Rate My Professor Rachel Spronken-Smith

Professor Rachel Spronken-Smith serves as Deputy Dean of the Graduate Research School at the University of Otago, contributing to the leadership of the team and overseeing researcher development programmes for graduate research candidates and supervisors. She earned her PhD in Geography from the University of British Columbia in 1994 with a thesis titled 'Energetics and cooling in urban parks,' and a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education from the University of Otago. Her career began as a demonstrator at the University of British Columbia, followed by nine years as a lecturer in Geography at the University of Canterbury from 1994. In 2004, she joined the University of Otago's Higher Education Development Centre, rising to full Professor in Higher Education and Geography in 2013. She was seconded as Acting Director of the Graduate Research School in 2012 and served as its inaugural Dean from January 2013 until March 2022, during which she chaired the Graduate Research Committee and Graduate Research Student Liaison Committee, reviewed policies, facilitated workshops, and managed events. Under her leadership, doctoral enrolments increased slightly during the COVID-19 pandemic through support for remote-start students.

Spronken-Smith's research focuses on higher education, including inquiry-based learning, undergraduate research, curriculum design, doctoral education, and graduate attributes. She has supervised 14 PhD candidates and 13 Master's students to completion and currently supervises four PhD candidates, holding UK Council for Graduate Education certification for research supervision. Her major awards include the University of Canterbury Teaching Award (2002), OUSA Supervision Award (2012), University of Otago Teaching Excellence Award (2013), New Zealand National Award for Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching (2015), TERNZ-HERDSA Medal for Sustained Contribution to the Research Environment (2016), and Fulbright New Zealand Scholar Award (2017) for comparing doctoral training systems in New Zealand and the United States at UC Berkeley. Key publications include 'Factors contributing to high PhD completion rates: a case study in a research-intensive university in New Zealand' (2018), 'The PhD - is it out of alignment?' (2020), 'Perceptions of graduate attribute development and application in PhD graduates from US and NZ universities' (2024), 'Retrospective perceptions of support for career development among PhD graduates from US and New Zealand universities' (2024), and 'Work Happiness of PhD Graduates Across Different Employment Sectors' (2024). Her work has advanced graduate research practices, supervision development, and policy at Otago and internationally.