After registration please make sure you obtain (if you have not already been sent) copies of the following documents:

Library Guides (copies from the Library issue desk). The Library produces a leaflet, Information for Postgraduates. In the Library’s Catalogue Hall there is also a selection of subject guides and leaflets about particular library resources.

Some Schools issue their own notes and pamphlets giving details about members of staff, research interests, undergraduate and postgraduate courses, etc (copies from the supervisor).

Other documents, relating to catering, residence, transport, college facilities, sports, entertainments, etc are variously obtainable from your College, Student’s Union, the Sports Centre, etc.

Mail:
Outgoing mail is collected daily from each school and franked centrally. Collection times can be ascertained from your school office. Mail will be sent to you either at your local address or to your school so make sure you know where your pigeonhole is. You must ensure that your School Administrator always has your current local address and your home address.

Telephones:
Current policy gives free access to telephones for internal calls. External calls may be made at the discretion of your supervisor and you should discuss such needs with your supervisor.

Faxes:
Incoming fax messages may be received free of charge, and outgoing faxes may be sent at the discretion of your supervisor.

Noticeboards It is a good idea to look regularly at Graduate Studies Noticeboards. These are located in your School and on the left inside the main entrance to the Templeman Library.

TimeTables
The postgraduate timetables are posted by School Offices.

Postgraduate Society
This exists to help postgraduates collaborate on similar work areas and socialise: www.kentpostgrads.com

You are advised to contact a specialist librarian at the earliest opportunity to discuss your academic needs. They can give guidance on library resources at the University and elsewhere, the use of specialized collections within the Library and advice on information sources in both printed and computerized form. The Library has several major databases from the Social Sciences Citation Index, and the International Bibliographies of the Social Sciences available on BIDS. There is also a list of CD-ROMs available. The Inter-Library Loan service enables books and periodicals to be borrowed from other libraries. Details of the inter-library loan regulations can be obtained from the Library.

Some students find that they need to enhance their English Language Skills. The English Language Unit can provide a number of options to assist with particular skills, depending on individual needs. If you think you might like to take advantage of these or would like further information, either discuss the matter with your convener or the English Language Unit in Cornwallis West (ext 7648). If you are in doubt it may be worthwhile to take one of the tests they offer in the early part of the Michaelmas term, but help is available at any time throughout your period of study.

If for good cause you decide you must interrupt your studies for a period you should make a request to the Director of Graduate Studies for permission to do so. You should give your reasons for needing to intermit and state the period required. You should also ask your programme convener to support your request. Forms for this are available from your School Office.

It is not possible for you to "intermit" once your period as a registered student has ended.

Another kind of change that can be made is to transfer from full-time to part-time registration, or from part-time to full-time registration. Again you must apply to the Director of Graduate Studies via your School Office, and a form is available for this. Your supervisor will be asked to comment on your request.

If your research involves the need to spend a period away from the University you must get permission in advance from the Director of Graduate Studies. You should apply through your supervisor who will refer the request to the Director for consideration.

In Cases of Illness or Medical Disability:

If your performance is adversely affected by illness during the examinations and you are absent or unable to complete part or all of the examination, you should inform your programme convener and Supervisor and make sure that the Medical Officer or your own Doctor sends a Certificate to the School (for the attention of the School Administrator), as early as possible and in any event not later than the last day of the examination period.

If you feel that your performance may be adversely affected by a medical disability, you should inform your programme convener and Supervisor, prior to the start of the examinations, in writing. In all cases where your performance may be adversely affected by illness prior to the examinations, a medical certificate must be produced before the start of the examinations.

Many School hold regular Staff-Graduate seminars with speakers from other universities as well as from Kent; you are expected to attend these.

If you have no formal training in computing we urge you to take advantage of the opportunities at Kent: they may speed your work and may increase your chances of employment when you have finished your degree. The Computing Service runs courses just before the start of the academic year to introduce new students to the facilities at UKC. Throughout the year, there are short courses on topics of interest to computer users. An advisory service is available to all research computer users. Contact Reception in the Computing Laboratory for details (ext 3852).

Your supervisor may advise you to follow other graduate modules offered within the University. Undergraduate modules are listed in the Stage 2 & 3 Handbook which you can get from the Faculty Office in the Marlowe Building. You may usually attend any of these courses if you choose to, although you should obtain permission from the module convener to attend and check that it will meet your needs. In some cases your supervisor will consider that you need to acquire particular knowledge or skills, and will advise you on how to do so, you should take this advice very seriously indeed.

Some research projects involving human participation will need ethical approval in order to proceed. The definition of human participants includes:

1. Face to face participation - including postal survery.
2. The use of secondary data (except anonomised, unlinked data).

It should be remembered that the purpose of a Research Ethics Group in reviewing the proposed study is to protect the dignity, rights, safety and well-being of all actual or potential research participants. If you intend to work alone with children or vulnerable adults, you will also require a CRB check. Information on all aspects of the system can be obtained by accessing the Criminal Records Bureau website at http://www.crb.gov.uk.

The University Ethics Committee sets out minimum principles which should be applied to all research involving human participants. This can be accessed at: http://www.kent.ac.uk/res-local/committees/ethics/principles.htm.

You should discuss with your supervisors at an early stage, before any research is undertaken, whether you will need to obtain ethical approval. If approval is needed you will be required to complete the necessary forms available from the relevant school.

With regard to projects funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Federalwide Assurance, there are separate requirements which may be found at: https://www.kent.ac.uk/socsci/faculty/committees/ethics/index.html.

Plagiarism is the act of presenting the ideas or discoveries of another as one’s own. To copy sentences, phrases or even striking expressions without acknowledgement in a manner which may deceive the reader as to the source is plagiarism; to paraphrase in a manner which deceived the reader is likewise plagiarism.

You must not reproduce in any work submitted for assessment (for example, examination answers, essays, project reports, dissertations or theses) any material derived from work authored by another without clearly acknowledging the source.

Duplication of material means the inclusion in coursework (including extended essays, projects and dissertations) of a significant amount of material which is identical or substantially similar to material which has already been submitted for the same or any other course at this University or elsewhere.

You must not reproduce in any work submitted for assessment any substantial amount of material used in other work for assessment, either at this University or elsewhere, without acknowledging that such work has been so submitted.