Upgrading Registration from MPhil to PhD

  • Why do we have upgrading?
    1. Doctoral research is, in many ways, quite unlike any other form of study that most students will ever have undertaken; it also involves an extended period of study. This being the case, there needs to be an early assessment of whether or not it is appropriate for a student to continue for the long haul.

    2. The PhD is the highest award that the University offers. Its examination makes heavy demands on examiners, on whose goodwill we rely, and success at this level is a very visible and key measure of the successful performance of the institution, just as failures and referrals are very visible and key indicators of underperformance. The process of upgrading is an important procedure of quality control.
    3. The PhD process is heavily dominated by the student/supervisor relationship. The upgrading process is an opportunity for the student's work to be closely and objectively scrutinised and responded to by experienced academics who have not been involved in the research. This should be of immense value to both student and supervisor.
    4. The 'interview', which is normally a part of the upgrading process serves as an early experience of a kind of viva voce examination.