The PGR Development Programme offers you the opportunity to develop both your academic and professional skills, enhancing your employability and preparing you for the many tasks and challenges in your research environment and subsequent career.
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The PGR Development Programme is the development programme for our PhD, MPhil and Masters by Thesis students. The programme’s overall aim is to develop your research, professional and personal skills as you become an independent researcher.
As part of our PGR Development Programme, our PhD students are enrolled on the PG Certificate in Research Training. Taken alongside your PhD, this accredited training programme offers excellent added value to our postgraduate research experience. The scheme is free of charge and students are awarded a second qualification specifically in research training. This comes in the form of a Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma in Research Training, in addition to your PhD.
Employers, professional bodies and the UK Research Councils acknowledge the importance of having a comprehensive support programme for doctoral development. Hull, with its pioneering accredited training scheme that has been delivered since 1995, is well equipped to provide this for postgraduate research students.
The minimum number of credits required to study depends on the type of research qualification you are undertaking:
Any training above the required minimum of credits for your degree must be agreed beforehand with your supervisors to maintain a proper balance of activities.
The University of Hull offers two levels of award to PhD students who complete set numbers of credits (excluding exemptions):
Students will be given a written transcript listing their modules completed.
The PGR Development Programme and the PG Certificate in Research Training are overseen by the Doctoral College. Students choose from a catalogue of modules to meet their development needs; some modules may be compulsory by Faculties, Schools or Research Councils. For instance, all first year research students are required to take the core module: ‘Responsible Researcher’ as an induction into responsible and ethical research practices.
PG Certificate in Research Training modules are provided at Level 7 (Masters) through the Doctoral College, Faculties, and other professional services. The scheme is flexible and requires students to plan modules appropriate to their circumstances, field of study and module availability. Students must discuss their individual training programme with their supervisor(s) and update their plan as the research progresses annually. Credits can be obtained during the whole research period, but it is in the student’s interest to ensure that most are acquired at the beginning of the degree rather than towards the end.
While some subject-specific modules maybe vital for undertaking your research, students are encouraged to consider modules from outside their subject area. The opportunity to interact with postgraduates in other areas, and experience other forms of learning, offer valuable external perspectives on your work and help build cross-cohort connections for a more vibrant research culture.
Successful completion of each assessed module carries a credit value. Students should note that the submission of their thesis for examination is not permitted until they have accumulated sufficient credits.
In exceptional circumstances, partial exemptions can be given for previous research training that can be used to satisfy the requirements to allow submission of the thesis, but these would not count towards either the Certificate or Diploma.
The modules offered by the Doctoral College on the PG Certificate in Research Training combine asynchronous learning via Canvas with one in-person workshop for each 10-credit module.
Some modules are self-directed or distance taught, such as ‘Skills Portfolio’ or ‘Career Management for Research Students’ and are therefore available to all research students, regardless of their location.
Each student is formally assessed on each module. The exact form of assessment is decided by the module leader. In the spirit of the scheme, assessment should be formative: it attempts to give you feedback on how much you have learned and understood, rather than merely generate a result. Assessment methods include coursework, class or independent exercises, extended essays, formal reports, and examinations. Assessment of candidates within the PG Certificate in Research Training is expected to allow them to demonstrate how the material has been incorporated into their own research.
In order to be eligible to submit assignments for assessment, candidates must have attended and actively participated in at least 80% of the teaching sessions.
The outcomes of assessment for modules are that the student passes and is awarded the credits, or does not pass and has the option of being reassessed (once) in the same module, or of taking another module in its place.
The PG Certificate in Research Training is integrated into our standard PhD by thesis degree. You will be assessed for entry onto the PG Certificate with your application to your PhD degree. All research degree students are enrolled onto the mandatory Responsible Researcher module. Information on how to apply to take other modules is provided to all new postgraduate research students on their enrolment on their degree.
There are no fees for the PG Certificate in Research Training; students undertake the scheme as an integrated element of their PhD degree.