Ongoing requirements & progress monitoring schemes

Please pay attention to the 'requirements at a glance' webpages:

Requirements at a glance (FULL TIME)

Requirements at a glance (PART-TIME)

Student attendance and progress monitoring

Being a research student is a different experience to being a taught student, or even being in full time employment and for many students, the first time that they are expected to work independently is during their postgraduate research degree programme. For this reason, it is important that you discuss your expectations with your supervisor, and discuss their expectations of you, from the start. From time to time, difficulties can arise. These can be relatively minor and easily resolved, but occasionally you will require support from other members of the supervisory team, the Postgraduate research tutors, or other members of staff in the Department or elsewhere in the University. The main thing to remember is to ask questions and ask for support when you need it. Never feel like you are on your own.

As a postgraduate research student, it is most important that you work steadily to achieve the goals of your work. In order to identify any problems relating to your supervision or progress at an early stage, in sufficient time to allow appropriate support to be offered, the attendance of all postgraduate research students will be monitored at a minimum of 12 compulsory interactions throughout the year. All students are obliged to adhere to University guidelines with regard to monitoring.

1. Supervisory Meeting Reports

The importance of having regular meetings with your supervisor(s) to discuss your progress cannot be over emphasised. You are required to have at least nine documented meetings with your supervisor per annum and at least 6 of these meetings should be with both supervisors. These meetings should be spaced out evenly across the year, and the maximum time between meetings should not normally exceed six weeks. You will receive email reminders about these meetings, but it will be your responsibility to contact your supervisor(s) to arrange the meeting. You and your supervisor should complete the supervisory meeting report form after the meeting, and retain copies of the completed forms as a record of these meetings. You must also submit copies to the PGR Programme Administrators. Writing Up students are required to meet these deadlines. Use of these forms could be advantageous in student appeals and/or disputes. Please see the download boxes on the right hand side for the relevant forms.

2. Personal Tutor Reports

You will meet with your personal tutor in the first month of registration. Thereafter, you are required to meet at least twice annually with your personal tutor. You will receive email reminders about these meetings, but it will be your responsibility to contact your personal tutor to arrange the meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to allow you to reflect, in confidence, on your work and progress, and other issues that may arise with someone not directly concerned with your research. It is not the role of the personal tutor to recommend a change in project direction to the student. In the unusual event of a significant problem being identified, the personal tutor will draw this to the attention of the supervisor, unless this is considered inappropriate in which case the PGR tutor or PGR Lead will be informed. Records of these meetings are required. In most cases completion of the tick boxes on the Personal Tutoring Report Form with comments, if appropriate, will be adequate. The completed form must then be returned to the PGR Programme Administrators after the meeting.

3. Annual Supervisor´s Progress Report

Your supervisors are required to complete an Annual Progress Report for Research and Innovation Services in June of each year. This report should be completed in addition to the Supervisory Meeting Reports (see above) and returned to Jodie Burnham or Carol Fidler (PGR Programme Administrators, LU116). The student should also have a copy of the report.

4. Research Presentations in Years 2 and 3

All students currently in the second year of their studies are expected to give a poster presentation of their work. The poster presentation day will be incorporated into this year's School Research Meeting.  Feedback forms on poster presentations can be collected outside Firth Hall at 16:00. Any student unable to attend will present at a later date.

Students in the 3rd year of study are required to give a 15 minute oral presentation.

All presentations will be judged by an academic panel and prizes will be awarded to the students judged to have the best poster and oral presentations. The panel will assess student performance in terms of presentation, analysis of results, perception and understanding of the project and its direction and handling of questions. The programme for the research presentation day will be circulated in advance to everyone in the School to encourage attendance on the day.