Prospective PhD Students

PostGraduate Research

Information for PhD Supervisors and IPAP Members

All supervisors of research students are required to attend the course "Supervising Research Students".

PhD internal examiners must attend the course "Internal Examining".


The responsibilities of PhD supervisors can be found in the The Postgraduate Research Code of Practice Appendix 2 sections 4, 5 and 6. Here is a summary of the responsibilities of both supervisors and students taken from the Computer Science PGR Handbook. This has been adapted from the PGR Code of Practice.

It would be helpful if IPAP members would please provide feedback on the End Of Year Progress, PhD Plan and PhD Workshop in a timely fashion. This should be within two weeks of the assessment.

  • The Information that I give to students is here. (Please read this. I have not repeated everything here.)
  • Information for staff from the PGR Development Team
  • Information from the University PGR Student team
  • Liverpool Doctoral College and Liverpool Doctoral College Intranet

  • These things happen throughout the year
  • Record of Supervisory Meetings: Supervisors need ensure that (at least) one PhD meeting per month is recorded by each student, and should sign off the meeting in real time (not at in a batch at the end of the year). This is required for a variety of reasons. My advice to students, which is here, is simply to record every meeting with you so that they are sure to have enough.

  • Seminars: Students are strongly advised to attend seminars. They are also required to attend the ``Postgraduate Workshop'' to listen to talks by all second-year PhD students. My advice for them is here. Please encourage them to do both of these as part of their agreed core training.

  • (Sort of) Chronological list starting at the beginning of the academic year
  • Term 1: Choose a second supervisor and two IPAP members for each 1st-year PhD student, and inform the PGR administrator and the student of this choice.

  • Term 1: October: Encourage your PhD student to attend the School Induction and the Departmental Induction events which usually take place in October. Also encourage them to attend the Liverpool Doctoral College (LDC) induction/welcome events. Departmental and LDC Induction events are usually repeated in semester two for students who arrive later.

  • Term 1/Term 2: 1st-year PhD students must participate in the Doctoral Training School Seminars (organised by academic staff in the School).

  • Discuss the Development Needs Analysis (DNA) with your PhD students annually to create an individual programme of personal and professional development training alongside the core training. More details and the latest version of the form can be found on the Liverpool Doctoral College intranet site also some Development opportunities can also be found. This should be sent to Alison at the same time as the PhD plan (usually 15th January) and is updated every year and re-submitted with the End of Year Progress report.

  • Term 1: 1st-year PhD students must sign up for the workshop Taking ownership of your PhD.

  • 2nd-year and 3rd-year PhD students must take part in variety of careers events to suit their career interests and aspirations. Please see more details on the year two, and year three web pages.

  • Your 3rd-year PhD student needs the opportunity to give a technical talk to a specialist audience. If your student does not have the opportunity to give a talk at a conference or workshop (or at a seminar elsewhere) then arrange for them to give a talk in the seminar series of your research group.

  • By 15th January: each 1st-year PhD student should compose a timetabled three year PhD project plan (not more than two pages in length) and related form including the aims of the project. The advice that I give the students about it is here. This should be sent to the supervisor, the two IPAP members (or their substitute) and a copy to the PGR administrator. The two IPAP members should fill out the feedback form (follow this link) to give the student feedback. Please return the feedback form directly to the student with a copy to the PGR administrator.

  • In March 2nd-year PhD students must present a poster at the Faculty of Science and Engineering Poster day. The advice that I give the students about it is here. The Faculty of Science and Engineering expect all on-campus students to present posters at the Poster Day in person unless there is a valid reason (eg ill health).

  • In April/May the 2nd-year PhD students will present talks at the departmental Postgraduate Workshop. All other PhD students should attend. The two IPAP members should attend the talk (or send a substitute) and fill out the feedback form (follow this link) to give the student feedback. This should be returned to the PGR administrator. One of the IPAP members (or his/her substitute) will chair the talk.

  • 1st-year, 2nd-year and 3rd-year progress reports are due by the end of May. Each student should send this directly to their IPAP members, his/her supervisor and the PGR administrator. Details are available year one, year two, and year three. If your 3rd-year student is making good progress on the thesis (if it is at least half-written) then you can request that they be exempt from the third-year progress report and progress interview. To do this you have to email the DDPR by the end of May (but read this first).

  • 1st-year, 2nd-year and 3rd-year students should update their Development Needs Analysis (DNA). More details and the latest version of the form can be found on the Liverpool Doctoral College intranet site also some Development opportunities can also be found. This should be sent to Alison at the same time as the End of Year progress report.

  • By the end of June you should have organised a progress interview for your 1st-year, 2nd-year and 3rd-year PhD students to discuss the progress report. You should arrange the independent progress assessment panel interview, involving the two IPAP members (or their substitute) one of whom acts as chair. The IPAP members or their substitutes should not be the first or second supervisor or a co-author of the student. The first supervisor and the second supervisor can attend the interview if desired but should not provide formal feedback. Each member of the panel (i.e. the two IPAP members or their substitute) should fill out a feedback form and return it to the PGR administrator. The feedback form is available here (first year) and here (second year) and here (third year). The updated DNA and training should also be discussed as part of the End Of Year Progress Interview. The completed forms need to be submitted to the PGR administrator by the end of June. If your 3rd-year PhD student has written at least half their thesis an exemption from the End of Year Three progress report/interview can be requested. The supervisor should contact the DDPR to request this.

  • In June, your students will be asked to complete an Annual Progress Report (APR) via Tulip. After they complete this, it gets passed electronically to you. Please fill it out so that it gets passed to the DDPR. In the case of students who started at the normal time, please wait until after the progress interview (if any) before filling this out. This should be completed by the end of June. Delaying this means the student will not be able to re-register for the next session. All students must complete their in June irrespective of when they registered. Students who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting their viva or carrying out corrections should also complete the APR. Students who are suspended can complete their APR on their return to their studies.

  • In July, the Progress Committee will discuss any borderline or problematic end of year progress reports.

  • XJTLU
  • End of Year Progress for XJTLU PGR students should have an XJTLU IPAP member and one from Liverpool. They follow the same format and requirements as for our non-XJTLU students. Please look at the usual requirements for End of Year Progress for year one, year two, and year three. IPAP Members for XJTLU students should be contacted by XJTLU and sent the appropriate End of Year report. The interview will be carried out by Skype and the forms returned to the PGR administrator.

  • Staff may want to consider asking XJTLU academic staff to be second supervisors for their PhD students based at Liverpool. Here is a list of research interests of the staff at XJTLU.

  • Forms