Information for Current Candidates
If you have applied or currently undertaking a graduate research degree, below is a range of supporting information and links to enable your research journey.
Important Information
Other Key Information
If you have not met your milestone requirements your Progress Committee may determine that your progress is at risk of not concluding on time. The committee may also decide that your progress is at risk at an ad hoc meeting between milestones. In either case, you and your committee will need to discuss and detail what you need to do and the support you will need get your research back on track for on time completion.
You will need to meet with your Progress Committee to discuss and agree on a Progress Support Plan, and set a date for your second attempt at the milestone (or after an ad hoc review, a date to meet with your Progress Committee at the end of the Progress Support Plan period to review its status).
There are many reasons you may experience difficulties throughout your candidature and the focus of a Progress Support Plan is to get your progress back on track. A Progress Support Plan is tailored to your individual needs and will give you
- The opportunity to receive formal support
- Clear expectations on agreed actions and timeframes to recover your progress.
Your Progress Support Plan will be recorded as part of the progress report form through the agreements system.
If you need to make a second attempt at a milestone, this must normally take place within the maximum postponement period, which for each milestone are
- eight weeks (full time equivalent) for Master’s by Research Degrees
- twelve weeks (full time equivalent) for Doctoral Degrees.
Once you have agreed on a date for a second milestone attempt or next review with your Progress Committee, the Chair of your Committee will enter this information in your progress report.
Helpful documents
- Progress Support Plan template [DOC 55KB]
- Quick Reference Guide: Progress Support Plans [PDF 80KB]
- Record of Support Meetings [DOC 45KB]
Who can I contact for help?
You are encouraged to contact Student Advocacy, a free and confidential service available to all La Trobe candidates no matter where you are located. A Student Advocate can provide independent advice and help when you need it.
Further information regarding the support provided by the Student Advocates can be found on the Advocacy Services website including FAQs. You can contact Student Advocacy Services via studentadvocacy@latrobe.edu.au. Their working hours are Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.
All students are also eligible for free and confidential Wellbeing Support Services.
The University also offers a number of relevant support programs to offer study support and help you develop your research, learning and teaching skills. Programs are offered by
- the Research Education and Development Team
- Research support from the Library
- La Trobe Learning and Teaching.
Your supervisor's responsibilities
Your supervisors are responsible for academic support throughout your candidature to enable you to achieve a high standard of research. Supervisors are either academic staff or people considered to have achieved distinction in a field of research.
You will also have a Principal supervisor and a Co-supervisor, and may have associate or external supervisors who have the same responsibility as other supervisors.
- Your supervisor will discuss the nature of your research, your choice of topic, your research program and its Milestones, and the availability of library resources in your field.
- You will need to maintain close and regular contact with your supervisor.
- Your supervisor will help you to access the resources you need for your research, and assist you with information about University requirements and procedures.
- Your supervisor will ask you for written work (and other work as appropriate for your research), often on a pre-arranged and agreed schedule.
- Your supervisor will provide you with feedback and will help you to develop solutions to problems as you identify them.
- You and your supervisor will discuss reports for your Research Progress Panel and your supervisor will provide feedback as part of your RPP meetings.
- Your supervisor will give you feedback on the content and drafts of your thesis and, at the time of submission, certify that your thesis is worthy of examination.
- Your supervisor may also provide career advice and other assistance as appropriate.
For more information, read the Supervision of Research Students Procedure [PDF 49.1KB].
Typical Milestones
Milestones are dates by which you plan to complete parts of your research, thesis and studies. Establish your own milestones and keep a record of them. Discuss them with your Research Progress Panels (RPPs) because they have experience of the time required to complete parts of research projects.
Some milestones have been established by the University for all HDR candidates.
Confirmation of Candidature
Confirmation of Candidature is an important milestone and is completed by full-time doctoral candidates about 12 months after commencement. It is required before one third of the time allowed for the degree has elapsed; that is the end of 16 months of a full-time PhD and 8 months of a full-time research masters. Confirmation of Candidature requires your Research Progress Panel's approval of your research proposal (or similar description of your research if proposals are not usual in your discipline e.g. some creative arts) and your more important milestones.
Ethics approval
If you have to apply for ethics approval then decide on some milestones for it; for example when you will complete the application and when you can expect to have your approval.
Significant work presentations
All HDR candidates now make significant work presentations. These are presentation to seminars (may be departmental) and conferences – local, national or international. The Three Minute Thesis Competition is not a significant work presentation but it is good for developing your skills. Reporting to your Research Progress Panel without a larger audience is also not adequate to meet this requirement.
Notice of Intention to Submit
Your Notice of Intention to Submit your completed thesis for examination, which is completed three months before the date you expect to do it, is another milestone. Some other common milestones are completing literature reviews, completing data collection and data analysis, completing fieldwork, writing each chapter and completing a first draft of your thesis.
Supervisor's absence
If your supervisor is on leave or away from your campus for an extended period of time (2 months for masters and 3 months for doctorates) you may need to change supervisors. It may be that your Co-supervisor will be your Principal Supervisor for that time or your may keep in touch with your supervisor by email, phone and other computer systems.
If the arrangements are not working or are inadequate in any way raise the problems with your supervisor and, if necessary, your Graduate Research Coordinator and School's Director of Graduate Research.
Download the Application to Vary Supervisor Details
Universities are places of safety and respect and all members of the graduate research community at La Trobe are entitled to pursue their research in a supportive environment free from discrimination, harassment, bullying, vilification, victimisation, violence and other forms of unacceptable behaviour.
This is true of all members of the La Trobe community. However, the relationship between a higher degree by research candidate and their supervisor/s is unique in that the relationship includes elements of both collegiality and instruction; in the closeness of the relationship over an extended period of time; and in the unique power imbalance between supervisor and candidate these factors represent.
Supervisors therefore have a responsibility to:
- be aware of their own behaviours
- to make sure they conduct appropriate relationships within the research community
- to actively contribute to a culture of respect and safety at La Trobe.
We emphasise that these responsibilities are central to the role of supervisor and researcher.
Graduate research candidates also have a responsibility to foster and participate in a culture which promotes these values and to treat both fellow graduate researchers, academic colleagues and all staff and students at La Trobe with respect.
The University expects all members of the graduate research community to adhere to these principles as well as to the various codes designed to promote and apply them, including:
- The Australian Code for the Conduct of Responsible Research
- The Code of Conduct
- The Workplace Behaviours Policy
- The Student Behaviours Policy
Everyone has a right to raise issues or to make an enquiry or complaint in a reasonable and respectful manner without being victimised.
If you have any concerns about a potential conflict of interest or are aware of inappropriate behaviour you should speak with your Head of School, contact HR Assist or consider referring to the University’s Safer Community service, who can also help to navigate sensitive conversations.
The purpose of collaboration
Research in a collaborating organisation has benefits for yourself as a candidate, the organisation and the University. It may provide you with the opportunity to do research that is not available anywhere else and will be an important step in your career, especially if you go on to be employed in research. The organisation you work with will benefit from your research and the University will further its research aims and teaching research. Collaborative relationships are an important part of the University's relationship with the wider community and research networks.
If you study for your research degree with a collaborating organisation, sometimes you may need to check that your work is clearly focused on your study, research project and your thesis that will be examined for your degree.
Agreements and requirements
Just as if you were studying on campus, you need to understand all arrangements for your research and study. The relationship between La Trobe and the outside organisation should be adequately explained to you.
You should meet the staff you will work with in both the collaborating organisation and the University before agreeing to the carry out the research project and completing your enrolment. You need to agree who will supervise your research and the membership of your Research Progress Panel, and consider the resources you will need and any issues of intellectual property and patents.
Undertaking research as part of a collaborative relationship does not change your degree – the same requirements, policies and provisions apply. Keep in mind that there may be policies and procedures that the collaborating organisation requires you to observe.
Supervisors, Research Progress Panels (RPP) and other staff
Your principal supervisor will be a member of the University staff. However, a staff member of the collaborating institution may be a co-supervisor who works closely with you and knows your work in detail.
Meeting and reporting to your RPP applies as if you were studying on campus. Your RPP will include a full-time staff member of La Trobe and the chair of your RPP may not be your supervisor.
Resources
Undertaking research as part of a collaboration with an outside organisation will usually involve that organisation providing resources for your research and study. These may include:
- office space and facilities including a computer
- laboratory or studio facilities and materials
- access to data, archival materials and the people/objects/materials that are focus of your research
- literature and library resources.
Before starting your project you need to know how the resources you will need will be made available to you and any restrictions on their use.
Ethics
If ethics approval is required, you must follow both the appropriate University procedure and the collaborating organisation's procedures for obtaining it. Find out more about:
Intellectual Property (IP) and Patents
The University does not normally have any claim to ownership of the intellectual property (IP) or inventions students create in the course of their studies and research.
Carrying out research with an outside organisation may require that you agree to assign your rights to Exploitable IP arising in the course of your research or studies. Exploitable IP is IP which may be the subject of Commercial Exploitation – generating financial or other commercial gains – by the University or collaborating organisation, including inventions, plant varieties and copyright in computer programs. An agreement about IP or patents should be explained to you and completed before you agree to the research project and your enrolment.
If you do not have an agreement about patents and exploitable IP and you make a discovery, you have an obligation to disclose it to the University in order to enable the University to examine the circumstances of the invention and to confirm that no other members of the University or the collaborating organisation (or any other third parties) have an interest in the invention.
Similarly, if your research involves confidential information you must agree to and observe the collaborating organisation's restrictions on its use.
Contact the Commercialisation Team for assistance.