Meet the Team
This handbook has been prepared by the School of English 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 Elahe Shabani. Elahe will represent your School on University level committees to ensure that your voice is heard, and any concerns raised.
Your Research Director, research area administrator and Library Support Team are also available for you, should you require any additional support.
Supporting your Research
Our PhD researchers vary widely in personal circumstances. On occasion, we understand that personal factors may impede academic progress and a wide range of support is available from supervisors, the Research Director and University Researcher Support Services (Support for Students (ulster.ac.uk)).
In addition, the regulations permit leave of absence where circumstances warrant this. If you find yourself in this situation, regardless of the cause, you should contact your supervisors and/or Research Director for a confidential discussion as soon as you realise that this is impacting on your research studies. It is in your own interest to do this as early as possible, to ensure that you are aware of options available to you and have an opportunity to take appropriate action before falling badly behind schedule. Please remember, it is also in the University’s interests that you complete your research studies successfully and the School of English and other sources of support are in place to facilitate this.
Please note that retrospective Leave of Absence is not allowed, so it is imperative that you notify the Research Director and your supervisors, and you also need to submit through PhD manager at the earliest opportunity. Funded researchers should be aware that absence for more than two weeks must be notified to supervisors, and that up to 13 weeks paid sick leave is allowed in any 12 months provided medical evidence can be provided.
If you need to spend a period of time studying away from the University, you should submit your request via PhD Manager, which involves an assessment of risk and will provide the University with details of where you plan to be based.
The Doctoral College recommends that all new PhD researchers arrange to meet on a one-to-one basis with one of the Librarians to discuss their research interests and likely needs and also to find out more about what the library can offer in terms of assistance. This specialised advice is always useful and can be invaluable, and our librarians are extremely approachable and helpful.
Faculty Postgraduate Research Suite, Block I Room I209 and I210
These rooms provide desk and computer space, a printer, a small kitchen area and soft seating areas and is for the use of Researchers within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Access will only be granted through the School of English’s Research Support Administrator, Ms Sarah Gillen.
PhD researchers will provide their own tea/coffee etc. The office space provided for full-time researchers is shared and this requires a degree of consideration for others and also communal responsibility for the space. Please ensure that you do not cause waste, mess or noise that may annoy colleagues and be respectful if you need to ask colleagues to moderate their behaviour. If any problems arise, Sarah Gillen will be happy to assist in matters such as arranging removal of rubbish or the rearrangement of furniture (where this does not affect other occupants).
Portal and Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
The University has a Portal which is the gateway to much of our online support and you should log into the Portal and spend some time exploring the range of materials and links available to you. Most useful information will be under the ‘Research’ tab, but other sections also have relevant material. The Virtual Learning Environment (Blackboard) is also accessed via the Portal. Any online courses from the Research Development Programme (RDP) on which you are registered will appear automatically in Blackboard: https://learning.ulster.ac.uk/webapps/login
PhD Manager is an online workflow management system for your PhD – a one stop shop for PhD administration – so, for example, if you want to make changes to your study title, apply for an extension or a leave of absence, complete an annual report, please login to PhD Manager. If you have not used it before you can find comprehensive guides within the system itself. To login, just use your normal computer login details. You can find information on the various types of changes you may need to make in our Making Changes section. If you have difficulties, please contact us on pgr@ulster.ac.uk
Your PhD Programme
During the period of research, PhD researchers are expected to meet the supervisor team regularly and frequently (fortnightly meetings are recommended for full-time PhDs). It is required that certain meetings (e.g., monthly) between supervisors and PhD researchers are designated as formal and that a record of these meetings is maintained on the PhD Manager.
A part-time PhD researcher is admitted on condition that visits to the supervisor take place at least three times each semester and during holiday periods as required. Part time distance PhD researchers are expected to attend for a minimum of six 4 weeks during their period of study and are required to maintain regular contact by email or other appropriate means.
As researchers at Ulster, your main source of support will come from your team of supervisors. Staff involved in supervision are expected to be able to advise PhD Researchers on aspects of their research projects including matters relating to university procedures.
A good working relationship with your supervisors will be a key factor in the success of your research project and the University provides guidance for both PhD researchers and supervisors to ensure this relationship is maximised.
The key milestones that form part of the PhD journey are detailed on the Doctoral College website.
Ulster University is committed to creating and sustaining a welcoming, inclusive, and accessible learning and working environment which is free from all and any forms of bullying and harassment. This is supported and underpinned by the University’s mission, which is to: “transform lives, stretch minds, develop skills and raise ambitions, deliver globally significant research with local relevance, encourage a diverse university community and make a lasting contribution to society as a whole”.
All members of the University community (including staff, PhD researchers, and students) are expected to assist in the promotion of an environment where every member of the University community is treated with respect and dignity. Bullying and harassment can take many forms, from the most obvious (for example aggression, threats and shouting are clearly bullying) to the more subtle (such as isolation or non-co-operation at work, exclusion from social activities or conversation, which also fall within the definition of bullying).
The PhD Researcher Charter contains details of the expectations of both researchers and the University.
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.
English Language and Literature
Our website provides further information on the research activities of our School.
English Language and Literature
A vibrant group of internationally recognised researchers, we are committed to exploring the meaning and significance of literatures in English...