Progress Review

Monitoring your Progress - Annual Reviews

The University requires that student progress is reviewed annually for all postgraduate research students. Each year this process requires the student to submit written work, and the supervisor and the student to complete a Progress Review Form. Students in their first year of study will be assessed for their upgrade to full doctoral status, whilst students in Years 2, 3 and 4 will be assessed by the Departmental Graduate Progress Review Panel. In the current academic year, this Panel will sit during the Summer Term.

All part-time students who have been upgraded to full doctoral status will be reviewed on an annual basis in the same way as their full-time equivalents. Those at the MPhil stage will be assessed via their MPhil-PhD upgrade interview.

Completing this process annually is a requirement. Students who fail to submit their progress update forms when requested to do so, or who fail to attend a progress review interview without good reason, may be reported to the University’s Academic Office for inadequate engagement.

The Departmental Graduate Progress Review Panel takes place on dates that will be fixed in the calendar and notified to you well in advance. It is very important that you ensure you are available to attend the Panel meeting when requested.

For the academic year 2021/2022, the Annual Reviews will take place on the 10th and 11th May 2021. Booking for the reviews will open in early April 2021 via accessing this page here.

It is possible that both annual reviews and upgrades will be conducted online. If this is the case, students will be informed in advance.

Year One (Part-time Year Two)

All students reading for a PhD are initially registered for the degree of MPhil. Your progress is monitored over the first year (or first two years in the case of part-time students), during which it is expected you will complete the upgrade to doctoral registration (Confirmation of Status). Upgrade to PhD registration is normally expected to take place within the first 9-12 months of registration for full-time students, and 18-24 months for part-time students.

It is the supervisor(s)' responsibility to arrange the upgrade panel within the time set out by the funding body or university regulations.

By Term 2 of the first year (for the full-time or second year for part-time), students must begin the preparation of the written work that is required for the Upgrade Interview. Upgrade interviews will normally take place during the Summer Term, and it is a requirement that they are completed before the end of your first year of registration. If you started your research in January rather than October, your upgrade review will normally take place in September/October.

For the Upgrade, you should submit the following:

• Draft chapter of 5,000 – 6,000 words in length;
• 2,500-word Research Proposal, giving a synopsis of your research project, with
  • a) an appended chapter plan and timetable for completion of your thesis (max 1500 words) and
  • b) bibliography (not part of the word count) of relevant primary and secondary material
• Completed History Ethics Review Form found on the following web page: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/useful 

Upgrade Preparation Advice

At the Upgrade interview, you will be accompanied by your Supervisor, who is present as an observer. The two members of staff who have read the work you have submitted will conduct the interview. They will question you about what they have read, and may also ask you about the general framing of the project, your sources, and the prospects for satisfactory completion. As part of the interview process, they will speak with you alone regarding the conduct of your supervisions, and they will meet with your Supervisor alone to discuss any matters that s/he may wish to raise.

At the conclusion of the Upgrade Interview, your Assessors will draft a formal report making a recommendation. They may make one of four recommendations:

1. that you be upgraded to PhD registration
2. that you resubmit your work at a future date for a second Upgrade Interview, having made changes that they may advise in consultation with your supervisor
3. that you continue with your project to completion as an MPhil
4. that your registration as a research student should be discontinued, on the grounds that the planned project will not lead to a research degree. This option will, however, normally only be used after a resubmission and after consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies.

It is our expectation that most students will be successful in their Upgrade interview on the first attempt.

If you are asked to resubmit your Upgrade, this may be with or without a further interview. A resubmission may feel disappointing, but it is important that any weaknesses in your project are resolved in order to allow you to move forward to the completion of the doctorate. Many excellent theses have been successfully completed after a second Upgrade Interview. If asked to resubmit, the points to address will be clearly set out by the Assessors in their report. A second opportunity to upgrade should be held within six months of the initial upgrade meeting (or within one year for part-time students).

Failure to upgrade at the second attempt may lead to either: (i) proceeding to the degree of MPhil; or (ii) the student being required to withdraw their registration. Under University Regulations 13 and 16.3(1) students have the right to appeal against either of these decisions.

Year Two / Three

The progress of all students in Years 2 and 3 (and years 4-6 for part-time students) must be reviewed in the Summer Term, requiring an interview with the Departmental Graduate Progress Review Panel during May. In preparation for this interview, students are required to submit the following materials to their supervisor(s) no later than 10 working days in advance of the meeting, and cc'd to the pghistoryoffice@warwick.ac.uk e-mail address:

• A chapter draft, or another piece of writing related to the thesis research, of between 5000 and 10000 words in length (excluding bibliography). For year 3 this cannot be the same work submitted for review in year 2.
• A completed PGR Annual Review Report form can be found on the following page: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/useful
• A work plan and timetable to completion

These submissions are to be read by the supervisor, who will then provide a short report (no more than 1 page) to the Panel prior to the Review meeting, covering the progress made by the student during the year and highlighting any causes or concerns. This supervisors report should be submitted to the Director of PGR Studies, and cc'd to pghistoryoffice@warwick.ac.uk, at least one week prior to the meeting of the Departmental Graduate Progress Review Panel. This means that students should submit the required paperwork to their supervisors during April.

The Departmental Graduate Progress Review Panel will include the Director of PGR Studies and other members of staff. The Departmental Graduate Progress Review Panel will question the student about their progress, paying particular attention to the planning the work ahead and to developing a clear strategy toward completion of the thesis. Following the Panel interview, the Director of PGR Studies will prepare a short report on each student, to be sent to the supervisor and the student. It is expected that student progress will be deemed satisfactory in the vast majority of cases.

Should the Panel consider student progress to be “unsatisfactory” at a Review in Year 2/3, then the Director of PGR Studies will meet subsequently with the supervisor and the student to devise a programme of ameliorative measures that can be put in place to assist the student in reaching an acceptable level of progress. These measures will be documented, and the student’s progress will be reviewed again after six months. If progress remains unsatisfactory after this second meeting, and after providing support and guidance and after a sustained period of poor performance, then the Director of PGR Studies will discuss the options with the student and supervisor and may consider proposing that the student be permanently withdrawn via a Continuation of Registration Committee.

Year Four / Year 7 (part-time)

It is important to note that, although all MPhil/PhD students are now registered for four years, the University still expects them to submit within three years where possible. Any additional time required should be devoted solely to the process of ‘writing up’ their research. (Part-time students are normally expected to complete the thesis within six years, but may extend their writing up into the seventh year).

The progress of all students in Year 4, or 7 if part-time, must be reviewed in the Summer Term, requiring an interview with the Departmental Graduate Progress Review Panel during May. In preparation for this interview, students are required to submit the following materials to their supervisor(s) in advance:

• An outline work plan to completion of the thesis, in 2 pages
• A completed PGR Annual Review Report form is found on the following page: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/useful
• A chapter draft, or other piece of writing related to the thesis research, of between 5000 and 10000 words in length (excluding bibliography). For year 3 this cannot be the same work submitted for review in year 2.

Supervisors are requested to comment on this plan, and to give a clear indication of the likelihood of successful completion of the thesis by September (or whenever it is due according to the student's registration), and to highlight any potential difficulties that might delay submission. Supervisors must supply this brief report to the Panel at least one week before the appointed meeting.

The Departmental Graduate Progress Review Panel will include the Director of PGR Studies, and other members of staff. The Departmental Graduate Progress Review Panel will question the student about their progress, paying particular attention to planning the work ahead and to developing a clear strategy toward completion of the thesis. Following the Panel interview, the Director of PGR Studies will prepare a short report on each student, to be sent to the supervisor and the student. It is expected that student progress will be deemed satisfactory in the vast majority of cases.

Should the Panel consider student progress to be “unsatisfactory” at a Review in Year 4, then the Director of PGR Studies will meet subsequently with the supervisor and the student to devise a programme of ameliorative measures that can be put in place to assist the student in reaching an acceptable level of progress. These measures will be documented, and the student’s progress will be reviewed. If progress remains unsatisfactory after a second meeting, and after providing support and guidance and after a sustained period of poor performance, then the Director of PGR Studies will discuss the options with the student and supervisor and may consider proposing that the student be permanently withdrawn via a Continuation of Registration Committee.

Extension Requests

Upgrade Advice

What to include in your Research Proposal

A formal Research Proposal, with a working dissertation title, will be approximately 2,500 words long, and contain two appendices:

a) a preliminary chapter plan and timetable for the research and writing up, max 1500 words

b) a bibliography (not restricted by a word count) of works and research materials to be consulted.

The Research Proposal will help you to clarify a number of considerations crucial to the design of a successful research project (it is essentially the first draft of your dissertation introduction). You will need to show:

• central research questions you plan to address and what kinds of answer you are looking for;
• the ability to situate your work within the existing scholarship and to show how your research engages with this body of research, methodologies or ideas;
• what methods you plan to use;
• what your source-base will be (printed primary sources, major secondary works, manuscripts, etc) and where you will be consulting these materials (this may involve letters or reconnaissance trips to relevant archives in advance);

Try to cover as many of these areas as possible in your proposal. You may find it useful to use these bold topics as section headings in your writing. When your supervisor has read through the Research Proposal, you should go through it together.

What is the purpose of the upgrade interview?

The upgrade interview serves five main purposes:

• it gives you the opportunity, at an early stage of your research, to present your proposal for your PhD to independent academics
• it provides you with formative feedback alerting you to your strengths and areas for development in your research
• it introduces your research to other members of academic staff who may be able to provide help and support as your project progresses
• it gives you an experience of the viva style of examination
• it provides summative feedback on your progress i.e. an examination of your ability to produce work that merits transfer from MPhil to doctorate level

When should I present my upgrade?

If you are a full-time student you should present your upgrade paper in the summer term of your first year. For part-time students, the upgrade should take place during the first term of the second year of study. At this point in your research you will have settled on your research questions; undertaken a preliminary literature review; decided your methodology and approach, and considered the primary sources to be used. But it will probably be before you have undertaken much primary research and analysis. The purpose of the upgrade interview is to enable you to get feedback on your research plans before you become too committed, and to give yourself time to use the feedback to change track or modify your plans if necessary.

Who makes up the panel?

The panel is made up of two members from the academic staff from the Department of History or in certain cases from outside the Department. Your supervisor will also attend the interview and therefore will be able to debrief you about the upgrade. Your supervisor has no formal role in the upgrade and will not ask questions or help you with replies! During the upgrade interview, you will be interviewed without your supervisor being present. This gives you a chance to talk in confidence with the panel about your supervision and the help and support you are receiving. Your supervisor will also speak to the panel without you being present on his/her view of your progress. The panel members may not be experts in your field but will be able to give you advice from the point of view of an 'interested outsider'. They will approach the upgrade interview in a friendly, supportive fashion but be prepared for a serious exploration of your work: this is a formal examination.

What will the panel ask me?

This will depend of course on your topic area and the approach you have taken but these are questions that are often asked in upgrade interviews:

• What exactly is your research question?
• What is your theoretical approach?
• How will your work challenge or support the existing scholarly literature?
• Why have you decided on this particular chronology or case study?
• Which sources are you using for your research and what challenges do they present?
• Which skills (language, palaeography, computer etc) do you need for your research and are you confident you have (or can acquire) these?
• How are you defining your terms or research areas and why?
• Do you think your research is too narrow? Or too broad?
• How will you achieve your objectives in the timescale allowed?
• Is your timetable too challenging?
• Will you be able to provide the in-depth analysis required in the word length allowed?
• What are the ethical issues in your research?

Are there frequently recurring difficulties with upgrade papers?

Each upgrade presents unique strengths and weaknesses but occasionally there are some difficulties:

• Unclear or too wide a set of research questions

To address this make sure you can provide a succinct statement of your research question and make sure it is tightly focused and manageable. History PhDs are often very narrowly focused but you must ensure that you are addressing the bigger picture as well.

• Formulaic presentation of the literature review

You should demonstrate how your project will engage with the current scholarly literature on your subject and give an analysis of the relevant historiography. You should avoid simply presenting a list of who said what and when.

• A vague understanding of sources

You will not be expected to provide a full analysis of the sources you will be using for your research - you will probably be only in the preliminary stages of gathering material. However, you should have a clear idea of the type and scope of sources you will be using, where these are located, and any challenges or problems you forsee. In addition, you may be asked why you are selecting certain sources and not using others so be sure that you have a clear idea of why you have chosen your source material.

• Unclear research methodology

Make sure you are clear about your approach to your research and have addressed any methodological issues.

• Unrealistic scope or timetable

Are you sure that the outline you have presented is attainable? How might you scale down your project if it became necessary? Have you left sufficient time for writing up your research - this often takes longer than expected!

What happens at the upgrade?

The panel members will have read your upgrade materials and have some questions to ask you. These may take anything from half an hour to an hour, sometimes longer and will cover areas such as the structure and content of your research, your timetable and chapter outlines. The panel will then interview you and your supervisor separately. At the close of the interview, you will be asked to wait outside for a few minutes while the panel discuss their agreed response. The panel will always provide formative feedback on the strengths and areas to develop in your research. Discuss this feedback with your supervisor. The panel will also agree on a summative judgement based on four options:

• To agree on an upgrade from ‘working towards an MPhil’ to ‘working towards a PhD’
• To ask for a resubmission of the paper so that the upgrading can be re-considered
• To consider the project as working towards an MPhil
• To advise that the planned project will not lead to a research degree

If you are asked to resubmit your upgrade, this may be with or without a further interview. This outcome may feel disappointing at the time in view of the hard work you have put in but try to treat this outcome positively. You are being given an opportunity to address key issues before you have become committed to a course of research which was very unlikely to lead to a doctorate. The points to address will be clearly set out and it will in most cases be a manageable task to address them in consultation with your supervisor.

Checklist

Have you?

• Prepared your upgrade materials
• Discussed your papers with your supervisor
• Discussed possible panel members with your supervisor
• Proofread the final papers
• Completed the Research Ethics form

Forms

Copies of all forms for your upgrade can be found at https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/useful

History Department PG Research Fund

In 2021/2022, Postgraduate students are welcome to apply for up to £150 to support their research-related activities. The allocation of funds follows the financial year which runs from 1st August to 31st July.

The application must be completed and approved by the PGR Director prior to the funds being spent; retrospective applications will not normally be considered. An application can only be considered if an itemised list of the expected costs is provided.

If your application is approved, you will need to provide evidence of the expenditure (all original receipts), and then complete an expenses claim form (normally form fp16aphd). Once the first paper expenses claim has been processed, the Expenses Team will set students up on Concur and advise them to use Concur to submit claims going forward.

In order to allow time for checking, approval and processing by the Expenses team, expenses claims submitted near the end of the financial year must be received by no later than the end of the 1st week of July.

Applicants should check details of allowable expenses on the Expenses Guidance web page.

In particular, applications should note that:

• All expenses claims should be submitted within 3 months of the expense being incurred
• The Finance Office have strict rules regarding Airbnb accommodation bookings.
• The University will only consider paying membership fees under certain conditions (see section 16.6.5 of the Expenses Guidance)
• The use of external catering will not normally be approved (see section 16.5.5 of the Expenses Guidance)

Please note that students in their fourth year and those in receipt of funding from research councils are not normally eligible to apply.

For any applications made out of term time, approval may take up to 2 weeks depending on staff availability.

You can find the application form here https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/useful/pgresearchfund.

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