My progress reviews

The Early Candidature Checkpoint (ECC) is a checklist completed by the candidate and their Principal Advisor in the first three to six months FTE (PhD) or three months FTE (MPhil) of commencement. As part of the transition to Progress Reviews, we encourage you to complete an ECC if you have not yet passed this point in your candidature. From Research Quarter 3 (2022) all candidates will be asked to complete an ECC in their first three to six months FTE.

The purpose of the ECC is to ensure that candidates have completed the required induction activities and are on track for their first progress review.

You should undertake your progress review at the scheduled time, as the feedback will help you obtain advice and plan the remainder of your candidature. After your third progress review, if you have not maintained satisfactory progress you can submit a request to extend your submission date with the support of your advisory team and the Director of HDR.

You should proceed to undertake your progress review as this will help document your research progress to date, and provide you with valuable feedback on how to move forward. If you feel you have not made the expected progress for this review, ensure you articulate that in your candidate statement and explain the reasons why during your meeting with the panel.

Progress Reviews are not about a pass or fail, they are a check-in designed to provide you with independent feedback and guidance. Panels may recommend that you repeat your Progress Review, or request additional documentation if they have concerns about your progress.  The Review Panel will advise you and your advisory team both verbally, and in writing, about what they would like to see to help them feel confident in your progress.

Where a repeat review is recommended, PhD candidates will be given a maximum of three months FTE (1.5 months for an MPhil) to address the feedback provided by the Review Panel and reconvene a meeting with the chair/panel. This process does not extend your next Progress Review due date.

You will receive a reminder to initiate your Progress Review before the commencement of the research quarter in which the review is due. You will then have the entire research quarter to complete the progress review process. You will be required to submit your progress review documents and schedule a progress review meeting by the census date of the research quarter in which your progress review is due. Unless your school/institute has fixed dates for review meetings you can complete your review earlier if your advisory team feels that you’re ready.

Progress Reviews that have not been undertaken and an outcome recorded within the research quarter it is due will be regarded as overdue and must be undertaken during the following research quarter. Progress reviews that are more than one research quarter overdue may result in a Notice of intention to withdraw. In preparing to submit your thesis, it is also important to be aware of your tuition fee scholarship expiry date, as it is possible this expires earlier than the end of the research quarter.

No, your scholarship term is as per your offer letter. All UQ students on a UQ Research Training Program Scholarship or a UQ Research Training Scholarship will have their scholarship extended to 3.5 years (42 months) to line up with submission (42 months) as you near the 3-year point.  If you are in receipt of another scholarship and are unsure about the term, check your offer letter or reach out to us and we can guide you through what you may need to do.

Your repeat review will be due on the date set by your Chair when you receive your outcome. Please note, this will not change the date your review was due in your my.UQ Dashboard.

The documentation required for your repeat review should have been outlined in your Chairs report. Follow the feedback received in this report for what you need to present at your repeat review and initiate a new Progress Review request when you are ready. Remember to allow at least two weeks for your panel to review your documents.

Yes, you can submit anytime during the research quarter. However, please be mindful of your tuition fee expiry date. In preparing to submit your thesis, it is also important to be aware of your tuition fee scholarship expiry date, as it is possible this expires earlier than the end of the research quarter.

This would depend on your reasons for interruption. Interruption should not be used to extend your time to work on a repeat review. If you are unwell then you should be applying for sick leave, rather than interrupting. We recommend you discuss your circumstances with your Chair and submit the appropriate request to the Graduate School for consideration.