MPhil-PhD Application Form (Studentships) Jan 2014_0

Postgraduate Research Degree Application Form MPhil/PhD Studentships University use only: Date application received: Decision of interview panel: Accept Reject Date offer letter sent: St

Postgraduate Research Degree

Application Form (MPhil/PhD)

(Studentships)

University use only:

Date application received:

Decision of interview panel: Accept Reject

Date offer letter sent:

Start date:

Please complete this form in typescript using the Guidance Notes provided at the end of this form Please send the completed application form and supporting documents to HRM Services, University

of Chester, Parkgate Road, Chester, CH1 4BJ quoting the relevant reference number

1 Personal Details

Title

Forename(s)

Last name (family name, surname)

Male/Female

Date of birth (dd/mm/yy)

Previous surname (if applicable)

Nationality

Address for correspondence

Postcode      

Telephone number      

Email address      

Permanent address (if different)

Postcode       Telephone number       Email address       Have you lived in the UK/EU for the whole of your life up to the present day?

Yes No

2 Registration

Final degree aimed for

MPhil PhD

Mode of attendance

Full time Part time

Proposed start date       Name of principal supervisor      

3 Previous Study/Qualifications

University and Professional Qualifications Achieved/Expected (Please attach official

certificates/transcripts of academic record)

a University/Institution attended:      

Degree title:      

Class or Grade:

Year of award:

Full time/Part time:

Full time Part time

Dates of Attendance:

b University/Institution attended:      

Degree title:      

Class or Grade:

Year of award:

Full time/Part time:

Full time Part time

Dates of Attendance:

Professional Qualifications (Please provide details, including type of qualification, subject, grade and date.)

Have you made any previous applications or undertaken research degree study at another

institution? If yes, please provide details Yes No

English Language Qualifications (Please attach an official copy of your English Language certificate

(where appropriate))

What is your first language?      

If English is not your first language, please give details of your English Language qualifications:

Other qualification (please specify)      

4 References (Please give the details of two persons whom you have approached to be your referees It is your responsibility to approach your referees and ensure that they return the forms to the Graduate School Please tick

to indicate you have done this See Guidance Notes)

a Name      

Position      

Name of Institution      

Address      

Email      

b Name       Position       Name of Institution       Address      

Email      

5 Financial Support (Please attach copies of sponsorship/scholarship letters where appropriate)

a Please give the reference number of the studentship for which you are applying HRMS/     

(You will find this reference number on the studentship advert)

b Have you applied for any other scholarships/sponsorship? Yes No

If yes, please give details, including dates      

c Have you already been awarded any other scholarships/sponsorship? Yes No

If yes, please give details, including dates      

What will this sponsorship / scholarship cover? (e.g tuition fees, maintenance)      

6 Disability/Specific Needs*

A – None F - Mental health difficulties

B – Aspergers G – Dyslexia

C - Blind/Partially sighted H - Wheelchair user

D - Deaf/Hard of hearing I - Other disability - Please state ……… ………

E - Unseen disability - Please state J - Multiple disabilities – Please state

……… ……… ……… ………

*If you have ticked any of the above, please provide details of your requirements for interview and/or study

purposes If not applicable, please state N/A

7 Criminal Convictions

Do you have any criminal convictions? Yes No

If you have answered “Yes” to this question, please ensure that you attach a note to this application form describing the nature and date of the conviction and the consequences of that conviction in terms of sentence served or caution received N.B If you do not answer this question, we cannot process your application See the guidance notes for more information

8 Academic, Professional and Research Malpractice

Have you ever been found guilty of academic, professional or research malpractice?

Yes No

If you have answered “Yes” to this question, you will be required to provide further details

How did you first learn about postgraduate research

at University of Chester? Please check one box

University prospectus Internet

Departmental Advisor/Supervisor/Careers

Advisor

British Council Office (please indicate location) >

Education Exhibition/Careers Fair (please

indicate venue) >      

Professional journal/other publication (please

specify) >      

Alumni Friends/Relative

Other (please specify) >      

I enclose the following documents with this form (please check all the appropriate boxes)

Evidence of academic or professional qualifications (including transcripts where necessary)

Copy of Curriculum Vitae (where appropriate – see guidance notes)

Copies of English Language certificates (where appropriate)

Sponsorship/scholarship letter/financial statement (where appropriate)

11 Personal Statement – please continue on a separate sheet if necessary (Please explain why you wish to undertake research and how it relates to your career/academic objectives You may wish to include details

of other relevant skills and experience, for example, full-time employment, teaching or research experience, foreign language ability, IT skills, driving licence)

12 Proposed Research Area – please continue on a separate sheet if necessary (In 100-250 words

please outline your proposed area of research)

13 Research Environment

All candidates must address the following questions (please see the guidance notes).

1 Please specify where your research will be conducted and how your research time will be spent, including how you will meet the attendance requirement of at least 30 days attendance per annum on one of the University’s campuses (or 15 days per annum for part-time students)?

2 How will you access appropriate training opportunities (e.g attendance at generic skills workshops, external training, conference attendance and presentations, university

modules)? Please specify where and how training will be accessed, including examples of training

already undertaken.

3 What resources will you require for your research, and how you will access them? Please

specify (including library, phone, internet, specialist equipment/records, research participants etc.)

4 How will the supervision requirements be met? Please specify the frequency and mode (i.e.

meeting, email exchange, phone conversation) of supervision and how the visits will be financed.

Note that the requirements are:

a at least one formal ‘meeting’ per month with the principal supervisor and

b at least one face-to-face meeting per annum to be held at the principal research location and

c one meeting per annum with the entire team plus an independent academic to conduct the annual review

5 Meeting and interacting with other researchers is an important part of a research degree What opportunities will you have to interact with other researchers (other than by attendance

at the University of Chester) (e.g in different universities, research organisations etc)?

Please specify.

6 If English is not your first language, how will you develop English language skills to the level

required to defend the thesis in the viva voce examination? Please specify.

14 Signatures (Before registration we will forward your application form to your principal supervisor for

signing)

Name of Principal Supervisor (please enter the name of your proposed supervisor)

I can confirm that I have read the proposed research area and that the suitability and feasibility of the project are appropriate.

It is the supervisor’s responsibility to arrange an interview and to complete the relevant form Please state the date of the interview

Signature of Principal Supervisor

_

Date

Declaration:

I understand that I am responsible for payment of all tuition fees I agree to comply with the statutes, ordinances, bye-laws, regulations, rules and conditions of the University of Chester for the time being in force, including Health, Safety and Disciplinary Regulations I agree that all ideas, materials or work produced by me and submitted as part of the requirements of my programme of study and all intellectual property rights therein will become the absolute property

of the University of Chester, unless specifically agreed to the contrary

Data Protection Act 1998

I consent to the University of Chester processing personal data contained in this form, or other data which may be obtained from me or others, including details of academic performance, learning support needs, disciplinary matters, destinations and comments on quality, closed circuit TV and video recording on university premises and holding my photograph which is used on the student ID card for any purpose connected with my studies, my health and safety, implementation of the Rules, to provide data that the University is required to hold or supply to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) or for any other legitimate reason I consent to the disclosure of such information for academic administration purposes, in response to requests for references relating to continuing education, training or employment, for implementation of the Rules or in relation to council tax matters I understand that HESA pass data to organisations that need it to carry out their statutory functions connected with funding higher education I am aware that I may request a copy of information held about me on request and on payment of the appropriate fee and that further information regarding HESA can be found on Sharepoint

By checking the box, I hereby agree to this declaration:

I Agree

Check the box and TYPE your full name in the box below (failure to do so will result in your form NOT being processed).

Full Name:      

Postgraduate Research Degree Application Form (MPhil/PhD)

Guidance Notes for Completion of the Form

These notes are intended to help you complete the application form, and to ensure that, once completed, your application may be processed as efficiently as possible The application and accompanying documentation must be returned to HRM Services, University of Chester, Parkgate Road, Chester, CH1 4BJ quoting the relevant reference number

Section 1: Personal Details

Address for Correspondence: this should be an address where you may be contacted

throughout the period leading up to your registration as a student If your correspondence address changes, please inform us immediately An email address is very helpful, if available

Section 3: Previous Study / Qualifications

Please include copies of your academic transcripts (i.e.degree/professional certificates) with your application, if available You will be asked to provide originals at a later date

In this section you should give details of your current or most recent academic studies

University Qualifications Achieved / Expected

University / Institution attended: give the name of the institution and the country in which your

institution is located

Degree title: indicate here the type of award you studied for e.g BA, BSc, MA etc.

Class or Grade: Give the grades you attained and indicate the system of assessment used,

e.g degree class, grade point average (GPA) percentile rank, numerical or alphanumerical scale (indicate the minimum and maximum scores) etc

Year of Award: If you have not yet achieved your award please indicate when you expect to

receive the results

Professional Qualifications: List here any non-academic qualifications you hold.

English Language Qualifications: If English is not your first language, you will have to

produce documentary evidence of your English language ability A range of English language tests is acceptable, including IELTS

Section 4: References

You must provide the names and addresses of two referees who have agreed to act on your behalf It is your responsibility to approach your referees and ensure that they return the forms

to the Graduate School Your referees must have recent experience of your knowledge and expertise

Section 5: Financial Support

Please give as much detail as possible about your known or anticipated funding arrangements

If you are an international student you should note that you will have to demonstrate to the Immigration Officer when you enter the UK that you have sufficient funds to pay for your fees and support yourself throughout the course

Section 6: Disability

This section is included for the purposes of monitoring equal opportunities and to ensure the University can provide students with appropriate facilities It will not affect the University’s decision whether or not to offer you a place and the information remains strictly confidential

Section 7: Criminal Convictions

To help the University reduce the risk of harm or injury to its students caused by the criminal behaviour of other students, we must know about any relevant criminal convictions that an applicant has Please provide brief information here

Relevant criminal convictions are only those convictions for offences against the person, whether of a violent or sexual nature, and convictions for offences involving unlawfully

supplying controlled drugs or substances where the conviction concerns commercial drug dealing or trafficking

Convictions that are spent (as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) are not considered to be relevant and you should not reveal them

Please note that some programmes require you to apply for a Criminal Records Bureau check You will be contacted with further information where appropriate

Section 9: Publicity

It would be helpful if you give an indication of where you first heard about University of Chester

in order for us to target our publicity more effectively

Section 10: Checklist

Please ensure that your application consists of:

• This completed application

• Copies of Transcripts/certificates

• Curriculum vitae (please include a CV if it includes additional relevant information not provided on the application form)

• Copies of English Language certificates (where appropriate)

• Sponsorship/scholarship letter/financial statement (where appropriate)

Section 11: Personal Statement

Include in this section any experience you have gained, whether in formal training or otherwise, which may be relevant to your studies

Section 12: Proposed Research Area

This section provides an opportunity for you to outline, in typically 100-250 words, but no more than 500 words how you would approach the research project outlined in the studentship advert and further particulars You may wish to expand on the rationale and aims of the project and details of appropriate methodology

Section 13: Research Environment

The following six examples should be viewed only as a guide to the type of arrangements that

might be approved The list is not intended to be either prescriptive or exhaustive Each application will continue to be viewed on its own merits and further information or evidence will normally be required to support the statements made, especially where the

proposed research is to be conducted in a manner that is outside the University’s control In each application, the following points would need to be addressed