ESRC Postgraduate Training and Development Guidelines 2009
In May 2009 ESRC announced its new Postgraduate Training Framework. The Framework moves the ESRC away from a system of providing training through 'recognised' outlets and individual courses and will instead create a new national infrastructure through the establishment of institutional- and consortium-level Doctoral Training Centres (DTC) and Doctoral Training Units (DTU). The primary purpose of the new framework will be to promote excellence and further enhance provision for postgraduate training in the UK by building upon the considerable strengths that already exist across the social science research base.
To support the introduction of the new framework the ESRC has published a new set of Postgraduate Training and Development Guidelines. The Guidelines cover compulsory core training requirements in general research skills, research methods and transferable skills. The Guidelines do not prescribe subject specific training, as under the new Framework, responsibility for determining such requirements will rest with individual DTCs and DTUs, allowing them to draw upon their own strengths in certain areas.
The new Postgraduate Training and Development Guidelines (PDF) are available.
Institutions wishing to hold ESRC studentships within the new framework must first apply for ESRC accreditation. Accreditation will be given to institutions, or collaborations between different institutions, whose training provision meets the expectations, set out in the ESRC Postgraduate Training and Development Guidelines 2009.
The requirements specified in these Guidelines will apply:
- from September 2009 for applications for ESRC DTC/DTU accreditation
- from October 2011 for new ESRC studentships and provide the reference point for all applications for ESRC accreditation during this cycle.
ESRC postgraduate training guidelines 2005 (Fourth Edition)
Prior to the introduction of the new framework, outlets (i.e. departments, schools or faculties) wishing to apply for ESRC studentships must firstly hold ESRC recognition.
The recognition of masters courses and outlets is part of the Training and Development Board's quality assurance procedures and is designed to ensure that students funded by the ESRC receive high quality training, supervision and support in an active research environment. The core requirements for ESRC recognition are detailed in the Postgraduate Training Guidelines 2005 (fourth edition), detailed below, and should continue to be adhered to for the remainder of the current recognition cycle (e.g. for studentships starting prior to October 2011).
The fourth edition of the Guidelines is valid for the current recognition exercise until the end of the academic year 2010/11.
The new version of the Guidelines relates to all future accreditation.
The fourth edition of the Guidelines was published in April 2005. It represents an evaluation of the 2001 edition with no substantive changes to the generic or subject training requirements. However, it is important to note:
- there is a clear expectation that research training programmes will have evolved over the last four years to embrace new techniques and developments in both generic skills and subject specific training
- the Guidelines continue to stress the importance of high quality training in quantitative and qualitative methods
- there is a continued emphasis on transferable skills training, particularly in light of the Roberts review.
The Guidelines also stress the importance of offering maximum flexibility in the organisation and the delivery of training as a means of further driving up standards of provision. This includes:
- greater flexibility of provision across the entirety of the three or four year training programme
- continuous innovation beyond formal recognition to provide access to new and emerging tools and techniques
- greater encouragement within institutions and wider collaboration between institutions to create high quality and innovative training platforms.
The revisions to the Guidelines also seek to reflect other recent developments. They contain new subject specific guidance for the disciplines of demography, social work, criminology and socio-legal studies. There is also enhanced sections on Professional Doctorates and greater emphasis on international research.
Questions about the Guidelines should be addressed to TDBPolicy@esrc.ac.uk
The latest (fourth) edition of the Postgraduate Training Guidelines is available in sections below for browsing and printing (PDF format):
To view the PDF you will need a PDF-compatible document reader, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader which can be downloaded from the Adobe web site.