Call for Contributions - Special Edition on Postgraduate Advising
Advising and Tutoring Taught Postgraduate Students
Taught postgraduate students are often perceived as more experienced versions of undergraduates, leading them to be simultaneously treated as having the same needs and skill sets as undergraduates, yet somehow also fully attuned to higher education practices and norms and not in need of transitional help. Both positions may well be wrong. However, there exists a gap in literature and understanding of tutoring and advising for these students.
This call seeks to help fill that void by gathering contributions for a special edition of Waypoint, planned for publication in Winter 2027/8.
We welcome contributions that address issues relevant to taught postgraduate students. You can focus on any pertinent topic that you think would inform the advising and tutoring of this community. Questions could include the following (this list is not exhaustive):-
- Student transition into and through taught postgraduate study
- Differences and similarities between undergraduate and taught postgraduate students
- Expectations held by taught postgraduate students, and about them
- The diversity of taught postgraduate student cohorts - and its implications for tutoring and advising
- Considerations of the specific tutoring and advising needs of various types of students; for instance, international, mature, commuter, distance, disabled, and intersections of these
- Skills development of taught postgraduate students, and of their tutors and advisors
- Evaluation of one’s own (individual or institutional) practice
We welcome contributions of various types:
- Opinion Pieces - Short and thought-provoking articles stating a position and drawing on facts and evidence to support it (1000 - 1500 words)
- Case Studies - Articles typically describing: the organisational and historical context, technical specifications of the project, discussion of pedagogy, implementation, evaluation and limitations (maximum of 3000 words)
- Synthesis and Application – Articles connecting various theories, models, or findings, from the author and/or other authors. These articles present new ideas that contribute to practice or the discourse on advising and student development (maximum of 4000 words)
- Research Articles - Longer papers which present original research findings. The article should provide a clear rationale for the study within the body of published research or policy, an overview of the research methodology adopted, a presentation of original research findings, and a discussion of those findings in relation to existing knowledge (maximum of 6000 words).
- Toolkits and Guides - Articles providing an independent critique or review of a toolkit or guide relevant to personal tutoring/academic advising, outlining its application, its strengths and weaknesses and connecting it to various theories, models, or findings (maximum of 1000 words)
We are seeking expressions of interest to contribute. These should be of no more than 500 words and should cover the following:-
- The topic of your potential contribution
- The type of contribution you intend to deliver
- How this contribution fits the call
- Why the contribution would be of interest to Waypoint readers
- How the contribution might affect how readers might think or do
- Progress already made towards writing the submission
Please submit your expression of interest by 1 November 2026 to waypoint-pgt@ukat.ac.uk. Expressions of interest are format-free. Once expressions have been reviewed, invitations to submit a final version of the intended contribution will be sent by 1 January 2027.
Queries about the special edition can be sent to its guest editors, Andrew Mearman and Alice Doherty by emailing waypoint-pgt@ukat.ac.uk.
Timeline for special edition
1 November 2026 - Deadline for expressions of interest
1 January 2027 - Invitations to submit sent out
30 June 2027 - Deadline for submission of manuscripts
Winter 2027/8 - Publication of special edition
