Information for Current Research Higher Degree Students
Expectations and obligations
There are expectations and obligations that you can expect of the department and one's that the Department expects of you. You should discuss these with your supervisor(s) at the beginning of your candidature.
- The University's guidelines and regulations regarding PhD/MPhil student and supervisor obligations are detailed in the PhD Handbook or the MPhil Handbook.
- There are a couple of particular departmental obligations for research students mentioned below. While these are framed as obligations they should be seen as enhancing the educational experience of the degree.
Seminars
- Research Higher Degree students are expected to attend at least half of the Departmental Colloquiums and all seminars of their individual research group.
A list of upcoming seminars can be found here
Research seminars play a vital role in developing and fostering the research culture of the Department, and as Research Higher Degree students we are expected to attend all relevant seminars. The Department runs both informal and formal seminar series to provide researchers with the opportunity to present their research to peers. There are usually weekly seminars in individual research groups, as well as informal style seminars in the Departmental Colloquiums.
All seminars are advertised via e-mail, so make sure you're on your research group's e-mail list. The School of Graduate Studies, as well as the Department, recommends that Research Higher Degree students present at least one seminar per year. This is to assist not only in your academic development, but also your presentation skills. The Department maintains a web site record of current seminars, and so you can keep track of when seminars are scheduled.
Confirmation
At the end of the first year of a PhD the candidate needs to be "confirmed" as a PhD candidate. To facilitate this a student needs to
- Select three members of Confirmation and Supervisory panel in conjunction with your supervisor within six weeks of commencement
- Satisfy the obligations for confirmation (discuss this with your supervisor)
- Provide a short description to the CSP of your project at the time of confirmation