Guidelines for Postgraduate Supervision
(an adjunct to the LTU Higher Degrees Committee (Research) (HDC(R)) guidelines)Recruitment of candidates
The potential supervisor and the Postgraduate Coordinator (Dr Conor Hogan) will examine all applications for admission. Applicants should normally have an Honours Year rank of, at least, a mid-H2A or equivalent in a suitable discipline. Most candidates will have an H1 rank. If the student has an H1 Honours grade, admission will normally be to PhD candidature. If not, admission may be to MSc candidature, with progression to PhD candidature after approximately 12 - 18 months (or part time equivalent) if progress is satisfactory and the University's requirements for upgrading have been met.
It is advisable for students to have a second supervisor who will follow their progress throughout the candidature. The primary supervisor should select this second person, in consultation with the student, who, in many cases, can be a formal co-supervisor or associate supervisor.
For each candidate a Research Progress Panel (RPP) will be convened to oversee the and guide the student's progress. The supervisor, in consultation with the postgraduate coordinator, will select a third person who will serve as the Chair of the RPP. The primary members of the RPP are: the Chair, the supervisor and the co-supervisor. The Chair of the RPP must be confirmed within 1 month of the commencement of the candidatura. The student may, if they wish, select an other person, in consultation with their supervisor(s) and/or the postgraduate coordinator, to be a member of the RPP. This other person may or may not be knowledgeable in the student's research area and may be appointed from within or outside the University.
Project plan
Within three months after the commencement of candidature, it is required that the student, in consultation with the supervisor(s), draw up a project plan and timetable. This plan should include a defined set of goals and a timetable for achieving these goals, as well as a list of dates for milestones in compliance with the University and School policy (see milestones). A copy of the plan should be approved at the first meeting of the RPP and given to the Postgraduate Coordinator with a Progress Report form. (NB: the project plan is not intended to be prescriptive, but to encourage both the student and the supervisor to set realistic goals).
Progress
The University receives funding for a Ph.D. student for 4 years study, which includes time for writing submitting and examining the thesis. After this time, the University may ask the student to pay HECS fees. Postgraduate scholarships are normally awarded for 3 years. An extension (up to 6 months) may be considered by the HDC(R) only where circumstances are of an academic nature and clearly beyond the control of the candidate. Because of these tight deadlines, it is critical that steady progress is maintained by the student. It is also essential that any factor that delays progress and may be grounds for an extension be recorded on the
half-yearly progress reports.
The RPP will monitor the student's progress relative to the project plan. To achieve this, the student's progress should be closely examined at regular intervals (e.g. every six months), and students should present periodic seminars to their Department, usually one per year. Seminars will be held throughout the year and the number and format of seminars will be set by the postgraduate coordinator. Feedback designed to assist progress of the project will be provided by members of the student's Department.
In the six-monthly assessment, as well as in comments on the annual University-organised Progress Reports, supervisors should attempt to be as rigorous as possible in pointing to potential problems. The candidates should take responsibility for communicating any difficulties to their supervisors. Alternatively the student can discuss problems with the Chair of the
RPP (section 4 of the reporting form) who will assess the issues, attempt
to find a solution by mediating between the student and the supervisor(s)
and, if necessary, convene an ad-hoc RPP meeting which might be attended
by a postgraduate representative or student counsellor.
Candidates are expected to participate in the academic life of their Department by attending seminars held in the Department. As part of the progress reports, supervisors will be asked to confirm that the student has been a regular attendee of Departmental seminars. If students fail to attend a majority of seminars, their academic progress will be considered unsatisfactory and this will be noted on their annual progress report.
Upgrading from MSc to PhD candidature
The process of upgrading from MSc to PhD candidature should be initiated with the support of the supervisor(s)/committee. Extensive discussions should be undertaken with reference to the La Trobe University Handbook for Candidates and Supervisors to ensure that the project is suitable and that the student has the potential to complete the requirements for a PhD within the required time. Approval for conversion resides with HDC(R) and in accordance with the guidelines "A Masters candidate who wishes to upgrade candidature to the PhD level must ... provide the supervisor(s) with evidence of work of PhD standard. Such an application must be supported by an independent assessment by a person who is qualified to make the assessment ... and has read the candidate's written work and is willing to provide a formal evaluation of it for the HDC(R)." Written work could comprise a journal article (submitted or ready for submission), a literature review or chapters written towards the thesis. It is the student's responsibility to initiate the paperwork leading to the conversion process. Applications to upgrade must normally be submitted before 18 months of full-time candidature has elapsed. It is recommended the process be commenced 15 months (or part time equivalent) after enrolment to ensure compliance.
To assist in meeting the requirements, the student should submit to their supervisor a report detailing 1) the rationale of the work, 2) progress to date, and 3) the proposal for the remainder of the PhD program. The student should make the case that the project is suitable for a PhD project and explain why it is worth doing. In addition, the student should provide evidence of scientific activities, e.g. laboratory, departmental or conference talks presented, conferences attended, posters presented, and papers written or in progress. A copy of this report should be given to the Postgraduate Coordinator. The student will then make an oral or written presentation to their Department, during which the ideas behind the project, the successes achieved and problems encountered are clearly explained. Positive feedback should be offered from members of their Department, designed to assist suitable progress of the project. At the time of the conversion it is expected that the student will have completed a substantial body of experimental work that provides the basis for a scientific publication.
Intellectual property and data confidentiality
The AVCC Code of Practice for Maintaining and Monitoring Quality and Standards in Higher Degrees (Appendix B, Part 10 of the La Trobe University Handbook for Candidates and Supervisors), must be followed if a candidate is to be involved in work that could result in the generation of intellectual property and/or is funded by a contractual arrangement. "If the candidate agrees to take part in such a project, a written agreement on the conditions of disclosure and related matters, should be concluded over the signatures of the candidate, principal supervisor(s) and Head of the unit(s) concerned. Agreement should be reached between the student and supervisor concerning authorship of publications and acknowledgement of contributions during and after the candidature. There should be open and mutual recognition of the candidate's and supervisor's contribution on all published work arising from the project." A copy of the agreement should be held by the student, supervisor and the Postgraduate Coordinator.
The La Trobe University Guidelines for the Conduct of Research states that "the student and supervisor should draw up a written agreement detailing who should store the original data, who should maintain copies of what parts of the data, and what rights of publication each party has during the student's candidature and when the student completes the degree or withdraws from the project." A copy of the agreement should be held by the student, supervisor and the Postgraduate Coordinator.
Student support and responsibilities
The academic staff will listen to student input, provide information about conferences and writing skills workshops, assist students in developing the skills involved in writing research papers and research grant applications, and help organise social/academic gatherings and seminars. Students are required to abide by the advice on the conduct of their activities in the School as outlined in the Laboratory Safety Manual of the School. All new students must undergo a Safety Induction process. Where suitable, students should be involved in undergraduate teaching, at least during the first two years of their candidature.
Candidates are supplied with bench and desk space, including a lockable space. They have access to photocopying facilities both within the Department and in the library, plus fax, telephone and mail. They have access to suitable computing facilities, including internet access and email accounts. Students must use computers in accordance with the University's Computer Regulations and Internet Code of Practice. The use of Departmental facilities should be for work purposes. The School will attempt to provide financial support to enable students to attend scientific conferences. Students should consult their supervisor regarding procedures for ordering supplies. Think ahead and make sure any items you are going to need for your work are available. Also, it may be necessary to book certain items of equipment in advance. Let the person in charge of the laboratory know if supplies of any item are running low so that they can be ordered. Always ask to be shown the correct way to use equipment and seek permission before using equipment from another laboratory.
The School has put in place mechanisms to deal with problems that arise in the course of the candidature, including procedures to handle breakdowns in the relationship between student and supervisor. If requested, the Postgraduate Coordinator and a student representative will mediate between the student and the supervisor.
Submission of theses
The supervisor(s) has responsibility for giving advice on the format and presentation of the thesis. The supervisor should advise on the content of the thesis (i.e. which data to include) and to set a requirement for rigorous discussion of the data. As stated in the La Trobe University Handbook for Candidates and Supervisors, "The supervisor(s) is not responsible for proof-reading the thesis but, if the thesis contains typographical, spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors, or a standard of expression not worthy of a thesis, then these shortcomings should be made known to the candidate who must bring the thesis to the state required ...". It is recommended that supervisors assist students in attaining a reasonable standard of presentation. Supervisors should make their students aware of the University's policy on plagiarism. It requires that its students observed the highest ethical standards in all academic matters and proscribes the direct copying or paraphrasing of other people's work without acknowledging the source. Students are required to submit an electronic copy of their thesis to the Department at the time of submission to the University. Students will be asked to complete a summary of their scientific activities, e.g. departmental and conference talks presented, posters presented, and papers written or in progress and to give feed-back on their experiences within the School.