference from a former doctoral candidate
  • a reference from a colleague who knows about your supervisory practice

The Recognised Associate Supervisor (associate award) should have: 

  • an overall length of approximately 2,500 words
  • a supervision observation report
  • a reference from a colleague who knows about your supervisory practice

UKCGE Example Applications and Resources


Feel free to contact the Academic Development team with any questions relating to UKCGE accreditation and awards at phdsupervisors@ed.ac.uk. 


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