Changing Your Supervisor

In certain circumstances, you may wish to change your supervisor.

You should discuss a change of supervision with your current and potential supervisors and with your College Tutor. If you do wish to proceed with a change of supervisor, please contact your Department as if your new supervisor is in the same Department you should not need to submit an application - see below.

How to apply

Please note that if you are changing supervisor within the same Department, it is normally possible to manage this change locally without submitting a formal application via your CamSIS self-service. Please therefore contact your Department in the first instance.

If necessary, you can apply to change your supervisor via your CamSIS self-service (but please see above regarding changes within the same Department). Information on how to do this is available on the ‘Applying for a change in your student status’ page.  If your new supervisor is in a different Department you will instead need to submit an application to change Department.

If you are also requesting a 'fresh start'*, please make this clear in your application. A 'fresh start' is where you completely restart the course which resets the clock for your submission deadline and fees. You will be liable for the full fees for the  course in addition to any fees paid prior to the change of course. Fresh starts are quite rare and if you believe one is appropriate for you, you should discuss this with your supervisor and department before applying for a change of department.

Once submitted, your application will be considered by your current supervisor, department, College and Degree Committee before arriving at the Student Registry for the final decision.

If you are not self-funded, you will need to let your funding body or sponsor know about your change of supervisor. 

Contact

If you have any questions about changing your supervisor, please write to the Student Registry at recordsandexams@admin.cam.ac.uk.