Code of Practice
For the academic welfare of postgraduate research students
- Introduction
- Responsibilities
- Research Skills Training
- Period of Study
- Extensions To (Re)Submission Deadlines
- Teaching and other paid work
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1. Postgraduate research students pursue independent research in academic departments, leading to the award of the degree of MPhil or PhD. Successful progress depends primarily on their own efforts, supported by those of their supervisors, but also on the research environment in the department and on the quality of their research training. The purpose of this Code of Practice is to specify the practices and procedures which underpin these efforts. It should be read in conjunction with the College’s Research Degree Regulations. A range of useful information is also available on the Graduate School website.
2. Disciplines differ quite markedly in the day-to-day conduct of postgraduate research. While some students will spend long periods in the field or in distant libraries and archives, others will be in daily contact with their research groups in laboratories. Consequently, the appropriate procedures for guiding their research will vary. Students should not be surprised by these variations, and should not be disconcerted if their department requires, for example, more frequent reviews or more extensive written reports than are specified in the Research Degree Regulations, which set out minimum requirements based on sector-wide best practice.
3. Responsibility for implementing this Code of Practice is shared between the student, the supervisor and adviser, the Director of Graduate Studies in the department and the Head of Department. This document sets out the specific responsibilities of each of these individuals, and the relationships between them.
Responsibilities of the Student
4. The student is responsible for his or her own affairs. These responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
(a) attending a schedule of agreed supervisory meetings, and keeping a brief record of the meetings;
(b) with the supervisor(s), agreeing in writing, before the end of the first term, a broad timetable of work and the objectives that should be met in the first year; discussing with the supervisor(s) the type of guidance and form of comment found most helpful;
(c) undertaking research skills training provided by the College (see Graduate School), the department and/or the supervisor (see Research Student Training Log);
(d) maintaining the progress of work in accordance with the agreed objectives, including the submission of written work as required in sufficient time to allow for comment and discussion;
(e) attending reviews when required and writing formal reports for these as necessary;
(f) taking the initiative in raising at the earliest opportunity any personal difficulties which are interfering with their work or any disabilities or special educational needs for which they may require support; students should feel able to confide in their supervisor, but may prefer to speak with their adviser, the Director of Graduate Studies, the Head of Department, Support and Advisory Services or the Students’ Union;
(g) dealing with supervisory problems, ideally by discussing any concerns informally with their supervisor or adviser in the first instance, and possibly involving the Director of Graduate Studies or the Head of Department if necessary; further guidance is given in the Complaints Procedure for Students, which also describes how to make a formal complaint if attempts to resolve the matter informally have not been successful;
(h) deciding when to submit the thesis, taking due account of the supervisor’s/ supervisors’ opinions (which are advisory only), within the timescale prescribed by the Research Degree Regulations and those of Research Councils where appropriate;
(i) taking full responsibility for checking the accuracy of grammar, spelling and referencing in drafts submitted to supervisors as well as in the thesis before final submission;
(j) ensuring that all illustrative material, e.g. audio recordings, are in the appropriate form and produced correctly;
(k) being aware of, and adhering to, ethical, legal and professional requirements for the conduct and presentation of research, including rules relating to plagiarism;
(l) being aware of the College's Research Degree Regulations;
(m) ensuring that the department and Student Administration Centre are provided with current postal addresses and telephone numbers and that relevant Banner records are kept up-to-date.
5. Students should complete the College's feedback questionnaire for postgraduate research students around the time of their Annual Review. Completed forms should be returned to the Director of Graduate Studies (or Head of Department if the Director of Graduate Studies is the student's supervisor), who will summarise the generic feedback for consideration by the department and the College.
6. A postgraduate research degree requires a considerable commitment of time from all students. However, the challenges to part-time students are often different from those encountered by full-time students as in many cases part-time students will be in full-time employment and/ or have other responsibilities. Part-time students need to be aware of these factors before embarking on postgraduate study.
Responsibilities of the Supervisor
7. Each research student is allocated a supervisor (or, if appropriate, joint supervisors), normally a non-probationary and doctorate-holding member of the academic staff of the College. Supervisors who are supervising for the first time will have an experienced senior colleague as their adviser.
8. The supervisor bears the major responsibility for advising the student on the conduct of his or her work. However, independent research is carried out by the student. The supervisor is an important resource and is there to offer guidance, ask relevant questions and suggest lines of enquiry, but not to provide answers to the major research questions.
9. The supervisor should be approachable and available for consultation at reasonable times. The success of a student in his or her research depends to a large extent on the help and guidance that the supervisor offers. Close contact, especially in the early stages of the work, is recommended if difficulties are to be avoided.
10. The supervisor's responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
(a) agreeing with the student a suitable research topic that can be completed within time and at an appropriate level, and checking that appropriate resources are available;
(b) advising on techniques and methods, and encouraging familiarity with developments in the subject;
(c) with the student, advising on and agreeing a schedule of meetings, based on a minimum of one meeting per month in the first year and, on average, one meeting every six weeks throughout subsequent years; for laboratory-based projects, students can expect more regular supervision, with discussion meetings often on a weekly basis; only in exceptional circumstances (e.g. the postgraduate working abroad) will communication by e-mail or telephone be an acceptable substitute for regular face-to-face meetings;
(d) by the end of the first term, agreeing with the student a broad timetable of work and objectives to be met in the first year; these should be written down and sent to the Director of Graduate Studies for approval and filing;
(e) agreeing with the student a written statement of research and skills development needs at the start of the programme (by completing a Research Student Training Log) and monitoring the fulfilment of these needs through supervisions, annual reviews and at the upgrade meeting;
(f) arranging appropriate introductions to the departmental research environment;
(g) promoting awareness of ethical, legal and professional issues relevant to the conduct and presentation of research, including plagiarism;
(h) requesting written work according to an agreed schedule and returning such work with constructive criticism in a reasonable time;
(i) making students aware of the annual review and upgrade procedures and arranging reviews of student progress; ensuring that the student is fully aware of the progress of the work in relation to the expected standard and the agreed programme; writing to students to make them aware if progress is inadequate, offering support and advising them how to rectify the situation; making an annual written report to the Director of Graduate Studies;
(j) offering support to students with their personal development planning by encouraging them to attend research skills training courses and conferences and, where appropriate, facilitating the presentation of papers; providing opportunities for the student to present work to appropriate seminars; advising on making grant and job applications; giving guidance on identifying learning, achievement and employment goals;
(k) completing documentation for funding bodies, where required;
(l) with the Director of Graduate Studies, ensuring that adequate supervision is maintained if the supervisor is on leave or is leaving the employment of the College;
(m) co-ordinating and advising on the submission of examination entry forms, the nomination of examiners, and arrangements for the viva voce examination; supervisors are encouraged to attend the viva voce examinations of their students, provided the student has agreed.
(n) offering to meet with students after the release of the final examination report to provide advice and guidance on the examiners’ requirements and how these could be addressed. Where minor amendments or re-presentation of the thesis in a revised form are required, supervisors should make themselves available for further consultation at times to be agreed between student and supervisor as appropriate;
(o) making students aware of the services offered by the Graduate School Office, Support and Advisory Services and the Students’ Union for students with personal difficulties;
(p) exercising their duty of care towards students with disabilities and special educational needs in line with advice from the Educational Support Office;
(q) alerting students to the various courses and types of support offered by the Graduate School, Royal Holloway International and the Educational Support Officer – Study Skills to support academic writing skills;
(r) reporting to the College any students who hold a general student visa and who have failed to meet the requirements set out by the UK Border Agency.
11. Where there are joint supervisors, one will be appointed the lead supervisor, who will be a member of the academic staff of the College and responsible for submitting joint reports on progress to the Director of Graduate Studies. Under no circumstances will supervision exclusively by persons from outside the College be permitted. It is the normal expectation that joint reports on progress will be agreed and signed by both supervisors, although exceptionally the supervisors may decide to submit separate reports.
12. If the supervisor is due to leave the College, or will be unable to supervise the student for a protracted period, a meeting will be held beforehand to agree future supervision arrangements. The meeting will be arranged by the supervisor, or the Director of Graduate Studies, and will include the student, the supervisor, the adviser, the Director of Graduate Studies and any staff who it is proposed will be involved in the future supervision arrangements. A written record of the agreed arrangements, with the student's signature of consent, must be circulated to all those involved and placed on file in the department and lodged with the Student Administration Centre. A supervisor who leaves the employment of the College may continue to be involved as the student’s adviser, provided the department appoints at the earliest opportunity an appropriately qualified replacement supervisor who is a member of the College’s academic staff.
13. If for any reason the student, or the supervisor, believes that a change of supervisor is necessary, then this change should be agreed between the student, the old supervisor, the new supervisor and the Director of Graduate Studies. A written record of the agreed arrangements, with the student's signature of consent, must be circulated to all those involved and placed on file in the department and in the Student Administration Centre.
Responsibilities of the Adviser
14. Each research student will be allocated an adviser as an additional source of academic and pastoral support. The adviser will be an established or probationary member of the academic staff of the College, or an Honorary Research Fellow or Visiting Professor. The procedures for requesting a change of adviser are the same as those for a change of supervisor (see paragraph 13).
15. The adviser's responsibilities are:
(a) participating in annual and other periodic reviews of the student's progress and in procedures for upgrade from MPhil to PhD;
(b) if necessary, and appropriate, acting as supervisor in the absence of the appointed supervisor (e.g. during sabbatical leave) and assuming the supervisory role if the original supervisor takes employment elsewhere or retires.
16. Where appropriate, the adviser may also:
(a) with the supervisor, contribute to the discussion of the planning of research and any associated training;
(b) advise on the timetable and objectives, in collaboration with the supervisor.
Responsibilities of Directors of Graduate Studies
17. Each department has a Director of Graduate Studies, whose responsibilities include:
(a) ensuring that a departmental file is maintained for each research student;
(b) ensuring that a departmental handbook containing information about postgraduate programmes, procedures and resources both within the Department as well as the College is available to all members of the department and to students;
(c) co-ordinating and maintaining an up-to-date record of departmental admissions procedures in respect of postgraduate programmes, ensuring that these comply with College guidelines;
(d) arranging an appropriate departmental induction for all postgraduate research students;
(e) ensuring that supervisors submit reports of annual and other periodic reviews of the work of postgraduate research students and reports of their upgrades according to the procedures laid down in the Research Degree Regulations, taking appropriate action if reviews or upgrades do not take place or if the outcomes are unsatisfactory;
(f) ensuring that students participate in relevant skills training activities;
(g) appointing advisers and notifying the Student Administration Centre of the names of the supervisors and advisers for each research student within four weeks of the student's date of registration;
(h) with the supervisor, ensuring adequate supervision is maintained in the event of the appointed supervisor being unavailable, and notifying the Student Administration Centre of any change;
(i) seeking special permission from the Vice-Principal (Academic Affairs) before an offer is made if it is necessary to charge an overseas or privately-funded applicant a supplementary fee;
(j) ensuring that College feedback questionnaires are collected from students and summarising the generic feedback for consideration by the department and for the Annual Review report of Postgraduate programmes, which should be shared with students.
Responsibilities of Academic Departments
18. It is the responsibility of Heads of Department to ensure that their departments exercise collective oversight of postgraduate research work. This may be achieved either by the establishment of a Departmental Postgraduate Committee reporting to the Departmental Board or by the inclusion of postgraduate affairs as a standing item of business on the Departmental Board's agenda at least once a term. Whichever practice is adopted, minutes must be kept and made available for scrutiny by the Faculty Board if required.
19. The responsibilities of the Committee or Board acting in that capacity towards research students include:
(a) monitoring the implementation of this Code within the department;
(b) under reserved business, receiving reports of the annual reviews of students' progress and of upgrades from MPhil to PhD and deciding what action to take about students whose progress is unsatisfactory;
(c) considering departmental policy for postgraduate recruitment and admissions;
(d) establishing and reviewing departmental procedures to which students may have recourse if they feel that their work is not proceeding satisfactorily for reasons outside their control;
(e) establishing and reviewing a departmental procedure for transfer of registration status from MPhil to PhD, within the provisions of the Research Degree Regulations.
20. The College provides a research skills programme in accordance with the requirements of the Research Councils. The programme is intended to ensure that all students develop the skills appropriate to their research, to assist timely completion, and to prepare for employment. The College-, faculty- and departmental-level provision comprises a selection of compulsory and optional courses, which focus upon generic research and transferable skills training and an induction to the use of College facilities such as the Library and IT resources. This is supplemented by subject-specific research training delivered by individual supervisors and departments and training available from other external organisations. All students must complete a minimum of five days of research skills training in each of their first three years of full-time study (pro-rata for part-time students). Students funded by Research Councils are normally required to complete a minimum of 10 days of research skills training in each of their first three years of full-time study (pro-rata for part-time students).
21. A programme of skills training is compulsory for all postgraduate research students. In exceptional circumstances, students may seek exemption from particular courses, if it can be demonstrated that the outcomes of the training have been or will be fulfilled in another context. Exemptions are normally granted by Directors of Graduate Studies on the recommendation of the student’s supervisor or adviser. The advice of the Dean of the Graduate School may also be sought. Full details of the programme, the granting of exemptions and the booking process is explained on the Graduate School website.
22. Students are provided with a Research Student Training Log at the start of their first year, designed to help them log their training needs and to monitor whether these needs have been met. Participation in the College's research skills programme is monitored by supervisors at the Annual Review. Satisfactory completion of the research skills programme is a condition for transfer of registration from MPhil to PhD.
23. Students in receipt of funding from a Research Council or other approved funding body are expected to observe any requirements and deadlines set by that body in addition to the requirements set out in the College’s Research Degree Regulations.
24. In order to complete the thesis within the prescribed time, it is essential to work out a realistic timetable. This applies particularly to the completion of practical work and the writing-up of the thesis, a stage which very often takes far longer than is anticipated. Reasonable periods must also be allowed for supervisors to read and comment on drafts of various chapters of the thesis. Students are strongly advised to read early on the requirements of a thesis set out in the Research Degree Regulations.
25. MPhil or PhD students who submit their thesis during their writing-up year are eligible for a pro-rata refund of tuition fees according to the date of submission as set out in the College’s Student Fee Regulations. Students who are in receipt of an award from College, a Research Council, or any other external funding body, should check the implications of early submission for their funding.
26. For those students holding awards from external funding bodies the College will follow the guidelines of the funding body with regard to absences allowed for holidays, illness and maternity/paternity leave. Otherwise the following guidelines apply.
(a) Holidays: Postgraduate research students are entitled to up to eight weeks holiday (including public holidays) in 12 months. Students should notify their supervisor in writing of any holidays that are taken. The holiday entitlement of students who are registered or funded for less than 12 months is reduced on a pro rata basis.
(b) Illness: If a student is absent through illness for a continuous period of more than two weeks, s/he must inform the supervisor immediately after this period has elapsed and submit a medical certificate. Students who are ill for a month or more should seek an interruption of studies. Normally only one period of interruption of studies is permitted for up to a maximum of two years. A student is also expected to inform the supervisor if s/he suffers frequent short absences for medical or other reasons that are likely to result in a considerable delay to the programme of research and training. Periods of leave notified in this way may be taken into account when calculating the thesis submission date. Extensions to the submission date cannot be considered in retrospect or without supporting medical evidence.
(c) Maternity Leave: Students requiring maternity leave should apply for an interruption of studies for a period of time to be agreed with the supervisor, up to a maximum of two years. If a student interrupts study for maternity leave, then she would still be permitted to apply for one further period of interruption for another reason, if necessary.
(d) Paternity Leave: Full-time research students who are new fathers have the right to apply for an interruption of studies for up to 13 weeks, within the first 12 months from the birth of the child or, in the case of adoption, within the first 12 months from the date of the child’s placement.
Extensions To (Re)Submission Deadlines
27. Any requests for extensions to the (re)submission deadline must be submitted by the Head of Department to the College Board of Examiners Executive Committee at least two months before the deadline. The request must be supported by the supervisor(s), and in the case of a resubmission must also be supported by the examiners, and must include a proposal for a revised deadline. Extensions to submission beyond the end of the fourth year of registration in the case of PhD students and three years in the case of MPhil students will only be granted: (a) in order to comply with the expectations of a Research Council or other approved funding body from which the student is in receipt of funding; or (b) where there are documented mitigating circumstances which have affected the student’s progress but which did not warrant a formal interruption of studies. The College Board of Examiners Executive Committee will inform the student’s department/school of the outcome of the request. The outcome will be communicated to the student by the department/school.
28. Students may undertake paid work, e.g. teaching or other work, in order to support themselves during their studies. In line with the Research Degree Regulationsthe amount of such work shall not exceed 20 hours per week for full-time research students. In the case of part-time students no such limit exists; however, students should be aware of the impact of paid work on their studies.
Teaching
29. Postgraduate research students may be offered teaching opportunities by their Departments. This activity is beneficial in that it helps to equip students with transferable communication skills and to develop good practice in teaching that contributes to career development.
30. Teaching duties undertaken by full-time postgraduate research students should not normally exceed six hours per week in term time (i.e. 168 hours in the year), inclusive of time spent on marking. Time spent in preparing for classes is not taken into account. This limit is set so that students will be able to submit their theses within the specified period; it is also congruent with the formal limits that apply to Departmental Assistantship award holders and Research Council award holders. Teaching duties should be assigned to postgraduate research students by Departments only when they are not expected to delay completion of the thesis beyond the normal period. Heads of Department are encouraged to timetable the work required of research students in such a way that it minimises the disruption to their studies, for example by concentrating the teaching on one or two days in the week.
31. Any postgraduate research student who is employed by the College in a lead teaching role (i.e. conducting teaching sessions entirely on their own) is required to register for the College’s programme in Skills of Teaching to Inspire Learning (inSTIL). Upon successful completion the student will be awarded 15 M level credits and will automatically qualify for Associate Membership of the Higher Education Academy. For those postgraduate research students who are employed to teach as part of a team (e.g. a demonstrator alongside an academic staff member), completion of a day of demonstrator training is required. Further information is available from the Educational Development Team.
Departmental Assistantships and College Awards
32. All formal offers of Departmental Assistantships must be made by Personnel and the Faculty Office. Departments may, however, inform candidates that they have been recommended to the Faculty for the award of a Departmental Assistantship.
33. The letters from Personnel and the Faculty Office, in which the award is made, must clearly specify the period and value of the award, and the exact amount and type of work that will be expected from the postgraduate research student in return for the bursary. The Department may not ask the postgraduate research student to carry out more teaching than is specified in paragraph 30. A student engaged in non-teaching duties may only be required to work for an average of six hours a week over the academic year (i.e. for a maximum of 288 hours across 48 working weeks in the year).