What is Historically Disadvantaged Universities

Postgraduate studies in South Africa's higher education and the world have come to occupy an important position not only due to the high level of professional development attached to it but also due to the significance of post-graduate research towards the university's research output. This chapter is based on a combination of informal interviews with supervisors and doctoral students, observing student supervisor interactions as well as personal experiences within the doctoral study trail. The notions of agency and pedagogy related to the complexities surrounding how supervisor-student interactions could shape various forms of agency that may act as enabling or constraining within the doctoral study route are explored. This is particularly with respect to poorly resourced universities, particularly those often referred to as the historically disadvantaged universities (HDUs) in South Africa.