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Topic

Milestones

24 July 2025

Milestones are an important part of your research journey. They provide an opportunity to reflect upon your progress, plan and discuss your goals with your supervisory team, identify researcher development or support needs, and ensure you are connected with support systems available at UC.

HOW TO APPLY
The doctoral student lifecycle

Your journey starts once you are enrolled in your degree. It is your responsibility to complete the required milestones. We suggest you review the Qualification Regulations relevant to your degree and the Research Student Supervision Policy, to ensure that you fully understand the milestones. It is important to make a time to discuss your progress in relation to each milestone with your supervisory team, and consider your learning needs and goals. This process is important for you, your supervisory team, and the University, to monitor your progress. Failure to complete milestones may place your continuing enrolment at risk.

Part-time students 

The milestones depicted in the diagram above are those for the majority of full-time students. Part-time students will complete the Supervisory Agreement and Proposal at the same time as full-time students, but may have up to 18 months in which to complete the Confirmation Process. Progress Reports are expected at six-monthly intervals, and submission of your doctoral thesis is required within a maximum of 480 points of study.

Milestones
Supervisory agreement

This milestone occurs 6 months after a Doctoral student first enrols (except for EdD and DHSc). Students need to complete the Supervisory Agreement Form which then needs to be approved by the Dean. The purpose of this form is to:

  • Appoint a Supervisory Team: This confirms the composition of the student’s supervisory team (including any external supervisors).
  • Supervisory Agreement: This establishes an agreed understanding of the way in which the student and their supervisors will work together across the duration of the degree.
  • Research Proposal: This is the precursor to the Confirmation Proposal. It normally includes a literature review, aims/hypotheses, descriptions of studies to be completed and their methods and methodology, noting any specific equipment or resourcing required. The Research Proposal must also include an overall project plan, including specific goals and a timeline.

This form has been significantly updated in June 2025. If you have begun your first milestone using the previous versions of the forms (with separate documents for the Supervisory Agreement, Appointment of Supervisors Research Proposal, and External Supervisor Agreement) and need copies of any of these to complete the process, please contact graduateschool@canterbury.ac.nz to obtain these.

Supervisory Agreement Form
Confirmation

The confirmation process must be completed within 12 months of initial enrolment for full-time PhD students, and 18 months for part-time PhD students (and 22 months for DHSc and EdD):

Step 1

Supervisor to set date for Oral Presentation well in advance to ensure the Confirmation Assessment is completed by the panel within the appropriate timeframe.

Step 2

Student submits Confirmation Proposal at least two weeks before Oral Presentation. 

 

The Confirmation Proposal forms the blueprint for your thesis. It articulates a clear rationale for your research and describes, in detail, how it will be undertaken. It includes a project plan, which will be used to track your progress in future Progress Reports.

 

For full details of the Confirmation Proposal and Oral Presentation see the Confirmation Process Procedure.

Step 3

Oral Presentation - The exact format of the Oral Presentation varies across faculties. Your supervisory team will be able to advise. 

Step 4

Panel completes Confirmation Assessment and makes recommendation to the Dean of Postgraduate Research

Step 5

Te Kura Tāura | UC Graduate School notifies student of outcome. 

Kaitoko | research student advisor support

Need help navigating processes, have a query or want advice regarding your skill development?

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