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Directors of Studies

Your key academic relationship while at Sidney will be with your Director of Studies (DoS).  You will have a Director of Studies, as well as a Tutor, iin each year of your Cambridge undergraduate degree course ("Tripos").  Your DoS plays a crucial role as the primary point of contact between the College and the individual Faculties and Departments; working closely with the College’s Senior Tutor (who is ultimately responsible for the effective college teaching of undergraduates) each Director of Studies carries the operational responsibility for ensuring that students in that subject receive good supervisions.  Your DoS also monitors and supports your academic progress.  These responsibilities are discharged in a variety of ways, described in a Guidance provided by the Senior Tutors’ Committee, and made available to all Sidney DoS's at the beginning of each academic year.  The Guidance is available in full on the web at

http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/committee/seniortutors/guide/entries/index.php?id=191,

and its key provisions, spelling out the reciprocal commitments between Dos and student, are reproduced here:

THE DIRECTOR'S OF STUDIES COMMITMENT TO YOU.  During your time as an undergraduate, you can expect from your DoS the following support:

Freshers: Directors of Studies organise induction for new students by:

• providing introductory material, reading lists etc. in advance of students' arrival;
• meeting new students at the beginning of the year to explain the teaching system in detail;
• advising new students on learning procedures

All students: Directors of Studies advise students on University courses, facilities and examinations, arrange supervisions and monitor students' progress by:

• meeting them at the beginning and end of each Term to advise on a programme of work and to monitor progress;
• recommending and informing of University lectures, classes and practicals as relevant;
• giving explanations about University, College and Departmental Libraries and IT resources;
• liaising with the College Librarian to ensure that stocks of books are kept up to date;
• arranging supervisions for College teaching;
• monitoring progress from supervision reports;
• warning students if they are neglecting their studies;
• liaising with tutors where students appear to have problems;
• noting and, where appropriate, acting on feedback from students on supervisors;
• checking examination entries;
• organising College examinations where appropriate;
• informing students of details of examination results;
• making recommendations on scholarships and prizes;
• advising on possible postgraduate courses;
• writing references as requested by students;
• being available to any student who is considering a change of subject;
• being available to advise students on any matter related to the subject, particularly if the student is in difficulty.

Supervisors: Directors of Studies appoint supervisors and monitor the standard of both College organised supervisions and those which are Faculty based by:

• appointing supervisors and specifying hours of teaching;
• instructing new supervisors in what is required of them and informing them of teaching courses available;
• ensuring that supervisors discuss a student's problems with the Director of Studies as soon as they arise;
• giving the Tutorial Office list of supervisors each term to ensure that they receive report forms and claim forms;
• monitoring expenditure on supervisions

YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE DIRECTOR OF STUDIES Your own commitments within a fruitful relationship with your Director of Studies include:

• attending regular and one-off meetings arranged for you, including the DoS interviews held at the beginning and end of each term;
• dealing promptly with correspondence from your Director of Studies, and with College and University administrative requests such as the enrolment for examinations, the Academic Self-Assessment Form, the Teaching Questionnaire etc.;
• attending supervisions arranged for you having properly prepared for them, and giving as much notice as possible to both the supervisor, and the Director of Studies, of any unavoidable absences due to illness or other grave cause;
• following the advice and guidance given by your Director of Studies on academic matters.

DIRECTORS OF STUDIES

Directors of Studies in each subject are listed below. Note that:

• The majority of our Directors of Studies are Fellows of the College, and their College room is indicated in brackets in their entry; "External Directors of Studies" are based elsewhere in the University, and are denoted by an asterisk after their name.
• When more than one Director of Studies is in charge over the course of the three terms (Michaelmas, Lent, and Easter Term) of the Cambridge academic year, each DoS's term of office is indicated in brackets alongside the Tripos Part for which s/he directs studies.

^* indicates an External Director of Studies