Information for PhD Students
Handbooks
PPLS Research Student Handbook (PDF)
Progress and Annual Reports
PhD progress is monitored annually by your supervisory team (see the Code of Practice for Supervisors and Research Students for details). This is an opportunity for you and your supervisors to look back on the past year of work, address any concerns that might arise and plan for the next year of your studies. While you will be having these discussions during your supervision meetings throughout your studies, this report is a summary of your progress each year and is the official report added to your student record.
In preparation for this, complete the relevant self assessment form through the link below. Your supervisors may ask you to prepare particular pieces of academic work in preparation for your meeting and these can be attached to your form.
It is recommended that a meeting between you and your supervisory teams is scheduled to go over your report each year however the only time that a meeting is compulsory is for the first year review.For the first year review you will meet with your supervisory team plus an additional member of academic staff not connected with your project.
To do list:
- Talk to your supervisors to set up a meeting.
- Agree with supervisors what materials are needed for your review.
- Complete the self assessment form through the link below. (You can save the form and come back to it if you need to.)
- Hit submit button!
- You will receive a pdf of your form by email for your records.
The review form:
The progress review form is available through the link below.
If you are not logged in to your University computing account you will be asked to enter your EASE log-in details to access the form.
What happens next?
- When your form has been submitted the PG Office will check that the submission has been successful and will then send a link to your supervisors so that they have access to your form and supporting documents.
- After your meeting your lead supervisor will complete an additional part of the form with their comments on your progress so far. This is then sent via email to your second supervisor for comment and agreement.
- Once the form has been completed by both supervisors it will then be emailed to you so that you can read over the comments and indicate that you have read and understood the outcome of your review.
- Once you have indicated your agreement on the online form a final pdf of the full form will be emailed to you and the report is automatically sent back to the PG Office so that it can be added to your record.
Queries?
Thesis Submission
Your thesis is submitted for examination to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) Postgraduate Office (PGO) based on the first floor of the David Hume Tower. What you need to do:
- Guidance on the examination process - this document provides a timeline of the whole process for you from completing your intention to submit forms right through to registering for graduation.
- Code of Practice for Supervisors and Research Students - have a look at this as it gives an overview on the process of writing up and submission.
- Intention to Submit forms - two months prior to submission date, you should complete these forms and hand them in to the School PG Office, these will be copied for your file and sent to the College PG Office on your behalf. When these are received at the College PGO, the nomination of your examiners will be arranged so it is important to do this in good time so that all arrangements are in place for the examination of your thesis by the submission date.
YOU MUST COMPLETE THREE FORMS (these can be found on the Academic Services website under the Research Degrees section:
- Thesis Notice of Intention to Submit (NIT)
- Thesis Abstract of Thesis form
- Your abstract must be written directly onto this form in the space provided.
- You can adjust the font of the writing to make the most of the space available but make sure that it is no less than 10 points and legible! - Thesis Access to Thesis form
- The signature on the second page is required whether you are allowing access or restricting it.
- Postgraduate Assessment Regulations for Research Degrees - this document details the procedures and regulations for the thesis examination
- Regulatory Standards for the Format and Binding of a Thesis - this sets out information on how you should format your thesis (margins, fonts, binding etc).
The guidance included in the regulations refers to the final bound thesis however all information regarding layout and what to include in your thesis is the same for your soft bound initial submission.
You do not need to provide an electronic copy of your thesis with your initial submission unless it has been specifically requested. - Final Bound thesis
After you have completed your viva, you need to make arrangements to submit your final thesis to the College Postgraduate Office. You may be required to make some amendments or corrections to your thesis. When the final thesis has been approved by your examiners, they should contact the College Postgraduate Office to confirm and then let you know that you are ready to submit your final bound thesis. Information on the submission of your final thesis is available on the Academic Services website. - Final Binding - spine layout
This document shows the preferred layout for the spine of final bound PhD theses.
If your thesis is longer than 300 pages in length you may have to have it bound in more than one volume - please seek advice on this from the binders.
Viva Preparation
Slides from the PhD Viva Preparation Workshop are now available: Viva Preparation Slides [PDF]
Tuition Fee Payment
Please be aware that failure to pay your tuition fees in a timely manner is dealt with very seriously by the Finance department. If you are having difficulties please make sure that you get in contact with the Finance department in order to work out a solution. Information on the steps taken to recover fees from students who fail to do so is available online: