COVID 19 Update¶
Danger
COVID 19 - This Handbook has been updated through the COVID 19 Pandemic and so the information containing within it is as up to date as possible but changes may be frequent as the situation changes and we start to return to what may pass as the ‘new normal’. In this case, please contact the relevant person for an update.
This is a very fraught and challenging time with many stresses and adjustments - we appreciate it must be incredibly difficult for all PGRs. As ever, we hugely value your work and contribution to the University and will do everything we can to inform and support you as this situation develops.
We’re exploring every option to alleviate and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on your research. If you have specific questions that are not addressed please discuss these through to your supervisor and/or your PGR support team. Below is a list of pointers in no particular order:
The PGR COVID 19 FAQ is at https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/coronavirus/faqs/pgr/.
if you are submitting soon then remember to include the COVID 19 Statement approved by the University COVID Statement.
RTSGs have been reduced to £500pa.
There is furniture available for working from home outside of the RTSG (see Home Working).
You can get an Extenion or Interuption for non specific COVID related reasons with very minimal (read none) evidence. If you are a University or UKRI (EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC, etc) sponsored PGR then some of this may be funded, if not then you will need to contact you sponsor about funding but the extension or interuption can still be granted unfunded by the University. In this case, please contact Student Support 1 for an update after you have read this Handbook, and in particular the Extensions and Interruptions section.
Conference travel is currently via remote connections and so you should expect a very cheap fee which we can typically cover.
Only laptops are available at present, desktops and workstations will return once we are back in the buildings.
Mandatory online training requirements elaborated at Mandatory Training:.
COVID 19 Impact Statement¶
Tip
Acknowledging the impact of COVID-19 on postgraduate research programmes: guidancefor PGRs, Supervisors and Examiners on inclusion of a COVID-19 impact statement with theses submitted by PGRs at the University of Manchester.
The University of Manchester recognises that the COVID-19 pandemic, and consequent closure of our campus (18 th March 2020) and national and international lockdowns, has directly or indirectly impacted the work of many of our postgraduate researchers (PGRs). Although the campus began re-opening from mid-June 2020, some researchers will be disrupted until all campus research facilities are open, and operational at adequate capacity, fieldwork can resume safely and/or personal circumstances become more manageable.
Many of our PGRs have been/will be able to accommodate the disruption to their research plans by changing the scope, phasing or design or their project; others have/will have circumstances that necessitate an extension to programme or to the thesis submission date.
We encourage PGRs who wish to make their Examiners aware of the impact COVID-19 has had on their research plans and thesis to prepare an Impact Statement for consideration during the examination process.
The University recommends that Examiners take the Impact Statement into account when assessing the thesis, and PGR at viva, albeit without compromising standards as set out in the University’s ordinances and the QAA’s expectations of doctoral outcomes, which emphasise that doctoral degrees should be awarded based on the quality, rather than quantity, of research undertaken and the candidate’s acquisition of intellectual and practical competencies.
Examiners should use their academic judgment when deciding whether, as set out in the Examinations of Doctoral Degrees Policy, the following criteria have been met:
the candidate possesses an appropriate knowledge of the particular field of learning within which the subject of the thesis falls;
the research which is reported in the thesis contributes a substantial addition to knowledge;
the results of the research show evidence of originality and independent critical judgement;
the thesis is presented in a lucid and scholarly manner;
the thesis and the work reported in it are the candidate’s own;
whilst bearing in mind that they should judge the ‘substantial addition to knowledge’ in relation to what can be reasonably expected within a period of study (3, 3.5 or 4yrs FT) that has been conducted in the context of disruption caused by COVID-19.The Impact Statement should include the following information:
Details on how disruption caused by COVID-19 has impacted the research (for example, an inability to collect/analyse data as a result of travel restrictions/restricted access to labs/additional caring and health responsibilities - 500 words maximum);
A description of how the planned work would have fitted within the thesis’ narrative (e.g. through method development, development of analytical skills or advancement of hypotheses - 500 words maximum);
A summary of any decisions / actions taken to mitigate for any work or data collection/analyses that were prevented by COVID-19 (500 words maximum).
PGRs are encouraged to discuss the statement with their supervisory team before submitting the statement within the thesis presented for examination and should refer to section 6.3 in the Presentation of Theses Policy for details.