School of Political Science and International Studies Progress Review Guidelines

Before reading the guidelines outlined on this page, ensure you have reviewed all the information about Progress Reviews, including the criteria for each review, and the Higher Degree by Research Candidature Progression Procedure.

How to organise a Progress Review

The following guidelines outline the management and conduct of HDR Progress Reviews in the [School of Political Science and International Studies. These guidelines should be used in combination with the Higher Degree by Research Candidature Policy and the Higher Degree by Research Candidature Procedure. Further instructions to help you to arrange your upcoming review are available here.

Progress Reviews Snapshot

Progress review requirements
	Confirmation of Candidature (R1)	Review 2 (R2)	Review 3 (R3)
Candidature Documents	Candidate statement Individual Development Plan (IDP) Statement of past and future (planned) development activities	Candidate statement Individual Development Plan (IDP) Statement of past and future (planned) development activities	Candidate statement Individual Development Plan (IDP) Statement of past and future (planned) development activities
Project Documents	7000 word research proposal (excluding references) iThenticate report	12,000 Word paper (excluding references). Ethics approval submission or approval iThenticate report	Full thesis draft up to 80,000 pages Ethics approval iThenticate report
Review Meeting	60 minutes	60 minutes	60 minutes
Oral Presentation	Open 15 minutes candidate presentation + 5 minute student reader response + 5 minute responses from academic readers + 20-30 minutes of Q and A. 2nd 20 minute meeting after 30 days where candidate explains revised research proposal and panel determines confirmation.	Open /Closed optional 15 minutes candidate presentation + 5 minute student reader response + 5 minute academic reader response + 30-40 minutes of Q and A.	Open/Closed Optional 15 minutes candidate presentation + 30-40 minutes of Q and A involving the academic reader.

Note: At the latest your progress review documents should be lodged in the system by the census date in the research quarter in which your review is due.

Panel Composition

Your Progress Review Panel (PRP) in the School of Political Science and International Studies will consist of:

For Progress Review 1 (R1): a Chair, who will also review your work, and two academic readers
For Progress Reviews 2 and 3 (R2 and R3): a Chair and one academic reader

Confirmation of Candidature Review (R1)

Your confirmation of candidature review will include the submission of your candidature and project documents, a 15-minute presentation on your proposed project and your participation in 30-40 minutes of question time. You should schedule this session to occur on Fridays as part of the sessions allocated by POLSIS throughout the academic year. After the review the panel will meet in a closed session to review progress.

Your review document will be submitted online and take the form of a 7,000-word research proposal (excluding references) including the following sections:

A statement of the Research Problem the project is addressing
A statement of the overall Research Question(s)
A draft literature review encompassing a brief description of existing research in the field (key authors, debates etc)
A discussion of the theoretical framework, theoretical approaches or theoretical ‘tools’ being utilised (note that theory and method need to be connected in a project)
An explanation of the method(s) that will be employed to answer the research question
A statement of the likely ‘contribution to knowledge’ that the thesis will make. Most of this needs to be addressed to the literature (the existing state of knowledge in the research field)
A list of proposed chapters
A timetable for completion of the thesis as a whole
A consideration of any ethical or safety issues in the execution of the research project

Written feedback will be provided by your academic and student readers on the Monday after the presentation. The candidate will have one month to revise the paper in line with readers comments and resubmit to the panel for consideration 5 days prior to this date.

At this point a closed meeting will be held with the candidate, the progress review panel and supervisors. (NB student readers are not part of this meeting and do not have input into the panel’s decision-making). Here the candidate will explain how they have responded to reader suggestions. The panel will then hold a closed meeting to consider the candidates responses and if the candidature is confirmed. After this process, the Progress Review Chair will also meet with the candidate separately to discuss their progress and any matters the candidate feels inclined to raise (These meetings will also take place on Friday mornings where possible). The chair will prepare a brief written precis and will provide a recommendation to the Dean, UQ Graduate School about attainment of the review.

Progress Review 2 (R2)

The second progress review requires the submission of your project documents, and a 15-minute oral presentation and your participation in 30-40 minutes of question/discussion time with the review panel, your student readers and audience if this is held as an open session. This will be scheduled to occur on Fridays as part of the sessions allocated by POLSIS throughout the academic year. Your review documents will be submitted online and will include the candidature and project documents outlined in the snapshot above.

At this point you will be expected to submit a 12,000-word paper (excluding references. This should include an extended introduction (not more than 3 pages) that summarises the projects key lines of enquiry, theoretical framework and then a more extended discussion (not more than 8000 words that may be a draft chapter, or other empirical- or theory-based discussion of findings emerging from the research. Evidence of ethics application progress/approval should also be included along with the other candidature documents.

You will also be required to do a 15-minute presentation (open or closed optional) and participate in 30-40 minutes of questions about the presentation and paper from your academic, student reader and others in attendance if you choose to do this as an open session.

Written feedback will be provided by your academic and student reader on the Monday after this session. The progress review chair will prepare a brief written precis and will provide a recommendation to the Dean, UQ Graduate School about attainment of the review. (NB student readers do not have input into the Chair’s decision-making on the attainment of the review).

Progress Review 3 (R3)

Your third progress review will include the submission of your candidature and project documents, a 15-minute closed oral presentation and your participation in 30-40 minutes of question/discussion time with the review panel. This will be scheduled to occur on Fridays as part of the sessions allocated by POLSIS throughout the academic year. Your review documents will be submitted online and will include the candidature and project documents outlined in the snapshot above.

At this point you are expected to submit a full draft of your thesis (up to 80,000 words), evidence of ethics approval (if that has been required for the research) and a timeline/plan explaining how the final period of candidature will be used until the submission date. You will also be required to do a 15-minute closed presentation and participate in 30-40 minutes of questions from your academic readers. You may also invite one student reader to be part of the Q and A session. They will be expected to read at least the introductory chapter to the thesis and one other chapter. This will be undertaken as a mock oral examination and will focused on questions that external examiners are likely to ask. Students will be expected to answer a range of critical questions about the most important aspects of research design, argument and contribution.

Written feedback will be provided by your academic and student readers on the Monday after this session. The progress review chair will prepare a brief written precis and will provide a recommendation to the Dean, UQ Graduate School about attainment of the review. (NB student readers do not have input into the Chair’s decision-making on the attainment of the review).