Second-Year Researchers

Seminar requirements

PhD researchers are asked to attend 3 seminars in their second year (and at least one of each type of seminar - Area and Research - over the two first years):

- a Dissertation Writing workshop seminar
- two seminars chosen from Research or Area Seminars

Written requirements

- Draft for mentoring session, by 8 November 2024
- One Quarter of the thesis, by 12 May 2025

 

Work Plan and Mentoring Sessions

In light of the June Paper and its evaluation, and after a discussion with the supervisor, second-year researchers are required to present a Second-Year Work Plan. This plan should consist of a revised tentative thesis outline (i.e. chapter headings and sub-headings), a timetable of progress, and a plan of seminars and research missions during the second year.

Along with the work plan, researchers are expected to submit a draft which will constitute the basis for the second-year mentoring session. The draft should include an assessment of the progress of the PhD and an identification of existing problems and challenges. The draft should also discuss the results of the summer mission, the plan for the second year (including the chapter to be written in preparation for the second-term Dissertation Writing Seminar), and the plan for the One Quarter of thesis to be submitted in May.

Please use this work-plan template.

The work plan and the mentoring draft should be approved by the supervisor and submitted by 8 November 2024. On 15 and 18 November 2024 researchers discuss their work with their supervisor and second reader during the second-year Mentoring Sessions, which are meant to help researchers to design their One Quarter of thesis. 

 

Passage to the Third Year: One Quarter of Thesis

Researchers should start drafting sections (even entire chapters) of the thesis as soon as possible. They must complete at least One Quarter of the thesis (which usually corresponds to two chapters) and submit the electronic file by 12 May 2025. 

General Formatting of One Quarter of the Thesis

- The cover page should state the title of the paper, the name of the author, the name of the supervisor and second reader and the word count.  Please use this cover-page template
- It is important to insert a proper table of contents
- Pages should be numbered throughout the paper
- Graphs, maps and tables should be clear and easy to read
- While proofreading it may be useful to double-check our Brief Guide for Academic English

For further information please check pp. 42-45 of the Researchers' Guide