Milestones and milestone meetings

Q. I’m due for a milestone attempt. What sort of milestone oral presentation do I need to make?

For your milestone attempts, you need to make an oral presentation.

This presentation needs to

  • take place at a La Trobe University forum, like a departmental seminar,
  • take place either as an adjunct to the milestone meeting or within a reasonable time period before the meeting, and
  • have at least one Progress Committee member attending.

It’s possible to give or attend the presentation via Zoom, Skype or video conference. If you are looking at presenting at an external forum, for example a national or international conference, your milestone presentation can take the format of a ‘practice run’ at La Trobe University.

If your area still needs to establish a departmental seminar program, you can contact your Graduate Research Coordinator.

Q. When and how can I postpone a milestone date?

You can apply to postpone a milestone date with the support of your supervisor and Graduate Research Coordinator.

You don’t need to apply to postpone your milestone date if you will submit the report within 20 working days of the due date.

Master’s by research candidates can request up to eight weeks (FTE) - doctoral candidates up to twelve weeks (FTE) postponement per milestone.

If you need extra time because of illness, carer responsibilities, or difficulties with supervision, you should consider applying for the appropriate variation to candidature such as a leave of absence, change in study rate or change in supervision. If a leave of absence or change in study rate is approved your maximum completion date, expected work submission date and any future milestone due dates will also be adjusted without the need to apply formally to postpone or extend these dates.

Q. I need to postpone my milestone date by 3 months. Will my final submission date also extend as a result?

You can apply to postpone each of your milestones by up to twelve weeks and your expected work submission date and future milestone dates will be adjusted  accordingly. A milestone postponement of more than 12 weeks will need approval from the Dean of Graduate Studies, and the amount by which your future milestone dates and expected work submission date will be extended will be at the discretion of the Dean.

Q. How do I postpone my expected work submission date?

Your expected work submission date will be postponed whenever a postponement to one of your milestones is approved (of up to 12 weeks for each milestone for doctoral candidates, or up to eight weeks for Master’s candidates).

If you experience progress delays after completing your final milestone (the pre-submission review), you can apply to postpone your expected work submission date up to your maximum completion date, with appropriate justification for the delay and satisfactory plans for completion.

To apply to postpone your expected work submission date, follow the instructions on the Graduate Research School website .

Your maximum completion date, expected work submission date and any future milestone due dates will also be adjusted if leave of absence or a change in study rate is approved without the need to apply formally to postpone or extend these dates.

Q. Do I need to complete my clinical placement before my final pre-submission milestone or submitting my thesis for examination?

Any compulsory clinical placements must be satisfactorily completed before your final pre-submission review milestone.

Q. I’ve been deemed ‘at risk.’ What happens now?

If your progress committee formally recommends that your project is at risk, you will receive a progress support plan template to work through with your supervisor. This plan will outline what you will need to know to succeed at your second milestone attempt. You will be supported throughout this period and can approach with your Graduate Research Coordinator, School's Director of Graduate Research or the Graduate Research School for advice. See also website for more information.

Q. I’ve been deemed ‘at risk’ and I’m not ready for my progress milestone meeting. What should I do?

You can apply to postpone your milestone due date – even if you have been placed at risk and are making a second attempt. The maximum postponement period from the initial milestone due date is twelve weeks (full-time equivalent) for doctoral candidates and eight weeks (full-time equivalent) for Master’s by research candidates.

If you need to take time off for reasons other than your academic progress, you can also apply for a leave of absence or change in study rate if appropriate and this will push out your milestone due dates. Note, however, that you may not carry out research while on leave and that many scholarships are not available to part-time candidates, so we don’t encourage you to take leave or change study rate for the purpose of working for more time towards the milestone.