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Quality gateway

School Staff research roles

School Research and Knowledge Transfer Leads

Each school has a School Research and Knowledge Transfer Lead who is responsible for providing research leadership within the school and supporting the Head of School and Pro Vice Chancellor (Research and Impact) in meeting the University's research objectives. The role description document sets out information on the responsibilities of a School Research and Knowledge Transfer Lead.

School Research and Knowledge Transfer Lead
School of the Arts Dr Steve Rawle
School of Education, Language and Psychology Dr Dai O'Brien
School of Humanities Professor Abi Curtis
School of Science, Technology and Health Dr Daniel Madigan
York Business School Professor Lewis Cheung
London Dr Khaled Kesseba

Unit of Assessment Lead for REF 

The Unit of Assessment Lead (UoA Lead) is responsible for supporting excellent research within their discipline area. They will work in partnership with the Research Office and School Research and Knowledge Transfer Leads (SRKTL) and Heads of Schools to maximise the quality of the research excellence framework (REF) submission in their UoA.

The role description document sets out information on the responsibilities of a Unit of Assessment Lead.

School Postgraduate Research Lead

Each school has a School Postgraduate Research Lead who has oversight of PGR student recruitment, experience, and progression, and takes a lead role on the development and implementation of School and University postgraduate research plans, and provides leadership and support for supervisory and examination teams.

The role description document sets out information on the responsibilities of a School Postgraduate Research Lead.

School Postgraduate Research Lead(s)
School of the Arts Professor Claire Hind
School of Education, Language and Psychology Dr Scott Cole
School of Humanities Dr Robert Barnes and Caleb Klaces
School of Science, Technology and Health Dr Adam Odell
York Business School Dr Rosie Binfield-Smith
London Campus Dr Ghulam Mujtaba

Postgraduate Research Tutors

Each PGR is assigned a Postgraduate Research Tutor (PGRT) during the admissions process, and they will usually keep the same PGRT throughout the duration of their programme. Postgraduate Research Tutors are responsible for providing pastoral care to PGRs through pastoral meetings which are offered to each PGR on an annual basis. PGRs can request a pastoral meeting by contacting the Research Office. The role description document sets out information on the responsibilities of a PGRT.

Supervisory teams at York St John University

If you are a partner institution please contact the Research Office via email at ResearchOffice@yorksj.ac.uk for guidance before commencing the process.

Supervisors are appointed during the admissions process. Each team consists of a minimum of two supervisors – a main supervisor and at least one co-supervisor. At least one supervisor must be a designated senior supervisor.  Occasionally, a supervisory team may also include an external supervisor. 

The eligibility criteria for research degree supervision and supervisory teams states that supervisors normally:

  1. Should normally hold a doctoral level qualification.
  2. Should not be registered for a research degree themselves at YSJU or any other institution.
  3. Should normally have an ORCID ID.
  4. Must have completed the required training for research degree supervision in the previous three years, or have been actively supervising for at least the previous three years.
  5. Must have active participation in research. The RDC sub group are looking for peer reviewed publications within the current REF cycle (commenced 1 January 2021), or an explanation as to why the applicant hasn't been 'research active'. Outputs that have been accepted for publication, so are 'in press' i.e. accepted for publication with an allocated Digital Object Identifier (DOI), can be considered, as long as evidence is submitted to confirm this. Please note that 'in preparation' documents cannot be considered.
  6. Must be a member of the academic staff holding a minimum 0.2 FTE permanent appointment at York St John University, or a minimum 0.2 fixed term contract with an expiry date at least 6 months after the submission deadline for the PGR's thesis.
  7. Must have their publications entered in RaY. This has implications for the university’s REF2029 submission, therefore publications since 1st January 2021 must be recorded in RaY, regardless of when a staff members YSJ contract commenced.

You are also required to provide Head of School/ Dean/ Line Manager authorisation. A template letter is provided below which your Head of School/ Dean/ Line Manager should complete and return to you, which can then be uploaded as part of the application. Please note that emails and screenshots are no longer accepted.

The above is a minimum requirement of what should be met, in order for an application to be submitted for review to the RDC sub group. For more detailed information please read the criteria document below. If you are a partner institution please contact the Research Office for guidance before commencing the process.

All supervisory teams satisfy the requirements of the UK Quality Code Chapter B11: Research Degrees. The University ensures this by providing PGRs with:

  • Opportunities for access to regular and appropriate supervisory support.
  • Encouragement to interact with other PGRs.
  • Advice from one or more independent sources, internal or external.
  • Arrangements that protect the PGR in the event of the loss of a supervisor.

Change to a Supervisor or Postgraduate Research Tutor

If changes are required to a supervisory team or PGRT for a PGR during their candidature, the request form below should be completed and approved, by the appropriate School Postgraduate Research Lead. The form should then be sent to Registry (research@yorksj.ac.uk) for the change to be made to the student record.