Unit 3: Candidature Management

Unit 1: HDR & GRS HDR Cohort GRS Role GRS Office & Structure GRS Webpages HDR Policies & Rules Course Administration

Unit 2: Induction & Orientation Induction Campus Card Student Email studentConnect Supervision SPORS Professional Relationships Graduate Research Coordinators Scholarships SSAF & OSHC

Unit 3: Candidature Management Enrolment ACE & Coursework Enrolments DELNA Milestone Paperwork Research Funding Research Proposals Annual Progress Reports Confirmation of Candidature GRS Forms Ethics Approvals

Induction Structure

Re-enrolment Candidature Variations Leave & Suspensions Student Travel & Travel Awards Partnerships & Internships IP & Legal Services

Unit 4: Support, Training & Resources GEOs Researcher Training Resources & Training Academic Writing & Editorial Assistance STUDYSmarter Turnitin LinkedIn Learning Library Services Computer & IT Help Statistical Consultations Research Integrity Training Ethics Application Support Careers Guild & PSA Safety & Security Wellbeing

Unit 5: Examination Thesis Examination Viva Voce Thesis as Series of Papers

List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ABLE Arts, Business, Law and Education

ACE Academic Conduct Essentials

AEC Animal Ethics Committee

APA Australian Postgraduate Award

APR.Intern Australian Postgraduate Research Intern

COI Conflict of Interest

DBA Doctor of Business Administration

DELNA Diagnostic English Language Needs Assessment

EMS Engineering and Mathematical Sciences

FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

FTE Full Time Equivalent

GEO Graduate Education Officer

GRC Graduate Research Coordinator

GRS Graduate Research School

HDR Higher Degree Research

HDR Prelim HDR Preliminary

HMS Health and Medical Sciences

HREC Human Research Ethics Committee

IPEd Institute of Professional Editors

IPRS International Postgraduate Research Scholarships

LMS Learning Management System (BlackBoard)

MPhil Masters of Philosophy

MRes Masters of Research

ORE Office of Research Enterprise

OSHC Overseas Health Cover

PhD Doctor of Philosophy

PPD Paid Professional Development

REU Research End User

RIA Research Integrity Advisor

RTF Researcher training Framework

RTP Research Training Program

RTS Researcher Training Scheme

SCI Science

SIRF Scholarships for International Research Fees

SJD Doctor of Juridical Science

SPORS Student Perceptions of Research Supervision

SSAF Student Services and Amenities Fees

TEQSA Tertiary Education Quality and Standards

UPA UWA Postgraduate Award

UWA University of Western Australia

Enrolment Policy & Terms

Your Terms of Enrolment were outlined in the Authority to Enrol letter that you received prior to commencing. You will also receive a verification of enrolment email shortly after enrolment. It is important you read and understand your terms of enrolment and check your enrolment details are correct.

If you wish to change the terms of your enrolment at any time, you will need to communicate with the GRS (or your faculty if your course is faculty-administered).

International students must note that changes to enrolment may affect your student visa. You should contact Immigration in the Department of Home Affairs to explore the potential implications of any changes to your enrolment. Sponsored students should also contact the UWA International Sponsored Students Unit.

GRS Candidature Terms Sponsored Students Unit

HDR Student Enrolment A few key terms of your enrolment terms are:

• If you are enrolled full time, you must work at least 30 hours per week onyour research. You will normally work these hours during the workingweek unless you and your supervisors have agreed on alternate, safeworking arrangements.

• If you are in receipt of a scholarship you are usually required to be fulltime and all international students must be full time if they are on astudent visa.

• External enrolment is possible provided suitable arrangements are madefor supervision and access to facilities and resources.

• You may apply for one or more periods of voluntary suspension, up to amaximum of 12 months.

GRS Candidature Terms

ACE & Coursework Unit Enrolments

All undergraduate and postgraduate students who are new to UWA are required to complete a short online course, Academic Conduct Essentials (ACE), within the first 10 weeks of enrolment. The unit is designed to inform you of academic practices and misconduct and ensure you are familiar with UWA’s academic expectations as early as possible in your candidature. Enrolment in ACE can be seen in Callista and after completing the course, it will appear as an ungraded pass on your academic transcript. If you fail to complete ACE you will be re-enrolled in the unit until you pass.

ACE Enrol in Coursework Unit

Coursework Unit Enrolments You are also permitted to enrol in up to 24 points of coursework units. Supervisor approval is required for these units and enrolment is approved and managed by the GRS. You will not pay fees for these coursework units.

DELNA

All newly enrolled HDR candidates are required to complete a Diagnostic English Language Needs Assessment (DELNA).

The DELNA is a diagnostic tool to identify students early who, due to insufficient English language skills, need support to develop their academic writing skills.

An English Language Enrichment Program has been developed to students identified as requiring English language support.

DELNA

Milestone Paperwork

You need to submit paperwork to the GRS at important points in your candidature. These important dates, known as milestones, are calculated from your enrolment date. Your milestone paperwork includes your • research proposal• annual report• confirmation of candidature (if you are enrolled in a PhD)• thesis

Your milestone due dates are found in studentConnect. If you change your enrolment status (by changing to full-time, part-time, or suspending your candidature) these dates will be automatically updated. Additional milestones are likely to be added to your list during candidature.

If your course is administered by your faculty, check your course rules to determine if you have any milestone paperwork and whether or not this paperwork is managed by the faculty or the GRS.

Research Funding

The GRS does not provide funding to cover the costs of your research – this is managed at the school and faculty level. By accepting you into their research program, your school commits to providing sufficient resources to enable you to complete your course.

When you will submit your research proposal to the GRS, you will include a research budget that outlines your major project costs and how these costs will be covered. How your project will be resourced will be clarified when you prepare this budget.

The only funding provided to you by the GRS is the GRS Travel Award.

Details about UWA’s expectations of HDR resourcing are outlined in the Infrastructure Guidelines for the Support of HDR Candidates.

Infrastructure Guidelines

Research Proposal

You will need to submit a research proposal early in candidature. You can find the due date for your proposal in your studentConnect milestones list. The GRS provides a range of support to help you write and submit your proposal, including a step-by-step guide to the guidelines, a face-to-face workshop and a two day writing retreat.

If you have a sound reason, you may request an extension to your research proposal due date. If you do not request an extension for your research proposal and your research proposal is late, this may result in suspension of your candidature.

Research proposals will be reviewed by a member of the GRS Board, who may approve the proposal outright, seek further clarification, or request changes. The review process takes ~4 weeks, but may take longer depending on availability of board members.

If you are a faculty-administered student, check your course rules to determine your research proposal requirements.

Research Proposal Guidelines Research Proposal Support

You are required to lodge an Annual Progress Report at the end of every year of your candidature . An Annual Report Information Sheet is provided to help you complete the report. If you are on suspension or part-time, you still submit this report once a year.

The Annual Progress Report provides an opportunity for you, your supervisors and your GRC to review your progress and revise your research plan.

Supervisors and/or the GRS may request more frequent progress reporting using an Interim Progress Report. These reports often focus on a specific issue that has impacted on progress and ensures additional support is provided.

Progress Reports

Annual Progress Report Interim Report APR Information

If you are a PhD student, you are provisionally enrolled for the first FTE year of candidature and become a confirmed candidate after approval of your confirmation paperwork. Full-time PhD students submit this paperwork with their first annual report. Part-time PhD students submit the paperwork with their second annual report.

Confirmation of Candidature is designed to give you a clear understanding of your assessment of the early stages of your candidature AND ensure the GRS knows you and your supervisors agree you are likely to complete your course in the time required.

The GRS has two mandatory confirmation tasks:

• a non-graded pass in the ACE unit

• a substantial piece of writing at the appropriate conceptual level. Your supervisorwill assess this piece of academic writing to determine if you can clearlycommunicate your understanding of a complex topic. The GRS will not assess thiswriting but will ask your supervisors to confirm your academic writing skills.

Your school may also add mandatory tasks to your confirmation task list.

Confirmation of Candidature for PhD Candidates

Confirmation Candidature

GRS Hard Copy and Online Forms

The GRS have a range of forms that can be accessed from the GRS Current Students splash page.

Most should be submitted to the GRS using a hard copy form. These forms are submitted to the GRS by email (pghelp@postgraduate.uwa.edu.au) or in person at the GRS front reception desk in Hackett Hall.

Applications for overseas travel, leave, suspension, changes to enrolment or supervision, or addition of coursework units can be submitted using an online studentConnect form. Online forms are not available for all faculties so please read the information provided on the GRS forms webpage.

GRS Forms Webpage

Ethics Approvals & Other Approvals

UWA ethics approval is mandatory if you are working on a project that requires ethics approval. Even when research is covered by ethics approval from another institution, approval for the your work is still normally required from the relevant UWA ethics committee. This includes hospital-based research projects with hospital or NHMRC ethics approval. Retrospective ethics approval is rarely possible for human research and never possible for animal research.

If you require animal or human ethics approval for your research, ethics milestones are entered into your milestones list.

Please notify the GRS when your ethics approval(s) have been obtained or when you no longer need ethics approvals.

A range of other approvals may be required for your research project. You will be required to note these approvals in your research proposal.

Human Research Ethics Animal Ethics

HDR Student Re-Enrolment

If you are enrolled in a GRS-administered course, you are automatically re-enrolled each academic year if you

• have made satisfactory progress

• do not have any outstanding debts to the University (such as unpaid SSAF, library fines or parking fines)

• have submitted all milestone paperwork by the required date

Reminders are sent to you by the GRS prior to the re-enrolment period and you will be warned if you are at risk of missing re-enrolment.

If you miss automatic re-enrolment, you are required to submit the outstanding milestone to the GRS and/or address the encumbrance. A enrolment fee may also need to be paid to Student Administration.

Variations to Candidature

The GRS needs to approve any changes to your candidature conditions (or faculty if your course is faculty-administered).

If you wish to change your candidature, consult with your supervisors and GRC first. Most changes then require a submission of variation to candidature form to the GRS for approval. Common variations to candidature include:

• changing enrolment type (part-time, full-time, external)

• adding or removing supervisors

• adding coursework units

International students must remember that changes to candidature can affect student visas. Sponsored students should also contact the Sponsored Students Unit to discuss any proposed changes.

Candidature advice buttons on the GRS student splash link to information about changing your terms of candidature.

Annual Leave, Sick Leave & Suspension

You accrue four weeks of recreational leave each year of your candidature. You do not need to inform the GRS of your annual leave if you take four weeks or less within Australia, but you should seek approval from your supervisors.

If required, you have up to two weeks sick leave each year. Many scholarships also provide additional paid sick leave entitlements.

For sick leave of more than two weeks but less than three months, a leave form and medical certificate are required. Periods of sick leave longer than three months may be managed by suspension.

If you face personal or unforeseen difficulties during your candidature, you can request a suspension to your candidature and/or scholarship. Suspensions of greater than 1 month and up to 12 months can be requested. In exceptional circumstances, a further extension of up to 12 months can be approved.

If you are an international student, you may need to negotiate periods of suspension with your scholarship provider or sponsor. You should also discuss the implications of suspension with the Australian immigration, the Department of Home Affairs, as your visa conditions may require you to leave Australia after one month of suspension.

Leave Advice

Travel Awards

GRS Travel Award

The GRS Travel Award provides all HDR students (part time and full time, PhD and Masters) with up to $1850 to travel internationally or interstate for research purposes during candidature (provided the course length is at least two years). In exceptional cases, the award may used for long distance travel within WA.

You are also encouraged to apply for competitive travel awards. A number of these are advertised on the GRS travel webpage and in the UWA scholarships database.

Overseas Travel

If you travel overseas for research purposes, you need to notify the GRS of your travel plans by completing an Overseas Travel form. Usually, approval of overseas leave for students is only approved if their Research Proposal has been submitted to the GRS. However, if you need to travel early in candidature for serious personal reasons, contact the GRS as this rule may be waived on compassionate grounds.

If you are an international student on a student visa, you also need to complete an overseas travel form when applying for overseas recreational leave.

UWA has a medical and security travel support provider, Healix International. You are encouraged to obtain a Healix card and download the Healix App for access to pre-departure information and 24/7 access to medical, security and other advice when travelling.

Healix Overseas Travel

For those of you seeking a career in academia, industry, government or business after completion of your studies, you may consider participating in internships to increase your employability.

The GRS Research Internships webpage includes the eligibility criteria, details of how to create an internship, links to existing internship opportunities, how to apply for leave for an internship, limits on the amount of time that may spend in internships, candidature management expectations, international student considerations and internship reporting requirements.

RTP and other UWA scholarship holders can apply for up to four weeks of paid professional development to undertake activities such as internships, demonstrating in laboratories, tutoring, assisting with field trips, or organising conferences.

Research Internships & Paid PD

Internships PPD Leave Advice

APR Intern

UWA is linked with a number of internship providers, including iPrep, APR.Intern, Mitacs and the Matariki Network.

iPrep is an inter-university internship program that creates multidisciplinary teams on a six-week paid project to help private and public sector organisations solve problems and challenges.

APR.Intern is a national all-discipline internship program placing PhD students into industry. A not-for-profit program, APR.Intern works to connect HDR students and supervisors with industry partners through 3-5 month, tightly focused research projects.

iPrep, APR.Intern, Mitacs and Matariki

Mitacs Australia iPrep Matariki Network

Student IP and Legal Advice

IP Advice

Unless your IP has been re-assigned to another party, you own the IP you create from your research project.

If there are any pre-existing confidentiality and/or IP agreements related to your research project, your supervisor will advise you about these agreements and their implications prior to commencing your candidature.

UWA Legal Services will liaise with your supervisors but will not liaise directly with you. They suggest you seek independent advice before signing any legal agreements related to your research.

You should also be aware of any confidentiality and IP issues that may arise during candidature, particularly if your research involves external parties, such as study participants, companies, publishers, or funding agencies. Your supervisors and the research proposal process will help clarify any of these potential issues.

Maximum Periods of Candidature

If you are a PhD student you have four years (FTE) of candidature. If you are a MPhil student you have two years (FTE) of candidature. The thesis submission date in your studentConnect milestones list shows the end date of your candidature.

Living allowance scholarships, also known as stipends, are often shorter than the maximum period of candidacy, so this needs to be considered when preparing timelines in your research proposal and annual reports.

Candidature Advice

Return to Induction

Proceed to Unit 4