UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute
Part of the Faculty of Arts ►

Doctoral study

HATII has a vibrant research culture with a growing number of doctoral and masters students, exploring a range of topics in the archival and information sciences. HATII places great emphasis on the relationship of theory and practice in the information society drawing on a range of disciplinary perspectives and experience from different parts of the globe.  Research students are expected to join the departmental research seminars and contribute to discussion and publications. Members of the department are delighted to discuss research poposals and ideas with prospective students. One route to doctoral programmes is through our taught masters.


Current doctoral students


Entrance requirements

Students are required to have a good 2/1 or better in their first degree and/or attained distinction in their taught post-graduate course. Before submitting a formal application to the university, prospective students should send a brief statement outlining their intended topic of research along with a cv to the departmental secretary (see below).  Advice can be provided about funding opportunities.


Application procedure

In the first instance students should look at:

Prospective students should then contact Elaine Wilson with an draft proposal (approx 1500 words) and CV who will forward your enquiry to the appropriate member of staff. Only once academic staff have reviewed your proposal and approved it should you procede to the online application system.

Further information on staff research interests can be found on the staff section of this web site.

Home or EU students intending to apply for a Collge Scholarship, ESRC Information Science Scholarship or AHRC Scholarship (every two years - next round 2013-14 academic year) need to have applied by the end of February and should contact us before the end of January to discuss their application.

Students who are self-funding or have other sources of funding can apply at any time but the expectation is that students will commence their studies in September of each year.


Supervision and monitoring

Each PhD candidate in HATII will have two supervisors. Additional supervision may be provided, or requested, on an ad hoc basis. First year students are expected to have a supervision meeting on average once per month, although the frequency is likely to be higher at the start of the year. Second and third year students are expected to have a supervision meeting on average once every two months, the frequency for third year students is likely to be higher towards completion.

Students are required to complete a supervision record form after each meeting and have it signed by their supervisor/s.


Review procedure

HATII's PhD Candidate review procedure has been developed in line with The Faculty of Arts Guidelines for Research Degrees (doc.) with special consideration of the Monitoring of Student Progress. The review takes place annually in May/June and is a requirement for all PhD candidates irrespective of their source of funding. Students who fail to submit the required work, or whose work is deemed by the Review Committee to fall short of the standard required by a PhD candidate, may be prevented from continuing.

Students in the First Year need to provide the following work:

(a) an oral presentation
(b) a single page containing self-reflection on progress during the past year
(c) a completion plan

Students in the Second Year need to provide following work:

(a) an oral presentation
(b) a single page containing self-reflection on progress during the past year
(c) a revised completion plan
(d) 'a substantial piece of work which is capable of being assessed and it will normally be in the format of the final submission e.g. of ca. 20,000 words or the equivalent.'

Students in their Third Year need to provide the following work:

(a) an oral presentation
(b) a complete draft of their thesis

This work will be considered ‘a Sub-Committee of at least two colleagues in addition to the supervisors, one of whom may be from another Department' before we recommend continuation. For students in their first year, particular attention is paid to the standard of work required by PhD candidates. For students in their second year particular attention is paid to maintaining standards over a more substantial body of work that indicates a student is likely to complete in three years. For students in their third year particular attention is paid to the completeness, format and style of the draft thesis.

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