The attendance and residency regulations for PhD and MEd by research candidature have changed. The changes are as follows:
1. Currently part time PhD candidates are required to undertake six months full time residency during enrolment. Part time MEd are required to undertake three months full time. These requirements have been removed. There is no longer a requirement for part time internal candidates to attend campus full time;
2. The current policy and guidelines for part time PhD candidates to undertake their research two days per week remains unchanged, with candidates employed full time required to provide an employer's letter supporting the time to be made available for study when applying for admission to candidature;
3. The number of days devoted to undertaking research remains the same (eg a minimum of four week days per week for full time students and two days per week, at least one day being a week day, for part time students). Candidates are also still required to have regular meetings with their supervisor, at least once per fortnight for full time candidates and once per month for part time candidates. However, the 'in person' requirements for supervisory meetings and attendance are to be relaxed so that meetings can be undertaken using other forms of interactive communication. There will be a mandatory requirement for at least two formal 'in person' supervisory meetings each year. It would be expected that one such meeting will be held at the time of confirmation of candidature and also during completion of an annual report each year;
4. All internal candidates are still required to attend campus on a regular basis; and
5. The current requirements for external candidates to meet a 15 day residency each year (10 days for MEd candidates) are to be reduced so that all external candidates are required to meet a 5 days residency each year or equivalent over the period of their candidature.
For your information the attendance and residency regulations have now been changed in the Handbook for Doctoral and MPhil degrees on the MRGS website at: http://www.mrgs.monash.edu.au/research/doctoral/chapter3c.html.
If you have any questions related to these changes please direct them to me via email: mayur.katariya@education.monash.edu.au
