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This page will be updated regularly with important news and information for supervisors of graduate research candidates. Please bookmark it and visit frequently.

September 2024

Course approval for 2025

Please ensure you are checking for Masters students and don’t forget the start date should be the 1st of the month.

COI Guidelines for NOE

These were approved by Senate earlier this year. It is important to know these details prior to appointing examiners.

Guidelines Conflict of Interest for the Nomination of Thesis Examiners (PDF)

Student Visa costs increasing

Research students may submit complete visa applications prior to the 1st of October, to pay the existing fees, if their visas expire before early 2025. Applications that are incomplete may be declined.

For more information contact student.visa@otago.ac.nz

Further information can also be found on the New Zealand Immigration website

Pastoral Care

It is important to understand the Pastoral Care Code and know that this applies to ALL staff (not just service staff).

Admissions

Please ensure you are able to provide the relevant resources for any student you want to take on board.

Visit the following pages for further information:

Nomination of Examiners

A reminder to check in with potential examiners to ensure they are still ok to examine. This is especially important if they were initially approached some time ago (or submission has taken longer than anticipated).

Workshops

There are a number of workshops for supervisors held during the year that we encourage you to attend please. Hearing from your colleagues across the University can provide such a valuable insight and provide support. Currently these are hosted by HEDC but will become part of a wider GRS workshop programme in the future.

Please also encourage your students to take part in the workshops offered:

eVision access

Please check your access to ensure you have all the relevant Graduate Research access you need for your role (proposal assessment, progress reporting, nominations and thesis examination). There are various training modules on Blackboard – very quick and great to refresh your knowledge!

April 2024

Accommodation Options & Cost of Living Information for Students

Click on the links below for some useful information around accommodation options for candidates and the cost of living in New Zealand.

General Info

Some of the most Frequently Asked Questions we receive at Graduate Research School include:

  • Can a new supervisor be a primary supervisor for doctoral candidates?
  • What is the recommendation on how often supervisory meetings should be held?
  • Is there guidance or a checklist on induction of new graduate research students?

Did you know there is a useful resource to guide supervisors on these, and other, important issues?

Please see the Guidelines for Graduate Research Supervisors

Help support and nurture our Doctoral students, so they have a great experience and encourage others to come to Otago. Provide information and support prior to them arriving on campus such as ensuring they have accommodation lined up on arrival.

International Students in NZ on a Study Visa – things you must know!

It is a requirement of Immigration New Zealand that holders of student visas must attend the campus of study and reside in the location of study endorsed on the visa, unless there are research-related reasons for absences.

Please refer to the immigration instructions which clearly state that the holder needs to attend the programme of study at all times as required, at the place of study endorsed on the visa.
Immigration instructions E3.20

While we understand that some of the research undertaken by PhD students might not be specifically campus based, it is an expectation for students to attend their programme (i.e. campus) when required.

Ultimately, a student visa or any visa is granted to someone because they have demonstrated that they have a legitimate need to be in New Zealand. If a student's programme of study does not require in-person learning (i.e. it can be delivered entirely remotely or online) then Immigration New Zealand may not grant the student a visa.

If your PhD student has a genuine research-related reason to not be based on campus, this needs to be formally approved via a CoRD (Change of Research Details) form. If in doubt, please email student.visa@otago.ac.nz with enquiries relating to the conditions associated with a student visa.

In these cases, you will also need to ensure there is a robust distance plan in place to provide adequate support and supervision for the student.

As for students residing outside of New Zealand, if they are not New Zealand citizens, please note that they will be charged international fees. While students are permitted up to 12 months of overseas study, this is for research-related purposes only, and does not include returning home to write up.

Access to eVision

If you are unsure if you have the right Graduate Research access in eVision (such as Progress Reporting; Proposal Assessment; Thesis Examination) go to the “my access” container in eVision to check access and make requests. Also check the requested page as there may be some access that is waiting for training (usually on Blackboard) to be completed.

Admissions

Are you thinking of taking on a new student? If so, please ensure that complete information is included with each application for the PhD programme so that applications can be processed in a timely fashion.

Please note that there are helpful resources available for staff:
Online approval of research degree applications – guidance

You may also find it useful to know about the process from a student perspective:
PhD application process

The admissions process is separate to the Otago Doctoral Scholarship process. As such, the admissions process can continue while a student is still awaiting the outcome of a scholarship application. It is important to recognise that progressing an admission is not a guarantee of scholarship being awarded.  It is also not a reason to hold up an application or decline it (if the scholarship is unsuccessful).

Documentation

Application documentation should be uploaded at the start of the approval process so all approvers have access to the documents and can consider all relevant material as part of the approval process.

The Document Guide is a very valuable resource and should be bookmarked for future reference.
Document Guide (PDF)

External references

The external reference(s) must be uploaded by the supervisor or staff member (not the applicant).

Departmental support letter

The Department Support Letter is an important element of the documentation and should show the reasons why you wish this candidate to be considered for admission. If it isn't clear from their transcript how they meet the research component requirement for entry (at least 25 per cent of a year's work and minimum B+ grade), ensure you outline this in the support letter, and what steps have been taken to verify the research component (e.g. independent review of thesis or publications).

English language proficiency (ELP) requirements

If a student hasn't met the ELP requirements yet, we can issue a conditional offer or you may wish to request a formal waiver of the ELP requirements.  
English language requirements
PhD programme – English language waiver application process

You can upload this request as part of the application process, or if the student has already been given a conditional offer, please email your formal request to manager.grs@otago.ac.nz.

Note that you cannot hold up an application purely on the basis of the student not having met the ELP requirements.

Progress reporting

Please ensure all students are having their progress meetings – remember, it is every 6 months while Provisional and then annually once Confirmed. They are really important tools for both staff and students to reflect on past progress and to plan for the future.

The automated meeting reminders via eVision don't always occur, but this shouldn't stop you holding the meetings. If it has been a while since you met with some of your students, now is the time to get on top of that!

Submission/Examination

It is advisable to start the NOE and convenors process at least 3 months in advance. It can take several weeks to confirm and approve these very important roles, which if left too late can add 3-4 weeks (sometimes longer) onto the examination period for your student.

Please ensure students email the Student Administration – Research team (phd@otago.ac.nz) mid-way through the month they are submitting. This ensures all checks and balances are done prior to the submission to ensure a much smoother process for all concerned (especially the student). See:

Thesis submission for examination

This process also includes the nomination of examiners and a convenor. It is important that this process is completed as early as possible to avoid delays in having the submitted thesis examined.

Celebrate your Doctoral Thesis Submission – Collect your Chocolate Fish and Ring the Bell!

Did you know, the tradition of collecting the gift of a delicious chocolate fish from the Graduate Research School on submission of a Doctoral thesis for examination is a decades old tradition at the University of Otago?

We now also have the new tradition of ringing the University bell which is located in the Quad behind the Clocktower Building.

View dates and times for celebration of thesis submission.

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