Upgrade from MPhil to PhD at the IOE

All doctoral students are required to upgrade as a normal marker of progress during their studies. The IOE follows UCL’s regulations and its guidelines for upgrade.

The process followed at IOE differs from practice elsewhere at UCL in the following respects:

• The upgrade panel consists of two independent academics, rather than one independent academic and the subsidiary supervisor. The panel shall agree between them which is to act as chair.
• In place of the written report from the principal supervisor, both independent academics produce short written reports in advance of the upgrade panel meeting.
• The responsibility for appointment of panel members is delegated to the supervisors; Departmental Graduate Tutors retain oversight of the process. The DGT and the departmental PGR administrator should be advised of the proposed panel before arrangements are confirmed.
• The material submitted for upgrade should not exceed 10,000 words, which should include a plan (with timeline) for completion of the thesis.
• The panel will also need to confirm that the appropriate sections of the Research Student Log have been completed; a screen capture of the relevant sections provided by the candidate or supervisor will suffice.
• Where a student needs to resubmit for an upgrade, full-time students will normally be expected to resubmit within three months and part time students within five.

We expect full-time students to submit for upgrade after 12 months, and part-time students after 18 months.

The Principal Supervisor may be present as an observer at the viva meeting, provided the student agrees, but should withdraw while the Panel makes its decision. The Subsidiary supervisor should not be present.

The form used by the panel to report on the outcome of the upgrade meeting can be downloaded from the UCL website (bottom of this page).