Current Students

As a current postgraduate research student at UWTSD, the Doctoral College is here to support you through every step of your research journey.

In this section, you will find more information on:

PGR training and events
Doctoral processes and expectations
Contact details

PGR training and events

The Doctoral College runs an annual programme of research events and training sessions designed specifically to support PGR study. Our events and training are aligned with the Vitae Researcher Development Framework to ensure that you, as a PGR student, can develop essential skills as a researcher during your time at UWTSD. Details of upcoming events can be found below.

We update our events and training calendar on a regular basis to ensure you keep an eye on this page!

Doctoral processes and expectations

Whilst you study at UWTSD, you are required to complete several formal milestones as part of your studies, and the Doctoral College is here to support you through all these steps. The following provides general guidance and advice with further information available in the Code of Practice for Research Degrees.

Application and enrolment

Step 1:
Enrolment or progressing onto a research degree

As a new research student your first step is to complete the enrolment process. After you have accepted your offer of study through MyTSD, you will receive an email with information on how to enrol approximately two weeks before your studies begin. Upon enrolment you will be responsible for the payment of any fees.

For those progressing from a programme where they have completed the taught Part 1, you will automatically progress to Part 2. As part of the progression you need to re-enrol into Part 2 of your studies.

For Part 2 students the nomination form for your supervisory team (PG3) needs to also be completed and approved to ensure that the correct staff are allocated to support your research project.

You must enrol each year. Enrolment occurs on an annual basis on the anniversary of your course start date. When you are contacted by the University to re-enrol for your studies please do so, as a failure to follow this process can lead to you being withdrawn from your programme of study.

Step 2:
Enrolment or progressing onto a research degree

As part of the process of getting started, you will be expected to attend an induction event from both your Institute and the Doctoral College. These will either be held in person or online. These induction sessions aim to provide you with important information about your Institute as well as introducing you to the doctoral processes. They can be a good opportunity to learn more about the expectations of doctoral students as well as meet staff and fellow students.

Expectations

To ensure that you and those around you have the best experience possible as a PGR at UWTSD you will be responsible for meeting the following university expectations throughout your period of study:

To annually enrol with the University on the anniversary of your course start date. You will also need to re-enrol when moving from Part 1 to Part 2 of your studies. Partner students will complete enrolment with their primary institution only, not UWTSD;
To pay all fees required to the University;
To be in regular contact with your supervisory team (more below);
To ensure that the ﬁnal version of your thesis is submitted by the maximum submission date;
To follow the requirements for thesis submission;
To make your supervisory team aware of any speciﬁc needs or circumstances which may aﬀect your work;
To familiarise yourself with the University regulations and guidelines, processes and procedures for doctoral study;
To complete all necessary forms and processes used by the University to monitor progress;
To take ownership of your research plan and your training needs;
To attend any mandatory training sessions/lectures/seminars/workshops that make up part of your research programme.

Milestones

Milestone	Form Prefix	When required
Full research proposal	PG1	FT – Within 3 months after registration PT – 6 months after registration
Ethical approval	PG2	FT- 6 months after registration PT – 12 months after registration
Annual progress review	PG5	On request each year of study (or sooner if deemed necessary)
Probation panel *if enrolled on a PhD programme only	PG7	FT – no later than 18 months after initial registration PT – no later than 36 months after initial registration
Record of supervisory meetings	PG4	After each supervisory meeting

Full research proposal

You will be required to complete a full research proposal (PG1) and submit it to the MYTSD Portal for approval by your supervisory team, the Institute Research Committee and the Research Degrees Committee. This proposal should include a fully developed research proposal including methodology and timescales for completion. This is an important step in helping you ensure you have an adequate plan for progression through your study.

Ethical approval

As part of your doctoral studies, you will be required to gain ethical approval for your research. Once your full research proposal has been approved, the next step is to gain ethical approval. Your ethics form (PG2) will need to be submitted via the MyTSD Portal once your research proposal (PG1) has been approved. Although not a long process, you should allow adequate time for your ethics to be approved and it should be included in your work plan.

Your supervisory team is available to help guide you through this process and the Doctoral College works with the Research Degrees Committee to host regular training and drop-in sessions for PGRs throughout the year.

Annual progress review

You will need to complete an annual review (PG5) each year which will be monitored by the Research Degrees Committee. This form is submitted via the MyTSD Portal. This process is the opportunity for the University to check in on progress with your studies. For more details, including outcomes from progress review, please refer to the Code of Practice for Research Degrees documentation.

Probational panel (PhD only)

Students on a PhD programme will be enrolled in the first instance on a probationary period of study. In order to end the probation period, all PhD students will be required to successfully undergo a probation panel.

As part of the panel, it is expected that students will submit a sample of their work and are expected to demonstrate their ability to carry out their research project to completion. When a probation panel is due, the Doctoral College Office will be in contact directly with students.

To see the full details on processes and regulations relating to research degrees, check out the Code of Practice for Research Degrees and the Academic Quality Handbook.

Contact details

Your supervisory team will be the best point of contact for any academic questions of information but we also understand it can be difficult to know who to contact about specific issues within the university, so the below list is designed to help you navigate to the best placed groups or individuals to support you.

The Doctoral College team – doctoral.college@uwtsd.ac.uk

For advice on doctoral processes and milestones contact the Doctoral College Office at pgresearch@uwtsd.ac.uk

For advice on enrolment or registration contact PGR registry at registrypgr@uwtsd.ac.uk

For IT issues, including using the MyTSD Doctoral College Portal contact the IT helpdesk.

For any wellbeing support, please visit the university’s Student Support and Wellbeing pages.

To speak to someone regarding careers support, you can contact the PGR careers advise Melanie Hall at m.hall@uwtsd.ac.uk

If you’re not sure who to contact, just drop the Doctoral College team an email and we will be happy to help.