Getting a PhD: Getting set for your Upgrade/Transfer
Some UK universities require first year "provisional" PhD students to write and defend a first year report, so as to " identify whether the student and the research project have the potential for research at Doctoral level and also to ensure that the student has made satisfactory progress with the agreed training plan " (2011 Research Student Handbook, University of Leeds). Depending on your level of success during the Transfer assessment, you can then be: transferred/upgraded to doctoral registration; requested to do an MPhil registration; reassessed after making revisions to your work, or asked to withdraw from the research degree. This process may differ per faculty and university, so talking to your supervisor about the length and format of your report and about what to expect from the Transfer viva is a good idea. As I await mine, I am reminding myself of the following tips I received from a research workshop, talking about what examiners are really looking