• Publication - refereed, joint authorship with supervisors or research team

• Conference papers

• Teaching experience

• 'Sufficient data' - critique is important (quantity of data gathered will not compensate for limitations in critical analysis)

What is the viva?

• The viva is an oral examination of questions and discussion designed to:

  • ascertain that the thesis your own research;

  • clarify aspects of the research presented in the thesis to ensure your understanding;

  • test your general comprehension of the field of study within which the subject of the thesis falls;

  • test your awareness of the general literature of the subject, your knowledge of how your research relates to the wider field of which it is a part, and determine the respects in which your work advances, modifies, or otherwise affects this wider field of scholarship.

• Time: Extra thinking time between questions, repetition of questions, break questions into parts, rest breaks

• Tools: Access to whiteboard, paper to make notes, access to a copy of your thesis, coloured filter to aid reading

• Time - longer registration period

• Finance - what levels of part-time work might you need to do (and what type)? What effect is there on your Council tax bill? What will be your accommodation costs?

• Based at a distance

  • how often would you physically be on campus - every week? Less often?

  • you still have access to staff/resources via Teams and email

  • Library Loans for part-time and distance students, Postal loans, eBooks and digital journals

    
    

• Meetings can share a lot of detailed information, exploration of different opinions, and research options

• Do you need to focus on ‘being in the moment’, engaged in discussion, rather than notetaking?

• Recording may enable accuracy of understanding and support creating a written record

Record-keeping

• Are there templates and clear guidance for you to model? Are formats accessible and easy for you to complete?

• Who has responsibility for:

  • Producing brief written action points by the end of the meeting?

  • Reviewing progress on actions at the next supervision meeting?

• Formats: will you and your supervisor be using track changes, summary comments, or handwritten annotations

  • Will there be reviews of lab books, record-keeping, data collection?

• Time scales: for you to send material to staff, and for staff to return with comments

  • What schedule of draft/interim chapters would be most productive?

• Expectations: Can you expect supervisory advice on what you should prioritise? What processes are there for managing differences in feedback between supervisors?

• affect the support needed in laboratories?

• require access to ergonomic furniture in office spaces (or type of space in terms of lighting etc)

• limit you working on campus?

• Any disability-specific needs in terms of location in a teaching room

• Access in advance of any taught session/meeting to materials (e.g. PowerPoints, handouts)

• Further guidance for tutors and supervisors

• Coursework extensions

• Timed assessment (exam) adjustments - e.g. extra time, rest breaks

• Enhanced Library Support

Currently under review so do check what the Researcher Academy is currently supporting (staffing in this team is affected by Future Nottingham)

• Researcher fundamentals

• Innovation and knowledge exchange

• Policy engagement

• Public engagement

• Research communication

• Research methods

• Tutors supporting PGR students with Specific Learning Differences (SpLDs) - Antony, Caroline, David, Karen, Rachel

• Lisa is tutor for disabled students who do not have SpLDs e.g. long-term health conditions, physical disabilities, mental health and Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC)

• 24-hour contact details - who to contact for assistance with urgent changes to travel arrangements

• phone , email, SMS and WhatsApp plus live chat via Online Booking Tool

• https://my.keytravel.com/uk/log-in?RedirectTo=/uk/my-travel/marketplace/

  
  

• By publication or prior publication(s)

• Research paper publications

• Extended 'lab report' structure

  • Introduction - including review of literature

  • Methodology

  • Results

  • Discussion of findings

  • Conclusions

• Thematic chapters

• Inclusion of other media format(s)

  • Film/video

  • Physical artefacts

• Clarify with Supervisors when your Annual Review may be approximately scheduled? (e.g. what month?)

• Agree what document(s) you will submit for Annual Review (and when you need to submit)

• The Annual Review usually takes the form of a conversation / viva-style meeting with an Internal Examiner (not your supervisor) to discuss your submitted document

• NOTE: this is why it can be helpful to get some viva recommendations in the support plan early so you can access these at Annual Reviews

• Are you a mature student (over 25 at start of your research)? You may have additional financial and care commitments - make sure you talk to Financial Support and our SU Advice Centre about income and benefits

Updates in 2025

• UKRI to ensure that grant holders are aware of the need to ensure that reasonable adjustments cover the breadth of a doctoral student’s research for example, to the research environment, within their department, during field work and while on work placement. Advance HE said the latter is likely to involve liaison with the work placement provider.

  • UKRI to provide further information within the Training Grant Conditions [for Research Organisations] on the need for anticipatory reasonable adjustments as well as the provision of DSAs.

  • UKRI to ensure that grant holders make reasonable adjustments as soon as they are made aware of a person’s disability or could reasonably be expected to know that a person is disabled. This could be during the application process as well as on commencement of a stipend and during a stipend.

Covers registered (Home and non-Home funded students), Thesis pending, Extension to thesis pending, Thesis pending writing up, and Thesis pending - under exam.

• UKRI UK Research and Innovation

• SFE used as shorthand for nation specific UK Student Funding bodies

• NMH - Non-Medical Helper support (e.g. mentoring, Specialist Study Skills Tutoring)

NOTE: Web of Science covers ALL subjects not just science!

• Part 1 - approx. 6 minutes. Description: Introduction to Disability Support Services including how to make contact with the service.

• Part 2 - approx. 10 minutes. Description: What is a long term health condition?

• Part 3 - approx. 13 minutes. Description: Useful study tips, managing fatigue and concentration. 

• Part 4 - approx. 5 minutes. Description: What is a Support Plan, further support, Disabled Students Allowance, support groups and networks. 

• complete Your Essential Information Form (YEIF) for Disability Support Services

• upload evidence of your disability, long-term health condition and/or SpLD along with the YEIF to NottinghamHub

Have you previously had a Support Plan of reasonable adjustments at a different university?

• Follow our Coming to Nottingham - tell us of a disability guidance

Have you previously had a Support Plan of reasonable adjustments for UG/PGT at University of Nottingham?

• Contact Disability Support Services and let us know you are continuing/returning to study

• Your Support Plan will benefit from a review of support recommendations

• SpLD students - book in with a Tutor

• Disabled students - book in with your Disability Adviser

• If you have both an SpLD and another disability, select the member of staff based on the nature of your query

• Our Operations Team can also help direct your enquiry

NOTE: supervisors do not usually attend

• Awarded

• Awarded subject to correction of typographical errors - within one month

• Award subject to minor amendments - within three months

• Require second viva voce examination and resubmit the same thesis (which may be subject to minor amendments to be completed within three months)

• Resubmit revised thesis - within twelve months (may be with/without second viva voce)

• Award of MPhil

NOTE: "The option not to award any degree following the first examination is one which should only be chosen in extreme circumstances."

NOTE: your Support Plan recommendations will include potential for an extension to the corrections period

This includes:

• alternative formats (on referral)

• access to Assistive Technology Rooms (ATRs)

• enhanced support spaces

• extended library loan and collection periods

• support with using the library - searching the catalogue, finding books, scanning etc

• Arts and Humanities Research Council

• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

• Economic and Social Research Council

• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

• Innovate UK

• Medical Research Council

• Natural Environment Research Council

• Research England

• Science and Technology Facilities Council

See our University of Nottingham Researcher Academy Partnerships and Doctoral Training Programmes

• See part-time study: How often are you expected to be on campus / in Nottingham?

• What are your travel expenses? Balancing PGR study with a life elsewhere (beyond Nottingham, beyond the University e.g. working full/part-time) can present challenges. Are you accessing all the right support and advice in terms of what money you can access (or which is unavailable)? Financial Support / SU Advice

• Technology support - remember to keep in contact with DTS (Digital Technology Services) if you are having issues accessing online resources or systems - this can present challenges in terms of time on phones and dealing with system access issues (which 'cost' in terms of time)

• This can be on its own or in addition to any student finance you get.

• The type of support and how much you get depends on your individual needs - not your household income.

• You do not need to pay back DSA

What can DSA provide?

Technology and equipment:

• specialist equipment, for example a computer if you need one because of your disability with assistive software that provides specialist support for your disability (e.g. dictation, read aloud, concept-mapping); this allowance can also cover disability-required ergonomic equipment

NOTE: If a DSA laptop is recommended due to requiring disability related specialist software, student will be expected to contribute £200. 

Additional areas of support:

• non-medical helpers, for example a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter, mentoring or specialist study support

• extra travel to attend your course or placement because of your disability

• other disability-related study support, for example having to print additional copies of documents for proof-reading

DSA does not cover disability-related costs you’d have if you were not attending a course, or costs that any student might have.

• physical disability

• mental health difficulty

• long-term medical condition

• autistic spectrum condition

• A specific learning difference such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia or ADHD.

• DSA will no longer fund generic software e.g. GrammarlyPlus

• DSA will continue to fund Specialist software e.g. Dragon NaturallySpeaking where this meets a disability need

• The issue of changes to DSA software recommendations is discussed at WonkHE

Academic Skills - Libraries Learning Support

• Academic Skills Toolkit

• Study Skills Webinars

• Study With Us

• UoN Microsoft Community page dedicated to OneNote

• Microsoft OneNote help & learning page