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I have been very surprised recently when I read some posts on this forum that demonstrated some PhD student’s lack of awareness regarding crucial aspects of the PhD process. I’m not speaking here about what a thesis entails, etc. but rather about the PhD student’s code of practice and the university’s regulations. I will not mention any exmaples as this might be misinterpreted; also, it's besides the point. The only thing I wish to highlight is that some questions are being asked which are usually specified in the university's regulations booklet, and which differes from one uni to another. Consequently, and since this is a crucial matter, I think students should familiarise themselves with their university’s Code of Practice and Regulations for MPhil/Phd Students if they haven't done so already.

My copy of the Code of Practice and Regulations was sent to me when I originally enrolled, and a new revised copy gets sent to me on an annual basis. My university’s Registry department sends out further copies upon request. Is this not standard practice across the board? If so, and despite its being an extremely boring read, I really urge PhD student, who haven’t done so already, to read that booklet and be aware of where they (legally) stand. As one poster said, it’s a ‘contract’ and like any other contract you sign (employment, tenancy agreement, etc.) you need to read it. What’s more, the contract’s terms and details will differ from one university to another, so there are some questions that forum members here can’t answer, but which the Code of Practice and Regulations booklet will specify.


Admittedly, I am older than the average PhD student and have consequently developed an unavoidable degree of cynicism that accompanies the process of getting older. Perhaps I’m just too cautious due to having had my fingers burnt a few times and so do spend some time reading contracts, regulation documents, etc. Am I the only cynical geek around here who does this, or are there other PhD students that refer to their university’s regulations from time to time? I’d be interested to hear if you do/don’t and whether you think it is something that every PhD student should try to do.

Yep, got copies of such information every year when registering and have read them from time to time... plus I know where to access them on the uni website too :-)

To be fair, the person who asked about the word limits actually asked about minimum word limits. I don't think those are published anywhere ;-)

Thanks for your feed-back. I have edited my original post accordingly.

In my registration week I was given a cd with the rules and regs, and a paper copy of my department's regs. And that's it. We don't automatically get any updates, or a new one at the start of the next academic year. My uni is quite poor in this respect. I have some friends in one specific department that had no idea about certain aspects of what the uni expected of us, despite having already spent 5 yrs in the dept. After having issues with the uni about one of their policies (don't ask!) I think I know how to access the relevant bits on the website but the site is devoid of logic. But it's still easier than getting a paper copy - I will never forget an admin manager telling me "Oohm, the X policy? Yes I think we've got one. Somewhere. I haven't found a copy yet, but then I've just started" Is being in a job for almost eight months counted as 'just starting'? I finally found it online, with a different title. Oh, and then there was the time I accidentally found my dept's rules and regs for supervisors when I googled something quite unrelated ... !

My grammar may be a bit suspect, sorry, it's been a long day at the University of the Unanswered Question!

My university doesn't send out copies. They have an online code of practice, and that's it. It is linked from online VLEs and Registry, but it isn't the most obvious.

Thanks Bilbobaggins and DoWhatNow. I agree - my university's regulations are cryptic in some (crucial) parts. I've gathered an email thread where I have queried these ambiguous parts with certain members of the university's management. Should I one day find out that I have been misinformed, then I have proof to say it wasn't me doing the guess-work but rather a member of their staff. There have been times when it has taken me months to get an answer to one question, but it's been worth the wait since at least I now know where I stand with regards to that particular thing.
The regulations, sadly, only become relevant to the research student when a problem pops up - that, or when the student is near completion and needs to follow the thesis submission guidelines. Hence it is sometimes left too late in the day for the student to make changes. This is why I think it's really worth raising awareness about this and getting our fellow research students to read these documents and be in the best position possible to pre-empt anything nasty from happening.
If you've ever had such experience of having found out something too late, and which was in your university's regulations; or, been able to save the day due to finding out something that was in your regulations, then I'd be interested in hearing your stories.

I'm starting my PhD in September and I have already downloaded my uni's code of practice, and the MPhil/PhD handbook, though they haven't been updated since 2008. I heard that we will get a hard copy when we enroll, hopefully that will be the updated version.