Contact with the Department
It is important that you feel ‘at home’ in the Department. PhD research is very much an individual undertaking which might at times feel quite isolating. But you have many opportunities to connect with staff and fellow Research students throughout your programme.
All Research students are integrated into the Wednesday Departmental Research Seminars which bring together staff and research students for regular seminars. There is also an annual Postgraduate Research Colloquium, organised by research students and showcasing ongoing doctoral research.
The Department has a PGR Forum to discuss the PhD programme and engage with general departmental governance. Our PhD programmes have representation on the Departmental Research Committee through the volunteer Students Reps who can also attend the Faculty PGR Forum. If you wish to become a Student Rep contact the PGR Support Officer pol-pgr@sheffield.ac.uk.
The Department offers a range of events throughout the year such as lectures, symposia, masterclasses and teach-ins.
The Director of Postgraduate Research and PGR Admissions and Scholarships is Dr Lisa Stampnitzky. Dr Stampnitzky is responsible for the general strategic management of the PhD programme. The Director is happy to see any PhD student by appointment. Dr Liam Stanley is Deputy Director: Students and Progression. Students who are experiencing problems, be they related to their studies or personal, are invited to contact Dr Stanley in the first instance, either by appointment or email.
If we need to contact you
We will normally contact you collectively and individually via your University email address or occasionally by post. As soon as you have registered you will be able to register on the network with Corporate Information and Computing Services (CICS) and obtain an email address. You will automatically be allocated a generic student email address (eg jsmith1@sheffield.ac.uk) but as you are research students you can ask for your full name to be used in the address (eg j.smith@sheffield.ac.uk) and we recommend you do this. University email is provided by gmail, support and advice can be found here. You should let the PGR Support Officer pol-pgr@sheffield.ac.uk have your email address as soon as possible. You are advised to check your messages regularly in order not to miss important information. It is your responsibility to ensure that your university record is kept up-to-date. Please note that you can change your address and telephone number online by accessing your University Record via MUSE but please also make sure you inform the PGR Support Officer if you change your address. If you do not update your contact details you may not receive important information.
Your first contact for any department, procedural or progression questions is the PGR Support Officer pol-pgr@sheffield.ac.uk .
You will liaise directly with your supervisor/s with regard to supervision meetings but please note that all academic members of staff hold feedback hours twice a week.
Professional Boundaries
The department has guidelines on professional boundaries between staff and post-graduate research students. These guidelines were drafted following active consultation with the PGR community. They apply to you in your role as a PGR student and will apply to you if and when you act as a member of staff.
The General University Regulations apply to all students. They include Regulations which refer to registration and fees, academic progress, appeals, student discipline, etc. They can be found in Part II of the University Calendar , and in particular the General Regulations for Higher Degrees.
In the event that you have a complaint about some aspect of your experience in the Department, you should, in the first instance, contact your supervisor, or the PGR Support Officer. Alternatively you can speak with the Deputy Director of Postgraduate Research, Dr Liam Stanley who acts as Tutor to research students. The Deputy Director of Postgraduate Research will be able to support you in any issue or complaint that might relate to your supervision or broader aspects of departmental practice. For contact details of these people, see ‘Succeeding in Your Research’. Also, please see the Students’ Complaint Procedure