Confirmation Seminar

Policy and Procedure

Requirements for candidates with various qualifications

  1. Candidates initially enrolled in a Research Methods course are required to complete the Masters Confirmation of Candidature;

  2. Candidates enrolled in a research Masters degree normally have up to four months full-time (or equivalent) to have their candidature confirmed;

  3. Candidates initially enrolled in a Research Methods course are required to complete six months of full-time or (equivalent) research Masters enrolment after their candidature is confirmed, before an upgrade to PhD candidature can be requested;

  4. Other candidates enrolling in a Masters by Research degree aspiring to upgrade to PhD candidature are permitted to undertake confirmation of provisional PhD candidature after six months of full-time (or equivalent) enrolment in the Masters degree. Full PhD candidature may be confirmed, with evidence of satisfactory progress, after six months full-time or twelve months part-time provisional candidature;

  5. Candidates enrolled in a research Doctoral degree normally have up to six months full-time (or equivalent) to have their candidature confirmed.

Objectives

Confirmation of Candidature is a formative process for candidates. It is an opportunity:

  1. To facilitate timely completion of research higher degrees by assisting candidates to focus and plan their research in a scholarly context;

  2. To increase the quality of postgraduate research by providing candidates with public feedback during the planning stage of their research;

  3. To facilitate the acquisition of research skills essential to effective researchers:

    • seminar presentation;

    • proposal writing;

    • scholarly writing appropriate to the discipline;

  4. To ensure that adequate infrastructure, supervision arrangements and funds are in place for the candidate to complete the thesis in a timely, safe and ethical manner.

Communicating Research: Skills for International Postgraduates (SKIP)

International students are required to complete the SKIP Program in the first six months of enrolment. This research-based, structured language and learning program assists students to produce the research documents the University requires for confirmation of candidature as well as to rehearse their confirmation seminars.

Ethical Research Practice

All candidates are required to attend a workshop on ethical research practice (or to complete an equivalent on-line module) as part of their research skills program and as a condition of their Confirmation of Candidature. There are several acceptable workshop options including workshops offered by the School of Indigenous Australian Studies. Depending on the nature of their project, candidates may also be required to attend specialist workshops on Animal, Human and/or Indigenous Ethics.

Procedures

  1. The Graduate Research School will advise each Head of School of the date on which the Confirmation of Candidature of each research higher degree candidate in their School is due through the monthly Head of School reports;

  2. The person with the responsibility for organizing Confirmation of Candidature seminars in the School should contact candidates and their Primary Advisor at least one month before the due date to confirm they are ready to proceed with the Seminar. The seminar must be attended by all members of the candidate's Advisory Committee (or nominees). If the Research Student Monitor is not available, the Primary Advisor should inform the Graduate Research School when a substitute has been arranged. Other persons should be encouraged to attend unless this is precluded by a confidentiality agreement with industry partner(s).

  3. If the candidate is unable to deliver the seminar in person, two alternatives are permissible:

    • The seminar is delivered by videoconference;

    • The candidate provides a video of their seminar presentation (PAL format) to the Director of Research Training (if applicable) or PLO. The video is viewed by the Committee in the normal manner. The candidate is then questioned at a pre-arranged time by teleconference;

  4. Teleconference alone is not permissible.

  5. The candidate, through the Primary Advisor and the Head of School should send copies of the project proposal 1 (of at least 2,000-words) at least one week in advance of the Seminar, to the candidate's Research Student Monitor and to the Graduate Research School;

  6. Aperson with the appropriate expertise will be asked to check the design of the project and any associated statistics as outlined in the project proposal to ensure that the project design is robust. The legitimacy of using qualitative methodology will be respected;

  7. The candidate must also submit a substantive piece or pieces of scholarly writing and/or substantive progress towards artistic work related to the research as specified by the Head of School, to the Primary Advisor and the Head of School for approval at least one week before the scheduled seminar. The nature of the substantive piece or pieces of scholarly writing and/or artistic work related to the research is flexible and may include a literature review or papers published and related to the research as appropriate to the discipline.

  8. The candidate must rehearse the seminar presentation with the assistance of the Advisory Team. The rehearsal process will be checked by the candidate's Advisory Committee as part of the process of assessing the seminar;

  9. At the Seminar, the School’s Director of Research Training (if applicable) or PLO will chair the proceedings, introduce the Research Student Monitor to the candidate and, if necessary explain the function of the Seminar. The Seminar should last at least 30 minutes and up to 30 minutes should be allowed for question time. The School’s Director of Research Training (if applicable) or PLO should distribute appraisal reports to the Advisory Committee.

Assessment

  1. The Advisory Committee should meet with the candidate after the seminar to review the candidate’s progress and to provide feedback on the project proposal, Advisory arrangements and resources available;

  2. The candidate's performance in all aspects of the Confirmation of Candidature process should be formally evaluated by the members of the candidate's Advisory Committee in a combined report to the Dean of Graduate Research Studies, through the Graduate Research School;

  3. Assessment for Confirmation of Candidature should be undertaken on the basis of the written project proposal, the seminar presentation and the completed additional scholarly written work specified by the School;

  4. Final approval for Confirmation of Candidature will not be granted until any required ethics approval that is integral to the project has been obtained;

  5. If difficulties with academic writing skills are identified during the Confirmation of Candidature evaluation process, the Advisory Committee may recommend that the candidate be encouraged, through the Graduate Research School, to participate in the academic writing skills program;

  6. If there are ongoing concerns about the candidate’s capacity to undertake a research higher degree in which she/he is enrolled, the Dean of Graduate Research Studies may request that an independent viva be held. The viva should be conducted by a senior member of the candidate’s school (or other person with appropriate expertise) in the presence of the Deputy Dean of Graduate Research Studies (or nominee). Both people should have no prior knowledge of the candidate’s presentation or the concerns raised by the Advisory Committee. Each should submit a separate report to the Dean of Graduate Research Studies;

  7. If there are ongoing concerns about the suitability of the proposed research for the research higher degree in which the candidate is enrolled, the Dean of Graduate Research Studies may request that the proposal be assessed by an independent expert in the field of the research. The expert should have no prior knowledge of the specific concerns raised by the Advisory Committee. The independent expert should be asked to submit a report to the Dean of Graduate Research Studies.

Show Cause

  1. Research Doctoral Candidates who do not successfully complete their Confirmation of Candidature within the full-time equivalent of 12 months of enrolment and who have not been granted approval to delay the process, may be asked to show cause why their candidature should not be terminated;

  2. Research Masters Candidates who do not successfully complete their Confirmation of Candidature within the full-time equivalent of eight months of enrolment and who have not been granted approval to delay the process, may be asked to show cause why their candidature should not be terminated.

1 including the aims, methodology, budget, timeline, progress to date and any other academic and/or artistic issues arising from the program of work.

Approval Details

Policy sponsor:

Dean, Graduate Research Studies

Approval authority:

Academic Board

Version no:

08 - 1

Date for next review:

03/11/2013

Modification History

Version no.

Approval date

Implementation date

Details

08 - 1

03/11/2008

03/11/2008

Amended by Academic Board

07 - 1

05/11/2007

05/11/2007

Amended by Academic Board

05 - 1

09/09/2005

09/09/2005

Approved by Academic Board

Barbara Pannach last updated this page on 29 Oct 2012.