Progression and review
Your study and research progress will be planned in conjunction with your supervisory team.
Progress is assessed periodically and monitored throughout your programme to ensure you are able to submit a high quality thesis within the permitted timeframe.
Supervisory meetings
The frequency of meetings between you and your supervisor will be determined by the nature of your research, mode of study and where you are on the programme. You should, however, meet with your supervisors at least once a month to discuss progress, training needs, attendance, and plans for the next phase of work.
To help ensure that you are fully engaged and on track with your research programme, your supervisor will complete the Monthly Attendance Milestone in eProg. The purpose of this milestone is to have a formal record that regular supervisory meetings have taken place and that you have been present at the University as required.
Progress reviews
Progress is assessed at formal progress reviews each year. You can check the deadlines for your reviews in your ‘My Progression’ page in eProg.
Regular monitoring of progress provides an opportunity for you to receive feedback on your performance and to identify and address difficulties as they arise.
An annual review meeting must take place in all years of registration, regardless of whether you are full-time or part-time. The review must be attended by you and either your supervisory team and at least one independent reviewer, or you and at least two independent reviewers. The departmental Head of Postgraduate Research can also be asked to attend the review meeting if required. If your supervisor does not attend the meeting they must be fully consulted in relation to your progress and the standard of the progress report before the meeting and involved in discussions after the review regarding the final recommendation.
You will be asked to prepare for each review and there will be a report written outlining the key outcomes. In particular, you must satisfy the Annual Review Panel that you have made the progress expected by the relevant point in your studies, in order to continue on the programme.
Formal progress review meetings are treated as examinations in as much as, if a meeting is cancelled, it will be rescheduled at the nearest possible date. Further, should you fail to attend, or fail to submit a piece of work that is to be reviewed at that meeting without presenting any mitigating circumstances, then the panel will record this on your file and call for a rescheduled meeting.
Where you submit a piece of work that fails at the formal progress review meeting, fails to meet the requirements to progress to the next stage of the programme as part of the review or do not submit the work requested, this will be recorded on your file as a formal submission / failure to submit.
Repeated non-attendance of scheduled formal progress review meetings, failure of a piece of work on second submission or repeated non-submission of review material without the presentation of mitigating circumstances will lead to the case being referred to the Doctoral Academy PGR Degrees Panel for consideration and possible termination of registration.