PGR supervisions and annual monitoring
Learn more about your doctoral supervision and the annual monitoring process.
Supervisions and records
Supervisions are regular meetings between doctoral candidates and their academic supervisory team, to discuss the progress of the research project and for supervisors to advise candidates on their academic development.
A typical supervisory schedule should include monthly supervisory meetings, with an entire supervisory team meeting at least once per term.
For part-time candidates, supervisions meetings should be held at least twice a term, with email and telephone also used to keep in touch on a more frequent basis.
Candidates are required to keep a record of their meetings as a basis for formal reporting and accountability. You should record what was discussed, the guidance offered, and any actions that were agreed.
Supervision records should be updated after each meeting on the PGR Dashboard, where your supervisors can add any comments and sign off.
Annual monitoring
Annual monitoring is a time when you and your supervisory team can review your progress so far, reflect on how you have developed, and discuss how you can continue to get the most from your research over the coming year.
Your annual monitoring will be submitted via the PGR Dashboard, where you can also review your previous meetings.
Annual reporting and plan
You will be required to submit a report (1000-2000 words) that demonstrates your progress over the previous 12 months.
The report should include the following:
- How far the research plan has been met
- What difficulties and opportunities have been encountered
- What changes, if any, have been made to the proposed programme of work
- Emerging results and analysis of them
- Emerging theoretical insights
- How any training, placements, conferences, workshops or other academic development/engagement events you’ve attended
As well as the annual monitoring report, you should also include a plan of work for the next 12 months (e.g. a Gantt chart or other suitable method of illustrating a project schedule), which will list the main milestones to be passed in the upcoming year and give approximate dates.
Tip: Keeping a research journal can help you to not only keep track of your progress but also to put together your Annual Monitoring Report. This could be an informal monthly record you keep in a document or a task management platform such as Trello. You can also use your record and the Development Needs Analysis on the PGR Dashboard to help you keep track of your development and identify what you might want to focus on in the coming year.
Your annual review meeting
Once you have completed your report and incorporated any feedback from your supervisors, you should submit it to the PGR Dashboard before your deadline.
Your Director of Studies or Lead Supervisor will then arrange a review panel meeting to assess the materials you submit: this meeting will include you, your supervisory team, and your Independent Assessor.
The Doctoral School recommends that your panel meeting start with a presentation focusing on project design, methodology, analysis, and findings lasting around 15 minutes.
This presentation should be compiled of the material taken from your report: you don’t need to create new content. Your panel will ask you questions about your presentation and report, offer feedback, and discuss your progression and plans for the next year.