During your PhD there are some key milestones to meet. Some of these are mandatory milestones which are agreed by the University (see the Code of Practice 2023-24) and some are set by the Department. Milestones are to demonstrate that you are making good progress in your research, and that you have a good plan to complete on time. 

Below is a ladder of the milestones along with an approximate time-scale for when they need to be submitted during your PhD. Please note, the time-scales shown here are for students on a full-time 3.5 year fee paying period, 4 year time limit PhD.  Students time-scales for submissions can vary depending on the full-time/part-time study, length of fee paying period and if any Leave of Absence has been taken. 

Further information about some of the milestones is detailed below the ladder. 

Milestone   +   time from start of study 

• Induction 0 - 14 days

• Training Needs Analysis (TNA) updated and follow up with the PGR Director 3 months 

• Interim Review Mid 1st Year Submission (formally known as the Lit Review) 6 months 

• Confirmation Review Report Submission (formally the First Year Report), also submit updated TNA, DDP (Doctoral Development Plan) and DMP (data management plan) 9 months 

• Confirmation Review Viva before 12 months / 1 year

• Faculty of Science Graduate School Showcase 18 months (for some students with exceptions this is the following year) 

• 2nd Year Presentation within Department (often in Sep/Oct) 21 months 

• End of Second Year Report Submission also submit updated TNA and DDP 24/25 months / 2 years

• Interim Review Mid Third Year Submission 30 months

• End of 3rd Year Report Submission  35/36 months / 3 years

• Submission Review This is informed by the End of 3rd Year Report and the review is lead by the Supervisor, in coordination with the student and the assessor.  36 months / 3 years

• Interim Reports submitted quarterly by supervisor leading up to final thesis submission 39+ months

• Final Thesis Submission within Fee Paying Period  3.5 years 

• Final Viva 3.5 years to 4 years

Confirmation Review at the end of your first year 

Doctoral level postgraduate research students are admitted directly onto the PhD programme. Towards the end of the first year, students are required to undergo a ‘Confirmation Review’ in order to continue onto the second year of study. The vast majority of students will successfully pass the Confirmation Review (in some cases after a second chance), but the very small number of students who do not do so will be required to transfer to MPhil.

The Confirmation Review is intended to confirm whether or not the student and his/her research project have the potential for successful research at doctoral level. The Confirmation Review is also intended to ensure that the student has made satisfactory progress on the DDP, in line with the student’s needs identified via the Training Needs Analysis. 

As part of the Confirmation Review, students are required to submit a significant piece of written work (Confirmation Review Report) and undergo an viva (oral examination). You should expect to submit your Confirmation Review Report at about 9 months of starting your studies and your viva will be arranged as soon as practicable after submission of your report. Nearer the time, you will receive an e-mail from the Director of Postgraduate Research with details of what is required and the deadline for submitting your written work. 

SoMaS presentation 

To further develop your communication skills, all PGR students in SoMaS are required to give a short presentation to SoMaS staff and PGR students, usually towards the very end of their second year. The presentation will be for a general mathematical audience and will be part of a SoMaS event. Further details will be circulated by e-mail nearer the time. This presentation forms part of your formal progress monitoring. As part of their DDP activity, students are also expected to present their work at seminars, workshops and conferences.

Submission Review

You are required to undertake a submission review approximately six months before the end of your tuition fee paying period, which is generally the same as the end of your funding. For most students in the department, this will be 3.5 years, so the submission review is due at the end of 3 years.  The supervisor will lead this review, in coordination with the student and advisor. For the review, you will need to produce a realistic plan for finishing any outstanding research, completing the writing of your thesis, and getting it submitted before the end of the tuition fee paying period. More details are given in the Code of Practice.

Submission Pending Period and Fees

What is the submission pending period?  Where a student's tuition fee paying period is less than four years, students will automatically enter the Submission Pending period after the end of their fee paying period. Submission Pending is the period of registration between the end of the tuition fee paying period and  before the four year time limit.  

For further help and information on the Submission Pending Period please see this Submission Pending Period guidance document here. This guidance has been produced by Faculty with the support of PGRDs and student reps. 

Please also see the Code of Practice for further guidance and information on the Submission Pending Period. In this time period, you will need department level approval and confirmation if you wish to continue to access research facilities and labs.  Full tuition fees are not due for this period, but there will be a Submission Pending fee charged. For 2023/24 it will either be £492 per annum or £41 per month until the submission of the thesis.  Students are expected to use this period for the completion of their thesis only - more information can be found here: Expectations for the Submission Pending Period.