Guidelines
For Research Higher Degree Candidates (PhD & MPhil)
in the Sustainable Minerals Institute
ATTAINMENT OF THESIS REVIEW MILESTONE (PhD & MPhil) – GUIDELINES
1.
Overview
Do you have a Thesis? This milestone will give you the opportunity to answer this question. By this stage
you should have the majority of your thesis written. Your peers will be available to provide you with
direction and guidance in the final stages of your project. Comment will be made on the content and
structure of your thesis. You will receive suggestions on how to make it ready for submission.
The thesis review milestone occurs 12 months after the attainment of the Mid-Candidature review
(PhD), and 6 months after the attainment of the Mid-Candidature review (MPhil), and no later
than three months full-time equivalent (FTE) for both PhD and MPhil candidates before the expected
submission date of the thesis.
Success at this milestone demonstrates the completion of their research project and their readiness to
finish their thesis writing and to submit their thesis for assessment.
The thesis review:
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enables the school/institute to determine collectively that the work should be ready for
assessment by the expected date;
allows any differences of opinion among the candidate and the advisory team about the
readiness of the thesis for assessment to be aired and settled collegially;
assures the candidate and advisory team of the scope, originality and quality of the thesis;
identifies any major concerns that need attention before submission;
provides a forum for discussing the mix of disciplinary knowledge required among the thesis
assessors to review the breadth of work contained within the thesis; and
enables the candidate and the advisors to express any reservations or concerns about having
any particular individual act as an assessor.
In addition to matters normally covered by feedback and recommendation documents, the thesis review
feedback attests to the quality and scope of the research, details decisions reached about the mix of
thesis assessors, records reservations about particular individuals, and states the expected thesis
submission date.
Assessment of attainment of this milestone is made on the basis of evidence including:
1. Written component completed by the candidate,
This includes summary information about the thesis, including the thesis title, the thesis preliminary
pages; and a full draft of the thesis. The quantity of final draft material required for this assessment is
determined by the school/institute so that it is appropriate to the candidate's thesis format and field of
research.
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2. Seminar completed by the candidate,
This demonstrates that the candidate is developing their ability to communicate their research to a
wider audience. It provides them with the opportunity to receive constructive feedback on their
research project and their verbal presentation skills from outside the advisory team.
3. Interview/dialogue with the candidate.
This provides an opportunity to:
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practice interviewing, verbal briefings and team skills,
assess the candidate's expert knowledge of their research area,
assess the clarity and progression of the structure of the thesis,
assess the quality of the academic writing contained in the thesis,
assess the appropriateness of the draft abstract in describing the content of the thesis to
potential thesis examiners,
discuss the mix of disciplinary knowledge required among the thesis assessors to review the
breadth of work contained within the thesis, and
see if the candidate or the advisors have any reservations or concerns about any particular
individual acting as a thesis assessor.
Each recommendation that a milestone has or has not been achieved is a collective decision reached by
a group of Institute representatives on the basis of evidence provided by the candidate and advice
provided by the advisory team.
The Institute may recommend to the Dean, UQ Graduate School:
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that the milestone has been achieved;
an extension of the due date (typically 3 months FTE for PhD) for achieving the milestone; or
that the candidate has not achieved the milestone after more than one attempt and will be
recommended to transfer to the MPhil program (if enrolled in PhD program) or to be withdrawn
from the program all together.
Extension of Milestone: If the candidate is not yet ready to undergo the Mid-Candidature milestone, the
candidate may request an extension of a milestone due date justifying their request on the Attainment
or extension of milestone form. Where an extension is being sought, the attainment or extension of
milestone form must be approved and submitted to the UQ Graduate School at least 2 weeks prior to
the milestone due date.
PhD candidates may apply for up to 3 x 3 month (FTE) extensions during their candidature, including
submission. MPhil candidates may apply for up to a maximum of 4.5 months (FTE) during their
candidature, including submission, with no request exceeding 3 months in duration.
Further information on milestones is available on the UQ Graduate School website:
http://www.uq.edu.au/grad-school/milestones and in the University’s Policies and Procedures Library:
https://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/4.60.05-research-higher-degree-candidature-progression-anddevelopment.
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2.
Responsibilities & Administration
2.1. Postgraduate Coordinator
As the Institute Director’s delegate, the SMI Postgraduate Coordinator has the formal responsibility for
making recommendations to the Dean, UQ Graduate School about the candidate’s progress towards
and/or achievement of milestones. Therefore, at a minimum the Postgraduate Coordinator and the
advisory team must be involved in the decision-making around each milestone.
It is a common practice for the Postgraduate Coordinator to delegate to another staff member the
responsibility of participating with the advisory team in reviewing the candidate’s progress towards
achieving each milestone, particularly in those cases where the Postgraduate Coordinator’s disciplinary
background is not closely aligned to the candidate’s project. In such cases, the Postgraduate
Coordinator continues to carry out their role as the Institute decision-maker who acts on the
recommendation of those who participate in the components. It is therefore important that the
Postgraduate Coordinator receives appropriately detailed feedback that guides them in making their
recommendation to the Dean, UQ Graduate School.
2.2. Postgraduate Research Administration Officer
The Postgraduate Administration Officer, at approximately six to eight weeks prior to the candidate’s
Thesis Review review due date will notify the candidate and advisory team via email of the milestone
due date and provide a link to the necessary guidelines and forms.
The Postgraduate Administration Officer will arrange for the seminar to be advertised in the “SMI This
Week” e-newsletter.
2.3. Candidate
To assist the review committee, candidates are requested to provide the written component outlining
progress on thesis (details provided in Section 3.1) to the review committee at least one week prior to
the review.
The candidate should complete the candidate form and health & safety form and bring these, together
with a printed copy of the feedback & advice form and attainment or extension of milestone form, to
the review.
The candidate should email an abstract at least three weeks prior to the review to the Postgraduate
Administration Officer so that a seminar notice can be advertised.
2.4. Principal Advisor
The Principal Advisor, in consultation with the candidate, is responsible for nominating/organising the:
 composition of review committee (chair and independent person);
 date/time/venue for review and seminar at a time suitable for both the review committee and
the candidate;
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When the seminar and review dates/times/venues have been organised (the candidate may be
asked to assist) and particulars of the review committee are known, the principal advisor or
candidate is requested to email postgrad@smi.uq.edu.au with these arrangements; and
The advisory team, in consultation with the candidate, should nominate 3 to 4 examiners for the
examination of the thesis. These names should be included in the thesis review form before the
milestone. Please ensure that there are no potential conflict of interest issues that would
prevent one of the nominated persons from examining the thesis. For more information, refer
to the UQ Graduate School website http://www.uq.edu.au/grad-school/conflict-of-interest and
the University’s Guidelines on Conflict of Interest.
2.5. Committee Chair
The chair of the committee manages the milestone review and leads the interview/dialogue. They
facilitate discussion between the members of the review committee and the candidate. On completion
of the review, the chair returns these forms to the Postgraduate Office:
 candidate form;
 health & safety form;
 feedback & advice form; and
 attainment or extension of milestone form.
3.
General Guidelines
3.1. Written component
The rationale for the written component is to demonstrate to the committee that the candidate is clear
about the objective of the project, that he/she has read, understood and critically reviewed previous work
on this topic. It is intended that the work prepared will form part of his/her final thesis and so this should
not be regarded as an additional task, rather an opportunity to bring thoughts together.
The following aspects should be covered in the written component of the milestone review:
 All drafted chapters
 Abstract of the thesis
 Updated contributions to knowledge
 Updated draft statement of sustainability outcomes/contribution
 Plan to completion
3.2. Seminar presentation
The candidate will be expected to give a public presentation to an appropriate group of disciplinary
peers for the purpose of receiving expert and constructive advice about the proposed project, its scope
and feasibility and the appropriateness of the theoretical approach, methodology and/or experimental
design. This will put the research topic in context, outline progress to-date and indicate a plan for
completion.
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Where presenting to an open audience is not possible because of confidentiality or intellectual property
restrictions, the candidate should still present to as broad an audience as possible. If there are
significant IP issues, then the use of Confidentiality Agreements for the participants may be appropriate.
3.3. Interview/dialogue
It is expected that a number of issues affecting the candidate’s submission will be discussed. This is also
an opportunity for the candidate to raise any concerns and issues with regard to his/her submission.
Following discussions, the committee will make recommendations on whether the thesis is ready/not
ready for submission by the expected date.
3.4. Review Committee
The previous review committee should be reconvened if possible, and the review committee should
consist of:
 Chair: the Chair should be a suitably qualified person from an SMI Centre not associated with
the candidate and advisory team.
 Advisors.
 Independent person: this is usually a suitably qualified representative from an appropriate
external (to the SMI Centre or UQ) organisation who is not a member of the advisory team and
who has expertise in the general area of the thesis project. If a suitable independent person
from outside the SMI Centre cannot be found, then a SMI staff member who is not a member of
the advisory team and who has expertise in the general area of the thesis project can act as the
‘independent person’.
 Candidate representative: a representative candidate member is optional.
4.
Agenda
The following agenda, which is led by the chair of the review, allows for an open and honest exchange
and the opportunity to review the candidate’s progress:
 Public seminar (up to 45 minutes)
 Questions from peers and colleagues (15 minutes)
 Discussions with the whole review committee – feedback and comments from the candidate,
advisor(s) and chair
 Discussions between the candidate and chair in the absence of the advisory team
 Discussion of the review committee in absence of the candidate
 Feedback to the candidate by the chair
 Feedback forms completed and signed
5.
Forms
 Attainment or Extension of Milestone form (to be completed by the committee chair)
This form is completed at the review seminar and notes that the candidate has either attained their
milestone, or that an extension is requested.
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 Mid-Candidature Feedback & Advice form (to be completed by the committee chair)
As part of the feedback given to the candidate about their performance and progress, the UQ
Graduate School requires a written account of each candidate’s Mid-Candidature review. This form
capture the responses that will enable all concerned to demonstrate whether progress is being/not
being met and an action plan has been developed to ensure progress to be reviewed at the midcandidature milestone.
 Candidate form (to be completed by the candidate)
This form is completed by the candidate prior to the milestone review and provides information
from the candidate on their progress. It will assist advisors in making recommendations to the
candidate.
 Health & Safety form (to be completed by the candidate)
This form is completed by the candidate prior to the milestone review and provides information on
health and safety training and risk assessments completed by the candidate. At the review, the
committee will advise whether any further training should be completed.
6.
Closing
On conclusion of the review process the review chair, together with the advisor(s), should summarise
the strengths, achievements and developmental needs of the candidate, decisions made about
resources, scope and overall direction of the project and offer suggestions towards the successful
completion of candidature. This summary are noted on the following form:
 SMI Thesis Review feedback & advice form
To formalise the milestone, the principal advisor, candidate and Postgraduate Coordinator sign the
attainment or extension of milestone form.
All forms are to be submitted to the Postgraduate Office immediately following the review by the
committee chair. The Postgraduate Administration officer will then email a copy of the feedback &
advice form to the candidate and review panel.
In the event that the candidate does not agree with the committee’s assessment, if there are major
differences remaining regarding any aspect of the project, and/or major resource questions need to be
addressed, then these matters should be addressed to the Postgraduate Coordinator (Dr Elaine
Wightman; e.wightman@uq.edu.au) for resolution as soon as possible.
The candidate, advisors and the Postgraduate Office will be contacted by email by the UQ Graduate
School on the approval of the Thesis Review milestone.
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