Thesis writing carries a pivotal place in accomplishment of the postgraduate degree. Research supervision for post-graduation has been a subject of social sciences across societies, demanding critical analysis of the student-centered paradigm shift in the higher education. The aim of this paper is to unpack issues of how a postgraduate student could define a postgraduate research supervision based on his/her lived experience. Furthermore, this also aims to unearth and explore 'good' and 'bad' supervision practices experienced in the context of the Pakistani Higher Education Institutions (HEI) from postgraduate students' perspective. To understand the situation in Pakistan, this study employed qualitative methodology and used a sample of 40 postgraduate students (including 20 MS/M. Phil and 20 Ph.D) via a purposive sampling technique. The study was restricted to social sciences' students in two public sector universities in Islamabad. Using an interview guide, students' responses were recorded in a series of face to face in-depth interviews. Michel Foucault's theories were used as a theoretical framework to explore the question: How do postgraduate supervisees experience their relationship with their supervisors and how interpersonal and institutional power dynamics implicated in these relationships. The overall conclusion that surfaced from the study's findings is that the existing practices of postgraduate supervision lack mentoring ethics and practices to cater to the needs and expectations of postgraduate students.(1)
