In this section we describe the lifecycle of a postgraduate project. Elements of the material are relevant to prospective and current students, to supervisors, to panel members, and to examiners and are also covered under those headings.
A postgraduate project starts with the application process, typically 6 months to a year before the intended start date. The application will be relevant to supervisors and to prospective students, who will find further information in their respective sections.
When a student is appointed, he or she will register and attend an induction in order to become a fully-fledged member of the Institute.
The first formal submission from the student is their learning agreement, which we expect to receive within a month of registration. This is to be followed by a project proposal within the first three months. At the same time the supervisors and progression panel are formally appointed; the panel will review the project proposal to confirm the candidature of the student.
From then onwards, the panel will meet with the student for an annual progress review at least once per year. The APR timetable can mean only one meeting for a full-time MPhil student, or as many as 7 separate meetings for a part-time PhD student.
Through the entire candidature, we expect that students meet with their supervisors at least once per month. This meeting is an important part of postgraduate life, and in addition is the University’s only means of attendance monitoring. This is particularly important to International students; attendance at a programme of study is a condition of holding the visa.
All being well – which it normally is – the thesis is submitted around the end of the normal candidature, or within the first writing-up year. The supervisors and the postgraduate team will arrange an examination, and in many cases the outcome is known immediately. For other students there is the need for corrections or a re-submission before a final outcome can be given.