Academic Regulations Governing Postgraduate Degrees by Research and Thesis

3. Application and Registration Procedures

1. Prior to submitting an application, the candidate must consult with the appropriate School/Department(s) on the proposed programme of study and must ascertain whether or not the School/ Department(s) would be prepared to recommend his/her application to Academic Council. In the case of candidates not meeting the normal entry requirements or holding overseas qualifications, the relevant School/Department must articulate specific and cogent reasons in support of such candidates (on Form PGR1).

2. All applications to undertake postgraduate studies must be submitted on the College's official Postgraduate Studies Application Form. Applicants to St Patrick's College are required also to submit an outline proposal (see guidelines below).The completed application form together with the necessary supporting documentation must be submitted to the Registry. Closing dates for receipt of applications are given in the Annual Academic Calendar. In the case of St Patrick's College, the closing date for receipt of applications is 30 April and 30 November annually.

3. The Registry/ registrar's office (SPCD) will acknowledge receipt of properly completed forms, once verification of the supporting documentation has been carried out. Application forms which are incomplete or lacking the relevant documentation will be returned to the candidate.

4. Using an appropriately designed pro forma (Form PGR9), the Registry/ registrar's office (SPCD) will refer a summary of all completed applications to Academic Council for its consideration and recommendation. Academic Council will ensure:

• that the candidate possesses, or will possess, the required entry qualifications;
• that the relevant expertise and facilities are available within the University to support the research programme indicated;
• that there are adequate arrangements for supervision;
• that the research programme is appropriate for the award of a higher degree.

 

5. Where questions arise regarding a candidate's application (e.g. possession of the required entry qualifications), Standing Committee will refer the documentation to the Research Committee for its consideration and advice.

6. Successful candidates will then be notified by the Registry and will be required to register formally with that office. The Registry will also notify the relevant School and will be responsible for ensuring registration of all postgraduate applicants approved by Academic Council.

7. Successful candidates will be admitted as registered postgraduate students subject to the payment of the appropriate fees.

8. All postgraduate students are required to re-register on an annual basis. Such registration is subject to payment of the appropriate fees and satisfactory progress certified by the supervisor. Postgraduate research students are permitted to register for one academic year only as a write-up student and must have submitted their completed research and all associated examination reports within the academic year in which they are registered as a write-up student.

GUIDELINES FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS FOR PROSPECTIVE RESEARCH DEGREES

(See item 2 above)

In addition to submitting the standard application form, names of referees and full transcripts of degrees, an applicant for a research degree should prepare a preliminary proposal. It should generally contain the following elements:

1. An initial, brief statement outlining a clear issue to be studied, no more than c.100 words.
2. A more developed research statement, c. 1500-2000 words in length, which will clarify that the issue has not been addressed or has been incompletely or inadequately addressed. While the issue need not be simple, or be stated in a single sentence, or conceptualized in traditional, empirical, hypothesis-testing terms, it must be clear and explicit and indicate that the study will be thorough and systematic.

The research statement may include the following elements:

• A statement of the research problem.
• Evidence of its significance.
• The theoretical framework of the research. (Not all proposals will have an explicit discussion of the theoretical perspective and, for those that do not, the perspective of the study is usually implicit in the proposal.)
• What has been omitted from research to date on this topic.
• What the applicant intends to contribute to the field.
• The significance of the applicant's contribution.

3. In addition, an outline of the research design that enables you to address this question most comprehensively should be included.
4. The proposal should acknowledge the research context within which it is developed, usually through some form of a preliminary review of the existing literature/criticism (c. 500 words), if it is to make an evidentiary claim and argument. It should contain a brief critical review of important recent literature and secondary sources on the topic. This review offer a preliminary analysis of major trends and gaps in the field.
5. The proposal should include a bibliography containing 20-50 citations of recent texts related to the subject.
6. In addition to acknowledging the university's ethical review protocol, the proposal should detail any potential ethical problems beyond common, everyday risk. A proposal therefore should:

• Show some awareness of issues of power and privilege
• Thoroughly understand the implications of ethical concepts such as 'risk', 'no intent to harm', 'informed consent', and the 'right to withdraw'
• Indicate the applicant's intention to adhere to the formal ethical protocols of the university
• and to act ethically.

NOTE: Applicants are reminded that research problems in the field of education and humanities necessarily involve educational or humanities problems, by definition. However, not all educational/humanities problems are research problems.

The Registrar's Office, March 2004.

Postgraduate Research Application Forms (PGR1) may be downloaded from the Admissions Office website.

Last Updated: Tuesday November 14 2006