Department of Animal and Plant Sciences Gareth Phoenix

Department of Animal and Plant Sciences APS PGR overview: 40 academic staff / IRFs 109 PhDs and rising (120 soon) Annual intake ~35 Lead/manage DTPs / CDTs : NERC - ACCE Leverhulme – Advanced Biological Modelling Grantham Centre Students, FTEs, rates FT PT DL # 107 2 % 98 Home EU OS # 74 13 22 % 68 12 20

Department of Animal and Plant Sciences Completion rates overview: Recent 4 yr average (fully finished cohorts) = 89% Home 95% EU 75% OS 76% (71% on horizon ??)

Department of Animal and Plant Sciences Our approach to PhD completion Quality students from competitive processes Ownership of completion with student/supervisors reminders not monitoring Good completion rates are student driven (yes, of course they are!)

Department of Animal and Plant Sciences Maximising student quality through competition Most APS PhD opportunities are competitive against students applying for other PhDs in the dept A single best applicant for each advertised PhD in competition Strong competition - increases the quality of the students coming in. Most PhDs not “allocated” to staff (not “its your turn to have one”). HoD discretionary allocation carefully considers supervisor quality Quality students more likely to complete on time

Department of Animal and Plant Sciences Ownership of completion with student/supervisors reminders not monitoring Day 1 of student induction week: 4 years is the absolute deadline (which means absolute) Aim for 3 years no matter what your funding Email reminder and desk poster Thesis timeline and submission meeting for 3rd and 4th years (second years also welcome) Same message Horror stories Staff know that it reflects badly on them and the dept if students fail to meet 4 years. Emphasised at staff meetings. PGD support – work together with student and supervisor if problem foreseen.

Department of Animal and Plant Sciences Ownership of completion with student/supervisors reminders not monitoring Day 1 of student induction week: 4 years is the absolute deadline (which means absolute) Aim for 3 years no matter what your funding Email reminder and desk poster Thesis timeline and submission meeting for 3rd and 4th years (second years also welcome) Same message Horror stories Staff know that it reflects badly on them and the dept if students fail to meet 4 years. Emphasised at staff meetings. PGD support – work together with student and supervisor if problem foreseen.

Department of Animal and Plant Sciences Other good practice: New staff paired with experienced PhD student away days Mentoring scheme (peer-to-peer support) In a nutshell: We don’t micro-manage. We get quality students and let them take ownership of completion. Students and supervisors are very aware of the deadline. We support student and supervisor, but… …we do not set lots of targets/hurdles since that would take responsibility away from the student.