Information for Research Supervisors
Here you can find IoO specific information on the IoO PhD programme. This will be useful for research supervisors.
All supervisors should remain up to date with UCL regulations. The main resources are;
- The UCL Academic Manual, particularly Chapter 5
- Guidance on Appropriate Forms of Supervision of Research Degree Students
- The Good Supervision Guide
- Graduate Research Degrees Code of Practice
- Doctoral School Handbook
These resources are updated annually. This is plenty of other important guides which can be found here https://www.grad.ucl.ac.uk/essinfo/.
Student Recruitment Guidance
The IoO has created specific student recruitment guidance to assist supervisors with the recruitment process. All supervisors should read this guidance prior to applying for a PhD studentship grant or accepting a student.
The guidance can be found below. Please contact the Research Degrees Manger ioo.pgr@ucl.ac.uk if require any further assistance.
UCL Staff need to apply for supervisor status prior to accepting to supervise a prospective research student. This is to ensure that staff are experienced and understand what it means to be an effective supervisor.
Criteria to be a UCL subsidiary supervisor:
- Must be a member of UCL staff
- Must have completed the relevant training:
- Introduction to Research Supervision (mandatory for all staff)
- Developing as a UCL Supervisor (mandatory for staff with no prior supervision experience)
- Must have an employment contract (honorary, fixed term or permanent) that extends beyond the end of Completing Research Status (CRS) for any proposed research degree candidate (or confirmation that you will*)
- Must be research active (e.g. have publications or grant income) and possess expertise in the relevant field.
- Must be familiar with UCL policies
Criteria to be a UCL principal supervisor (in addition to above):
- Must have experience of supervising at least one student through to a research degree award at UCL or elsewhere
- Preferably have undertaken further training e.g. Arena Research Supervision Programme
If the staff member meets all criteria, the EROS application form (see below) will need to be completed and sent through to the Research Degrees Manager (ioo.pgr@ucl.ac.uk) along with their CV and training certificate for departmental and faculty approval.
*If their contract ends before the end of CRS for the proposed research degree candidate, a confirmation letter/email from their line manager will be required to explain that an honorary contract will be given if the current contract is not extended. This is to ensure effective and continuous supervision. Research degree programmes including CRS years are four years for full-time students and seven years for part-time students.
If the staff member is external to UCL, they must apply for a UCL honorary contract (please contact hr.ioo@ucl.ac.uk for further guidance) and complete the above steps for the relevant supervisor status before they are eligible to be a supervisor to the prospective PhD student.
It is recommended that all supervisors set clear expectations with their research student as soon as they start their degree. Research supervisors should meet with their students on a one-to-one basis preferably once per week but at least once per month to check their progress. Any feedback on written work e.g. MPhil/PhD upgrade report and thesis chapters, should be provided to the student within one month. If a supervisor has a student concern, this should be raised with the relevant DGT immediately. Please read the Good Supervision Guide for further guidance.
Thesis Committees
Thesis Committees (TCs) have been effective in the School of Life and Medical Sciences since September 2019, and it is mandatory for all PhD students.
The TC panel members should be appointed by the supervisors and student in conjunction. The supervisors should actively assist in contacting the panel members for the TC meetings and explain expectations of the TC. TCs consist of the student, the subsidiary supervisor (chair) and one other suitable member who is external from the supervisors’ research team. The committee will meet four times throughout the PhD to ensure that the student’s research is on track for a PhD award – could be more often depending on the student.
Although it is the student’s responsibility to organise the TCs, the supervisory team should step in if any issues arise.
The full thesis committee guidance can be found in this document.
MPhil to PhD Upgrade
The MPhil to PhD upgrade is a mid-point examination to ensure that the student is progressing towards a PhD award.
The upgrade must take place within the following windows: 9-18 months from enrolment for full-time students or 15-24 months from enrolment for part-time students. The upgrade panel should consist of the subsidiary supervisor (chair) and one independent academic (examiner) who is ideally external to the thesis committee. The principal supervisor may be present at the upgrade viva, if requested by the student, but should withdraw whilst the panel makes their decision. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to appoint the upgrade examiner and liaise with them to organise the upgrade. The principal supervisor must write a report on the student’s progress and submit to the upgrade panel prior to the upgrade. The student must write and submit an upgrade report to the upgrade panel at least two weeks in advance of the upgrade viva, after having received feedback from the supervisory team. Members of the upgrade panel are not eligible to participate as an examiner for the final PhD thesis and viva.
Once the viva is complete, the upgrade panel form, principal supervisor’s report and upgrade checklist must be completed and sent to the Research Degrees Manager (ioo.pgr@ucl.ac.uk). The Research Degrees Manager will obtain DGT approval and update the student’s record from MPhil to PhD.
If the student does not meet the criteria for upgrade, they will have a second opportunity to upgrade within six months of the first upgrade attempt. If necessary, the supervisor will set up a learning agreement in conjunction with the DGT. If the student does not pass the second upgrade attempt, then they will remain registered for an MPhil. For an MPhil, the student can submit their MPhil thesis after two years of enrolment and if writing up, the student can enter CRS after 3 years of enrolment.
More information can be found here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/students/status/research-students/upgrade
Final Exam
At the end of a student’s research degree, they will be required to submit a thesis and undertake a viva to at least two independent examiners. The student will need to submit an exam entry form via Portico and this form will be sent to the principal supervisor and DGT for approval. Finally, it is sent to the Research Degrees office for processing. The student will receive a confirmation email once approved. This process takes approximately 7-10 working days but it is dependent on timely responses from the supervisor and DGT. The student can submit their thesis via UCL Dropbox to researchdegrees@ucl.ac.uk once the exam entry has been approved. If a student has been affected by COVID-19 then a covid-19 impact form (see below) can be submitted alongside the thesis.
The student will also need to submit an examiner nomination form (see below) to the Research Degrees Manager ioo.pgr@ucl.ac.uk for processing. The examiner nomination form logs student and supervisor information, thesis description, nominated examiners’ details and explanation(s) of any conflicts of interests between the examiners, supervisors, or student. It is the principal supervisor’s responsibility to nominate appropriate examiners and send the form. The student should not have any contact with their examiners prior to the viva. The Research Degrees Manager will complete any departmental checks and obtain DGT approval before sending to the Research Degrees office for more thorough checks.
It is recommended to complete and submit the exam entry and examiner nomination form at least four months prior to the expected thesis submission date. The minimum timeframe for processing of straightforward examiner nomination forms is approximately two months within the Research Degrees office. If an examiner needs to be changed, there is still time to nominate a new examiner prior to the thesis submission date.
The exam entry form and examiner nomination form are valid for 18 months.
All research students are required to continue their learning throughout their degree so the Doctoral Skills Development programme (DocSkills) was created to provide professional development and research training courses. Supervisors should encourage students to take any training which is available to them. These courses can be booked via Inkpath with the student’s UCL log in details.
Any courses, workshops, conferences, teaching etc. will contribute to training points. All PhD students must obtain 20 training points per year. Training points are recorded via the Research Log. Any courses booked through Inkpath will be automatically uploaded onto the Research Log for training points. Any ad-hoc departmental or external courses will need to be manually entered on the Research Log. In general, 1–4-hour course = 1-point, full day course = 2 points.
The Research Log is also used to record student progress and requires to be regularly updated by the student. Supervisors will have access to view their student’s Research Log and will need to sign off their entries.
It is a requirement for the department to monitor the engagement of all student visa holders within the IoO. The Research Degrees Manager will contact the student visa holder and their primary supervisor to seek confirmation of engagement monthly. More information and the types of acceptable engagement can be found on the Tier 4/Student visa Engagement Monitoring guidance Temporary policy in response to Covid-19 document.