Cultural Studies - Melbourne School of Graduate Research PhD Confirmation Report (9-12 months EFT; 18-24 months part-time)
Your PhD Confirmation Report will be mailed to you by MSGR. Sample forms are available online at http://www.gradstudies.unimelb.edu.au/currentpg/forms/)
Purpose of confirmation
Confirmation Process
Confirmation Reporting Requirements
Extension of Probationary Candidature
Formal Warning of Unsatisfactory Progress
Advice on preparing your Confirmation Report
Draft chapter
Assessment of Confirmation Reports
Confirmation is a key point in candidature. Its purpose is to determine whether or not work to date on the PhD research proposal indicates a strong likelihood that it will result in a high quality thesis, completed in the required time. PhD candidates are first admitted as 'probationary' candidates, except those who have converted from a Masters by Research, or in some cases, have transferred from RHD enrolment at another institution.
Probationary candidature is normally for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 12 months (or 12 and 24 months for part-time students) ending once candidature is confirmed. After 6 months (full-time) enrolment the School of Graduate Research sends a Confirmation Report Form to prompt the candidate to commence preparation for the confirmation process.
Purpose of confirmation:
- to assess progress to date and the academic preparedness of the candidate to complete;
- to determine whether the candidate has developed a clearly defined, coherent and feasible research project and contribute suggestions for its successful completion;
- to determine that any specific requirements for confirmation of candidature have been met;
- to provide an opportunity for the candidate to demonstrate written and oral presentation skills appropriate to PhD level study; and
- to publicly acknowledge a major milestone in the project and inform others about the research project.
Confirmation Process
- For confirmation, each candidate is required to: prepare a report of 2000 words and submit a chapter of 8000–10 000 words (details below);
- make an oral presentation on the project of 20-30 minutes duration (allowing time for questions) in a departmental postgraduate seminar or similar forum;
- verbally defend the proposed research project with the Confirmation Committee. During the defence, the Confirmation Committee will assess the feasibility and resource requirements of the proposed project and offer suggestions towards its successful completion;
- have met any special requirements noted at enrolment and necessary for confirmation.
Confirmation Reporting Requirements
1. MSGR Confirmation Report Form
2. A 2000 word Report on Research Program (requested on page 4 of MSGR Confirmation Report Form) consisting of:
- a concise statement of the research question(s),
- a critical summary and analysis of relevant literature,
- as appropriate to the discipline of study, an explanation of the conceptual framework to be used and/or a summary of experimental methods and equipment requirements,
- a summary of progress to date including preliminary data, resources developed etc.,
- an argument for the relevance and importance of the study,
- a proposed schedule and timeline for the phases of the study, including a date for submission, which should be on or before the date determined by MSGR
- a brief bibliography (not included in the word count), and
- a list of publications produced or presentations made during probationary candidature,
- if applicable, a fieldwork plan and budget (note: Faculty of Arts students must submit the fieldwork plan and budget to the Faculty of Arts to be eligible for fieldwork funding after confirmation.)
3. A draft chapter or two amounting to 8000–10 000 words
4. Additional Reporting requirements requested by the School:
- A detailed chapter plan
- Identification of resource requirements other than fieldwork funding
- Identification of any difficulties experienced during the period under review
- Research Ethics application (if applicable)
Note: Creative Writing postgraduates should devote equal space in their reports to describing the scholarly and creative halves of their proposed PhD projects. The report must include a clear description of how the two halves constitute a coherent, integrated, innovative project of research and writing. The 10,000-word sample of completed writing submitted by Creative Writing postgraduates should be divided evenly between scholarly and creative writing.
Note: The 10 000-word sample of completed work submitted by Creative Arts students should represent both the scholarly and creative components, in consultation with their supervisor. Note the following extract from the University’s Guidelines for Examiners of PhD theses in Creative Arts:
Relationship between Dissertation and Creative Work
Examiners should note that the dissertation and the creative work should be considered as complementary, mutually reinforcing parts of a single project. The candidate may argue, however, that the relationship between the two parts contributes to the originality and creativity of the whole.
The dissertation should not simply describe the creative work and how it was undertaken. While it will often include information on the materials and methodology used and elucidate the creative work and place it in an artistic, intellectual and / or cultural context, the dissertation must answer to the requirement of every PhD research thesis that it make an original contribution to knowledge.
The Confirmation Reports and draft should be prepared in close consultation with the supervisor. The candidate should submit three copies of the report (but only one copy of the form) to the disciplinary Research Coordinator.
Extension of Probationary Candidature
An email request for extension (of up to a maximum of 3 months full-time or 6 months part-time) should be sent on behalf of the Confirmation Committee by the Supervisor, Research Coordinator or Head of School.
The request must set a new confirmation due date and be accompanied by a statement from the department giving detailed reasons as to why the extension is required. Requests for extensions of more than 3 months full-time or 6 months part-time would need to be documented carefully and presented as a special case.
Formal Warning of Unsatisfactory Progress
The Confirmation Committee may request a formal warning of unsatisfactory progress notification. On receipt of the formal warning, the Chair, Research Higher Degrees Committee, will issue a written warning to the candidate stating that at the expiration of three months from the date of issue of the warning they intend to - (a) terminate the student's candidature; or (b) make such changes to the student's candidature as are specified in the warning (eg. convert to Masters).
The Confirmation Committee can notify MSGR at any time during this 3 month period that the candidate has demonstrated satisfactory progress and the candidate would then be considered as confirmed. However, at the end of the 3 month period, if the Confirmation Committee determines that sufficient progress has not been made, MSGR is notified and the candidature is terminated or such changes made as specified in the warning, eg. converted to Masters.
Advice on preparing your Confirmation Report:
In composing the report on your thesis, you may find it helpful to think of it as answering the following questions:
- what is your primary research question?
- why is it an important question to ask?
- has anyone asked it before? If so, what conclusions have they reached?
- how are you going to answer your question?
In formulating answers to these questions you will have begun drafting the introduction to your thesis (e.g., the answer to question 3 will constitute a ‘literature review’, and the answer to question 4 will be your ‘methodology’).
A research thesis must make an original contribution to knowledge and / or understanding in its field; this means conceiving of your project as an intervention in an existing scholarly debate, and making a fresh contribution to scholarship in the field. Your project description therefore needs to indicate, clearly, what your thesis will be doing (or arguing) that has not been done (or argued) before. It is not sufficient, for example, to say that you are ‘interested in looking at’ this or ‘examining’ that; your Advisory Committee (and, eventually, your examiners) will want to know what questions you are asking of your material and what hypotheses / arguments you will be developing in the thesis.
Draft chapter
The school expects the draft chapter submitted with confirmation reports to begin to put the central argument and methodological approaches of the thesis into practice. It need not aim for broad coverage: the quality of the engagement with specific topics, issues and key texts is the most important thing. Its presentation (including prose style, formatting, referencing etc.) will also be an important indication of the professionalism of your work.
Assessment of Confirmation Reports
The Supervisors will write short (1-page) reports on the Confirmation application, present them to the candidate before the meeting and discuss them with the candidate at the meeting. Following discussion with the student at the meeting, the Committee will make one of the following recommendations:
- that candidature be confirmed;
- that probationary candidature be extended (for a maximum of three months) to allow the student to revise and resubmit the application;
- that the thesis be completed as a Masters rather than PhD thesis;
- that candidature be terminated.
The third and fourth recommendations are made only when the Committee believes there is little or no prospect of the project being successfully completed as a PhD thesis.
Confirmation meetings should be as supportive as possible of the postgraduate’s work. Criticism should be constructive and presented positively whenever possible. However, part of the Committee’s job is to anticipate the kinds of criticisms that examiners might make of the conception, scope or methodology of the research project, and to suggest ways of addressing or circumventing such criticisms. It is therefore important that the student recognise the constructive spirit in which any criticisms of the application are made and be willing to learn from them. Like the student, the Committee (which has extensive experience of PhD supervision and examinations) wants to ensure the successful completion and examination of the thesis.