Faculty of Arts

The Faculty of Arts is committed to providing the best possible supervision, facilities and resources for research higher degree students and continually seeks to improve these resources.

These guidelines on Supervision, Facilities and Resources for Research Higher Degree students aim to set faculty-wide standards for facilities and resources and to define improvement targets. It is hoped that the Guidelines will stimulate discussion within the faculty about these issues and encourage faculty and schools to plan for improved facilities and resources as a matter of high priority.

It is expected that all research candidates within the Faculty of Arts will have access to:

• A comprehensive induction
• An initial meeting where the supervisor and student discuss and agree on the facilities and resources available to the student (including building access, photocopying, consumables and conference travel) and the expected pattern of supervisory sessions
• Regular meetings with the supervisor (equivalent to half hour/fortnight for full-time students)
• Access to a networked computer and IT support
• Authorised access to photocopying, printing, mail and telephone for research purposes according to school guidelines
• A campus mailing address and pigeonhole
• Authorised access to stationary according to school guidelines
• Access to common room or staff room
• Authorised building access after working hours when required
• Competitive access to funds towards conference attendance, fieldwork, data collection
• Information about availability of additional funding for conference attendance, fieldwork, data collection
• Postgraduate representation on school committees where appropriate

The Faculty recognises that there are significant capital and maintenance costs in implementing the following improvements, but believes it is essential to improve facilities and provide access to the following for full-time research students, particularly PhD students:

• exclusive access to an ergonomic desk and chair in a shared room
• exclusive access to a lockable filing cabinet
• exclusive access to a networked computer.

These improvements must be planned for with University support, and consultation with the Baillieu Library and School of Graduate Research is required to ensure that facilities do not overlap.

In addition Faculty recommends that:

• Schools establish a Postgraduate Association with elected executive positions
  • This Postgraduate Association, in consultation with the school's Postgraduate Coordinator, develop postgraduate community experiences as outlined in the working paper on collegiality
  • Schools put aside an agreed percentage of their Research and Research Training budget for Postgraduate Association running costs
• Schools establish uniform, fair and equitable annual funding arrangements for research students proportional to the school's income from research higher degree load and completions
• That this school proportional funding formula be agreed annually by the Faculty Research and Research Training Committee.

Faculty and schools are asked to respond to the Guidelines' call for supervision, space and infrastructure requirements for research students as a matter of high priority.

• Postgraduate Research Orientation (Welcome Day)
• Postgraduate Research Support Scheme
• Postgraduate Study Spaces

The Faculty of Arts is committed to providing the best opportunities and support services available to ensure its higher degree students are able to undertake high quality research and training to maximise the benefits of their degree at Melbourne. The Faculty's partnerships and close links with industry, government, libraries, galleries and museums promote collaboration across a wide range of disciplines.

The Faculty is committed to ensuring that we maintain our national position as a leading research-based university, and as a preeminent Faculty of Arts, internationally competitive across a broad range of disciplines.

Research Reference Group

The Research Reference Group is the primary avenue for feedback from the research higher degree student body to the Associate Dean (Research). It is also a means of disseminating information from Faculty to research students in the schools of each of the representatives. Further details can be obtained from the Research Reference Group webpage.

Postgraduate Conference Scheme

The Faculty of Arts provides funding for postgraduate student conferences that enhance and complement the experience of postgraduate study in the Faculty. Further details can be obtained from the Postgraduate Conference Assistance Scheme web page.

Postgraduate Journals and Publications

The Faculty of Arts provides funding for postgraduate student conferences that enhance and complement the experience of postgraduate study in the Faculty. Further details can be obtained from the Publication Subsidy Scheme web page.

Laptops for Loan

Faculty has 5 Apple G4 iBooks and 5 Toshiba IBM-compatible laptops for loan to postgraduate research students as follows:

1. One Month Loan (Repairs to a personal computer): a student's personal computer is being repaired. Students who have problems with their personal computers are eligible to borrow a Faculty laptop for a period of one month only. Evidence that their computer has been lodged with a shop for repair must be provided to facilitate this loan.
2. Three-Month maximum Loan (for overseas research/fieldwork): a student is undertaking research/fieldwork interstate or overseas. Students undertaking research or fieldwork interstate or overseas can loan a Faculty laptop for a maximum period of 3 months only. Priority will be given to students who are visiting a site that does not have access to computer facilities. Applicants must provide evidence of Leave to Study Away having been approved.
3. Short-term Loan (on-campus): a student requires a short-term loan of a Faculty laptop for use on campus. Overnight or 2-day loans of a laptop are available for presentations/conferences/colloquiums on campus.

Application Procedure

Requests for loans identifying the duration of the projected loan and purpose should be submitted by email to:

Arts and Music Student Centre

Rm 104 (Ground Floor) Old Arts Building
T: +61 3 8344 5321/+61 3 8344 6395
F: +61 3 9347 0424
Email: arts-research@unimelb.edu.au

Note: Approved loans will require completion of an Equipment being taken 'off-campus' form (80KB pdf). For fieldwork, applicants must provide evidence of Leave to Study Away having been approved.

Inter-library Loans

Postgraduate students can request items from other libraries when they are not held by the University of Melbourne Libraries. Once you have registered you can use the interlibrary loans request form to acquire books and journal articles from other libraries.

For further information please refer to the Interlibrary loans and document delivery web page.

• Research students' (PhD and research Masters) applications for Dial-in access will be automatically approved.
• Coursework Masters students' requests for access will be considered case-by-case by schools. Schools will publish the criteria for these decisions.
• Normally, Honours, Postgraduate Diploma, Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate students will have the same access as undergraduate students (i.e. no Dial-in access unless exceptional circumstances apply).
• Access must be approved by an Authorising Officer from the student's school, who will nominate a MUFAS account from which the charges will be met.
• The monthly charges will be monitored and any charges for a single person above $6 in a month (10 hours @ 60 cents per hour) will be highlighted in a report to the relevant school manager.
• For students, the Faculty's expectation is that the charge incurred will not exceed $72 per year.
• Access over and above the guaranteed allowance for research students will be at the discretion of the relevant Head of School or Postgraduate Coordinator. Each school will publish their own criteria regarding dial-in access. The individual student's research needs and personal circumstances and the resources of their school will be taken into account when assessing applications.
• Students exceeding their quota will be counselled before access is denied. If access is denied, it will be on the advice of the relevant School Manager who will notify the student.
• Part-time students will have a guaranteed minimum allowance of 5 hours access per month, which is half the full-time student entitlement.
• Each School should publish the criteria against which they will assess applications for more than 10 hours access per month.
• The minimum guaranteed monthly hours of Dial-in access for postgraduate students will be reviewed and set annually.

Information on school criteria for assessing applications for dial-in access can be found on School Facilities and Resources web pages.

A research degree requires performance to the full extent of the candidate's ability. It is therefore expected to be a full-time commitment unless enrolment is part-time. The University of Melbourne does not stipulate the maximum hours to be worked but recommends, as a guide, that more than 6 hours per week, during normal working hours would be undesirable. No other commitments should impact on the time commitment to the program. It is the responsibility of the supervisor, head of school and student to ensure that paid work will not jeopardise the completion of the course of study in the time allowed.

The Statistical Consulting Centre of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics offers Masters by research and PhD candidates up to five hours of statistical advice, consulting and data analysis free of charge. If assistance beyond five hours is required this can be offered on a fee-paying basis.

For further information and application details visit the University's Statistical Consulting Centre website.