Staff profile

Stan Taylor was educated at the Universities of Oxford and Warwick. For many years he researched and taught in the social sciences at Warwick before moving into academic staff development. Subsequently he became Director of Quality Enhancement at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and then Director of the Centre for Academic and Researcher Development at Durham University, where he is currently an Honorary Professor in the School of Education.　

He formally retired in 2013, but has continued with his long-standing work in doctoral education.

He has facilitated workshops with doctoral supervisors to enhance their practice in over 50 universities in the UK and many overseas in Europe and the Far East.

In 2016, he was co-opted to the Executive Committee of the UK Council for Graduate Education to oversee the creation of the Research Supervisors’ Network, of which he was the founding chair. In 2018-2019, he authored the UKCGE Good Supervisory Practice Framework and subsequently led on the development of an associated Supervisor Recognition programme. By 2024,  supervisors in over 70 universities in the UK and overseas had gained recognition for their good supervisory practice.

In 2022, in association with colleagues from the School of Education in Durham and the University of Sophia in Bulgaria, he founded the International Centre for the Comparative Study of Doctoral Education (https://iccsde.com/).  

He remains an active researcher in the field. His most recent work (with Margaret Kiley) is a third edition of A Handbook for Doctoral Supervisors (Routledge, 2025). In 2023, he co-edited and contributed to a special issue of Innovations in Education and Teaching International on ‘The Changing Landscape of Doctoral Education’. Recent edited books include (with Vijay Kumar and Sharon Sharmini (eds.)) Doctoral Examination: Exploring Practice Across the Globe (Routledge, 2023) and (with Margaret Kiley and Karri. A. Holley (eds.)) The Making of Doctoral Supervisors (Routledge 2021).

His current project is contributing to the 'Confident Supervisor' online resource and co-editing a book based on the special issue of the journal to be published in 2025. 

• 2021: Honorary Member of the Association of Professionals in Doctoral Education,:
• 2020: Principal Fellow, Higher Education Academy:
• 2020: Honorary Life Member, UK Council for Graduate Education:
• 2019: Founding Chair, Research Supervisors' Network, UK Council for Graduate Education:
• 2016: Co-opted to Executive: UK Council for Graduate Education:
• 2015: Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts:
• 2014: Consultant: Higher Education Academy:
• 2012: Accreditor: Higher Education Academy:
• 2009: Faculty member: European Doctoral Association in Management and Business Studies Supervisor School:
• 2007: External Examiner: University of York:
• 2004: Member of the coordinating group on Quality in Doctoral Education, European Universities Association Doctoral Programmes Project:
• 2000: Auditor: Quality Assurance Agency:
• 2000: External Examiner: University of Nottingham:

Authored book

• Taylor, S., & Kiley, M. (2024). A Handbook for Doctoral Supervisors. (3rd edition). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003432159
• Taylor, S., Kiley, M., & Humphrey, R. (2018). A Handbook for Doctoral Supervisors. (2nd Ed.). Routledge
• Taylor, S., & Beasley, N. (2005). A Handbook for Doctoral Supervisors. RoutledgeFalmer

Chapter in book

• Taylor, S. (2024). United Kingdom. In V. Kumar, & N. Wald (Eds.), Global Perspectives on Enhancing Doctoral Co-Supervision (137-148). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-0460-6
• Taylor, S. (2023). United Kingdom. In V. Kumar, S. Taylor, & S. Sharmini (Eds.), Doctoral Examination: Exploring Practice Across the Globe (165-176)
• Taylor, S. (2021). The United Kingdom. In S. Taylor, M. Kiley, & K. Holley (Eds.), The Making of Doctoral Supervisions. Routledge
• Taylor, S., & Clegg, K. (2021). Towards a Framework for the Recognition of Good Supervisory Practice. In A. Lee, & R. Bongaardt (Eds.), The Future of Doctoral Research Challenges and Opportunities (224-238). Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003015383
• Taylor, S. (2016). Managing your doctorate. In T. Greenfield, & S. Greener (Eds.), Research Methods for Postgraduates. John Wiley and Sons
• Taylor, S., & Kiley, M. (2014). Supervising research students. In H. Fry, S. Ketteridge, & S. Marshall (Eds.), A Handbook for Learning and Teaching. (4th). Routledge
• Taylor, S. (2009). The Post-Humboldtian Doctorate: Implications for Supervisory Practice. In V. King, F. Deepwell, L. Clouder, & L. A. C. Broughan (Eds.), Academic Futures: Inquiries into Higher Education and Pedagogy. Cambridge Scholars Publishing
• Taylor, S. (2002). Managing Postgraduate Research Degrees. In H. Fry, S. Ketteridge, & S. Marshall (Eds.), The Effective Academic: Handbook of Enhanced. Kogan Page

Conference Paper

• Taylor, S. (2016, December). Benchmarking Supervisor Development. Presented at Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Developments in Doctoral Education and Training, University of Oxford. UK
• Taylor, S. (2007, December). Towards a pedagogy of research supervision. Presented at Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference: IPed 2007: Researching Academic Futures, Coventry

Edited book

• Kumar, V., Taylor, S., & Sharmini, S. (Eds.). (2023). Doctoral Examination: Exploring Practice Across the Globe
• Taylor, S., Kiley, M., & Holley., K. (Eds.). (2021). The Making of Doctoral Supervisors. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429274831

Journal Article

• Taylor, S. (online). Thinking of Research Supervision as a Form of Teaching
• Taylor, S., & Wisker, G. (2023). The changing landscape of doctoral education in the UK. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 60(5), 759-774. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2023.2237943
• Taylor, S. (2023). The changing landscape of doctoral education: A framework for analysis and introduction to the special issue. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 60(5), 606-622. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2023.2237962
• Holley, K. A., Taylor, S., & Kiley, M. (2023). The changing landscape of doctoral education: Conclusions and further research. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 60(5), 784-792. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2023.2237934
• Taylor, S., & McCulloch, A. (2017). Mapping the landscape of awards for research supervision: A comparison of Australia and the UK. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 54(6), 601-614
• Taylor, S. (2014). Towards a Framework for the Professional Development of Doctoral Supervisors. SDF digest, 2, 74-87
• Taylor, S. (2012). Changes in doctoral education: implications for supervisors in developing early career researchers

Monograph

• Taylor, S. (2024). The Research Supervisor’s Bibliography. (6th ed.). UK Council for Graduate Education
• Taylor, S. (2022). Developments in Doctoral Examination in the UK. UK Council for Graduate Education. UK Council for Graduate Education
• Taylor, S., & Humphrey, R. (2021). A Guide for Research Supervisors in Organisations Outside Higher Education. UK Council for Graduate Education
• Taylor, S. (2021). Managing Supervisory Loads by Centrally Limiting Student Numbers: an investigation into practice in institutions in the UK. UK Council for Graduate Education. UK Council for Graduate Education
• Taylor, S. (2021). Towards Describing the Doctoral Education Landscape. UK Council for Graduate Education
• Kumar, S., Kumar, V., & Taylor, S. (2020). A Guide to Online Supervision. UK Council for Graduate Education
• Taylor, S. (2020). Supervision, wellbeing and the mental health of doctoral students. Postgraduate Research Catalyst Project, Durham University Counselling Service
• Taylor, S. (2019). Good Supervisory Practice Framework. UK Council for Graduate Education
• Taylor, S. (2018). Eligibility to Supervise: A Study of UK Institutions. UK Council for Graduate Education
• Taylor, S. (2017). Enhancing Practice in Research Supervision. UK Council for Graduate Education
• Taylor, S. (2016). UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) Dimensions of the Framework for Doctoral Supervisors. The Higher Education Academy
• Taylor, S., Loughlin, E., Martin, E., & McComb, T. (2010). Induction for Postgraduate Research Students. Society for Research into Higher Education