PGR Admissions and Recruitment

Transcription

1 PGR Admissions and Recruitment Contents Introduction : Research-led proposals... 2 Type 1a: Research-led proposals with dedicated project funding... 2 Type 1b: Research-led proposals with competition funding... 3 Type 1c: Research-led proposals made available for self-funding : Applicant-led proposals... 5 Type 2a: Fast-tracked applicant-led proposals... 5 Type 2b: Applicant-led proposals where applicant is seeking funding via UEA... 6 Type 2c: Applicant-led proposals where applicant is self-funding and is not fast-tracked : ClinPsyD : Deferred applications : Requirements when making an offer... 9 Introduction These guidelines are intended to assist Schools, Faculties and PGR Service staff supporting PGR admissions. Applications for research student programmes at the University of East Anglia are currently made as of one of three types: 1. Research-led: an academic researcher writes a project proposal and applicants apply via Hobsons ApplyYourself ( to that specific project. 2. Applicant-led: an applicant writes a project proposal themselves and then applies via Hobsons ApplyYourself ( including their proposal. 3. ClinPsyD: applicants apply via the national Clearing House based in Leeds. Type 1 is the most common route for PhD programmes in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMH), the Faculty of Science (SCI) and at the Norwich BioSciences Institutes (NBI). Type 2 is the most common route for PhD programmes in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (HUM) and the Faculty of Social Sciences (SSF). Type 3 applies only to the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology programme in FMH. The preferred start date is 1 October to allow students to join the appropriate annual Faculty-specific induction programme. Cross-Faculty induction programmes are also run for 1 January and 1 April starters but are much smaller; 1 July starters are asked to attend the October induction. Current students should not be included in the same competition pool as new applicants. A separate competition should be set up if funding is to be made available to current students. These guidelines do not cover this situation as it does not form part of PGR admissions.

2 1: Research-led proposals Type 1a: Research-led proposals with dedicated project funding This category includes all postgraduate research projects where the funding is directly linked to the project and covers both fees and a stipend. Such projects may be advertised at any time by contacting the appropriate Faculty/NBI team in the PGR Service. Recruitment is subject to the following conditions. (a) Projects must state a start date of 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October. (b) Projects should be advertised for at least four weeks in the first instance. (c) Projects open to international students should allow at least four months between the application deadline and the intended start date. (d) Projects open only to Home/EU students should allow at least two months between the application deadline and the intended start date. (e) Re-advertisement of projects is permitted but only where a decision of Reject or Awaiting Outcome has been made on all applicants who applied before the existing deadline. (f) Projects should be re-advertised for at least two weeks at a time, preferably at least four weeks. (g) When a project has been re-advertised, all applicants who have been given an Awaiting Outcome decision must be considered against any new applicants. (h) Projects can be re-advertised at most twice (i.e. three times in total). held by the PGR Service to monitor consistency across the NRP and to help improve these guidelines in future. Depending on the source of funding, terms and conditions of the studentship and contracts may need to be drafted and agreed by the PGR Service, REN, offer holder and funder. Projects of this type will be advertised on the UEA site, FindAPhD and jobs.ac.uk. The project supervisor is also encouraged to use their academic networks to advertise the opportunity. Example 1 Dr Anderson (CHE) secures funding in May 2015 from the Home Office to support a full PhD studentship (three years of fees and 3.5 years of stipend) for a Home/EU student to work on a project in her lab. She would like the student to start on 1 October She can ask for the project to be advertised as soon as possible, with a deadline of 31 July 2015 at the latest. If it needs to be re-advertised with a deadline later than that she may wish to consider if the project should have a later start date of 1 January All decisions should be taken by a panel of at least two trained supervisors, and any offer must be agreed by the CHE PGR Director.

3 Type 1b: Research-led proposals with competition funding This category can include funding supported directly by UEA/NRP or via a block doctoral training grant from Research Councils. Such projects will be advertised according to the deadlines and marketing schedule for the appropriate competition. The normal expectations for research-led competitions are as follows: (a) Projects will be submitted to the appropriate competition panel who may perform an initial sift to reduce the number of projects advertised in line with the amount of funding available. (b) Projects will have a 1 October start date. (c) Competition deadlines for the year will be agreed with the Head of PGR Service by 31 October (d) Competition deadlines will lie between 1 November 2014 and 31 May (e) All projects in a given competition should be advertised at the same time and for at least four weeks in the first instance. (f) Re-advertisement of projects in this category is permitted but only where a. competition funding has not yet been allocated; b. a decision has been made on all applicants who applied before the existing deadline for any project within the competition; c. all competition projects which have not been filled are re-advertised, for at least two weeks. (g) When a project has been re-advertised, all applicants who have been given an Awaiting Outcome decision must be considered against any new applicants. (h) Projects can be re-advertised at most twice (i.e. three times in total). Any exceptions must be agreed in writing by the appropriate Faculty Associate Dean(s) for Postgraduate Research or Chair of NBI Graduate School Executive. A list of exceptions and the reasons should be held by the PGR Service to monitor consistency across the NRP and to help improve these guidelines. Depending on the source of funding, terms and conditions of all studentships for a given competition and contracts may need to be drafted and agreed by the PGR Service, REN, offer holder and funder. Projects of this type will be advertised on the UEA site, FindAPhD and jobs.ac.uk. The project supervisor is also encouraged to use their academic networks to advertise the opportunity. Example 2 UEA secures funding from a Research Council for a Doctoral Training Partnership which will support 20 studentships across it and various partner organisations. The DTP Management Board puts out a call for project proposals to start 1 October 2015 and with a competition deadline of 15 February The Board decides which 40 projects will be advertised. The advertisements go up on 15 November 2014, both on the UEA site and also on a DTP portal site advertising studentships registered with other partner HEIs. Interviews for each of the 40 projects are held in early March and a preferred candidate for each project is put forward. The Board make offers to the best 20 candidates but only 17 accept. They then can either (a) compare the original preferred candidates with second-choice candidates for the three projects where the preferred candidate declined the offer; or (b) re-advertise all 23 unfilled projects for at least a further two weeks.

4 Type 1c: Research-led proposals made available for self-funding This category includes project proposals which were written by a researcher for a funding competition pool but where the project remained unfilled after the competition. Projects in this category may be re-advertised via the PGR Service according to the following conditions. (a) Projects will initially retain the 1 October start date for which they were originally advertised. (b) Re-advertisement of projects in this category is permitted where: a. relevant competition funding has all been allocated; b. all applicants for this project for existing deadlines have been notified of a decision; c. all applicants for this project given an Awaiting Outcome decision have been made aware of the opportunity to declare their interest in the project on a self-funded basis and the new deadline. (c) Projects will be re-advertised for a minimum of four weeks. (d) Projects will be open to Home, EU and International students. If the new deadline is later than 1 June, a note will be added explaining that a successful International candidate may need to delay starting until 1 January rather than 1 October to allow time for visa processing. (e) The latest deadline permissible is 31 July for a 1 October start. (f) When a project has been re-advertised, all applicants who have been given an Awaiting Outcome decision previously must be considered against any new applicants. (g) Projects can be re-advertised at most twice (i.e. three times in total). held by the PGR Service to monitor consistency across the NRP and to help improve these guidelines. Supervisors are encouraged to refresh the projects offered annually. Standard UEA terms and conditions will be used unless an external funder becomes involved. Projects of this type will be advertised on the UEA site and FindAPhD. The project supervisor is also encouraged to use their academic networks to advertise the opportunity. Example 3 Professor Zhang (DEV) has a project which was advertised via a Doctoral Training Partnership competition which ended on 15 April with his project unfilled. The project had three candidates, two of which have been given Reject decisions and one which is Awaiting Outcome. He invites the Awaiting Outcome candidate, Priya Khan, to declare her interest in taking up the project on a self-funding basis. She responds positively, saying that her extended family have agreed to help fund her studies. Professor Zhang can either (a) make an offer directly to Priya Khan on the basis of self-funding; or (b) arrange for the project to be re-advertised as a self-funding opportunity with new deadline and compare Priya Khan with other candidates. In either case it s important to give enough time for an applicant to decide whether they can find funding themselves so that they are not rushed into a decision.

5 2: Applicant-led proposals Type 2a: Fast-tracked applicant-led proposals This category consists of project proposals which were written by an applicant who has already secured funding from a significant external funder where the applicant will have competed for this funding. It can also include self-funded applicants or those funded by their families where Schools are confident they can judge the quality of the applicant in the light of previous similar applications. Such applications can be considered at any time subject to the following conditions: (a) Applicants should provide their preferred start date of 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October. (b) Applications of this type should be considered initially by the School or Institute Director of Postgraduate Research who will determine any potential supervisors. If at least two members of academic staff within the School/Institute including the School/Institute Director of Postgraduate Research and a potential supervisor agree that the application belongs in this category and should be fast tracked, the application may be considered immediately. (c) The possible decisions on the application are Accept, Awaiting Outcome or Reject: a. If the decision is Accept, an offer may be agreed by the School/Institute Director of Postgraduate Research and relevant Associate Dean or Chair of NBI GSE to be processed immediately; b. If the decision is Awaiting Outcome or Reject at this stage, the applicant should be considered at the next applicant-led pool deadline for the School or Institute and should be informed of the likely timescale. A rejection letter should not be sent until the applicant has been in the pool. (d) Offers made to international students should allow at least three months between the date of the offer letter and the intended start date. (e) Offers made to Home/EU students should allow at least a month between the offer letter and the intended start date. held by the PGR Service to monitor consistency across the NRP and to help improve these guidelines. Standard UEA terms and conditions will be used unless an external funder becomes involved. Opportunities of this type will be advertised on UEA sites. Example 4 Miriam Bapela (South Africa) applies to PPL with a proposal for a full-time PhD on public policy. Her funding has been secured via a Chevening Scholarship and PPL decides to fast-track her application. Three PPL staff interview via Skype and as a result the PPL PGR Director asks the PGR Service to make an immediate offer. Example 5 Steve Mackay (USA) applies to AMA with a proposal for a full-time PhD on nineteenth-century American fiction. He has funding but there are doubts about whether it is competitive, and his application is weak. AMA decide that a rejection letter should not be sent until after the next applicant-led pool deadline (Type 2b/c) so that there is an opportunity to compare his application with other applicants in the cohort.

6 Type 2b: Applicant-led proposals where applicant is seeking funding via UEA This category consists of project proposals which were written by an applicant who is seeking an award of funding from UEA, either from UEA directly or from a Research Council block grant. Opportunities will be advertised according to the deadlines for the appropriate competition. The normal expectations for applicant-led competitions are as follows: (a) Applicants will be considered by a School/Faculty panel, which should meet in person. (b) Projects will normally have a 1 October start date but exceptions are allowed by agreement with Faculty or NBI Finance teams. (c) Competition deadlines for the year will be agreed with the Head of PGR Service by 31 October (d) Competition deadlines will lie between 1 January 2014 and 7 March (e) If studentships remain unfilled even after all reserve candidates have been approached, studentship funding may be rolled forward to a later start date by agreement with both Faculty Finance and the relevant Faculty Associate Dean for Postgraduate Research or Chair of NBI GSE. held by the PGR Service to monitor consistency across the NRP and to help improve these guidelines. Depending on the source of funding, terms and conditions of all studentships for a given competition and contracts may need to be drafted and agreed by the PGR Service, REN, offer holder and funder. Opportunities of this type will be advertised on UEA sites, FindAPhD and jobs.ac.uk where possible. Potential supervisors are also encouraged to use their academic networks to advertise the opportunity. Example 6 The Faculty of Social Sciences (SSF) has 17 Faculty studentships. The Norwich Business School (NBS) has made 14 offers from applications received by the SSF deadline in February These offers are made without any commitment of funding but ranked internally in order of preference for funding. NBS also puts forward their top six candidates to the SSF Studentship Panel, and three of these are then assigned Faculty studentships. NBS allocates School studentship funding to the next two applicants on the ranked list, and asks the PGR Service to make offers of funding to all five applicants. Of these, four applicants accept the funded place but one declines. The funding is then offered to the next applicant on the ranked list until all studentships are accepted. Example 7 Bernt Jansson (Sweden) has been working in plant research laboratories in Sweden for ten years and has recently moved to Norwich. He applies to the School of Biology (BIO) with an applicant-led proposal which requests funding to support him studying as a part-time student for six months with a particular supervisor at the JIC for the degree of PhD by Publication. There is no suitable competition so the BIO PGR Director, SCI Associate Dean for PGR, potential supervisor and Chair of the Graduate School Executive at the JIC form an ad hoc panel to interview him. They make an initial offer on the basis of self-funding.

7 Type 2c: Applicant-led proposals where applicant is self-funding and is not fast-tracked This category consists of project proposals which were written by an applicant who is proposing to fund themselves or with the support of their family, where a School does not wish to fast-track an application under the procedure described for Type 2a applications. Opportunities will be advertised according throughout the year with a deadline every three months as below. The major applicant-led competitions have deadlines during January and February for October starts. (a) Applicants should provide their preferred start date of 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October. (b) Applicants will be considered by a School/Faculty panel, which may meet virtually. This panel will consider all applicants for the same deadline at this time. (c) The deadlines will be: a. 31 May for start dates no earlier than 1 October; b. 31 August for start dates no earlier than 1 January; c. 30 November for start dates no earlier than 1 April. held by the PGR Service to monitor consistency across the NRP and to help improve these guidelines. Depending on the source of funding, terms and conditions of all studentships for a given competition and contracts may need to be drafted and agreed by the PGR Service, REN, offer holder and funder. Opportunities of this type will be advertised on UEA sites. Potential supervisors are also encouraged to use their academic networks to advertise the opportunity. Example 8 Elise-Marie Perrin (France) applies to HSC on 2 November with a proposal for a part-time PhD on models of midwifery competence, with preferred start date 1 February. She is self-funded and is considered on 3 December along with one other application to HSC. The HSC School Director of Postgraduate Research and a potential supervisor agree that she should be made an offer. With the approval of the Associate Dean in FMH the exceptional start date of 1 February is also agreed and included in the offer. Example 9 Iain Sandbrook (UK) applies to MTH on 5 July with a proposal for a full-time PhD on quasiminimal excellent classes, with preferred start date 1 October. He has no funding but has been in contact with potential MTH supervisors and they think he is a strong candidate. All of the competition funding for the year has been allocated. The School Director of Postgraduate Research encourages him to look for other sources of funding and lets him know he will be considered formally at the next deadline of 31 August. On 2 September MTH consider his application along with three other applications. He is made an offer on the basis of self-funding, which he declines because he has since obtained a job in software development in Cambridge. MTH suggest that he might like to consider the possibility of starting a part-time PhD, and he is positive about this idea. The offer is approved by the MTH PGR Director and SCI Associate Dean for PGR. Iain starts as a self-funded student with an agreed revised start date of 1 January.

8 3: ClinPsyD This programme will be advertised on the UEA Study With Us site and the FMH Graduate School site. The selection procedure is described in detail on the FMH site linked below. All applications should be made via the national Clearing House for Postgraduate Course in Clinical Psychology. Further details and how to apply can be found at There is one deadline per year set nationally. Application administration for UEA is provided by the FMH Graduate School team within the PGR Service. Each application to UEA is rated independently by three people using the criteria described within the Entry Requirements section. These ratings are used to identify people for interview. Applicants who are not offered an interview are sent a copy of the short-listing criteria and asked to evaluate their own application against these. If they then require further feedback this is available. There are two interviews. One interview covers academic and research issues and the other, personal and clinical issues. There are three people on each panel, including course staff and clinical supervisors from the region. All interviews are conducted using the same script. Successful applicants are allocated a base within our region covering Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge. The bases are: 1) Norwich, 2) Cambridge, 3) Ipswich, 4) Huntingdon, 5) Kings Lynn, 6) Peterborough, and 7) Bury St. Edmunds. We endeavour to provide all placements within the allocated base but situations do arise where placements are not available within the allocated base. In these circumstances, the trainee will be expected to travel to a placement within an adjoining base. Successful applicants will have an opportunity to express preferences about which base they will be allocated to but no guarantees can be given about choice of base. It is strongly recommended that the trainee lives within the base allocated, as clinical placements are likely to involve considerable amounts of driving. Unsuccessful applicants who are interviewed are offered feedback from a member of their interview panels. Those offered a place on the Course will be required to undergo enhanced Student Disclosure checks and Occupational Health clearance assessment. 4: Deferred applications Applicants submitting applicant-led proposals who have been unsuccessful in securing funding in a given round (Type 2b) occasionally ask to defer their application to the next year s funding round to be considered then. We will try to facilitate this. However, applications are archived on a regular basis and it may not always be possible to retrieve an application depending on when the request to defer is made. If an application cannot be retrieved, the applicant will be asked to submit a new application for the appropriate start date.

9 5: Requirements when making an offer 1. All offers to register on a research degree must be approved by two people, normally the expected supervisor and the School/Institute Director of Postgraduate Research. In some Faculties the Associate Dean for Postgraduate Research also approves every offer. 2. Applicants should normally be interviewed either in person or via video-conferencing. Interviews must involve at least two panel members, and any shortlisting/interview notes kept for six months. The recommended procedure and timeline for recruitment is as follows. Stage of Recruitment 1. Research-led proposals are sifted by Faculty/DTP Board and those approved may be advertised. 2. Application deadline and interview dates are agreed. 3. Completed project advert template (research-led proposals only) sent to PGR (who will also send them to ARM). 4. Opportunity is advertised on UEA sites, FindAPhD etc. by marketing teams in ARM. Timing Normally Summer/Autumn of previous year At least two months before start date; at least four 5. Closing date for applications months if international applicants are expected. 6. Applications downloaded from Hobsons (and eligibility checks made) Normally done as by PGR Service. applications are submitted. 7. Applications made available to interview panel, supervisors and/or School/Institute by PGR Service. 8. Panel chair finalises shortlist with panel (where relevant) and then notifies PGR Service of shortlist and those not shortlisted, or School Director finds appropriate supervisor. 9. Interview invites are sent to shortlisted candidates. Either by PGR or by selectors 10. Interviews are held. At least 3-4 months before student s start date if 11. Interview outcomes/offers notified to PGR Service for all candidates. international, else 1-2 months 12. PGR Service sends out offer letters and updates/rejects. 13. Applicant accepts offer. (There may also be a parallel funding and contractual process.) 14. PGR Service begins processing CAS (visa) and ATAS (clearance) where required for international candidates Allow three months before student s start date 15. Student starts Normally 1 October