Research Student Supervision in Uganda: Myths, Realities and Conceptual Tensions

University graduate student research supervision and completion rates in Uganda have increasingly gained traction and may require urgent attention. Myths, realties and conceptual tensions have always vividly afflicted the pace and rate of research student completion. Against this backdrop, this study aimed at establishing the salient features of student-research supervision regulations, guidelines and procedures in Ugandan universities; determining the challenges and problems in research supervision; factors affecting the success of research students; and the myths, realities and conceptual tensions of research supervision. Accordingly, it was found that the student-supervisor wide gap, coupled with the unconducive learning environment characterized by economic hardships afflict the pace and rate of student completion. Further, several tensions identified included those between scholarship and training, between originality and collaboration, between apprenticeship and employment, and between student independence and membership of a team, between the supervisor as a professional and the supervisor as an individual; and that between student dependence and student independence. To deal with such tensions, it’s recommended that supervisors pay particular attention to the specific academic needs of the students to ensure that students get what they desire to progress and complete on time. At institutional level, student centricity should be the norm in all university activities since students form the biggest clientele of the institutions. Likewise, the centricity of post-graduate research should be key in government educational financial planning. Earmarking a reasonable financial percentage for postgraduate research enables research students to address some of the economic hardships that afflict their academic progress