School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures: AHRC Doctoral Competition Schedule 2007

Note to academic staff: Please read these instructions and dates carefully, even if you have processed many AHRC PhD applications before. Details always change from year to year.

Easter vacation dates: 24 March - 15 April 2007

SLLC PGR Director is Professor Hilary Owen –

Telephone 0161 275 3687. Please note, Professor Owen is away from the UK from 11-15 April 2007 inclusive.

PGR (PhD) Directors at discipline level are:

Chinese:Professor Hong

French:Professor Dee

German:Professor Stefan

Italian:Dr David

Japanese:Professor Ian

Linguistics:Professor David

(Admissions Officer)Dr Ricardo

Middle Eastern Studies:Dr Fikret

Polish:Professor Vera

Russian:Professor Vera

Spanish & Portuguese:Dr Encarna Gutierrez-Rodriguez

Translation Studies:Professor Mona

NOTES

Responsibility for overseeing the completion of AHRC application forms in each discipline area rests with the PGR Directors at discipline level (see list above) working in collaboration with the future supervisor, the PG Office and School PGR Director, Professor Owen. Please let the PG Office know as soon as you begin work on an AHRC doctoral application so that an up to date central list can be held.

The AHRC Doctoral Award Application Forms, along with the Notes for completing the application form for a doctoral award and also the Guide for applicants for postgraduate awards in the arts and humanities – the Doctoral Awards Scheme can be downloaded from:

Staff and applicants are strongly encouraged to read these documents.

From 1 October 2007 the AHRC will provide maintenance grant payment to part-time award holders. Part-time award holders in the doctoral awards scheme will receive a maintenance grant up to a maximum of 60 per cent of a full-time award. A letter will be sent to current part-time award holders to inform them of this change.

Note the criteria for EU eligibility for awards. Living in UK for three years prior to the application for the purposes of being enrolled in Higher Education MAYNOW qualify some EU students to apply for a full award (i.e. fees and maintenance). See pages 30 - 35 of the AHRC Guide for applicants. Residents of Bulgaria and Romania, which have been granted admission to the EU from January 2007, are eligible to apply to the AHRC for funding. They will need to meet the usual residency criteria for EU citizens.

Residents of the Channel Islands might be eligible for a full award as the Channel Islands Education Authorities no longer provide funding for postgraduate studies. In order to be eligible for an AHRC award, applicants from the Channel Islands need to meet the normal residency requirements (please refer to the Guide for Applicants).

A relevant connection with the UK may be established if the applicant is UK Armed Forced personnel and their children, spouse or civil partner are regarded as ordinarily resident in the UK.

An AHRC rule means that students may not make more than two unsuccessful applications to the AHRC doctoral competitions. This prevents any third year students from applying for a third time.

Examples of previously successful AHRC doctoral applications will be circulated by the PG Office.

Applicants may apply to the open competition and be nominated for a language-based area studies award (Chinese/Arabic) but may not hold both awards.

In preparing the AHRC forms, PLEASE ADHERE STRICTLYto the AHRC word limits, boxes and page lengths. They will reject any submissions not presented within their format.

None of the SLLC’s own funding competitions require that an AHRC doctoral application be made EXCEPTfor the SLLC PhD studentship competition (if you are suitably qualified and eligible). Even in this case, an AHRC doctoral application is ONLYrequiredfor those high quality applicants deemed to be genuinely strong candidates for an AHRC award. This decision is left to the academic judgement of the future supervisor and the relevant PGR Director at discipline level. Criteria would be for example: a first class degree at BA level; a strong performance to date on the MA; the award of a distinction if the MA has already been completed; previous success in obtaining AHRC funding for the MA.

NB The closing date for SLLC’s Graduate Teaching Fellowship competition is 14 May 2007. The deadline for all other SLLC funding competitions is 29 June 2007, so candidates may still apply to the SLLC’s internal competitions after the AHRC competition has closed.Further particulars relating to SLLC internal funding competitions for 2007 will be available on the School website in due course.

Internal peer reviewing of the students’ research proposals for an AHRC doctoral award is strongly advised. This should be conducted within the discipline area. The future supervisor should identify a colleague in their own subject area (ideally the intended second or co-supervisor for the student) who can offer feedback and advice on the academic quality and scope of the research proposal. Professor Owen will also check and offer feedback on allthe applications, so submission of draft applications before the School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures deadline would be greatly appreciated.

All prospective supervisors and second supervisors for AHRC doctoral applicants should be up to date with their PhD Research Panels and reports for their own currently registered PhD students. This will be checked by PG Office staff so that AHRC Part IIIs can be signed off.

Very strong students who decide to make LAST MINUTE AHRC applications after the SLLC internal deadlines have passed may still do so, provided that the future supervisor and/or PGR Director at discipline level is available and willing to go through the process with the student, to chase up academic references and draft the Part III Institutional Support Section. Please note, the PG Office staff and SLLC PGR Director cannot take on these tasks for very last minute AHRC applicants.

Division of Work for AHRC Doctoral Applications

Part I (Personal Information and Research Proposal)

To be completed by the student in collaboration with the future supervisor by 5 March 2007. The final signed hard copy of Part I should be given to Rachel Corbishley in the School Postgraduate Office, Room S3.11 (Postal address below).

At the same time ELECTRONIC COPIES of the full application form, including the completed Part I, should be sent to the two referees who will completePart II, and also to the PGR Director at discipline level (see list above) who will completePart III.

Part II (Academic References)

OncePart I is finalized, and the hard copy given to the PG Office, the student should send the whole AHRC form electronically by email, along with the “Notes for completing the form” to both referees and request that they send their final signed hard copies of Part II, i.e. their references by 5 April 2007to Rachel Corbishley, The Postgraduate Office, School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures, Manchester University, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL

Please note, under the Freedom of Information Act, applicants may request to see a copy of their references. In the 2007 competition, we have asked the referees to indicate to us by ticking the box provided if they don’t wish to allow the AHRC to release the report they have provided. Therefore, unless they have ticked this box, if an applicant requests to see the reference the AHRC will disclose the reference without requesting further permission from the referee.

Part III (Institutional Support Section)

The PGR Director at discipline level should complete Part III and then submit the final hard copies ofPart IIIto Rachel Corbishley in the SLLC PG Office, Room S3.11 by 16 April 2007. The PGR Directors can consult the references from Part II on file in the PG Office if necessary.

For Part III, the AHRC will not want to see standard, “cut and paste” type responses, so this section should be individually tailored to the student’s specific situation and research environment. There is no need to repeat detailed information about training courses, already included in the Research Training Statement. The emphasis must rest on the student’s individual case but the following general descriptions of SLLC postgraduate space, resources, and research progress and training monitoring may be included.

  • Fortnightly supervision meetings are required.
  • Progress with PhD research and individual training needs are monitored and recorded each semester through Research Panels made up of the supervisor, second or co-supervisor and a third panel member or advisor.
  • The students’ individual training needs are regularly assessed through the Skills Audit so that specific needs can be identified and met. Progress and changing needs are monitored and recorded via the Research Panels, held once per semester.
  • The SLLC has a dedicated Centre for Graduate Studies, which has ample study space, 30 computers, printing facilities and personal lockers.
  • SLLC makes postgraduate funding available for conference attendance.
  • Statements should also address how research ethics, health and safety, plagiarism and misconduct are handled in the School; advice will be supplied at School level in due course.
  • Statement about Research Training provision within the School will be supplied in due course.

Comments on the applicant’s preparedness and suitability for the programme must be factual, based on the student’s academic and other relevant experience. They should not be considered a third reference, and should not repeat information from Part II.

Rankings will be established by Professor Owen in collaboration with the PGR Directors at discipline level. It is compulsory to rank students, and their rankings must be realistic. Joint rankings (e.g. equal first out of five) are not permitted. For further information, see the AHRC Notes of Guidance.

DR (UK) and DR (Overseas) and PR forms, signing and stamping

The PG Office will collate the full final application, and ensure that DR (UK), DR (overseas) and PR forms are completed and sent to Faculty for eligibility checks, authorization, signing off and stamping.

Please note,the AHRC will no longer accept supplementary PR forms in the 2007 competition. Any such form received by the AHRC will be disregarded.

Summary of SLLC and Faculty Deadlines

5 March 2007– SLLC deadline for students to complete Part I and send:

  • signed hard copy of Part I to Rachel Corbishley in the Postgraduate Office, Room S3.11
  • electronic attachment copies of the AHRC form and guidance notes, including the completed Part Ito the 2 refereesand to the PGR Director at discipline level (see list above).

5 April 2007– SLLC Deadline for Part II, the signed hard copies of the references to reach Rachel Corbishley in the Postgraduate Office, Room S3.11.

16 April 2007 – SLLC Deadline for PGR Directors at discipline level to submit their finalized hard copies of Part III to Rachel Corbishley in the Postgraduate Office, Room S3.11.

25 April 2007 – University eligibility checking, stamping and final authorization.

27 April 2007 – Delivery of copied, finalized forms to Faculty for sending to AHRC

AHRC Deadline Dates

Action / Date
The submission date for the statement of research training strategy and provision (if required) / N/A
The closing date for all applications / 1 May 2007
The submission date for DR and DR(Overseas) forms for students who have completed their undergraduate degree / 1 May 2007
The submission date for DR and DR(Overseas) forms for students who will complete their undergraduate degree in 2007 / As soon as possible, but by 13 July 2007, at the latest
The submission date for PRforms for students who have completed their Masters-level study / 1 May 2007
The submission date for PRforms for students who will complete their Masters-level study in 2007 / As soon as possible but by 8 June 2007, at the latest