Meet the Team
This handbook has been prepared by the School of Education to help PhD Researchers and their Supervisors find their way through the various School level administrative stages of the PhD Research Degree. This includes information on where to get help, staff responsibilities, procurement and travel arrangements, services, office safety, demonstration / teaching opportunities and local guidance on initial, confirmation and final assessments.
The handbook supplements the information provided by the Doctoral College in relation to policies and procedures.
Your PhD Researcher Representative is Fiona Monahan. Fiona will represent your School on University level committees to ensure that your voice is heard, and any concerns raised.
Your Postgraduate Tutor, Research Director and research area administrator are also available for you, should you require any additional support.
Welcome from Postgraduate Tutor
Welcome to the School of Education and to Postgraduate Research studies at Ulster!
Whether you are a full time or part time PhD researcher, you can be assured that the University will be on hand to support you throughout the process of completing your Research. While your supervisors will be of paramount importance in this process, many other sources of support are available to you, including the Library, Researcher Support, the Researcher Development Programme, (RDP) and the wider academic and research community including the Doctoral College and, of course, your fellow PhD researchers. The online workflow system, PhD Manager, will help you with administrative issues and reporting. It is in your interests to engage fully with the resources available to you, as this encourages your development as a researcher and as a valued member of our research community.
This guide provides you with some general information on how you, as a PhD Researcher, fit into the University (which can seem bewilderingly complex!). Also included is information on how and where to access support, whether academic, practical or personal. While you will undoubtedly need further information at some point, this guide should help to get you started and if you have any queries that are not covered, please do not hesitate to contact us on the links above. We aim to ensure that our researchers not only succeed in their research studies but also enjoy their experience at Ulster.
Supporting your Research
The primary responsibility for organising your research work lies with you. It is your supervisors’ responsibility to guide your research, point you in interesting directions, monitor your progress and generally provide moral and technical support.
Supervisors differ in their methods, but you should normally expect to see your supervisors at least once a fortnight. Feel free to contact them at any time if you have a problem or are unsure how to proceed.
You will find that you can obtain the most benefit from meetings with your supervisors if you prepare some material for them to read in advance or formulate some specific questions you would like to discuss.
The Postgraduate Tutor is responsible for the overall running of the School’s PhD programme, providing pastoral support for PhD. They are available to discuss any matter, personal or academic, in confidence.
There are a number of places you can look for help on policies and procedures. This Handbook covers the majority of aspects relating to your PhD Research within the School.
- PhD Manager - information on the various processes and forms involved with research study at Ulster can be found online in PhD manager. It is important you document all your supervision meetings on PhD manager
- Your Supervisors - consult your supervisors on all academic matters. The formal obligations and responsibilities of your supervisors are explained in the University Handbook
- Postgraduate Tutor for any queries regarding academic policies within the school or pastoral support.
- Academic Excellence Assistant - for queries regarding equipment, travel, budgets, and general administration.
- Administrative Problems - for issues concerning your scholarship funding, registration, fees etc., contact the Doctoral College directly or email pgr@ulster.ac.uk.
- General Enquiries - ask at the School Office Room I129 or email education@ulster.ac.uk
- Student Support - for complex problems around family, finances, health, disability, or other issues affecting your general welfare you should make an appointment to see a Student Wellbeing.
- Occupational Health - for information regarding occupational health and the services available.
- First Aid/Defibrillator is available on each campus by contacting Security – on internal phones dial 22222 (Direct Dial (DDI) 02870123456). In event of an emergency requiring Police, Fire or Ambulance dial (9)999 directly then contact security immediately on extension 22222 (DDI 02870123456).
- You should also download the Safezone app on your mobile phone. This is free app for students and staff that connects you to the University security team if you ever need urgent help, first aid or if you have an emergency while on campus.
The Doctoral College website contains many Frequently Asked Questions covering topics such as administration, funding, training, ethical approval, relationships, and support.
Working Environment
A desk within a shared office will be provided for you to work at whilst on campus. This will be arranged for you by your supervisors and will be located on the same campus that your supervisors are based.
These are generally in open plan office space. Offices are a mix of PhD Researchers and Research Staff. You should endeavour to make use of the knowledge you have available in your office. Typically, this space will include a clear desk space, a comfortable computing chair and a set of lockable drawers.
It is a Researcher’s responsibility to keep these spaces tidy and to clear the space when leaving at the end of the PhD journey.
A Desktop or Laptop computer will be provided for you if needed.
This should be discussed with your supervisors. In some cases, a new desktop / laptop computer will need to be purchased.
If this is the case, it will be purchased from your Research Training Support Grant and must be returned when you complete your PhD. Your Supervisors can advise you further on this.
In I block building (2nd floor) on Coleraine campus there is a kitchen area with microwave and kettle facilities.
Digital Services provide information on how to print including how to access multi- function devices (MFD) that will allow you to print, copy and scan documents.
Digital Services can also provide support with university wide IT services such as email and WIFI.
Supervision and Attendance
Attendance at University on a daily basis is expected, except by agreement of your supervisors or the Research Director. Hours should be agreed with your supervisors. Typically, PhD Researchers will work 35-40 hours per week, between core hours of 9:00am- 5:00pm. Holidays, as approved by your supervisors, are allowed within the period of the Studentship. These must not exceed a total of eight weeks including public holidays (40 days) per year. Any periods of sickness should be notified to your supervisors.
If you experience some health, family or other problems that make it difficult for you to continue working on your PhD research project, you may need to consider applying for leave of absence. Funded PhD researchers should be aware that they may normally only be allowed Leave of Absence for a maximum of one year, and that their maintenance allowance is suspended during any Leave of Absence. It is also important to note that Leave of Absence is not permitted if the main reason is to take up paid employment. Should you need any advice on Leave of Absence you can ask your supervisors. Support is also available through the Doctoral College and Student Wellbeing.
Attendance of international PhD Researchers will be monitored to ensure we meet our sponsor license obligations with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). Engagement of Student Route visa holders will be evidenced through recording an in-person meeting via PhD Manager and having the notes accepted by a Supervisor for each calendar month (last day of the month), unless there is a pre-approved study away, leave of absence, annual leave or other authorised leave.
If the Researcher does not have an in-person meeting recorded and does not have a valid reason for this, i.e., the absence was not pre-approved on PhD Manager, it will be noted as an unauthorised absence. If the International PhD Researcher has two unauthorised absences within an academic year, the Compliance Team may invite you to a meeting to review continuation of sponsorship of your student visa.
Tips to avoid registering an unauthorised absence:
- Consider scheduling meetings with your supervisor in advance, perhaps at the beginning of the month, to give your supervisor sufficient time to approve the meeting notes logged on PhD Manager.
- Remind your supervisors to approve the meetings if necessary.
- If none of your supervisors are available to meet in person in any month, please contact the Postgraduate Tutor in your area to make arrangements to meet with an alternative member of staff for the purposes of monthly monitoring and to record this as usual on PhD Manager as a meeting with supervisors, but with a note of the alternative staff member you met with.
School of Education
Research in the School of Education aims to impact scholarly knowledge, professional practice and society, at local, national, and international levels.
The School of Education, based on the Coleraine campus, is part of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. The Faculty consists of six Schools.
- School of Education
- School of Art (Belfast)
- School of Arts and Humanities
- School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences
- School of Communication and Media
- School of Law
Education
Quality research in education impacting scholarly knowledge, professional practice and society, at local, national, and international levels....