Student Progression John Kirby Graduate School Faculty of Medical Sciences

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Our commitment We are committed to ensuring each student maximises his or her opportunity to gain a higher degree. –Students who submit a thesis very rarely ‘fail’ –No point continuing to struggle with a PhD if along the way we agree that an MPhil is a more suitable degree for you We must make sure all students complete their work within the set time limits

Your project Must be suitable for higher degree research –Peer review Internally by review team or Externally by grant reviewers

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Your project Must be suitable for higher degree research –Peer review Internally by assessment team or Externally by grant reviewers Your supervisor(s) must have appropriate experience and training –Fellowship of the Graduate School

Day-to-day progress and training Research project specific –Don’t worry if you seem to be progressing more slowly than the next student (he or she might have problems later!) Ask and listen to: –Your supervisor –Post-docs –Technicians –Senior students

Keeping everyone on track is complex! A full-time PhD (regulation a) must be submitted within 4 YEARS A full/part time PhD (regulation b) must be submitted within 5 YEARS A part-time PhD (regulation c) must be submitted within 7 YEARS A full-time MD/DDS (regulation a) must be submitted within 3 YEARS A full/part time MD (regulation b) must be submitted within 4 YEARS A part-time MD (regulation c) must be submitted within 5 YEARS A full-time MPHIL (regulation a) must be submitted within 2 YEARS* A part-time MPHIL (regulation b) must be submitted within 4 YEARS*

Progress Review You will be examined by 2 reviewers –Experts in your field –Not part of your supervisory team You will submit appropriate written work before the review (electronically) You and your supervisor(s) will receive formal feedback after the review It’s good to gain experience of oral examination before the ‘big one’!

Monitoring progress Degree programme and period of registration 1 st reviewIntermediate reviews(s) Final review PhD 3 years full-time (including short period JRA & staff) 9 months12 months after 1 st assessment6 months before the end of registration PhD 4 years full-time9 monthsEvery 12 months after 1 st review until final year PhD 1 year full-time + 3 years part-time (including JRA & staff normal period) PhD 6 years part-time12 months MD 2 years full-time9 monthsNot needed MD 1 year full-time + 2 years part time 9 months12 months after 1 st review MD 4 years part-time12 monthsEvery 12 months after 1 st review until final year MPhil 2 year part-time12 monthsNot required MPhil 1 year full-time6 monthsNot required

Monitoring progress Degree programme and period of registration 1 st assessmentIntermediate assessment(s) Final assessment PhD 3 years full-time (including short period JRA & staff) 9 months12 months after 1 st assessment6 months before the end of registration PhD 4 years full-time9 monthsEvery 12 months after 1 st assessment until final year PhD 1 year full-time + 3 years part-time (including JRA & staff normal period) PhD 6 years part-time12 months MD 2 years full-time9 monthsNot needed MD 1 year full-time + 2 years part time 9 months12 months after 1 st assessment MD 4 years part-time12 monthsEvery 12 months after 1 st assessment until final year MPhil 2 year part-time12 monthsNot required MPhil 1 year full-time6 monthsNot required

First review We recommend the following structure for your report: Table of contents A literature review A clear statement of the aims of your project A summary of the methods developed and results obtained to date A discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of your work to date An outline of your future work In order to stop students from submitting over-long mini- theses, the Graduate School suggests a maximum word limit for this report (excluding references and figures) of 7,500 words (or 3,000 for MPhil)

Don’t panic This all seems very daunting – but it really isn’t We are all here to help you to get your degree Everyone involved in your work is an enthusiast and shares an interest in your research –We want to know the answers as much as you do! Good Luck!