M.A., M.Sc., Ph.D.., SUPERVISION, PROGRESS AND EXAMINATION
Graduate Supervision Policy
Student research work will be supervised by a supervisory committee with a minimum of two staff, one will serve as the principal supervisor, but with an option to have additional members.
The acceptance of graduate students into the programs is a School matter and the Postgraduate Committee could be involved in reviewing applications and proposed supervisory arrangements.
The student will meet with the full supervisory committee at least once every six months, and a written record of that meeting be kept.
Meetings with supervisors should at the minimum be as specified in the Faculty of Arts Research Student Induction Handbook (once every month).
The following outline of the main steps in a doctoral students program is suggested:
Induction
- Meet with supervisor
- Meet the Graduate Coordinator to discuss the nature of the graduate program and administrative arrangements. Depending on the number of students, at the beginning of the first semester and of the second semester, the Graduate Coordinator may run a short induction program for all new students. The Graduate Coordinator will meet with each student individually, however.
- Assignment of a student mentor to help with induction into the School.
Guidelines for Confirmation of Candidature
The confirmation of candidature process
will occur in the first third of candidature. The purpose of this
process is primarily to assist the student in the timely and appropriate
development of the literature review, articulation and justification
of the research question and the methodological approach to the topic,
which will form the basis for the first chapters of the thesis.
In both the seminar and the report, emphasis should be placed
on outlining a clear conceptual framework within which the candidate's
topic sits and on explaining clearly why it is important to pursue
this research direction. This will involve an exposition of the current
state of knowledge in the research area and/or the debates within
it as well as the potential outcomes of the candidate's research.
In the seminar, in particular, the relevance of the research to knowledge
in general, as well as to the particular disciplinary area, should
be explained. It is important to remember that pursuing a postgraduate
research topic requires student sto identify and focus on a particular
gap in knowledge and to explore this in great detail. While this
is a key element of gaining a postgraduate degree, it will only have
real meaning to the student and to the academic world in general
if it is appropriately constructed in the broader context of academic
debate and real world situations. Therefore, it is particularly important
that by this stage of candidature, the student has come to grips
with the full background of the research question, its significance
and what methods will be used to answer the questions. It is not
necessarily expected that all candidates will have preliminary results
which will inform the research questions - this will depend on the
particular research area. In all cases, however, it is expected that
the report and seminar will demonstrate that students have applied
themselves diligently and effectively to their research.
Process and Timing
Each candidate should
give the seminar and write and submit the report before the due date
to allow time for the School to assess progress before reporting
to Monash Research Graduate School/Faculty. We recommend that a draft
report is discussed with the supervisor prior to final submission.
The final report should be handed to the School's Postgraduate
Administrator in triplicate at least TWO weeks before the deadline
indicated on the letter the candidate has received from MRGS/Faculty.
Assessment of both the report and the seminar is done by a
panel consisting of the supervisor(s), another member of academic
staff, familiar with the research topic, and the Postgraduate Coordinator.
This panel will meet briefly prior to meeting with the candidate
to discuss progress. The Panel will write a short report on the candidate's
progress and forward that to MRGS/Faculty with the candidate's
report. This brief report will subsequently be sent to the candidate.
In the rare instance of candidature not being able to be confirmed,
further discussions will take place between the Panel and the candidate
to determine a suitable course of action.
Details of requirements
In all cases, forms are sent to students 3 months in advance of the deadline for the School to send it to the Faculty Office.
For PhD : | |
| Full-time | - after 12 months |
| Part-time | - after 24 months |
|
For MA: | |
| Full-time | - after 6 months |
| Part-time | - after 12 months |
|
For MSci: |
|
| First 3 months | a detailed research plan |
| 9-12 months | a progress report |
MEnvSc (66% research) (new degree): | |
| Full-time | - 3 months after commencement of the research component |
| Part-time | - 6 months after commencement of the research component |
| |
Progress Reports
Progress Reports are submitted to Research Training and Support Branch annually. The School has a separate requirement of six monthly statements of progress and planning, to involve members of the supervisory committee.
Faculty of Arts policy now regards all Ph.D. candidates as provisional, subject to confirmation based upon a major written presentation at the end of first year.
Seminars
There is regular seminar series in the School featuring staff, students and visitors. Graduate students are encouraged to attend these seminars. Other small discussion groups within closely related researchers are organised within the School.
Completion and Examination
There are Faculty and University regulations concerning number of copies of theses, and binding style. This information is available in the Doctoral Information Handbook.
Details of the examination process are also outlined in that publication.