Annual Reviews
In this section
- MPhil/PhD Annual Reviews
- MA by Research Annual Reviews
MPhil/PhD Annual Reviews
Monitoring your Progress - Annual Reviews
The University requires that student progress is reviewed annually for all postgraduate research students, as per the Doctoral College policy on Monitoring procedures.
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 (part-time year 2) will be assessed during their upgrade from MPhil to full doctoral status.
Years Two and Three (Part-time Year Four)
Full-time students in intermediate years will be assessed by the departmental Annual Review Panel. Annual reviews normally take place during term 3.
All part-time students who have been upgraded to full doctoral status will typically be reviewed in Year 4.
Completing this process 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 Annual Progress Review Panel takes place on dates that will be fixed in the calendar, normally across 2 or 3 days in May, and notified to you well in advance. It is very important that you ensure you are available to attend the Panel meeting when requested. The PG Coordinator will circulate booking information on confirmation of the panel dates.
The Departmental Graduate Progress Review Panel will include two reviewers, the Director of PG Research and another member of academic staff. For students supervised by the Director of PG Research, an alternative independent panel member will be assigned.
The 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 PG Research will prepare a short report on each student, to be sent to the supervisor and the student following the reviews. It is expected that student progress will be deemed satisfactory in the vast majority of cases.
Note that in order to allow time for supervisors to read chapter drafts and write their progress reviews, and for the review panel to have adequate time to read the reports and review materials, students will usually be expected to submit their materials at least 4 weeks ahead of the review panel meeting dates. It is therefore important that students begin preparing for the reviews well ahead of the submission dates. The department expects reviews to take place in-person, but some online meetings may also be available.
In preparation for their interview, students are required to send the following materials to their supervisor(s) no later than 4 weeks in advance of the meeting:
- A chapter draft, or another piece of writing related to the thesis research, of between 5000 and 10000 words in length (excluding bibliography).
- A PGR Annual Review Student Progress Report form
- A work plan and timetable to completion
These submissions are to be read by the supervisor(s), 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 supervisor's report will be submitted to the review panel at least 10 working days prior to the review meeting. This means that students should normally aim to submit the required paperwork to their supervisors during mid-April.
Please note that both supervisor and panel reports will be made available to students after the meeting. Any confidential matters may be communicated to the Director of PG Research separately.
Should the Panel consider full-time student progress to be “unsatisfactoryLink opens in a new window” at a Review in Years 2 or 3 (year 4 part-time), then the Director of PG Research will meet subsequently with the supervisor and/or 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 supportive measures will be documented, and the student’s progress will be reviewed again after six months. If progress remains unsatisfactory after this second meeting, then the Director of PG Research will discuss further options with the student and supervisor and may consider proposing that the student be permanently withdrawn via a Continuation of Registration Committee.
Note that M4C-funded students have their own timetable for reviews and this process is administered by M4C and overseen by CADRE. Successful completion of the M4C mid-year review will be accepted by the department, so you do not have to duplicate the review processes.
Year Four (Part-time Year Six)
It is important to note that, although all full-time MPhil/PhD students are now registered for four years, the University still expects all to submit within 3.5 years. 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).
Unless the Director of PG Research receives written advice from supervisors that completion is imminent and/or entirely unproblematic, the progress of all students in Year 4 (or year 6 if part-time), must be reviewed in the Summer Term, requiring an interview with the Departmental Graduate Progress Review Panel during May. The materials to be submitted are the same as in earlier years (see above), but particular attention should be given to a detailed work plan to completion of the thesis.
Supervisors are requested to comment on the completion plan, and to give a clear indication of the likelihood of successful completion of the thesis by the students end date, and to highlight any potential difficulties that might delay submission. The supervisors report will be submitted to the Director of PG Research by the supervisor(s) at least 10 working days prior to the meeting of the Progress Review Panel.
The 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.
Should the Panel consider student progress to be “unsatisfactory” at a Review in Year 4, then the Director of PG Research 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 supportive measures will be documented, and the student’s progress will be reviewed.
If progress remains unsatisfactory after a second meeting, the Director of PGR Studies will discuss the options with the student and supervisor. Possible outcomes include examining the thesis for an MPhil award or permanent withdrawal via a Continuation of Registration Committee (in some cases with the possibility to apply for ‘Leave to Submit’ at a later point).
MA by Research Annual Reviews
The progress of all MAR students in should be assessed with a progress report from the supervisor in January. Students will then be reviewed in the Summer Term, requiring an interview with the Departmental Annual Progress Review Panel during May.
The documentation for this should normally follow the requirements laid out for a PGR year 4 annual review (see above) rather than a PhD upgrade.