Progress monitoring and completion

You need to make good progress on your research and writing. It is in your own interests to be producing written work from an early stage of your research. It is normal for supervisors to ask you early on to produce a literature review, to write papers on methodological questions, and to produce draft chapters or sections of chapters. Accordingly, the University lays down certain stages that your work should reach, and also requires that your overall progress be monitored by the College. All supervisors will be contacted on a termly basis to ensure that students are making steady progress and attending regular supervision meetings. 

Once per term all students will have a progress review meeting with their supervisory team.  These are part of your monthly supervision meetings but are also a time when you should review progress made and set new targets for the term ahead.

Specific Information for Funded Students

Students in receipt of funding to support their studies are required to maintain good progress throughout their studies. Progress is assessed as part of the University’s Annual Monitoring Review (further details below). You should be aware that failure to maintain satisfactory progress may result in the withdrawal of funding. Doctoral students are also required to have upgraded to PhD before they enter their final year of funding or their funding will be withdrawn.

National quality assurance frameworks require the University to have a procedure for monitoring your progress, to identify any problems, to suggest solutions, and to make decisions about your registration, in line with the University’s Code of Good Practice for Annual Monitoring of Research Students

The Annual Monitoring Review is an exercise that takes place in the January of each academic year. It is an important process in ensuring that all students receive appropriate and timely support and feedback on their progress in their postgraduate studies. In the few situations where student progress is not satisfactory, it also triggers clear and focused communication to the student which should help to address the identified problem. Please note carefully the following points: 

  • Monitoring is compulsory for all research students. Any student who does not follow the College procedure may find their registration terminated.
  • Progress monitoring provides an opportunity for you to reflect on your own progress and to raise any problems that you feel may be affecting your work.
  • You will only be allowed to proceed in your degree and to continue your registration if you receive satisfactory reports on your progress. 

University policy on monitoring states that the purposes of monitoring are:

  • To assist the University in ensuring parity of provision and treatment for students across the University;
  • To identify problems either in a student’s programme of study or in the student-supervisor relationship;
  • To assess student progress in order to give feedback to the student;
  • To monitor the nature and frequency of research supervision and other facilities offered to postgraduate research students; and
  • To assist in making formal decisions about continued registration. 

Submission of Report

All students are asked to complete a report and you will be asked questions relating to your progress in your studies and your supervision. The forms will be made available on MyPGR and you will receive an email at the appropriate point in the year to let you know when they are available. 

Students and supervisors are required to complete independent annual report forms which are considered by a College review panel, which then makes recommendations on each student’s progression to the next year of study. The panel currently consists of the College Director of Postgraduate Research (CDPGR), the relevant discipline DPGR, the PGR Manager and the PGR Support Officer.

Where a student’s progress or engagement with their studies is deemed to be unsatisfactory their supervisor, on advice from the discipline DPGR/the College DPGR, the PGR Manager and/or the PGR Support Officer, is required to take appropriate action, in accordance with the University’s Code of Good Practice – Unsatisfactory Progress and Engagement. This will normally be a request that a formal written warning be issued to the student, specifying the work they are required to undertake, within a designated period of time, to rectify the situation. This initial warning is usually issued by the PGR Support Officer. 

It is important that if there are any issues, such as finance or personal health, that are impacting on your studies that you discuss these with your supervisor as there may be other procedures such as Health and Wellbeing support or a period of interruption that are more appropriate. 

Please note that due to the Covid-19 pandemic there is currently a temporary policy in place which supersedes the University’s Code of Practice relating to Unsatisfactory Progress and Engagement. Further details of this temporary policy can be found on the Doctoral College’s Temporary Policies due to COVID-19 webpage. 

The University lays down certain maximum periods of study for each programme.

Your period of study is measured from the date of your initial registration, excluding any periods of interruption, until submission of your thesis or withdrawal from the programme.  For students studying on a part time basis the length is calculated as a pro-rata equivalent of the full-time period of study. 

It is imperative that you submit your thesis, and that you are examined, in good time. The College and the University are closely monitored by funding bodies and the government to ensure that graduate students – whether publicly funded or not – complete their work in a timely fashion.

Where the student’s funding period is shorter than the maximum period of study given, the student and supervisory team should plan for submission by the funding end date. 

Unless an extension has been approved, students will be deemed to be making unsatisfactory progress and may be at risk of de-registration if they do not submit their thesis by their maximum submission deadline.