Confirmation of PhD candidature
Normally PhD candidates are first admitted as 'probationary' candidates. Probationary candidature is for a minimum of 9 months and a maximum of 12 months (or 18 and 24 months for part-time students) except where an extension is officially approved. The School of Graduate Studies sends the Confirmation Report Form to the candidate after 8 months (full-time) probationary candidature. This signals the start of the confirmation process.
A Centre for Health and Society confirmation committee is appointed for each candidate. It will comprise the candidate’s supervisory board (principal supervisor and co-supervisor(s)), and the Director of the Centre or nominated senior member of academic staff. The committee member who is not on the candidate’s supervisory board will chair the committee. Probationary candidates will be advised prior to the confirmation meeting of the composition of their Confirmation Committee. The committee will meet with the candidate prior to the end of the probationary period for a confirmation meeting.
For confirmation, each candidate is required to produce at least 10, 000 words of written work of doctoral standard. This must be distributed to the Confirmation Committee at least 2 weeks before the Confirmation meeting.
This 10, 000 wds document will comprise:
• Progress research report (up to 2,000 words) which will include:
o Statement of the research question
o Methods to be used to address this research question
o Research progress to date
o Problems and issues encountered
o Timeline for remainder of the research
• Written report of approximately 8,000 words. The purpose of this is to:
o Demonstrate an understanding of the background and context of the research
o Show that the candidate has read and understood the relevant literature
o Provide a critical assessment of this literature
o Demonstrate that the candidate has begun to develop an original line of research inquiry
This written work may form draft material for one or more chapters of the thesis. This written work should be prepared in consultation with the principal supervisor and the exact form of this 8,000 words should be negotiated with the principal supervisor.
In addition the candidate will give an oral presentation of the project to the Confirmation Committee and any invited attendees. The presentation should also be open to interested staff and students from the School of Population Health. The oral presentation should be approx 20-30 mins with 20 mins for questions and discussion. The content of the oral presentation should be negotiated with the principal supervisor; normally the presentation would be an overview of the project and report on the progress to date. The Chair of the Confirmation Committee is responsible for chairing this part of the meeting, making the process of the Confirmation meeting clear to those invited.
The next part of the confirmation process is for the candidate to discuss and respond to questions and comments about the written report with the Confirmation Committee (invited others not present). During the discussion, the Confirmation Committee will assess the feasibility and resource requirements of the proposed project and offer suggestions towards its successful completion. The discussion will also cover the candidate’s needs, adequacy and level of supervision received, and any problems encountered during probationary candidature.
In the majority of cases the Confirmation Committee will make a recommendation to confirm candidature. However the Confirmation Committee also has the power to recommend:
• extension of the probationary candidature to a specified date,
• convert to a Masters by research, or
• termination of candidature
Grounds for not recommending confirmation of candidature can be found under Prescription 6 under Regulation R3.60 governing the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (see Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Handbook – Appendix B)
The candidate must bring the Confirmation Report Form to the Confirmation Committee. The candidate is required to sign the Confirmation Report Form after completion of the Confirmation Committee's section. The form is then signed by the Head of Department and is then sent to SGS to formally request confirmation.
If no application for confirmation is received by the School of Graduate Studies, the candidature and any scholarship held terminates at the end of the probationary period.