School of English PGR Students Handbook,

Transcription

1 1 School of English PGR Students Handbook, Cover illustration by Sarah Longley

2 2 Welcome We extend a very warm welcome to you as new PGR students, both those returning to us after completing your MAs in many cases, very recently in the School of English, and those who are joining us from other institutions or places. We hope that you will enjoy your time of postgraduate research with us, which is almost certain to be stimulating, exciting and challenging in equal parts. Whatever your chosen topic, you will inevitably be changed by the experience, as you develop the highest-level skills of independent research and effect a transition in which former tutors become supervisors, fellow scholars, colleagues and friends. The key contact point for you as a postgraduate research student (PGR) is your principal supervisor. In the course of your studies, however, you will also draw upon the support and expertise of a second supervisor and the readers at your differentiation. Throughout your research, you can also contact, at any point, Linda Drain, our secretary responsible for postgraduate students, and Moyra Haslett or Eamonn Hughes, as Co-Directors of PG Education (including PGR students). Those of you who have studied for a MA in the School of English recently will know the two of us. To those who are new, we look forward to meeting you for the first time and learning about your own research. Don t hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or questions, but also let us know of any achievements or news which we might report to the School Postgraduate Committee. PG Secretary: Linda Drain [email protected] Tel: Co-Directors of PG Education Moyra Haslett Eamonn Hughes [email protected] [email protected] Tel: Tel: This handbook is intended to help you in giving as much information as possible. If there is any question not answered here, please do let us know, as we seek to improve the Handbook for future students. PGR students must also consult the University Regulations and the Institutional Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes, both of which can be accessed here: If you use Twitter, follow the School of for news, updates and useful information. There is also a Facebook page for Postgraduate Studies at the School of English which you can Like : This is the official School PG Facebook page which is overseen by Dr Derek Johnston. There is also an informal Facebook group for QUB English PhD-ers of Awesome ( Its

3 founder PhD student Samantha Lin writes: this is essentially a place where the PhD folks hang out in cyberspace and post an array of things, ranging from cultural events to upcoming conferences. Please feel free to join the group, use its resources, and post any interesting titbits you might come across. 3

4 Contents Introduction to Postgraduate Research in the School of English 5 Studying for a PhD & The skill set in PhD study in English 6 How to approach researching a topic 7 How to approach writing your thesis 8 Plagiarism 8 Supervisory teams 9 The relationship with your supervisor 10 QUB Regulations on PG supervision 11 Supporting our PGR students & PGR Mentoring Scheme 12 Differentiation 13 Progress Panels 14 Duration of PGR Study, Request for suspension of studies 15 Examination of the thesis & 16 Format of the thesis 17 The Viva 18 Examiners recommendation 19 Framework of study towards the PhD 20 Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme 21 Contributing to the academic community 22 Professionalization 22 Professionalizing the PhD 23 Careers 25 Staff and Postgraduate Research Seminars 25 Reading Groups 25 Forthcoming conferences 26 Funding for Research Visits and Conference Attendance 27 Santander PGR Awards 27 Vanderbilt Scholarship 28 PG Conference organisation 29 PGR Skills Training (Services offered by the University s PG Centre) 31 Staff profiles 35 Fulbright Distinguished Scholars 43 The English Society 44 Creative Writing in the School & The Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry 44 Queen s Writers Group 45 School-based events for PG students 45 How the School is run 46 Postgraduate Committee 47 How can your views be heard in the School? 47 International Students 48 Teaching opportunities in the School of English 48 Information on School facilities for postgraduate research students 50 Information on University Facilities for postgraduate research students: The McClay Library 51 The Graduate School 52 General Information: School of English contact details 53 Semester Dates 54 Support for PG students 55 Further support for students at Queen s 56 4

5 5 Introduction to Postgraduate Research in the School of English Every year around sixty students both MA and PhD begin postgraduate study in the School, and it has acquired a reputation for excellence in research and scholarship over many decades. Many of the graduates from our postgraduate programmes are now leading experts in the field, and are teaching new generations of scholars in Britain, Ireland and around the world: 39 of our PhD graduates since 2000 are now in full-time lecturing positions. You can see a list of all PhD theses completed in the School since 1990 on our School web-pages (under Research) and in future years we hope to extend these pages to include details of subsequent publications and career histories. We are very pleased that you have decided to undertake postgraduate study in the School of English, as we are committed to maintaining and improving a flourishing postgraduate community as an essential part of the School s academic life. Our aim is to continue to encourage and stimulate the best work in all of our postgraduate students. Becoming a postgraduate student is an exciting time, a time in which you have an excellent opportunity to develop your own ideas, arguments and writing skills with the advice and tuition of established scholars and critics. It is a time not only for researching a subject which you find stimulating and rewarding, but also for discovering your distinctive voice as a scholar and critic, and making your original contribution to knowledge and understanding. Whatever your aims in undertaking postgraduate study, the opportunities offered by a postgraduate degree to explore, research and write about subjects which interest you will enable you to develop personally and professionally. I hope that you will find your life and work as a postgraduate scholar in the School of English both rewarding and stimulating, and that your achievements here will serve you well in the future. With best wishes, Professor Moyra Haslett and Dr Eamonn Hughes Co- Directors of PG Education

6 6 Studying for a PhD The decision to undertake a research project leading to the award of PhD is often understood as a decision to embark on an academic career, especially in the humanities, in which the non-vocational and highly specialised nature of a humanities graduate education would seem not to prepare students for other areas of employment. In many cases, those candidates awarded the PhD qualifications in English do proceed to employment within higher education. It is worth bearing in mind, however, that the skills and experiences of completing a postgraduate research qualification are highly adaptable to other areas of employment, especially jobs in administration, journalism, the civil service, teaching, and publishing. For careers in these areas of employment, a PhD qualification is obviously not essential, but it does serve an extremely valuable purpose in training you to a high standard in key academic and research skills. The skill set in PhD study in English The acquisition of specialist knowledge in a specific area of academic study. Advanced skills in writing, analysis and criticism, including how to write clearly and persuasively, how to think critically, and how to organise complex arguments and discussions into writing. Information searching and retrieval skills, including how to locate and access information sources in a wide variety of contexts from manuscript archives to electronic sites. Editing and bibliographical skills, including how to compile a comprehensive literature search, and how to achieve a consistent standard of presentation and style. Contextual skills, including how to situate specialist knowledge within broader fields of inquiry and study. Self-discipline and motivation skills, including how to work successfully in an independent capacity for long periods of time, and to direct a project from beginning to conclusion. Interaction skills, including how to negotiate an independent project in consultation with an established scholar or scholars, and to identify and obtain specific training and skills from others in working towards the completion of the project. Professional skills, including how to present the research material to peers, how to manage the development of a scholarly and academic profile, and how to negotiate publication of the research material. Planning and preparation skills, such as time management, identifying and delimiting the scope of the research project, and organising the means to sustain and conclude the project. Specific methodological skills, such as working with old manuscripts, or identifying authorship of manuscripts and typescripts, or accurately contextualising source materials. Many of these skills can only be learned by doing the tasks involved, with the supervision of an established scholar, rather than being taught on training courses. Hence the core pedagogic method of postgraduate study in English is for each postgraduate student to be assigned a supervisor or supervisory team from established members of the School s academic staff, whose key duty is to advise the student towards the successful completion of an independent research project and written thesis. Regular meetings between student and supervisor are designed to facilitate the discussion and resolution of methodological problems, the identification of key sources and contexts, and the development of writing and presentation skills. The main responsibilities of the supervisor are discussed below. The following web-site, on the AHRC site, may be of interest in relation to these issues: See also the following account by a PhD student in English, published in The Independent (25 July 2012):

7 7 How to approach researching a topic Much of the detail about how to research a topic will form the basis for your early meetings with your supervisor. You should identify before applying for postgraduate study the main methods which you will use to undertake your research. Will the project require much travel? Does it require permission to access private materials, and how easy is it to access those materials? What are the key libraries and archives you will need to consult? What kind of project is it and what are its core methods e.g. textual analysis, biographical research, manuscript analysis, cultural and historical contextualisation, application of theoretical concepts and models, editing texts, or translation? Do you need any specific training in these methods, and how will you go about acquiring the skills and methods necessary to completing your research? You should spend some time at the beginning of your research thinking not just about the content of the project, but also methodological issues, and the practical and material issues involved in completing it. There is little use in taking on a project which you discover too late involves expensive travel to indispensable archives without which you cannot complete, but which you find that you cannot afford. So too, you should make sure that it is possible to publish your research without incurring heavy copyright or permissions fees. Generally speaking, the research project will expand its scope and material in the first months or years, but will eventually become focused on a specific set of materials, arguments or concepts, and will contract to engage in detail with this focused topic. At regular intervals, right from the beginning, you should try to formulate a thesis sentence describing the scope of your argument or research (e.g. The novels of Kingsley Amis are conventionally regarded as having been influenced by eighteenthcentury satirical fiction, but this thesis will show that Amis is more markedly influenced by the satires of Evelyn Waugh, or This thesis will examine the trope of the snail in Shakespeare s plays in the context of Elizabethan theories of biology, and will argue that the snail functions as a figure of gestation in Elizabethan culture ). The thesis sentence is useful not only within the thesis itself, but also in those social situations in which somebody politely asks what your thesis is about. It may help you to maintain good relations with your friends and family! In the late stages of your research, you should also write a short abstract (less than one page) explaining the argument and methodologies of your thesis. The key distinguishing feature of the PhD award concerns the originality of the research, as the PhD must make a substantial and original contribution to scholarly knowledge and understanding. At an early stage of your research, you will therefore complete a review of existing scholarship in order to identify the gap in knowledge, or the original argument or interpretation, which will then form the basis for the doctoral thesis.

8 8 How to approach writing your thesis You should write drafts of your thesis, or summary findings of your research to date, regularly and often throughout your time as a postgraduate student, as it is good practice to develop your writing and critical skills. You should be prepared to discard such drafts, however, when it comes to preparing your thesis for final submission. Most postgraduate research students form the final thesis from chapters which have been written at regular intervals throughout the three years of studying for a PhD. Whichever approach works for you, it is essential that you continually practice your academic writing skills and give draft material to your supervisor at regular intervals. Oral discussion of your work CANNOT substitute for the more detailed feedback which written submissions permit. Writing up your thesis will be made much easier if you adopt a consistent style of taking notes, adding to your bibliography, and using proper academic conventions for referencing (e.g. MLA Style Manual), right from the beginning of your project. If you always take down the proper publication details and page numbers of everything you consult and make notes from, this will prevent hours of panic in later stages, when you might otherwise find yourself searching for the same publications again in the hours before you submit your thesis. This is especially important if you are travelling abroad to view specific archives or library holdings. Probably the most difficult decision about your thesis is how to shape the findings of your research into chapters. Most PhD theses are divided into about four or five chapters, and sometimes the chapter divisions will be guided by the materials you re studying (e.g. a thesis on five of Brian Friel s plays may simply be divided into a chapter for each play). Alternately, the chapter divisions may reflect the logical stages of your argument. In any case, this is something you should discuss in detail with your supervisor. You should also consult other PhD theses to see how other postgraduate students have organised their material. Past theses by QUB graduates are available for consultation in the McClay library. For a list of past PhD theses completed in the School of English, see the list in the Research section our School web-site. Plagiarism All written and oral work must fully acknowledge the secondary sources used in the preparation of that work. These sources may be in print or electronic form: use of the words or ideas of others must be properly referenced in the form of parenthetical citation or footnote / endnote form and supplemented with full bibliographical details in the bibliography. Plagiarism the act of passing off the work of others as your own will be severely penalized. Please see the following University page on research misconduct: DealingwithAcademicOffencesincludingresearchmisconduct/ ResearchMisconduct/ While it is expected that all PGR students would be aware of the seriousness of plagiarism as an academic offence, this note is included as a preventative, cautionary reminder, for what is hoped would be an extremely unlikely occurrence at this level.

9 9 Supervisory teams In the School, many research students have different kinds of supervisory team. For PhD students in creative writing, for example, all students have a supervisor who works with them on the creative element of their thesis, and a second supervisor who oversees the critical component. In literary and language study, all research students are assigned two supervisors, but the extent to which the second supervisor is involved can vary considerably. If your topic requires the expertise of more than one member of staff (perhaps because of its inter-disciplinary nature or because its focus encompasses comparative work on different literary periods or national literatures / languages, for example), then, again, two supervisors may play an almost equal role in overseeing your work and discussing its development with you. In other cases, students and supervisors may prefer to work more closely in a one-to-one relationship. In this arrangement, the secondary supervisor might perform a more pastoral element, or be available where necessary for further support. QUB guidelines confirm that: The division of responsibilities between the supervisors in the team may vary, depending on circumstances, but the principal supervisor always has overall responsibility and the second supervisor normally has a supporting role. The roles outlined above might be summarised as follows: a.) a primary supervisor and a nominal secondary supervisor b.) joint supervisors, where a project requires the expertise of two members of staff c.) creative writing PhDs, which require a supervisor for the creative element of the thesis and one for the critical component. d.) a primary and a secondary supervisor, where the secondary supervisor s involvement may vary in degree The School believes that it is in the interests of our PGR students that this range in kinds of supervision exists, to serve the individual needs of PGR students according to the specific requirements of their PhD topic. Whatever the nature of your supervisory arrangement, then, it is important that it is appropriate for your research topic. Supervisors for new PGR students are assigned at the first PG Committee meeting of the year (mid-september), but students can seek advice on their supervisory arrangements at any point during their study, by contacting one of the Directors of PG Education. This is a confidential service, so students should not feel afraid to raise sensitive issues if they feel the School / the PG Director can help, or even if it would simply to helpful to talk to someone outside of the supervisory team.

10 The relationship with your supervisor Your supervisor is a kind of mentor. She or he is assigned to monitor your progress as a postgraduate student, and to advise you about the direction and completion of your studies. The supervisor is necessarily limited in what she or he can do for you, since the PhD is awarded on the basis of your achievements as an independent scholar, working on your own topic and devising your own arguments. You may disagree on a regular basis with your supervisor about interpretations of the material that you re studying, or even about the theoretical approaches to literary study, but you should seek her or his advice about the methods, argument, structure and direction of your research and your thesis in regular meetings. You should also check for your supervisor s approval before you submit the thesis for the final award, but you are ultimately responsible for the quality of the work submitted. You should also seek the advice of your supervisor about professional matters beyond the thesis, matters such as postgraduate funding, academic conferences, journal and book publication, and employment opportunities. You should consult with and inform your supervisor of any employment you re undertaking while you re working on your studies. You should also bear in mind that your supervisor will also have a substantial burden of teaching and administration duties to perform. You should arrange meetings with your supervisor in advance, inform her or him promptly if you need to cancel a meeting, and prepare for each meeting fully beforehand. Many scholars in our field continue to enjoy a fruitful professional relationship with their supervisors long after they have graduated, and we hope that this will also be the case for you. 10

11 11 QUB Regulations on PG supervision Please see the following for the University s Code of Practice regarding supervision: General responsibilities The role of the supervisory team is to provide the student with advice, help and encouragement so that he/she receives a good training in research and produces a successful thesis. Supervisors should make clear to the student that the thesis is to be his/her own work and that he/she is responsible for its eventual success or failure, but that you can provide guidance. The Principal Supervisor s responsibilities would normally include: Helping the student draw up a research plan, and monitoring the student s progress in relation to this plan Agreeing a written supervisory meeting schedule with the student Meeting the student a minimum of 6 times a year (for full-time students) Giving the student regular feedback on progress, including constructive criticism on written work Raising any concerns about progress with the student and, if necessary, the head of school at an early stage Ensuring that the student goes through the School s differentiation procedure at the appropriate time Ensuring that the student completes Annual Progress Review each year (excepting the year in which differentiation takes place) Ensuring that the student understands the nature and requirements of postgraduate research and the standards expected Ensuring that the student knows what constitutes research misconduct and knows how to reference properly Ensuring that the student is aware of institutional-level sources of advice, including careers guidance, health and safety legislation and equal opportunities policy; Providing effective pastoral support and/or referring the student to other sources of such support, including student advisers (or equivalent) and others within the student's academic community; Helping the student to interact with others working in the field of research, for example, encouraging the student to attend relevant conferences, supporting him/her in seeking funding for such events; and where appropriate to submit conference papers and articles to refereed journals; Maintaining the necessary supervisory expertise, including the appropriate skills, to perform all of the role satisfactorily, supported by relevant continuing professional development opportunities. The Second Supervisor s responsibilities would normally include: Meeting the student a minimum of three times a year Involvement in the annual monitoring and assessment process Acting as a replacement principal supervisor if the principal supervisor is away from the University for any length of time Undertaking a specific role in the student s training such as developing a Personal Development Plan (PDP) or Training Needs Analysis for the student The expectation is that supervisors, especially principal supervisors, will, where possible, let their students know in advance if they intend to be away from the University for any length of time. In such instances, the second supervisor will provide support for the student during this period. If necessary, the Head of School may appoint a temporary replacement supervisor.

12 12 Supporting our PGR students Beginning a course of postgraduate study can be a daunting task, and the School of English at QUB recognises that postgraduate students need to be supported with proper channels of advice and appropriate opportunities for sharing problems and concerns. In the first instance, you should turn to your PhD supervisor or supervisors for advice. You can also consult the Postgraduate Director of Education about any issues of concern related to the pursuit of your studies. The School organises a series of weekly staff and postgraduate research seminars, designed to promote the discussion of specialist areas of the discipline, and a series of developmental seminars designed to help professionalise you as an academic, critic, and writer, Professionalising the PhD. Details of all of these events can be found in this handbook. PGR students also nominate at least two student representatives, and one teaching assistant representative, who can speak to their concerns at School Committee meetings. See the section on How the School is run (p.37 below). PGR Mentoring Scheme Since we have successfully run a peer mentoring scheme for PGR students, and were the first School in the Faculty to introduce this initiative. PGR students in their second and third years acted as peer mentors for year 1 PGR students. Feedback from those who take part both as mentors and mentees have been overwhelmingly positive. In , our peer mentoring team will be comprised of: Sarah Cardwell, Ashleigh McFeeters, Kate Mairs, Joe McKee, Sheila McWade, and Prayag Ray. Many thanks to the five of them for volunteering! They will hold regular meetings with our new PGR students and it is hoped that several general social events can also be organised. The scheme is voluntary and we will ask new PGR students who would like to participate to sign up at the first meeting of the year (Friday 25 th September 2015). Once you have registered you will be issued with a Queen s address. It is REALLY ESSENTIAL that you use this account as your tutors and the School will be communicating with you using the QUB address you have been given.

13 13 Differentiation In the first year of PGR study, you will be working towards the preparation of materials for differentiation. This is the point at which you formally apply to become a registered PhD student and is an essential mechanism for ensuring at an early point that your work is of the standard required and that your proposed topic is appropriate for a PhD thesis. In the School of English, differentiation is held in the final week of May (the week commencing 23 rd May, 2016). At least ONE WEEK before the scheduled date of your differentiation you will submit the following materials to a panel of two reviewers: 1.) An overview of the thesis, including a breakdown of chapters. This will also indicate where the sample chapter will fit within the overall thesis; give an estimate of how the work will make an original contribution to research; comment on work already done and how the work will be developed further; and describe the practical methods and / or theoretical models you intend to employ. 2.) A sample chapter (c. 8,000-10,000 words). This should be a draft chapter which demonstrates something of the thesis s originality and argument (for literary studies projects, this should NOT simply be a literature review; however the literature review is an essential element of language / linguistics work and often comprises the bulk of the work in the first 8 months of your study.). 3.) A full bibliography for the thesis, demonstrating standards of accuracy, presentation and consistency expected at doctoral level (e.g. choose and strictly apply the conventions of ONE recognised academic style sheet, which will probably be one of the following: MLA, MHRA or Harvard). 4.) A list of training undertaken in the first 8 months of research study, including courses attended and other relevant activities (such as research seminar attendance) N.B Creative Writing PGR students are required to submit a sample of their creative work AND a sample chapter of their critical component (c.3,000 5,000 words) and an abstract of the critical component ( words). The reviewers will usually be drawn from academic staff within the School, but, where appropriate, may also include staff from other Schools within Queens. Supervisors are not permitted to act as differentiation reviewers or as differentiation chairs, although they may be present during the differentiation interview. Supervisors will discuss with you the allocation of reviewers in a meeting in February, if not before. The differentiation interview usually lasts one hour. At some point in the differentiation interview (either at the beginning or the end), your supervisor(s) will be asked to withdraw and you will be asked by the Chair of differentiation whether you are happy with your current supervision. This gives the School a formal mechanism by which we can check that students are happy with their supervisory arrangements. Remember, however, that any concerns can be raised at any point with the PG DE. Although you will be told informally by the panel the outcome of the differentiation at the end of the interview, you will also be notified officially of this by the PG Secretary. Differentiation is an extremely important and necessary condition for PhD registration. Up until this point, you will have been registered as an undifferentiated research student. If, in the view of the panel, the materials presented do not warrant a change of registration at this point, you are permitted a second attempt at differentiation. This will take place in early September (ie week

14 14 commencing 8th September, 2016). You must resubmit revised drafts of the material submitted on the first attempt, again by at least a week before the scheduled date of your second differentiation, and to the same readers. Differentiation is an opportunity for you to engage with others both on the general aims and structure of the thesis and on a detailed reading of sample work. Both reviewers will provide written feedback in the form of discursive comments and / or annotations on your work and this will be made available to you at the end of the differentiation, or shortly thereafter. The University regulations for differentiation are given in Regulation 6.5 of the Study Regulations for Research Degree Programmes (see gulationsforresearchdegreeprogrammes/6progress/) Progress Panels: differentiated PGR students only The School s PGR Progress Panels are informal meetings between a panel of staff and PGR students in their 2nd and 3rd years (or equivalent, if enrolled as a part-time PGR student) ie differentiated PhD students. These meetings will last no longer than 30 minutes. The panel will be comprised of the two PG DEs, unless one of these is your supervisor. (In this latter case, another Senior Member of the Staff will replace your supervisor.) You will be asked to submit the following in advance of the meeting: 1.) An abstract of your thesis - no more than one side of A4 2.) A chapter breakdown: ie a brief description of each chapter 3.) A proposed timetable of the work required towards completion The first two of these ought to be texts which you have already written, or which you continually refine and update. The third of these - the timetable of completion - should also be helpful in clarifying what remains to be done, and how you can best use the time available to you. Within University Regulations, the Annual Progress Review procedure is deemed equivalent to a Board of Examiners (see regulation 6.5.2). It is not intended that these panels should cause students a lot of additional work, at a time when you need to concentrate on the thesis itself. However, we do hope that the meetings will be a friendly and supportive occasion in which you can discuss the progress of your work with other staff within the School.

15 15 Duration of PGR study It is the expectation of the School that all full-time PhD students will complete their research and submit their thesis within 3 years. An extension of one further year may be granted, although it is hoped that in these cases students would submit early in the year so as to allow graduation within this fourth year. For part-time PGR students, the equivalent timing is completion within 6 years of first registration, with a possible extension of a further 2 years. N.B. ALL funded students (AHRC, DEL, University) MUST submit their PhD by Sept 15 of their 3 rd year of full-time study (excluding any periods where their enrolment was suspended). Completion of the PhD within 3 years is a key aspect of the doctoral level achievement. If you intend to apply for an academic position, or indeed employment of other kinds, one of the things the appointment committee will consider is your ability to meet deadlines and to cope with pressures of time-management for your work. If you feel that you will be unable to complete your research within these time limits you should discuss this issue with your supervisor. If personal circumstances interfere with your ability to work on the thesis as required, you should consider seeking a temporary suspension of study (see below). Request for suspension of studies In cases where the School s PG Com believes that you have good cause to suspend your studies, you may apply to withdraw temporarily from postgraduate research study. This may be granted for a cumulative maximum of two years during the course of your study, for a period of up to one year at a time. If you wish to suspend studies, you should discuss this in the first instance with your principal supervisor, and then inform at least one of the Co-Directors of PG Education (Moyra Haslett or Eamonn Hughes). This must be done as far in advance of the period of suspension as possible. You may extend the period of leave, or resume PGR study earlier than originally intended, by notifying one of the Co-Directors of PG Education in advance of the stated date of return. Any student on a temporary withdrawal will not be liable for fees during this period, nor will this time be included in the time allowed by the University for completion of the thesis. In the case of funded students, the School will first seek confirmation that the relevant funding body will agree to a period of temporary withdrawal. If the funding body turns down such a request, the School may still authorise a temporary withdrawal on academic grounds, but in this case the temporary withdrawal will lead to the loss of funding.

16 16 Examination of the thesis The PhD award is made to those students who complete a dissertation of the required length and scope, which is read and approved by a specifically appointed external examiner and one internal examiner, and assessed in an oral examination. The student may be informed in the oral examination whether or not the dissertation is approved by the examiners. The examiners will make a decision regarding the outcome of the examination (please see below). If the thesis is approved, there may be revisions and corrections to be made; if it is not approved, the student has the right to revise and resubmit the dissertation at a later stage, or to appeal the decision of the examining panel. You should consult the regulations concerning the examination of PhD theses for further details about the judgements which the examining panel can make. Submission of the thesis Students must complete their Intention to Submit form on QSIS, at least 3 months in advance of their intended date of submission. PhD theses can be submitted at ANY DATE DURING THE YEAR. However, in order to graduate at the following graduation ceremonies, the following guidelines for dates of submission give some sense of possible timescales: Graduation Intention to Submit Form Submission of thesis July 1 February 1 May December 1 May 15 September If you then subsequently find that you cannot meet this submission date, you must complete an extension of submission of thesis form. No later than 3 weeks in advance of submission, your supervisor will complete a Nomination of Examiners form on QSIS. In addition to nominating one external and one internal examiner, this form also gives the name of the independent Chair of the Viva and the title of your thesis. N.B. It is essential that the title on this particular form (PGR9) conforms to the title on the thesis that is submitted. Any deviation from this title, however apparently minor, will lead to the thesis being refused on submission. This has happened on a couple of occasions in the past and the candidate has had to have the thesis rebound with the original title, as given on the PGR9 form, on the titlepage.

17 17 Format of the thesis In conformity with university regulations: theses must not normally exceed 80,000 words (excluding appendices and the bibliography). For PhD theses in Creative Writing, the critical component should be within 20,000-40,000 words, with the creative element approximating to the difference between this figure and that of 80,000 words. TWO copies of the thesis, soft-bound, must be submitted to the Examinations Office. The first page of the thesis must give the candidate s full names, degrees, School and the approved title of the thesis, the degree for which it is offered and the date. The candidate must also submit a short summary of the thesis on the form available from the Examinations Office. Note that this form is a pdf file. Students in the past have usually printed out a version of their abstract, pasted this onto a print-out of the form and then photocopied it. It is also advisable to print a copy of this abstract near the beginning of your thesis the page after the title-page, for example and have this soft-bound together with the remainder of the thesis. This will ensure that both examiners will have ready access to this important preliminary statement. The Viva The Viva voce oral examination takes place within the School of English and gives the examiners of the thesis the opportunity to question the candidate on the arguments and methodologies of the thesis and to probe further searching issues. The examiners will be an external examiner, usually a senior academic from another university, whose own research expertise maps onto that of the candidate s thesis; and an internal examiner, usually a member of staff within the School of English who may have research interests which overlap with aspects of the thesis. The internal examiner may not be a member of staff who has been involved in the supervision of the thesis at any point. The Viva is chaired by a senior member of staff from within the School, whose role is to ensure that the Viva is carried out fairly, and with due regard to the university s procedures. Vivas can be as individual as the personalities involved: in general, they tend to last between 60 and 90 minutes. Usually the external examiner will begin the oral examination and will lead the discussion, with the internal examiner acting as a secondary examiner. In almost all cases, the external examiner will ask an initial question which is designed to put you at your ease. All concerned in the process want you to perform as well as possible, and do not want you to be paralysed by fear, although it is also important that the examination is rigorous, challenging and testing. After the end of formal questioning, the Chair will ask the candidate and her/ his supervisor to leave the room to allow the examiners to confer on the final recommendation. Candidates may feel more comfortable returning to their supervisor s office, before being recalled. After her / his return to the panel, the Chair will inform the candidate of the examiners decision and will invite the candidate to ask questions of the examiners if she/ he wishes. An informal period of discussion often follows, as at this time the supervisor may also participate. The Viva represents an unprecedented opportunity to engage with other academics in close discussion of your research. Although many students are fearful of the event, you should also remember that the quality of the written submission is key and if that is of the appropriate level, there is little to fear from the Viva. In many cases, external examiners act as a critical friend to the PhD candidate in their future careers, often acting as referees or offering advice at the Viva on possible future developments of their work.

18 18 Examiners recommendation The following recommendations are available to your examiners: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) (ix) that the degree of PhD be awarded for the thesis as it stands; that the degree of PhD be awarded subject to minor corrections being made to the thesis. Minor corrections are defined as adjustments which are, in the view of the examiners, capable of completion within four months. The four month period dates from when the examiners (via Student Services and Systems) notify the student in writing of the adjustments required: this must reach the student within two weeks of the oral examination; that the degree of PhD be awarded subject to minor revisions being made to the thesis. Minor revisions are defined as amendments that are in excess of minor corrections, but not, in the opinion of the examiners, sufficient to require the student to revise and resubmit his / her thesis. Minor revisions must normally be completed within six months. that the thesis be revised and re-submitted for the degree of PhD at a later date. Resubmission of the thesis also requires a second Viva. Students are normally only permitted to revise and re-submit a thesis once, not counting minor corrections or minor revisions under (ii) and (iii) above; that a master s degree be awarded for the thesis as it stands; that a master s degree be awarded subject to minor corrections being made to the thesis, as defined in (ii) above; that a master s degree be awarded subject to minor revisions being made to the thesis, as defined in (iii) above; that the thesis be revised and re-submitted for a master s degree at a later date (the revised thesis must normally be re-submitted for examination, within twelve months; that no degree be awarded.

19 19 Framework of study towards the PhD Full-time PhD students are normally expected to complete their studies within three years. The following is a guide to how this might be achieved within three years: Year One, Semester One: Induction, learning how to use the university s resources, and developing the research methods initiated in MA study Agreement on the research topic, and construction of a plan for how to undertake the research Agreement on a regular schedule of meetings with supervisor for the year Attendance at staff and postgraduate events, such as the weekly research seminars, Professionalizing the PhD seminars, conferences, postgraduate training events etc. Creation of extensive bibliography Year One, Semester Two: Initial draft of a chapter of the thesis, and discussion with supervisor of strengths and weaknesses Discussion with supervisor about academic conferences, part-time teaching opportunities Continuing attendance at staff and postgraduate events, such as the weekly research seminars, Professionalizing the PhD seminars, conferences, postgraduate training events etc. Submission of materials for differentiation Year Two: Agreement on a regular schedule of meetings with supervisor for the year Review of the research plan, and re-assessment of the shape of the project Regular submission of drafts of thesis chapters Participation in the School s research seminars (ie give at least one research paper within QUB) Continuing attendance at staff and postgraduate events, such as the weekly research seminars, Professionalizing the PhD seminars, conferences, postgraduate training events etc. Attendance at and possible participation in academic conferences Possible involvement (if desirable) in part-time teaching in the School Year Three: Agreement on a regular schedule of meetings with supervisor for the year Writing and regular review of final drafts of the thesis Continuing attendance at staff and postgraduate events, such as the weekly research seminars, Professionalizing the PhD seminars, conferences, postgraduate training events etc. Attendance at and participation in academic conferences Publication of parts of the thesis as journal articles or book chapters Possible involvement (if desirable) in part-time teaching in the School Discussion with supervisor about professional matters, including job opportunities, CV writing, applications procedures, and so on Final submission of thesis and viva examination

20 20 Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme (FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS PROGRAMME, SEE ALSO BELOW) It is a requirement of the university that all PGR students attend 30 days (or equivalent credits) of training and development during their PhD study. For further explanation of what the university defines as training and development, please view the web-site ( under Programme Guidelines. Training courses can be viewed on-line ( and you are advised to view the website on a regular basis as new courses and events are promoted there. Courses are listed according to the areas within the Researcher Development Framework. Courses will be available for booking at some point in early October and the University s PG Centre will you immediately they are open for booking. You can book onto a maximum of 15 courses per year (this is to ensure improved access for all students). NB Students are responsible for updating their own training records on QSIS. Details of how to update can be found at In addition to the training courses provided centrally by the university, there are also a number of English-specific events which are accredited: 1.) Sessions for Professionalising the PhD : one half day for each session you attend. 2.) Research seminars: one half day for each session you attend. These might include the School of English seminars (Wednesday afternoons), the Medieval Studies seminars (Friday afternoons), the Centre for Eighteenth-Century Studies seminars (Friday afternoons), the Post-Colonial Forum and the Institutes of Irish Studies seminars (Monday lunchtimes), or any number of other research seminars within QUB. Creative Writing PGR students might also log readings as a form of training (giving a reading of one s own work is equivalent to giving a research paper). 3.) for Teaching Assistants: participating in a Peer Review session counts as part of your training credit: each session is accredited as one half day's training. 4.) Conference attendance: attending a two day conference counts as two full days of training (eg the School s own annual PG conference, in June 2015, Common Ground ). 5.) PGR peer mentors attend two training sessions in September / October, which are eligible for training credits. These usually take the form of two half-day sessions. All students must keep a detailed record of research and related events. A list of training is a requirement among the submitted papers at differentiation. The list is also very helpful when constructing a Curriculum Vitae.

21 21 Contributing to the academic community It will benefit your own development as an academic scholar and it will benefit the academic community as a whole to make parts of your research publicly available through conference presentations and journal publication. You should seek the advice of your supervisor(s) before doing this. You should be able to identify the conferences and journals most appropriate to your work. This is easier in some cases than others. If you re writing about James Joyce, for example, there are well known journals such as the James Joyce Quarterly and annual conferences devoted to Joyce s work. In other cases, you will have to search for appropriate opportunities for conference presentation and journal publication. There are websites that can help, the best of which is the University of Pennsylvania s Call for Papers site: The following sites also provide details of conferences: and To identify the appropriate journal to which to send your work, you should select a journal which publishes work already in the general area in which you re working, and read through some of the journal issues to see if the journal prefers particular methods or approaches. It is always beneficial to publish in refereed journals, which send submitted articles to academic readers who will compile a report recommending how to make the article better. This will help to ensure that your first academic publication profits from the critical advice of your peers. Making your work public through conference presentation and journal publication is a vital indicator to potential academic employers of your commitment to academic research, your ability to communicate your research effectively, and your engagement with an academic community. Professionalization Professionalization means the ways in which newcomers to a professional field acquire the skills, values, practices and experiences necessary to that field. It involves in our profession the process of becoming a university teacher and researcher. Increasingly, doctoral students are encouraged to develop the professional skills necessary to academic employment through their graduate education. The pressure to undertake part-time teaching and to publish your research, for example, while you are studying for the PhD is one which stems largely from the demands of appointments committees or panels, who in turn are compelled to expect more from job applicants because of the high level of competition for academic posts. In this environment, it is essential that you consider how best to prepare yourself for the level of professionalism expected of you when you seek academic employment. At the same time, it is vital that you recognise that the core value of your PhD studies is to broaden and deepen your knowledge, and that the effort to turn research into publishing output can also hamper the development of your research. You should aim to have some experience of teaching and publishing by the time you complete your studies, but appointments panels will privilege the quality of your work over the quantity. Reports by the MLA (USA) and the English Subject Centre (UK) on graduate training can be accessed at the following addresses: MLA Report on professionalization: ESC Report on training:

22 22 ENG9099 Professionalising the PhD Professionalising the PhD is a series of twelve doctoral seminars which aim to help professionalise you as an academic, critic and writer. These developmental seminars (which form part of your personal development plan) will help prepare you for both the academic and the non-academic job market. Seminars run approximately every two weeks during semester (in weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12/15 of each semester) and are open to all years of the PhD. However, it is recommended that you try to attend as many sessions as possible in your first and second years. All sessions take place on Wednesday, 2pm-3.30pm, in Training Room 1 in the Graduate School. The module also has a profile on QOL (ENG9099) and information and documents relating to this course will be uploaded there throughout the year. All PGR students should automatically have access to this resource. Please note that every seminar that you attend counts towards your training credit. You should update your QSIS training record after each session. Details of how to update can be found at Semester One 1. Introductory Seminar Wed 7 Oct (week 2) Led by Eamonn Hughes this seminar will introduce you to the importance of developing new skills and professional abilities while writing your thesis. This seminar will overview the ways in which this module will help your career development. 2. Presenting a Research Paper Wed 21 Oct (week 4) As a second year PhD student, you will be expected to present your work orally. Led by Sinead Sturgeon, this seminar will discuss how to present your work and, more generally, to develop your presentational, interpersonal and communication skills. 3. Conference Culture Wed 4 Nov (week 6) As a second and third year PhD student, you will want to attend national and international conferences in your field. Led by Alex Murray, this seminar will discuss how to propose a paper or panel session, how to apply for travel funding, how to network and how to get the most out of the conference experience. 4. Running a Conference at QUB Wed 18 Nov (week 8) During the second or third year of your PhD you might want to consider running your own conference, perhaps with another student working in a cognate area. Led by Ramona Wray, this session will discuss how to propose a conference, how to apply for funding, how to run a conference and how to generate resultant publications.

23 23 5. Developing a Research Profile Wed 2 Dec (week 10) Throughout your three years, you should be working towards developing a research profile. Led by Fran Brearton, this session contains vital information on the Research Excellence Framework (REF) as well as discussing what is involved in developing an individual research profile. 6. Publishing your work Wed 27 Dec (week 15) In your second and third year of PhD study, you might begin thinking about publishing your work. Led by Mark Burnett, this session discusses process of reviewing, how to prepare essays and conference papers for publication in books and journals, and how to publish your PhD thesis. Semester Two 7. Applying for external funding and international fellowships Wed 10 Feb (week 2) In your second and third year of PhD study, you might think about applying for a small grant or fellowship. Led by Stephen Kelly, this session explains why it is important to apply for external funding and the different possibilities for doing so. 8. Preparing a CV Wed 24 Feb (week 4) In your third year of PhD study, you should work to develop an appropriate CV. Led by Marc Richards, this session discusses what makes a good CV and how a CV should be presented. For those taking part in this session, individual CV follow-up sessions will be provided. 9. Applying for a first job Wed 9 Mar (week 6) As you complete your PhD, you will be thinking about applying for your first job. Led by Catherine Gander, this session discusses where to look for jobs, how to apply and what to expect from the process. 10. Interview Techniques Wed 13 April (week 8) As you complete your PhD, you will be thinking about the interview process for your first job. Led by Marilina Cesario, this session discusses what to expect from an interview and how to improve your interview technique.

24 Teaching and Learning Development Wed 27 Apr (week 10) Second and third year PhD students who have had some experience of teaching might usefully think further about issues around pedagogy and curriculum development. Led by Philip McGowan, this session contains vital information about Quality assessment/assurance (QAA) and discusses how you might begin to think about issues of course design, delivery and evaluation. 12. Non-academic jobs Wed 11 May (week 12) In your third year of PhD study you may be wondering about the alternatives to an academic career. Led by a Senior Careers Advisor, this session highlights the relevance of a PhD in English to an array of possibilities and discusses how you might find out more about these opportunities. =============================================================== CAREERS The School of English hosts an annual Careers Event (usually spring of each year) in which former MA and PhD graduates return to the School to talk about their experiences post-graduation and how their postgraduate study helped them in the development of their individual careers. Former PhD graduates have pursued careers as academics, specialist librarians and archivists, editors and publishers, writers and broadcasters, and jobs within arts management and teaching. The Postgraduate Student Centre also holds regular events on career training and other initiatives. The relevant contact person here is: Rebecca Boyd Senior Careers Adviser (Postgraduate Research Students) International and Postgraduate Student Centre Queen's University Belfast Belfast BT7 1NN Tel: PGR students looking for a career within academia should consult relevant job sites, including (for UK and Irish universities): (for North American universities):

25 25 Staff and Postgraduate Research Seminars All staff and postgraduate students are encouraged to attend and contribute to a series of research seminars. Guest speakers are invited from other institutions, and the staff and postgraduates of the School of English are also invited to present papers related to their research and studies. Academic staff usually present papers of approximately 45 minutes; PGR students of 20 minutes (in panels of two speakers). The papers are followed by approximately minutes of questions from the floor. The aim of the research seminars is to provide a public forum for the discussion of advanced studies of literature in English. The research seminars take place on Wednesdays at pm, 18 College Green, Room 008. The conveners of the research seminars in are: Dr Alex Murray ([email protected]) and Dr Marc Richards ([email protected]). PGR students in the 2 nd year of full-time doctoral research are expected to give a research paper within Queen s. This might be at the School of English weekly seminar, or perhaps at one of the interdisciplinary seminar series: for example, the Centre for Eighteenth-Century Studies, the Institute of Irish Studies, Medieval Studies, Americas project, or Post-colonial Studies Forum. PGR students in the 3 rd year of full-time doctoral research are expected to give a research paper at a conference or seminar series external to Queen s. Reading Groups In past years, the School of English has seen its PG students establish a number of initiatives, such as regular reading groups, publications (such as the recently formed Yellow Nib, a magazine of creative writing) and conferences. In , the following cross-faculty groups were active and were organized by PGR students in English: Renaissance reading group (cross-faculty); Eighteenth-Century Studies reading group (cross-faculty); Marxist theory group. There were also supportive writing workshops for both prose fiction PGR students and women poets, organized and delivered by PGR students. PG students who wish to begin new initiatives should speak to a relevant member of staff, as the School would hope to facilitate such endeavours. The Marxist Theory reading group was set up in May 2015 and announced its arrival by to all PGR students thus: (27 May 2015) Dear friends, Some of us students here at the School of English are trying to start a reading group on Marxist Literary and Cultural Theory. We will meet once a week for an hour and discuss readings. For now we've decided on Wednesdays, 6 pm, but this is flexible. As of now the group has 3 members: PHD students Prayag Ray and Matt Williamson, and MA student Simon Mernagh. We're looking for more members, so if you are interested, please send us an or come around to the first floor reading room in House 5 this Wednesday. The group is open to anyone. Here are some details: Our Facebook group (please join or 'like' if you are interested): Our Twitter (feel free to Follow): Our ID (drop us a mail if you want to join us): [email protected]

26 26 Conferences, : At the time of writing this Handbook, we know of a number of forthcoming conferences or events in the School of English, , although there are almost certain to be more. The News and Events postings on our School web-site will publicise these and further conferences. Conferences and events (those confirmed at time of compiling the Handbook) Friday 23 October 2015 Forrest Reid ( ): His Life & Legacy. This symposium will take place in the Crescent Arts Centre on Friday, 23 October 2015, as part of the Belfast Festival. Speakers will include Professor Norman Vance (Sussex) and two current PGR students in the School of English will also offer papers (Maaz bin Bilal and Reuben Steenson). Several exhibitions will also run concurrently, including one at Special Collections in the McClay Library. The conference is jointly organised by Professor Brian Caraher (School of English, QUB) and Dr Andrew Doyle (a writer, editor and lyricist who is completing a critical biography of Forrest Reid for Faber & Faber) November 2015 Sonja Kleij, Romano Mullin and Matt Williamson are organising a conference on the theme of War and Peace in Early Modern Literature and Culture. Confirmed keynote speakers are: Dr Jerome De Groot (Manchester University), Professor Andrew Hadfield (Sussex University) and Dr Yolanda Rodríguez Pérez (University of Amsterdam). April 2016 The Institute of Theology at QUB will be hosting a reading by the acclaimed American novelist Marilynne Robinson and it is anticipated that she will also hold a workshop with creative writers in the Seamus Heaney Centre. 7-9 April The School of English is hosting the joint conference of BAAS (British Association for American Studies) and IAAS (Irish Association for American Studies). The special keynote speaker will be the acclaimed American novelist, Richard Ford. MA students can join the IAAS for free. See the following for further details:

27 27 Funding for Research Visits and Conference Attendance DEL-funded students are given an annual training allowance which can be spent on travel for research, equipment, conference attendance etc. Please do spend your allocation, and as early as possible in the year (August July). AHRC-funded students are encouraged to apply for funding to support attendance at one international conference during their 3 years of funding. Linda, as PG Secretary, will contact funded students about the procedures for spending their allocations. In addition, there are a number of travel scholarships available from Academic and Student Affairs (eg the Robert McCormick Travel Bursary, the Helena Wallace Fund). A list of these funds, open to application by all postgraduate students in good standing, will be made available through Academic Council and the Faculty. PLEASE NOTE: MANY OF THESE APPLICATIONS REQUIRE A SECTION TO BE COMPLETED BY THE HEAD OF SCHOOL, SO COMPLETED APPLICATIONS WOULD NEED TO BE SUBMITTED TO HIM AT LEAST ONE WEEK BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY DEADLINE. FAILURE TO DO SO MAY MEAN THAT YOUR APPLICATION CANNOT BE SUBMITTED WITHIN TIME. PLEASE SPEAK TO YOUR SUPERVISOR ABOUT THE APPLICATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO THAT THE SUPERVISOR CAN DO SOME OF THE PRELIMINARY WORK ON COMPLETING THE SCHOOL SUPPORT SECTION. In order to ensure some support for research trips and conference attendance, the School has decided to set aside an annual fund. Self-funding PhD students will be eligible to apply to this fund for help with these costs. If you would like to do so, please the School Manager, Ms Carmel Beaney ([email protected]) in reference to the Postgraduate Support Fund. Santander PGR awards The Bank of Santander currently sponsors a scheme of awards for PGR students who wish to pursue research connected with their thesis in South America. Last year, applications were invited for projects of approximately 2500 and These awards will be available again in details will be announced to all eligible PGR students via from Linda. To give an example of how this has worked in the past: In , 2 awards were made within the School of English: to Jane Lugea, to visit the Universidad Autonoma de Campeche in Mexico and to Kevin Murray, to visit the Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil and Brazilian Film Archive in São Paulo, the Cinemateca Brasileira. A PhD student in Spanish and English Contrastive Linguistics, Jane undertook a month-long workshop on advanced-level Spanish academic writing, offered by the research centre, in the Faculty of Humanities: the Centro del Español y Maya (CEM), dedicated to Spanish and Mayan languages. A PhD student in auteur cinema and Shakespeare, Kevin researched aspects of Orson Welles in Latin America, particularly in relation to his cinematic engagements with Shakespeare. Both Jane and Kevin gave a talk to fellow PGR students on their return. In , Joseph McKee was awarded funding to visit Brazil to support his research on the discourses of hip hop. A short account of his trip follows: Thanks to the Santander student scholarship I was afforded the opportunity to visit Rio de Janeiro as part of my PHD research project on the discourses of hip hop. I gave two presentations of my ongoing

28 28 research in the Letras Department at PUC University to post-graduate students, which were organised by my supervisor Dr Andrea Mayr. With the help of a former journalist and lecturer in the Media Studies Department at PUC, Dr Mayr made an appointment for a very insightful interview with Carlos Albuquerque, a music journalist who writes for Rio s biggest newspaper O Globo. This interview provided me with important insights into the subtleties between Baile Funk and hip hop, which will also benefit my research focus and directions. Carlos Albuquerque recommended a number of important Rio hip hop artists and through his help I discovered the talents of Rio DJ Sani Pitbull, who DJs exclusively with a sampler as opposed to traditional turntables. I also researched several record stores in Rio de Janeiro, Musicale, Baratos da Ribeiro and Toca de Vinicius amongst them, where I was able to gauge the popularity of hip hop and Baile Funk. With the help of Dr Mayr and one of her colleagues at the Media Studies Department at PUC I was given the chance to interview one of Rio s most high-profile hip hop artists, Dudu Morro Agudo, who is the founder of Movimento Enraizados, a community collective from the suburb of Nova Iguazu that engages young people through teaching them the skills of DJing, rapping, dancing and graffiti art, as well as encouraging local artists to record their music. I will now be in a position to analyse parts of Dudu s work as part of my work on Brazilian hip hop for my thesis. I am grateful to both Prof Simpson and Dr Mayr for encouraging this research opportunity and to Santander for financing the trip, which has been of great benefit to my PhD research. (Joseph McKee, PhD student in the School of English. In his 2 nd year of studies in ) Vanderbilt scholarship The University of Vanderbilt offers a funded scholarship to a PhD student from Queen's studying for a doctorate in any Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences discipline. Any PGR student entering the final year of their study (ie currently in their 2nd or 3rd year of study) is eligible to apply. Supervision with the School here in Queen's continues during this year, but fees for academic support in Vanderbilt and a maintenance allowance, with full travel costs, would be paid by the scholarship. Several years ago, this award was won by Gail McConnell, of the School of English, who has written of her experience at Vanderbilt on the following links: ad,195478,en.pdf The deadline for this scholarship is usually in February. You will be informed by when applications are invited. Students should take a look at the archives and other library resources available at Vanderbilt and also familiarise themselves with staff in the Humanities Institute there with a view to nominating staff relevant to their projects.

29 29 PG conference organisation If you are interested in organising a symposium or conference and many of our PGR students do there is a session of the Professionalising the PhD workshops which discusses just this topic. You should also speak with a permanent member of staff and request that they act, or suggest a colleague who might act, as the officially nominated lecturer who will oversee the conference organisation. They can advise about possible sources of funding and other logistical aspects of the conference organisation. Conferences which have an international dimension might apply to the School s Internationalisation Fund for help with funding visiting speakers or international bursaries. Please note that any surplus made from the conference will be returned to the School. There are a number of external sources of funding to whom you might apply. Many subject- specific Societies have funds to which PG students may apply (e.g. British Association of Romantic Studies [BARS]). Your supervisors would be best placed to let you know of these kinds of opportunities. There are also a range of more general sources, for example: The Development Office, QUB To apply to funds within the Development Office, you need to have detailed conference plans, well in advance of the conference. For the best time to apply, please contact the Development and Alumni Office. Feminist and Women's Studies Association (UK & Ireland) This organisation offers a small bursary, of 250, towards the cost of conference organisation: workshops, seminars or conferences in the fields of feminist, women's and/or gender studies. The money can be used for a variety of purposes, including paying speakers costs, providing refreshments, or hiring facilities, and it can be used alongside other awards. The deadline is usually 1 June, and decisions communicated by 1 July.

30 30 University Policy for Post Graduate Student Conference Bookings General bookings 1. Students must check with the Student s Union in the first instance for available space, which is free of charge. 2. If insufficient space is available in the Student s Union, available small teaching rooms can be booked free of charge through the Timetabling and Room Booking Unit. Bookings in Function Rooms and Lecture Theatres 3. For bookings in University Function Rooms or large lecture theatres (+150 seat), standard room hire costs will be applied, less a 30% discount. Where room hire rates are applied, booking support will be provided by Eventus. 4. Any costs for portering, cleaning or the provision of AV equipment will be passed on to the student. 5. A contract hire form must be completed and counter-signed by a member of staff in their department. 6. The event must be run in accordance with the University s Terms & Conditions, which must be signed and standard cancellation charges will apply. 7. Account and project numbers, along with the name and contact details of the designated/responsible person will be required at the time of booking. 8. All catering/drinks must be booked with Hospitality Services. It is not permitted to provide your own food and drinks/alcohol at any event or use any unauthorised supplier. PLEASE NOTE: among the annual programme of events in the School s Professionalising the PhD series is a session specifically concerned with organising conferences (Week 8, semester 1: 18 November 2015).

31 31 PGR SKILLS TRAINING: The Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme (PRDP) As a postgraduate researcher you are expected to develop a wide range of skills and competencies in addition to your subject specific knowledge. In an increasingly competitive employment market, employers (whether academic or not) place great importance on high level professional skills in prospective employees and therefore it is vital that you have a demonstrable range of transferable skills that can give you that edge to stand out from the rest! At Queen s University, the Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme (PRDP) aims to support postgraduate research students (PGRs) in developing a range of personal and professional skills to successfully complete their research degrees and embark on a career, whether that is in academia or beyond! The Researcher Development Framework (RDF) is a national framework which details key skills required by researchers and a framework of competencies for each of the skills. The RDF reflects 4 broad domains: Engagement, influence and impact Knowledge and intellectual abilities Research governance and organisation Personal effectiveness Using the RDF will help you to identify your current level of competency in each of the skills areas and what is needed for you to move to the next level. This will ultimately enhance your personal, professional and career development. PRDP programmes offered at Queen s are categorised within the four RDF areas and full details of all courses are outlined in Qsis. You are encouraged to use the RDF in discussions with your supervisory

32 32 team to identify and prioritise skills to develop and opportunities to avail of. Further details are available from the PRDP website The PRDP is delivered through a comprehensive range of individual courses, events, online support, and student-led initiatives. The individual courses vary in length from a quarter day to 2 days. They are led by academic and academic related staff from Queen s and also by external providers who are chosen based on their specialist experience of particular content areas and the University Sector There are also specialised staff within the PRDP Team who facilitate personal effectiveness programmes, mentoring, 1-1 meetings, careers advice and guidance on your skills development throughout the course of your PhD. Researcher Development Planning As an early stage researcher, you are responsible for your skills development planning and with the support and guidance of your supervisors you should focus on selecting the training and development opportunities most suited to your unique needs. Personalised support is also available from the PRDP Team based in the Postgraduate Student Centre. There is a dedicated website that provides detailed information on Researcher Development Planning and will take you through the process from planning your development to reviewing and reflection; To get the most out of your skills development you should ensure that the training you choose to undertake is unique to your own particular needs. You should also take time to familiarise yourself with all the PRDP courses relevant to the stage of your PhD and your own individual needs. To register for a course you need to use Qsis (the Queen s University Student Information System) further information is available from the PRDP website using Qsis you can register for a course, cancel off a course or add training information into your training record. Training requirements At Queen s you are expected to undertake 30 days of training and development during the course of your PhD this can include relevant School training as well as the range of PRDP courses. The PRDP focuses on providing training in transferable and professional skills and therefore should complement the subject specific training which is coordinated at School level. The choice of training need not be limited to formal training. Experiential learning is an invaluable way to consolidate all the skills learned and put them into practise ; for example you could be actively involved in developing a Student-led initiative or involved in writing a paper for publication. There are a range of resources and opportunities available (please refer to the PRDP website for further information) and these should be discussed as part of your personal development planning sessions with your supervisory team.

33 33 PGR Careers There are a wide range of career options open to postgraduate research students and it is important to start considering your options and planning your career at an early stage to enhance your employability. PGR students have access to a dedicated careers adviser and PGR Careers Programme. One-to-one careers guidance is available to any postgraduate research student via face-to-face, phone, or Skype and there are also monthly drop in CV/Application sessions held on the 1 st Wednesday of the month. The PGR Careers Programme includes specific workshops on Effective Academic Applications, Communicating Postgraduate Research Skills to Employers, Preparing for Academic Interviews and Preparing for Interviews outside Academia. Additional events scheduled throughout the year include careers options, employer and alumni events specifically for postgraduate research students, joint postgraduate research student and research staff seminars and Careers Service events open to all students. Look out for regular PGR Careers Newsletters providing updates of the latest events and relevant career information. If you have queries relating to any aspect of your career you can contact Rebecca Boyd, Senior Careers Adviser for Postgraduate Research Students, at [email protected]. Researcher Plus Award The QUB Researcher Plus Award provides accreditation of additional learning and development activity that postgraduate research students complete alongside postgraduate research. Students can apply to receive the Researcher Plus Certificate at graduation by submitting a portfolio demonstrating development of transferable skills. Further information is available at: Personal Development Programmes There are a number of leadership development programmes which can really help you to differentiate yourself from others in the employment market. These include: Leading your PhD is a 3-day leadership development programme which will provide you with the skills and support necessary to complete your PhD successfully. Crucially these skills are highly valued by academic and non-academic employers alike. The programme is applicable to anyone doing a PhD, MPhil or Professional Doctorate in any discipline and completion is a key requirement towards achievement of the new Certificate Level 5 in Leadership and Management. The Postgraduate Centre has launched a new Certificate Level 5 in Leadership and Management for PhD students. This Certificate is externally accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management ( and Queen s University is the only University offering such a qualification to its PhD students. Attendance on the Leading Your PhD course is a key requirement for achieving this award. The Future-Ready programme aims to develop participants self-awareness of strengths, preferences and development areas, to enhance personal development and careers planning.

34 34 The programme includes: o An opportunity to receive feedback on your transferable researcher skills o Participation in development centre exercises o One-to-one coaching and careers advice Future Ready and Leading your PhD are not available to register on through QSIS, but will be advertised for application via throughout the year. If you would like further information please contact the PG Centre. Other personal effectiveness courses which will help you to complete your PhD successfully include supervisory and work relationships and assertiveness and confidence building. Discussion, interaction & feedback will be part of these sessions which have an experiential approach. Participants will be encouraged to learn from each other and to apply learning from the session to facilitate positive outcomes for themselves and others. These courses are available to book onto through Qsis and scheduled throughout the academic year. Personal Effectiveness Consultancy Service This service offers a one-to-one confidential consultancy for postgraduate research students for issues relating to academic support and personal effectiveness. Typical issues students present with are: managing difficulties in working relationships, dealing with criticism, difficulties with differentiation, stress and motivation. The approach is practical and combines systemic principles for promoting strong, productive working relationships and understanding of complex work systems, with cognitive behavioural principles to resource postgraduate students with problems they are experiencing. Students can also avail of specialised work on understanding their personality and preferences and how this can influence their learning and professional relationships. (MBTI) To arrange a one-to-one meeting please contact the Postgraduate Student Centre on: or Annette Mac Artain-Kerr on [email protected]. Annette is a systemically trained UKCP registered psychotherapist and consultant with additional training in CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) Advice on Developing Transferable Skills through the PRDP Advice can be sought with regard to developing transferable skills, by contacting Heather McGregor on ([email protected]). Heather manages the PRDP programme at Queen's University and has an established background in training and development within a number of organisations. For any query relating to PGR training you can contact the PRDP Team by: [email protected] Telephone: or please call in to the 1st floor of the International & Postgraduate Student Centre.

35 35 Staff Profiles BREARTON, Professor Fran *Modern British and Irish literature, Director of the Seamus Heaney Centre Fran s research is in the field of modern British and Irish poetry, with particular interests in war literature, literary modernism, the work of Robert Graves, and contemporary poetry. She is author of The Great War in Irish Poetry (OUP 2000), Reading Michael Longley (Bloodaxe 2006), and co-editor of Last before America: Irish and American Writing (Blackstaff 2001), Modern Irish and Scottish Poetry (Cambridge UP, 2011), Incorrigibly Plural: Louis MacNeice and His Legacy (Carcanet Press, 2012) and the Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish Poetry (Oxford UP, 2012). Most recently, she edited Robert Graves s war memoir Good-bye to All That for Penguin Classics (2014) and a volume of literary criticism by the late Michael Allen, Close Readings: Essays on Irish Poetry (Irish Academic Press, 2015). BURNETT, Professor Mark *Renaissance literature and culture Mark teaches and researches on early modern literature and culture, on Shakespeare and film, and on adaptation and appropriation. He is the author of Masters and Servants in English Renaissance Drama and Culture: Authority and Obedience (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1997), Constructing Monsters in Shakespearean Drama and Early Modern Culture (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2002), Filming Shakespeare in the Global Marketplace (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2007; 2 nd ed. 2012) and Shakespeare and World Cinema (Cambridge UP, 2013), the co-author of Great Shakespeareans: Welles, Kurosawa, Kozintsev, Zeffirelli (London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013), the editor of The Complete Plays of Christopher Marlowe (London: Dent, 1999) and The Complete Poems of Christopher Marlowe (London: Everyman, 2000), and the co-editor of New Essays on Hamlet (New York: AMS Press, 1994), Shakespeare and Ireland: History, Politics, Culture (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1997), Shakespeare, Film, Fin de Siècle (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2000), Reconceiving the Renaissance: A Critical Reader (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), Screening Shakespeare in the Twenty-First Century (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006), Filming and Performing Renaissance History (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2011) and The Edinburgh Companion to Shakespeare and the Arts (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011). CARAHER, Professor Brian *Modern literature and literary theory Brian s teaching and research dwell on literary theory and modern literature -- especially poetics, cultural modernity and literary modernism. He has edited several books, including On Contradiction, Empiricism and Hermeneutics and Intimate Conflict and authored work on Wordsworth, Joyce and theories of reading. His new book, with Palgrave, is called Trespassing Tragedy: Melodramas of Horror: Intertextual Studies in the Ideology of Literary Form, and he is preparing The Joyce of Reading and Joycean Negotiations for publication. CARR, Garrett * Creative Writing (Prose fiction) Garrett Carr has published three novels for younger readers, The Badness of Ballydog, Lost Dogs and Deep Deep Down. He also writes on the topic of cartography and creates his own maps, exhibiting them widely. He has maps in the collections of the National University of Ireland and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. His book on Ireland s borderland will be published next year. CARSON, Professor Ciaran * Professor Emeritus An internationally distinguished, multi-prize winning poet and prose stylist, Ciaran is the author of Belfast Confetti, The Irish for No, First Language, Opera et Cetera, The Alexandrine Plan, The Twelfth of Never, Breaking News, For All We Know, and On The Night Watch as well as the brilliantly innovative

36 36 fictions Last Night s Fun, The Star Factory, Fishing for Amber and Shamrock Tea. He assumed the directorship of the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry in October CESARIO, Dr Marilina *Old English Language and Literature and Historical Linguistics Marilina teaches Old English Language and Literature and Historical Linguistics and her research interests focus on prognostication, magic, science, and weather-lore in Medieval England. She has published articles on Anglo-Saxon Prognostics in Anglo-Saxon England and English Studies and is the author, with Gale Owen-Crocker, of Handling Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts, in the textbook Working with Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts (Exeter, 2009). She is also interested in the reception of Greek and Latin mythology (particularly Ovid s Metamorphoses) in Anglo-Saxon England. She is currently researching the role and significance of natural phenomena in Anglo-Saxon prose. FLYNN, Dr Leontia *Modern Poetry/Creative Writing (Poetry) Leontia Flynn is the author of three collection of poetry and a monograph, Reading Medbh McGuckian (IAP, 2014). Her first book of poems, These Days (Jonathan Cape, 2004), won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize. With Drives (Cape, 2008), she won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature and a Major Individual Artist Award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Profit and Loss (Cape, 2011) was Poetry Book Society Choice for Autumn 2011, and shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize. Leontia won the Lawrence O Shaughnessey prize for Irish poetry in 2013 and the AWB Vincent American Ireland Fund Literary Prize in She is research fellow at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry. GANDER, Dr Catherine *American literature and culture Catherine s research and teaching address various aspects of modern and contemporary American writing and visual culture, in particular the conceptual and practical relations between the written word and the visual image. She is the author of the prize-winning Muriel Rukeyser and Documentary: The Poetics of Connection (Edinburgh University Press, 2013) and co-author and editor of Mixed Messages: American Correspondences in Visual and Verbal Practices (Manchester University Press, forthcoming: spring 2016). She is currently engaged in two projects: a pragmatist approach to 20 th century avant-gardes where painting and poetry intersect; and an examination of the role of art and aesthetics in 21 st century American fiction. She convenes the MA pathway on American Literature and Culture, and offers a specialist module that interrogates new American writing s responses to a shifting political, cultural and literary landscape HASLETT, Professor Moyra *Eighteenth-century and Romantic literature Moyra s publications include Byron s Don Juan and the Don Juan Legend (Clarendon, 1997), Marxist literary and cultural theories (Macmillan, 1999) and Pope to Burney, Scriblerians to Bluestockings (Palgrave, 2003). She is one of the general editors of the Early Irish Fiction, series, a collaborative research project between the School of English, QUB and Trinity College Dublin, and has co-edited a special issue of the Irish University Review, 41.1 (2011) and completed a critical edition of Thomas Amory s The Life of John Buncle, Esq (1756; Four Courts Press, 2011) for this series. She is currently working on a monograph, provisionally entitled, Imagining Female Community: literary representations of female societies, and has published articles on friendships between women and on literary representations of the bluestockings as part of this project. HUGHES, Dr Eamonn *Irish literature in English Eamonn s teaching interests include Irish writing and culture, critical theory, and cultural studies. He has edited Northern Ireland: Culture and Politics and co-edited with Fran Brearton Last before America: Irish and American Writing (Blackstaff Press, 2001). He is the author of various articles on modern and contemporary Irish writing in English. His current major projects are a book on Irish

37 37 autobiography from the seventeenth century to the present and a book on ideas of place in contemporary Northern Irish poetry. JOHNSTON, Dr Derek *Broadcast Literacy Derek s research focuses on genre media in its social and historical context, particularly fantastic genres on British television. His interests also include the way that the media handle the past in both factual and fictional productions, including in cinematic and television biopics. He has written a number of articles and book chapters, and has recently published his first monograph: Haunted Seasons: Television Ghost Stories for Christmas and Horror for Halloween, exploring different traditions of seasonal horror stories and their spread through broadcasting. His current research continues the examination of broadcast seasonality, as well as the broadcast ghost story, both together and separately. KELLY, Dr Stephen *Late Medieval literature and culture Stephen's interests span late medieval religious cultural practices, including literary, theological and philosophical writings, visual and material culture, historiography and performance. He is codirector of the Queen's Research Forum on Translation and Cultural Encounter and the Medieval Forum, and is directing the 'Cosmopolitanisms, Pre- to Postmodern' research group at the Institute for Collaborative Research in the Humanities. LAMB, Dr Edel *Renaissance literature and culture Edel s research and teaching focuses on Renaissance literature (including Shakespeare, Jonson, Beaumont and Marston), Renaissance performance cultures, theatre history, appropriations of Shakespeare, and childhood studies. She has published essays on boy actors and early children s literature in Ben Jonson Journal (2008), Literature Compass (2010), The New Companion to Renaissance Literature and Culture (2010), The Edinburgh Companion to Shakespeare and the Arts (2012), The Child in British Literature (2012) and The Ashgate Research Companion to Popular Culture (2014). She is the author of Performing Childhood in the Early Modern Theatre (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) and is currently writing a monograph on early modern books for children, Reading Children in Early Modern Culture. She is developing research on Shakespearean theatre riots and theatrical rivalry, and has published on this topic in Australian Studies (2013). LEHNER, Dr Stefanie *Contemporary Irish and Scottish Literature; Post-conflict Cultures Stefanie s research interests are in contemporary Irish and Scottish writing as well as post-conflict literature and culture (Northern Irish, South African and Rwandan). She is specifically interested in the relationship between politics, ethics, and aesthetics and her work, which takes inspiration from the field of postcolonial studies, has both a comparative and interdisciplinary dimension. She has published several articles on the intersections of Irish and Scottish writings with postcolonialism and on Northern Irish film, fiction, and drama in relation to the politics of conflict resolution. She is author of Subaltern Ethics in Contemporary Scottish and Irish Literature: Tracing Counter-Histories (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011). Stefanie is currently working on a second monograph, which explores the performative dimensions of reconciliation in a British-Irish and African context. LITVACK, Dr Leon *Nineteenth-century and Canadian literature Leon is Reader in Victorian Studies, and teaches in the areas of 19 th - and 20 th -century literatures. His primary speciality in the life and works of Charles Dickens. He is the Principal Editor of the Charles Dickens Letters Project, a Trustee of the Dickens Museum in London, and a Board Member of the NI Arts Council, the Community Relations Council, and National Museums NI. He works on manuscripts, paintings, photographs, and film versions of Dickens and other Victorian authors. He has written on Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell, Oscar Wilde, and religion and literature in the 19 th century, as well as on post-colonialism and on issues of place and space in Northern Ireland. Leon is currently preparing

38 38 the Clarendon Press edition of Dickens s Our Mutual Friend, and is editing an anthology of writing about space and place in Northern Ireland for Guildhall Press. He is also a freelance broadcaster for the BBC. LOANE, Tim *Creative Writing (Script-writing) Tim has worked extensively as a writer, director and actor in film, television, theatre and radio. He cofounded Tinderbox Theatre Company in 1988, Northern Ireland s leading independent company dedicated to developing and producing new writing, of which he was joint Artistic Director until For the stage he has written the political satires Caught Red Handed and To Be Sure and for BBC radio, the inner-city thriller The Tunnel and the post-ceasefire ensemble comedy I can see clearly. Screenwriting includes the comedy films Out of The Deep Pan (BBC), Reversals (ITV) and he was creator and lead writer of Bafta-nominated Teachers for Channel 4, the format adapted by NBC (US) in He wrote the four-part conspiracy thriller Proof 2 (RTE), the three-part family drama serial Little Devil (ITV) and the 2009 updating of 80 s television classic Minder (Channel 5). In addition to numerous theatre productions, he directed the short film Dance Lexie Dance which was nominated for an Academy Award in MAGENNIS, Hugh Professor Emeritus *Old English literature and culture Hugh s teaching and research interests are in Old English, particularly focusing on traditions of hagiographical writing and the history of literary ideas and images. His publications include editions of The Anonymous Old English Legend of the Seven Sleepers, The Old English Lives of St Margaret and The Old English Life of St Mary of Egypt. He has authored the books, Images of Community in Old English Poetry and Anglo-Saxon Appetites: Eating and Drinking in Old English and Related Literature. MAYR, Dr Andrea *Sociolinguistics Andrea s teaching and research interests cover Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis with a focus on the media, and in particular media representations of crime and deviance, and True Crime. Her publications include Prison Discourse (2004), Language and Power: an Introduction to Institutional Discourse (2008)), and Language and Power: A Resource book for Students (2010, co-written with Paul Simpson). Her most recent publications include The Language of Crime and Deviance (Continuum) and How to do Critical Discourse Analysis: A Multimodal introduction (Sage), both published in Her current research focus is on the semiotics of mass and social media representations of urban violence in Brazil, such as the use of social media by military police (Mayr, 2015) and drug traffickers, and on favela community photojournalism as a form of mediated activism for social justice. McALEAVEY, Dr James *Creative Writing (Scriptwriting) Jimmy McAleavey is a prolific writer for stage, radio and screen. His credits for BBC Radio 4 include The Ballad of Shane O Neill (an Imison Award winner), Baldi, Hearing Voices, Cemetery Sunday and The Last Days of Van Helsing. He has also had work broadcast on Radio 3 (Moonmen described by The Daily Mail as the perfect radio play ) and RTE. Stage plays include the Stewart Parker Awardwinning The Sign of the Whale and the forthcoming Unhome. He is currently under commission to the Abbey Theatre. He has written and directed short films and worked as a script doctor for TV and film. He has a feature film in development with Hotshot Films and another radio play, and some stage plays, in the pipeline. McCANN, Dr Darran *Creative Writing (Prose Fiction) Darran is convenor of the MA in Creative Writing. He chairs the prose workshop in semester one, and teaches Life Writing in semester two. A novelist with an interest in drama, his historical novel, After the Lockout, was published internationally by Fourth Estate in 2012, while his play, Confession, was produced at the Brian Friel Theatre in His research interests are wide, but he has a particular interest in historical fiction. He is currently completing his new novel.

39 39 MCCONNELL, Dr Gail *Modern British and Irish literature Gail s research and teaching interests are in modern Irish and British poetry, with particular interests in relationships between literary form, theology and violence. She is the author of Northern Irish Poetry and Theology (Palgrave, 2014), and has published articles and reviews in The Irish Review and a chapter in The Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish Poetry. MCGOWAN, Dr Philip *American literature Philip offers an American Poetry module at MA level, and researches nineteenth- and twentiethcentury US poetry, fiction and film. His publications include American Carnival: Seeing & Reading American Culture (2001), Anne Sexton and Middle Generation Poetry: The Geography of Grief (2004), the co-edited collection After Thirty Falls: New Essays on John Berryman (2006) and articles on Berryman, Sexton, F Scott Fitzgerald, and Elizabeth Bishop. He is currently completing articles on Mark Doty, Wallace Stevens, RS Thomas, and Bishop. Since 2011 he has been the chair of the Irish Association for American Studies (iaas.ie) and is a board member of the F Scott Fitzgerald Society. MCGUCKIAN, Medbh *Creative writing (Poetry), Honorary Lecturer Medbh s collections of poetry include: The Flower Master (1982), Venus and the Rain (1984), On Ballycastle Beach (1988), Marconi s Cottage (1992), Captain Lavender (1995), Shelmalier (1998), Drawing Ballerinas (2001), The Face of the Earth (2002) and The Book of the Angel (2004). Her Selected Poems was published in MORRISSEY, Professor Sinéad * Creative writing (Poetry) Sinéad is the author of five poetry collections: There Was Fire in Vancouver (1996); Between Here and There (2002); The State of the Prisons (2005); Through the Square Window (2009) and Parallax (2013), all of which are published by Carcanet Press. Her awards include the Patrick Kavanagh Award, an Eric Gregory Award, the Rupert and Eithne Strong Award, and the Michael Hartnett Poetry Prize. In 2007 she received a Lannan Literary Fellowship from the Lannan Foundation, U.S.A. Her poem Through the Square Window took first place in the UK National Poetry Competition the same year. Her collection Through the Square Window was the winner of the Irish Times/Poetry Now Award. Parallax was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection and was the winner of both the Irish Times/Poetry Now Award and the T S Eliot Prize. MURRAY, Dr Alex *Modern Literary Studies Alex s research covers the mid-victorian period to the present, with particular interests in: Decadence and Aestheticism; Modernism and the literature of the 1920s; Historical Fiction; Critical Theory; Philosophy and Literature. His first book, Recalling London (2007), explored the politics of writing the past in contemporary London literature, and he has published widely in contemporary philosophy and literary theory (including Giorgio Agamben, Routedge, 2010). He has recently completed a book on place and literature in Britain and America, , and edited, with Jason Hall, Decadent Poetics: Literature and Form at the British Fin de Siècle (Palgrave, 2013). He is currently working on two projects: one on the intersections between aesthetics and conservatism at the fin de siècle, and another on the role the 1890s played in the culture of the 1920s and 1930s. PATTERSON, Dr Glenn *Creative writing (Fiction) Glenn s nine novels to date are: Burning Your Own (1988), a Rooney Prize and Betty Trask first novel prize-winner; Fat Lad (1992); Black Night at Big Thunder Mountain (1995), The International (1999); Number 5 (2003), That Which Was (2004), The Third Party (2007); The Mill For Grinding Old People Young, the inaugural One City One Book choice for Belfast (2012); and The Rest Just Follows (2014). He has also published two essay collections, Lapsed Protestant (2006) and Here s Me Here (2014), and

40 40 the family memoir, Once upon a Hill: Love in Troubled Times (2009). Short stories and plays have been broadcast on Radio 3 and Radio 4, and he has also presented television documentaries on literary and cultural subjects. His feature film Good Vibrations (co-written with Colin Carberry) was released in In 2009 he was awarded a Lannan Literary Fellowship. A new novel Gull, will be published in PAUL, Julia *Broadcast Literacy Julia is an award-winning broadcast journalist, who has worked as a reporter and producer for BBC television and radio for nearly 20 years. As well as reporting for the BBC News Channel, Radio Five Live, Radio Four, the World Service, she has also worked as a fixer/producer for Al Jazeera English and reported for The Mirror. Here in Northern Ireland, she was the assistant producer and reporter for the influential television programme Hearts and Minds, which introduced new ways of covering politics as Northern Ireland moved to a post-conflict society. An analysis of her work for this programme will form the basis of her PhD. She also has extensive international experience in training journalists, specialising in countries emerging from conflict. She is currently working with women s writing groups in Kabul in Afghanistan, to collect oral histories and creative stories, as part of a research project funded by the British Council. She has published on this work in Women's History Journal. PEPPER, Dr Andrew *Twentieth-century American literature Andrew s research and teaching interests cover various aspects of 20th century American prose, film and cultural studies, and crime fiction in particular. He has published a book entitled The Contemporary American Crime Novel: Race, Ethnicity, Gender (Edinburgh, 2000) and is co-author of American History and Contemporary Hollywood Film (Edinburgh, 2005). He is also the author of four (to date) crime novels set in London between the 1820s and 1840s: The Last Days of Newgate (2006), The Revenge of Captain Paine (2007), Kill-Devil and Water (2008), and Bloody Winter (2011) all published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. RAHILLY, Dr Joan *Speech Analysis Joan s primary research and teaching interest is in the phonetics of normal and disordered speech, with particular emphasis on the contribution of speech analysis to interaction and literacy issues. Recent published work includes a study of the communicative consequences of errors in phonetic perception and categorisation, an analysis of vowel systems among hearing-impaired speakers, a critical account of techniques for speech imaging, and reflections on interfaces between current transcription practices and clinical speech profiling. REGAN, Dr Shaun *Eighteenth-century and Romantic literature Shaun s research and teaching interests include prose fiction, comic discourse, the culture of politeness, and the early Black Atlantic. He is the author of Making the Novel: Fiction and Society in Britain, (2006, with Brean Hammond) and editor of Reading 1759: Literary Culture in Mid- Eighteenth-Century Britain and France (2013) and of The Culture of the Seven Years War: Empire, Identity, and the Arts in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World (2014, with Frans De Bruyn). He has published articles on Laurence Sterne, satire, print culture, and the novel, and on narrative and testimony in Olaudah Equiano s The Interesting Narrative. He is currently writing a monograph on comic writing and the culture of politeness in mid-eighteenth-century Britain. RICHARDS, Dr Marc *Syntax and grammatical theory and Historical Linguistics Marc s research and teaching interests are primarily in theoretical and comparative English and Germanic syntax, with further interests in historical linguistics and language change, and he offers an MA module on English sentence structure and grammatical analysis. His research specializes in the generative framework of the Minimalist Program, with a particular focus on how the syntactic

41 41 component of the human language faculty interacts with, and is shaped by, the external systems of speech (phonology) and thought (semantics). His publications include articles in the journals Linguistic Inquiry, Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, and Syntax, and book chapters in volumes on agreement restrictions and phase theory. He is currently completing a monograph on the nature of long-distance dependencies across clause boundaries. ROBERTS, Dr Daniel S. *Romantic literature Daniel s teaching interests range from eighteenth-century literature to contemporary Indian literature and postcolonial theory, though his research is focused largely in the Romantic period. He is the author of Revisionary Gleam: De Quincey, Coleridge, and the High Romantic Argument (2000). He has produced definitive scholarly editions of Thomas De Quincey s Autobiographic Sketches (volume 19 of The Works of Thomas De Quincey; 2001) and Robert Southey s The Curse of Kehama (volume 4 of Robert Southey: Poetical Works ; 2004); the latter was cited as an MLA Distinguished Scholarly Edition in He has co-edited various collections of scholarly essays including Thomas De Quincey: New Theoretical and Critical Directions (2008), Romanticism and Blackwood s Magazine (2013), and India and Europe in the Global Eighteenth Century (2014). He has recently completed a scholarly edition of Charles Johnston s Oriental fiction, The History of Arsaces, Prince of Betlis (1774) for the Early Irish Fiction series from Four Courts Press. SHEEHAN, Professor Estelle Haan *Seventeenth-and eighteenth-century literature & literary culture Estelle specialises in Latin literary cultures and their influence on writers in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England. She has authored/edited thirteen books, including From Academia to Amicitia: Milton s Latin Writings and the Italian Academies (1998), Thomas Gray s Latin Poetry (2000), Andrew Marvell s Latin Poetry (2003), Vergilius Redivivus: Studies in Joseph Addison s Latin Poetry (2005), Classical Romantic: Identity in the Latin Poetry of Vincent Bourne (2007), Sporting with the Classics: The Latin Poetry of William Dillingham (2010), Both English and Latin: Bilingualism and Biculturalism in Milton s Neo-Latin Writings (American Philosophical Society, 2012), and an edition of Milton s Latin Poetry (Oxford University Press, 2014). She has recently completed an edition of Milton s Latin letters for Oxford University Press (forthcoming 2016), and five chapters for books on Milton and Marvell (OUP, CUP, Notre Dame). She is currently working on an authored book entitled Surprised by Syntax: Reading the Latinity of Paradise Lost. SIMPSON, Professor Paul *Sociolinguistics and stylistics Paul s teaching and research involve study of the English language, with specific interests in stylistics, discourse pragmatics and critical linguistics. He was the general editor of the journal Language and Literature until 2009 and his books include Language, Ideology and Point of View and Language through Literature, both with Routledge. He has also published On the Discourse of Satire (2003), Stylistics (2004) while his textbook Language and Power, co-authored with Andrea Mayr, appeared in He is currently working on a number of research projects, including a monograph on the discourse of irony. STURGEON, Dr Sinéad *Irish writing in English Sinéad s research and teaching interests focus on nineteenth-century Irish writing and culture, especially the Gothic, popular culture, the literary representation of law, and the short story. She has published articles on the trope of whiskey in the work of Maria Edgeworth and William Carleton, alternative judiciaries, James Clarence Mangan, and Gerald Griffin. She is the editor of the forthcoming Essays on James Clarence Mangan (Palgrave Macmillan), and is currently writing a monograph on the cultural and literary life of poitín. SUMPTER, Dr Caroline *Nineteenth-century literature Caroline s research interests include the nineteenth-century press, Victorian literature and science,

42 42 and political appropriations of fantasy (including the fairy tale and science fiction). She is the author of The Victorian Press and the Fairy Tale (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) and has published on late Victorian literature, politics and culture in journals including Victorian Studies, Literature and History, Nineteenth-Century Contexts and Cultural and Social History. She is currently working on a book which explores links between literature and debates over moral evolution in the late nineteenth century. THOMPSON, Professor John *Later Medieval literature John teaches Medieval literature, especially Chaucer and post-chaucerian romance and lyric poetry, and researches the production and circulation of ME manuscripts and early prints, most recently through the AHRB-funded Traditions of the Book project. He has authored two monographs: Robert Thornton & the London Thornton Manuscript, and The Middle English Cursor Mundi: poem, text and context, and many articles on the sociology of medieval literature and medieval textual cultures; He has co-edited two books: The Court and Cultural Diversity (with Evelyn Mullally) and Imagining the Book (with Stephen Kelly). With Stephen Kelly and Ryan Perry he has published Making Histories: the Middle English Prose Brut and the Bibliographical Imagination (2007). A monograph on Anglophone textual cultures in Ireland is also under way. URBAN, Dr Malte *Medieval literature Malte s research interests focus on late-medieval English literature, especially Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower. He is particularly interested in the ways in which medieval writers appropriate older texts, manipulating their cultural past for poetical and political purposes in their immediate present. Malte s work also queries the current position of post-medieval, twenty-first-century readers of medieval texts and the usability and validity of poststructuralist theories for our understanding of the medieval past in the present. WRAY, Dr Ramona *Renaissance literature Ramona teaches and researches on Renaissance literature in English, specializing in Shakespeare and women s writing of the period. She is the editor of the Arden Early Modern Drama edition of Elizabeth Cary s The Tragedy of Mariam (2012) and the author of Women Writers in the Seventeenth Century (Northcote House, 2004). She is also the co-editor of The Edinburgh Companion to Shakespeare and the Arts (Edinburgh University Press, 2011), Screening Shakespeare in the Twenty-First Century (Edinburgh University Press, 2006), Reconceiving the Renaissance: A Critical Reader (Oxford University Press, 2004), Shakespeare, Film, Fin de Siècle (Macmillan, 2000) and Shakespeare and Ireland: History, Politics, Culture (Macmillan, 1997). Her articles on Shakespeare appropriation, Shakespeare on film and early modern women s writing have appeared in Shakespeare Bulletin, Shakespeare Quarterly, Women s Writing and elsewhere.

43 43 Fulbright Distinguished Scholars ( ) The School of English, QUB, has a long tradition of being successful in the UK/US Fulbright Commission Distinguished Scholar Awards, with two scholars regularly assigned to the School. These scholars will be attached to the School from January June 2016 and are both offering MA modules (in the programmes: Modern Poetry and Irish Literature): The Fulbright Scholars will also contribute to the postgraduate and undergraduate teaching profiles of the School of English, offering various specialist seminars and workshops. The Distinguished Fulbright Scholars: School of English, January to June 2016 will be: James Arthur, Assistant Professor in The Writing Seminars Department of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland is the recipient of the QUB Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award in Creative Writing for He is the author of the very highly regarded volume of poems, "Charms Against Lightning" (Copper Canyon Press, 2012), which was also a prestigious Lannan Literary Selection. He has published in numerous major literary and poetic journals in the USA and Canada and has held a Hodder Fellowship (Princeton), a Wallace Stegner Fellowship in Poetry (Stanford) and a Houghton Library Joan Nordell Fellowship (Harvard) among various major honours and fellowships. He studied at the Universities of Toronto and New Brunswick in Canada as well as completing the MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Washington in Seattle. While working in the School of English and the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's during the winter and spring term of 2016 he plans to complete a project on 'Contemporary Northern Irish Poetry' as well as a volume of poems entitled "Entanglement" for Copper Canyon Press. Margaret (Meg) Tyler, Associate Professor in the Division of the Humanities of Boston University in Massachusetts is the recipient of the QUB Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award in Anglophone Irish Writing for She is the author of "A Singing Contest: Conventions of Sound in the Poetry of Seamus Heaney" (Routledge, 2005) as well as a wide range of articles and reviews of contemporary American and Irish poets and volumes of poetry. She has studied at Kenyon College as well as Boston U. She has also held a previous Fulbright award at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and currently chairs the Institute for the Study of Irish Culture at Boston University. While teaching in the School of English and working at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's in early 2016, Meg Tyler plans to develop a research project on 'allusiveness in the poetry of Michael Longley' while teaching seminars on the elegy and 'the broken sonnet.'

44 44 The English Society The English Society organises readings and social events during the academic year. It is run by a committee of students and new committee members are always welcome. Society events feature new writing by students in the university. It is responsible for organising the annual School of English formal dinner and arranges occasional trips to conferences and theatres outside Belfast. Details of events and further information can be found on the English Society noticeboard on the ground floor of 2 University Square, and on the website: Creative writing in the School The School is renowned for its vibrant and highly successful community of creative writers: Ciaran Carson, Leontia Flynn, Glenn Patterson, Tim Loane, Medbh McGuckian, Sinéad Morrissey, Malachi O Doherty and Ian Sansom. Details of their work can be found in the Staff Profiles section. The School also hosts an on-line poetry magazine, POETRY PROPER, which is edited by three former PGR students from the School (Miriam Gamble, Paul Maddern, and Alex Wylie): see and publishes Yellow Nib, the annual journal of the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, edited by Leontia Flynn. The Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry Poetry is one of the activities for which Queen s has always been best known. Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney was a student and later a lecturer in the School of English at Queen s, one of a number of internationally renowned poets and writers who have worked or studied at the University over the last forty years. The Centre for Poetry is located in University Road, connected to the School through 1 University Square. Its director is the internationally-renowned poet, Professor Ciaran Carson. The creative writing staff are located in the Centre, along with the Heaney Centre Research Fellow. The Centre promotes the study and practice of poetry. It contains a library of contemporary poetry, and runs various events for example, readings, seminars, creative writing workshops which complement the activities of the School of English. In the last few years visitors to the School of English have included Allen Ginsberg, James Fenton, Andrew Motion, Carol Ann Duffy, Seamus Heaney, Graham Swift, Alasdair Gray, Simon Callow, Seamus Deane, Edwin Morgan, Paul Durcan, Doris Lessing, Simon Armitage, and Trevor Griffiths. There is a lively and everincreasing interactive traffic through the Centre: poets, academics, research students, creative writing students, members of the public, visitors from outside Northern Ireland. The Centre provides a focal point for poetry as a living art, and for criticism of/research into modern poetry:

45 45 Queen s Writers Group The Queen s Writers Group has been in existence since the first appointment of a Writer-in- Residence at the University in the 1970s. The ethos of the group, however, stretches back still further than that, to the 60s, when the famous Belfast Group - Heaney, Mahon, Longley et al - gathered in the University to read and discuss their work. The Writers Group still follows roughly the same format. It is an open forum for anyone interested in writing, from published writers through to absolute beginners, to share their work and discuss it with their peers. The Group meets once a week, on Wednesday afternoons ( pm) in the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry. The atmosphere is open, friendly and inclusive. For further information contact the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, on (028) School-based Social Events for PG students 2015/2016 Friday 25 September Welcome Reception for new PG students (5pm, Social Space, School of English) (Provisional date Thursday 5 November) Annual Postgraduate Party for all PG students (6pm, Venue: to be confirmed) December (date tbc) Spring 2015 PGT Graduation Event for all those graduating Careers Event and drinks reception for all PG students Other School of English Postgraduate Events Monday 6 Tuesday 7 June 2016 Common Ground V: The Annual PG Conference All PG students should attend the Staff and PG Student Research Seminar. This weekly seminar is an opportunity to hear more about the research that is going on in your School and to meet up with staff and peers in a relaxed and informal setting. The seminars take place every Wednesday in semester at 4:00pm.

46 46 How the School is run In order to gain some preliminary impression of the way the School is administered, you may find it useful to consult the list of staff below (with a brief summary of their particular administrative responsibilities). These are all experienced staff who are prepared to assist all students in making the most of their time in the School. Key Administrators in the School you may need to consult The Head of the School is Professor Paul Simpson. He is responsible for all aspects of the School s activities. He is also the Chair of the School Board. Research Students who are having problems that cannot be resolved by consultation either with their supervisors or with the PG Des (see below) should make an appointment to see the Head by contacting the School Office. The Co-Directors of Postgraduate Education, Professor Moyra Haslett and Dr Eamonn Hughes, chair the School Postgraduate Committee. They are responsible for developing and overseeing the implementation of the School's teaching and learning strategy for Postgraduate Studies, in conjunction with the Head of School and the School Management Board. The School Manager (Ms Carmel Beaney) is responsible for contributing to the development and the delivery of the School's strategic and operational academic objectives and managing its financial resources, in conjunction with the Head of School and the School Management Board. Key committees in the School It may be helpful for you to know where major School issues are discussed and decisions made on matters that directly affect you. The following is a list of the key committees in the School and the types of work they do: The School Management Board meets regularly, and is chaired by the Head of School. It is made up of the Directors of Research, the Directors of Education, the Director of the Seamus Heaney Centre, the Chair of Research Committee, the School Manager and an elected representative from the staff of the School. The School Board meets monthly and is also chaired by the Head of School. It comprises all permanent members of the teaching staff, the School Manager and other support staff. The School Board also includes SSCC student members (representing Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 and postgraduate students) and circulates the unreserved minutes of its meetings to SSCC. Meetings of the School Board will usually have a reserved section (for business such as examining and confidential staffing matters) which is not attended by the student representatives. If you have business that you would like the School Board to discuss, you should approach your Student representative or consult with the Head of School at least one week in advance of the next stated Board meeting. The names of your PGR student representatives will be distributed to you by at the beginning of each academic year. Nominations for these representatives will be sought at the beginning of each academic year. The Education Committee is chaired by the Director of Education (Dr Philip McGowan) and meets at least twice per semester in order to discuss curriculum provision, development and review.

47 47 The Postgraduate Committee The Postgraduate Committee is chaired by the Director of PG Education and meets at last three times per semester to discuss issues pertaining to PG students, both MA and PhD. Postgraduate student representatives attend for the unreserved section of the agenda of this meeting. Postgraduate Committee will meet on the following dates in : Wednesday, 16 th September, 2015 Wednesday 21st October, 2015 (week 4) Wednesday 25 th November, 2015 (week 9) Wednesday, 24 th February, 2016 (week 4) Wednesday, 27 th April, 2016 (week 10) How can your views be heard in the School? Postgraduate student representatives sit on the following School committees: School Board, Education Committee, Postgraduate Committee (see above) and SSCC (see below). Becoming a MA rep means that you might become a member of one or two of these committees. The Staff/Student Consultative Committee (SSCC) is made up of a number of staff members and student representatives who have been elected by the student body at the beginning of each academic year. The Chair of the committee is chosen by the members. Since you can vote to elect the SSCC members from your year who you feel will best represent student opinion, you should ensure that you not only play a part in the election process but also that your representatives are kept informed of the School issues that are most important to you. The SSCC also provides student representation for the School Board. We take the work of the SSCC very seriously, firstly because this is one of the places where our students can make their collective voices clearly heard, and secondly, because this is where staff members in the School can test student opinion on important issues that may affect our teaching and administrative systems and your general well-being. For example, recommendations made by the SSCC play their part in the information contained in this Handbook. Some years ago, it was the SSCC who designed the Tutor Feedback document which has proved its worth for students and tutors alike. And, more recently, SSCC student representatives have played a crucial role in shaping the 10% assessment component for tutorial contribution and the current Module Evaluation Questionnaire. Your response questionnaires influence not only how we will teach the same module to other students next year, but also, perhaps, how we will teach you next semester. The SSCC also played a large part in the Quality Assessment exercise, in which the School was judged "Excellent", and commented on the School s self-appraisal document which is our blueprint for the future. These examples testify to the fact that today s SSCC is one of the most important committees in the School. Dates of SSCC meetings in : Wednesday 28th October (week 5) Wednesday 2 nd December (week 10) Wednesday 2nd February (week 5) Wednesday 27th April (week 10) All meetings take place in House 3, G01, pm

48 48 We do like to hear from others when they have positive things to say about us, so please tell us when you feel that things are working well for you in the School. As part of our efforts to improve the quality of life in the School for yourself and others, we would also like to hear from you when you are aware of matters that may not otherwise get raised in the School. We list here a number of obvious ways in which you can make your views known: i. Talk to your tutors and other members of the School staff named in this Handbook. If you feel that something is wrong or malfunctioning, tell us directly! ii. Make sure you know who represents you on SSCC and make sure they know your views (why not stand for election yourself?). iii. Use the Module Evaluation Questionnaire to give Module Convenors feedback, both positive and negative. International Students (non-eu) The School s International Students Officer is Dr Daniel Roberts ([email protected]). International students are welcome to visit him in his office hours to discuss any difficulties with settling in or adapting to the academic system. Under new UK Border Agency regulations, International students are required to be in regular contact with their academic advisors/ supervisors. Any leave, even to return home over the vacation periods, should be agreed and recorded. Please remember to let your supervisor know if you intend to be away from Queen s or are not attending seminars and other regular engagements due to illness. You should also check your University account on a daily basis in case of any queries. For all advice on immigration and visas, you must contact the International Student Support ( which also offers information on matters relating to arriving in the UK, opening a bank account, police registration, healthcare and doctors, safety and security, working in the UK, driving in the UK, activities in the University, local activities and events, travel, British culture, local shops and services, and facilities for families. Do get in touch with them, read their handbook published online, and check their website for up to date information. Teaching Opportunities in the School of English Many postgraduate students who are studying towards a PhD become involved in teaching tutorials and seminars in the School of English. This permits PGR students to gain experience which will help to develop professional skills and a professional profile. It can also help students to earn some income. When applying for academic posts after the PhD has been completed, it is almost essential to have experience of teaching in third-level education. There is an additional reason for teaching while studying towards the PhD, which is that teaching can help you to maintain an interest in a broad range of texts and issues, and to develop skills in communicating literary concepts and analyses clearly and concisely. The majority of our PGR students teach on our elective modules at stage 2, which are organised as broad-based survey-type modules. For most, this will be your first experience of teaching. You should familiarise yourself at an early stage with the aims and objectives set for the class or module you re teaching. Consult the curriculum through the course handbook, or seek advice from the staff member responsible for that module (the module convenor). Keep in mind this broad context when you are deciding what to teach on a weekby-week basis. The second thing you should do is to decide how you re going to teach the students.

49 49 The most common methods of tutorial and seminar teaching are open forum discussion, student-led discussion, and directed discussion. Open forum discussion, in which you allow students to discuss the topic or text openly, with only occasional prompts from you to guide discussion towards relevant topics, is suitable for a session in which there is a clear and specific focus, or perhaps a controversial issue to be debated. Student-led discussion, in which you invite a student to prepare discussion points or a short paper for presentation to the class, is a useful way of getting students to engage with their peers, although you should also be prepared in this situation to steer discussion in particular directions. Directed discussion, in which you give short talks about the topic or text, allowing students to respond to and discuss your talks, is a method suited best to more difficult material, in which students need to be coached before they gain sufficient competence and confidence in the subject. For each session, you should have in mind a set of objectives which should not be too ambitious at first (e.g. by the end of the tutorial, students will know how to identify narrative point-of-view, or, each student in class will have contributed to the analysis of a poem), and you should think about the relationship between these objectives and how the student will be assessed. It is vital that you practice the interpersonal skills of teaching. Devise a way of learning your students names, or spend some time in the first week of teaching with an ice-breaking session. This may be very important if the students don t know each other. Ask each student to introduce themselves and talk about their interests. Or ask students to pair up for five minutes, and then introduce each other to the class. In the first few weeks, you should try to use the students names when you speak to them or invite them to speak, so that other students get to know their names too. It is also important to get students to look to each other while talking, rather than the discussion becoming focused on you. All current PGR students in their second year of research who have successfully completed differentiation may apply for a teaching assistant position. You will be invited to do so by in the spring and will submit an expression of interest of form to our School Manager, Ms Carmel Beaney. This form requires consent from your supervisor(s), so it is important to discuss this with your principal supervisor before submission. If successful, you will attend introductory sessions on teaching in the week preceding the new academic year. You can also find some tips about teaching at the following web address:

50 50 INFORMATION ON SCHOOL FACILITIES FOR POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH STUDENTS Study space for PGR students The entirety of House 5 University Square (a 3-storey Victorian terrace building) is a designated space for School of English PhD students. There are ample computer desk spaces and 2 social spaces: a kitchen at the back of the house on the ground floor (shared with PhD students in the School of Modern Languages) and a common room on the first floor for School of English PhD students. PGR students manage this space and minutes of the unreserved business of PG Committee meetings are displayed in this building. Lockers The School has lockers specifically for the use of PGR students to store books and equipment. These are located in the Seamus Heaney Centre and in House 5. You can contact Linda Drain in the School Office who will be able to provide you with a key for a returnable deposit of 10. Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry: Reading Room The School has a resources room affiliated with the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry: The Reading Room. Room 1002 is located on the first floor of 46/48 University Road. It contains a number of essential reference works, as well as an ample and growing selection of several thousand books related to modern and contemporary poetry, poetics and criticism. It also has a web-linked computer to expedite crosschecking and cross-searching for materials. You need to get the permission of the Heaney Centre secretary, Gerry Hellawell, in order to gain admission to this locked room. The Heaney Centre is an important resource for postgraduate students not only on the MA and PhD programmes in Creative Writing but also across the board. Many of its rooms, especially on the ground and first floors, provide important workplaces and social space for the literary research and creative writing cultures of the School. Theses and Dissertations The School has archived copies of dissertations and theses written over the last forty years under research supervision in the School in the Exams Office and external examiners consultation room. A comprehensive list of past PhD theses (since 1990) is available on-line: see Most of these theses are available for consultation in the McClay library.

51 51 Information on University Facilities for Postgraduate Research Students The McClay Library Library opening hours are available on the library s home-page: These vary across the year, according to teaching and assessment schedules. In assessment weeks (weeks of semesters 1 and 2), 24-hour opening is usually available. Details of books and journals held in the library can be accessed through the electronic Library catalogue (QCat). The Subject librarian for English is Diarmuid Kennedy ([email protected]) who is happy to help PGR students with enquiries or advice on accessing resources for your studies. PGR students are also welcome to make suggestions for book purchases for the library. Please direct these to your supervisor in the first instance. PCs and printing facilities are available on the ground and first floors and the wireless network is fully operational throughout the building, apart from the cafe area. Laptops may also be borrowed from the main enquiries desk on the ground floor. Self issue facilities (for borrowing and returning books) are available on all floors. The following services are in operation in the McClay library: Borrower Services Desk Information and Enquiry Desks Special Collections Law and Official Publications Computer Help Desk There are other important research resources within Belfast. The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is located in the Titanic Quarter ; the Newspaper Library, the Belfast Public Library and the Linen Hall Library are all in the City Centre. Queen's has reciprocal borrowing rights with the University of Ulster. Further afield, the Robinson Library in Armagh and the Derry and Raphoe Diocesan library in Derry / Londonderry contain a number of early printed books and are particularly valuable resources for people working on early literature. Trinity College, Dublin and the National Library of Ireland can also be easily visited from Belfast.

52 52 The Graduate School Located in the historic Lynn Library, the Graduate School is a hub for all PG students across the University, providing dedicated support to, and information, advice and guidance for postgraduate students. Students have the opportunity to meet and socialise with their peers from other Schools and disciplines and wireless access to the University network is provided throughout the Centre. The Graduate School offers a unique facility for postgraduate students, providing a range of support services including training, learning workshops and events to maximise the postgraduate experience here at Queen's. The Graduate School aims to support postgraduates in the development of transferable skills to assist in the successful completion of their studies and also for use in their future careers. We have a team of dedicated Information Assistants based on the ground floor, who can signpost all postgraduates in the right direction whether it's information on securing a postgraduate award or applying for student-led initiative funding. We invite postgraduates to call in and speak to our team as we greatly value their opinion and any feedback they may have in helping us continually develop the postgraduate experience here at Queen's. As well as offering a range of support services, the Graduate School offers an ideal place to meet friends and colleagues in a relaxed environment or to catch up on work using the computer suite or free Wi-Fi zones. We have a dedicated silent study, which seats over 65 students, as well as an informal seating area, both on the second floor. The Graduate School Teams Postgraduate Information and Community Team The Postgraduate Information and Community Team provides advice and support for Postgraduate Students. From room bookings to general information and guidance, our information assistants are here to assist with almost every aspect of postgraduate study. In addition to being the first point of contact for students using the Graduate School, the team is directly engaged with students, organising regular postgraduate community events within the School and weekly Postgraduate Updates. They also assist with some Postgraduate Taught training opportunities. Postgraduate Awards Team The Postgraduate Awards Team are responsible for the management, administration and payment of postgraduate studentships and funding awards across the University. You can find all of the funding information on our website. Any queries should go through [email protected]. Postgraduate Training Team The training team coordinate and run the Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme and the Postgraduate Induction Programme. They also provide skills training and consultancy for postgraduate students. The student-led initiatives programme, which provides funding for events organised by students, is also managed by the training team. You can contact them at [email protected]. For further information: see

53 53 GENERAL INFORMATION School of English contact details: The School Office is located on the Ground Floor of 2 University Square. Office hours are: Monday to Friday, 9 am 1 pm and 2 pm 4.15 pm. Tel.: Fax: [email protected] Postal address: School of English, Queen s University, Belfast, BT7 1NN Postgraduate students should also consult the Postgraduate Students webpages at: Semester Dates (for taught modules etc) Autumn Semester Welcome Week Including enrolment and registration Monday 21 September - Friday 25 September 2015 Weeks 1-12 Teaching Monday 28 September - Friday 18 December weeks Vacation Monday 21 December Friday 8 January 2016 Weeks Assessment Monday 11 January - Tuesday 26 January 2016 Inter Semester Break Wednesday 27 January - Friday 29 January 2016 Spring Semester Weeks 1-7 Teaching Monday 1 February - Friday 18 March weeks Vacation Monday 21 March - Friday 8 April 2016 Weeks 8-12 Teaching Monday 11 April - Friday 13 May 2016

54 54 Weeks Revision Monday 16 May - Wednesday 18 May 2016 Assessment Thursday 19 May - Saturday 4 June 2016 Rag Day: 17 February 2016 Reading Day: 16 and 18 March 2016

55 55 SUPPORT FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS It is important that you maintain contact with your supervisors and immediately inform them of any difficulties or problems you are having with your work. Although we are a large School, we do the best we can to support our students who are having genuine difficulties. Student Support Staff in the School If you feel that you would rather talk to someone else in the School other than your supervisors, you are invited to contact Dr Eamonn Hughes or Professor Moyra Haslett, Directors of Postgraduate Education. Academic Problems and Issues There are some academic problems and issues that can only be dealt with by consulting particular members of staff. We list here a number of staff and the procedures you should follow in each case. As always, however, if you have any doubts about who you should see or what you should do in certain circumstances, you should consider asking a member of the academic staff or the Postgraduate secretary, all of whose advice will usually be worth following. Have you medical or other problems that are affecting your academic progress? These can be discussed confidentially with your supervisors, the Director of Postgraduate Education or with the Head of School. If you have medical or other certification to explain absences from the University, you should ensure that you deliver this to the School Office, Ground Floor, 2 University Square. You may well want to explain to staff that such certification exists. Don't hesitate to tell them, if you have been ill. Are you unhappy with the way the School has dealt with your academic problems? We hope that we always deal fairly with our students. If you are not satisfied with the way we have dealt with your academic problem or complaint, you may want to discuss the matter further with the Director of Postgraduate Education. As a last resort, if you wish to proceed with a formal complaint against the School, you should do so either by writing to the Dean of the Faculty or making an appointment to see the Dean through the Faculty Office. Please also consult the information provided by the Graduate School (pp.28-32) which includes a range of services which can help.

56 56 University services and support Student Support and Development The most up-to-date information about university-wide student support and development is available on-line, and accessible to students through the Student Gateway website: This includes details on: Accommodation. Careers and Employability Degree Plus Paid employment during the academic year Chaplaincy Counselling Students with disabilities Finance Health Centre Learning Development Service Library Queen s sport (PEC) Scholarships and Prizes Study Abroad/ERASMUS Study support Student Guidance Centre Students Union Student Computing Centres International students Postgraduate Centre Postgraduate Funding Languages for Non-Specialists Health and Safety School support mechanisms Qsis and QOL Mature and part-time students Childcare Students Intervention Protocol Change of address/details Anti-bullying and Harassment Policy Starting University Students with Experience of Care

57 57 Appendix A: Excerpt from the University s PhD Regulations regarding Differentiation 10.1 New research students wishing to proceed to PhD study shall register as undifferentiated research students in the first instance and shall be considered by their school for differentiation to PhD registration as follows: (a) full-time students: not less than six months and normally not later than nine months after first enrolling for research, and within an absolute deadline of 16 months from first registration; (b) part-time students: not less than 12 months and normally no more than 18 months from first registration for research, and within an absolute deadline of 30 months from first registration The Head of School shall appoint a suitable differentiation panel for each student: this shall normally comprise at least three members, the majority of whom shall be independent of the supervisory team The differentiation panel shall consider the student s suitability to proceed towards registration for the degree of PhD, on the basis of a written submission from the student, an interview, the student s research plan (see 7.4 above) and his/her training record. A student who has not completed training requirements to the panel s satisfaction shall not be permitted to differentiate. The panel shall forward recommendations, including any recommendations that a student should not be permitted to differentiate to PhD status, to the School Postgraduate Research Committee immediately The School Postgraduate Research Committee will consider panel recommendations and will invite any student who has not been recommended for PhD registration to appear before it before the decision is confirmed. The School Postgraduate Research Committee shall report its decisions to the Examinations Office and Postgraduate Office School Offices are responsible for ensuring that students are notified in writing of whether or not they have successfully differentiated A panel may recommend that a student be permitted a second attempt at differentiation within a specified time period. Students may not normally make more than two attempts at differentiation. In exceptional circumstances, the School Postgraduate Research Committee may permit a third attempt A student who is dissatisfied with the outcome of the differentiation procedure may appeal to the University Postgraduate Appeals Committee (see section 22).

58 58 Appendix B: Excerpt from the University s PhD Regulations regarding Progress Monitoring 11.1 All research students are subject to the requirements of the University s progress monitoring exercise The first review will be completed within 12 months of the student s first registration, normally in August/September of the first year. Subsequent reviews will take place at annual intervals throughout the period of registration, normally in June/July/August each year. A School Postgraduate Research Committee may specify more frequent reviews at its discretion. Registration at the beginning of an academic year is dependent on the completion of a satisfactory report form at the end of the previous academic year The student must complete Section A of the Progress Monitoring Form and submit the form to the principal supervisor, who (in consultation with the co-supervisor, where applicable) will complete Section B and make one of the following recommendations: In the case of an undifferentiated research student (i) that the student has gone through the School s differentiation procedure (see 10 above) and has been recommended for PhD registration; (ii) that the student is ready to go through the School s differentiation procedure (see 10 above); (iii) that the student s registration as an undifferentiated research student be continued for another specified number of months and reviewed again; (iv) that the student be given permission to register for a master s degree; (v) that the student s registration be discontinued. In the case of a student already registered for a PhD (vi) that the student s registration be continued; (vii) that the student s registration be changed to registration for a master s degree; (viii) that the student s registration be discontinued Where there are two supervisors, both shall sign the progress monitoring form. The supervisor(s) shall show the student the completed Section B and the recommendation, and shall then submit the completed form, to the School Postgraduate Research Committee Where the recommendation is unfavourable, the student and the supervisor(s) shall be invited to appear before the School Postgraduate Research Committee before the decision is confirmed. An unfavourable recommendation is defined as one that downgrades or discontinues the student s registration, or that prevents a student who wishes to upgrade to PhD status from doing so. The Committee shall confirm its decision to the student and the supervisor(s) in writing after the meeting If a School Postgraduate Research Committee decides, in any circumstances not covered in 11.5 above, not to endorse the supervisory recommendation, the supervisor(s) shall be given the opportunity to appear before the Committee before a final decision is reached A student who is dissatisfied with the outcome of the progress monitoring exercise may appeal to the University Postgraduate Appeals Committee, following the procedures set out in section 22 below A supervisor who has concerns about a student s progress should bring this to the immediate attention of both the student and the Head of School without waiting for the next formal progress monitoring exercise to take place.