Getting the most from HDR milestones

Assoc Prof Suellen Murray

DSC HDR Director

11 March 2015

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Overview• Milestones and candidature

• Milestones timing and timely completion

• Preparation for milestone reviews

• Milestone review panel member selection

• Monitoring progress through supervision

Candidature milestones- Break candidature into chunks of time at important stages in the research and writing processes when progress can be assessed

- Provide opportunities for review of candidate progress by those external to supervision team

- Ensure the timely offer of support – to candidates and supervisors

Their successful completion produces a sense of achievement for all parties

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Milestones timing and timely completion (FT PhD)

Confirmation - within first yearMid candidature - within 2 yearsCompletion - within 3 yearsSubmission - within 6 months of completion seminar

So we are aiming for timely completions of 3.5 years. Untimely completions are more than 4 years.

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Getting started• Inform your candidates of candidature time

frames at your first supervision meeting. • Tell them what they need to have done to

achieve each milestone. • Work towards achieving these milestones

through structuring your supervision sessions to meet these milestones.

• Remind them what they need to have done to achieve each milestone.

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Getting cracking– Encourage your candidates to get cracking in

the first year. – Get them to decide on their topic and focus, as

soon as possible. Assist them to get to this point.

– Tailor the project to the time you have available.

– Discuss with them principles of ethical research and introduce the need for ethics approval (if applicable) from the beginning

– Aim to get to confirmation well within the first year.

Preparation for a milestone• Your candidates will know what they need to have done

by each milestone and will be working towards this point of progress

• Provide guidance and written feedback on the written work they are submitting

• Guide their use of powerpoint• Advise on verbal presentation skills and preview their

presentation; suggest they attend a workshop on this • If they are involved in peer support groups they could

do a test run there• Suggest they attend milestones of other candidates in

advance of their own

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Giving feedback• Have regular and frequent supervision meetings

– book meetings in advance • When giving feedback

– Be as clear as possible, verbally and in writing– Discuss what is the most useful form of

feedback on written work – track changes or hand written

– Provide the ‘right’ feedback at the right time – e.g., detailed editing, big picture argument, specific content

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Milestone panels

• At each of the milestones supervisors have the benefit of 2 experts who read the candidate’s work - chair and independent member - as well as comments from audience members. 

• Senior and associate supervisors in any combination or time percentage must read and provide feedback on documentation for milestones.

• These are likely to be very constructive interventions and aids to timely completions.

Panel selection– Having critical review of your candidate’s work

is necessary and can be very helpful– External reviewers can be appointed – from

other Schools or elsewhere (but be aware of need for category 1)

– Consider the expertise of panel members that would most benefit:• Specific content knowledge• Broader disciplinary knowledge and experience• Methodological expertise

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Monitoring progress through supervision

• Regular supervision meetings also provide a forum for monitoring progress– For all candidates, but especially those who are part-

time, it’s a long time between milestones• Monitoring

research progress through supervision meetings instruction

• Document supervision meetings – request that the candidate routinely provides notes on the meeting and a list of agreed actions, to which you accept, add or change, and confirm

• If there are concerns with progress, seek advice from your HDR coordinator

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Leave of Absence (LOA)– Candidates have up to a year of LOA within their

candidature, with justification. – Pre-confirmation, LOA is subject to SGR approval. – If there is a reason for ongoing lack of progress -

illness, family illness, work pressure etc - take action.  (Don’t wait for the milestone.) Use LOA and seek its approval ASAP.

– Retrospective LOA is problematic because it affects enrolment across time. 

– What this means is being on the case. Knowing what is happening with your candidates and taking action in a timely manner.