Research degrees are intended to help you become an independent researcher capable of producing high-quality research. Most of this training will come from interaction and guidance from your supervisor.

The University is launching a new Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development from 1 October 2013. All eligible postgraduate research students will be automatically enrolled on the PG certificate, and each student will be required to accumulate 60 credits across 5 classes mapped to the domains of the Researcher Development Framework (www.vitae.co.uk/rds). The revised credit requirements will apply only to those doctoral programmes which do not already have a prescribed curriculum indicated in the Calendar of Regulations Part 3. The following research degree programmes are exempt: EngD, EdD, DEdPsy, DBA, DPharm, MRes.

Credits will be awarded for undertaking a wide range of activities that will enhance the skills required by researchers to perform effectively in a particular RDF domain. Each activity has been assigned a notional number of credits, where one credit is equivalent to a nominal 10 hours of active learning, including formal lectures, laboratory and tutorial periods, self-study and assessment. Activities are provided at a department, Faculty and University-wide level, and an extensive list of external activities has also been defined.

Eligible students will see the classes (RD901 to RD905) that contribute to the PG Certificate on their Pegasus record, but these classes will remain unapproved until the degree is awarded. All activity is recorded in Spider, and monitoring of progress is linked to the annual review process. Students should log in to the Spider Postgraduate monitoring system to see what training opportunities are available. The Spider interface allows students to select training opportunities under each class, and read descriptions of the activities. The interface will also provide a running total of credits achieved towards each class, and act as a repository for any documents uploaded as supporting evidence. Once the required number of credits has been accumulated in a class, the student will be required to complete the assessment for that class.

The assessment requirements are a 1500 word reflective assignment for each class in which the student will have to describe how the training they undertook helped them meet the learning outcomes of the class, making reference to any supporting evidence (portfolio) they have uploaded to the interface. The Supervisor (or nominated individual) will assess the reflective assignment and approve the class at the annual review point. Approved classes will be shown in Spider. Students are expected to achieve at least 20 credits in each year, although this can be split over any of the 5 classes. Once the credits for all 5 classes have been accumulated and approved by the Supervisor, the credits will appear on the student’s transcript and be assessed by the Viva Committee, which will constitute a formal board to approve the credits and award the Postgraduate Certificate.

The PG Certificate is not designed as an additional workload for students, but a formalisation of the research and transferable skills training that all PhD students are already undertaking. A detailed guidance document and course handbook is available at www.strath.ac.uk/rdp/pgrcredits along with additional resources and answers to frequently asked questions. The documentation provides details of the course structure and content, and a step-by-step guide to completion. More information can also be obtained by emailing the Researcher Development Programme team at pgrcredits-enquiries@strath.ac.uk.

At the start of your research degree you will be asked to review the following list of research skills and identify, in discussion with your supervisor, which skills you would like to concentrate on in the next year of study. At your annual progress meeting the panel will assess your progress and help you decide upon which skills you wish to develop in the following year. It is a very good idea to complete most of your instructional training requirements in the first two years of your study.