Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Confirmation

Oral presentation
An oral presentation (minimum of 20mins) followed by ~10min Q&A advertised to the entire theme/school is required. All members of the review panel should be in attendance. The oral presentation should explore the research undertaken to date and the anticipated future directions of the research project.

Confirmation report
The Confirmation Report should be single spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font, A4 paper, with 2 cm margins. The Confirmation Report should not exceed 30 pages, including figures. The Confirmation Report must be submitted to all Panel members at least 7 days before the meeting by initiating the milestone review process online. The Confirmation Report should include:

a thesis title;
a project abstract (250 words);
a literature review that summarises existing knowledge and identifies knowledge gaps that will be addressed;
statement of hypotheses and specific aims;
an outline of the research significance and the potential impact;
experimental design and methods of planned experiments, including statistical methods and a timeline for the proposed work;
discussion of expected outcomes, anticipated problems and alternative strategies;
progress to date focussing on results generated and discussion including details of any problems encountered;
references to support your research plan (not included in the 30 page limit).

The Panel meeting will be run in the following way:

The Panel Chair will run the meetings. Typical meetings will be for a minimum of 1 h and should follow the format prescribed below.
The Panel will engage in a discussion with the student about their presentation and Confirmation Report. The discussion will include assessment of the student's general knowledge of their field of research. As well as ascertain satisfactory completion of Faculty training requirements, and identify skills/training needs.
The Panel will review the student's fulfilment of their course requirements.
The supervisors will leave so that the Panel can discuss with the student, in confidence, any matters of concern to the student.
The supervisors will return and the student will leave for any further discussion.
The student will return and be informed of the outcome of the meeting, which will also be communicated by the appropriate Milestone Report Form.

Progress review

Oral presentation
An oral presentation (minimum of 20min) followed by ~10min Q&A advertised to the entire theme/school is required. All members of the review panel should be in attendance. The oral presentation should explore the research undertaken to date and the anticipated future directions of the research project.

Progress Review Report
Students will prepare a Progress Review Report that includes:

an update that summarises progress made since the Confirmation milestone (maximum of 3,000 words); and
one of the following:
(i) a published paper (preferred);
(ii) a submitted manuscript; or
(iii) a draft thesis chapter containing the student's results.

The Progress Review Report must be submitted to all Panel members at least 7 days before the meeting by initiating the milestone review process online. The Panel meeting (1 hour) will be run in the same manner as the Confirmation meeting. The Panel should focus on providing advice to the candidate on planning the final 12 months of research to allow for preparation of a well-structured thesis.

Final review

Oral presentation
An oral presentation (minimum of 20min) followed by ~10min Q&A advertised to the entire theme/school is required. All members of the review panel should be in attendance. The oral presentation should provide an overview of the research findings throughout the thesis and any final studies that may be required for thesis submission.

Final Review Report
The Final Review Report (maximum of 3,000 words) should provide an overview of the research project and the main findings. The Final Review Report should also include a thesis chapter outline as an appendix that should provide the chapter and section headings in numbered format (not included in the 3,000-word limit). The Final Review Report must be submitted to all Panel members at least 7 days before the meeting by initiating the milestone review process online.

Research impact statement
A research impact statement of between 300-500 words describing the possible impact of the research, the people for whom the research could benefit, a pathway to impact, and how that impact could be measured.

Panel meeting
The Panel will undertake broad‐ranging questioning of the student. The Panel will need to be convinced that the student has sufficient research data and has developed as an independent researcher to progress to submission. The supervisors will leave so that the Panel can discuss with the student, in confidence, any matters of concern to the student. The supervisors will return and the student will leave for any further discussion. The student will return and be informed of the outcome of the meeting, which will also be communicated by the appropriate Milestone Report Form. The Panel will also provide feedback to the candidate on the chapter outline and advice as to the most desirable path to successful completion of their thesis. The Panel should also offer assistance in career planning at this meeting.