About Us
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The Graduate School oversees and supports the further development of postgraduates (both research and taught) through the provision of facilities for postgraduates, the Researcher Development Programme, careers enhancement programme, and teacher training programme. The Graduate School will support all aspects of your time at Aberystwyth University and enhance your experience as a postgraduate student. The Graduate School has strong links with the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit (LTEU) and the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education (PGCTHE) programme.
We have expanded the Graduate School team with the appointment of two additional Deputy Heads: Professor Matt Jarvis (English and Creative Writing) and Dr Mitch Rose (Geography and Earth Sciences), each at 0.2 FTE. Whilst both will contribute to the overall direction of the Graduate School, Matt will specifically take responsibility for PGR student well-being and the Concordat; and Mitch for the PGR supervisor development programme and the Research Students’ Consultative Group. Mitch will continue (at an additional 0.4 FTE) to provide our research design and qualitative training and contribute to the TPAU programme.
We have extended the role of Dr Sophie Bennett-Gillison to 0.3 FTE, who is our Deputy Head of the DProf Programme. She will further develop our provision for DProf students, but will also specifically contribute to our induction, TPAU and supervisor development programmes.
Dr Peter Wootton-Beard (IBERS) and Dr Sam Doyle (Geography and Earth Sciences) also recently started roles within the Graduate School (as Senior Teaching Fellow at 0.1 FTE and Lecturer at 0.3 FTE, respectively) and will provide support in hybrid learning and in our quantitative provision, respectively. We have also formalized the writing support, module coordination and teaching that Dr John Morgan provides (at 0.2 FTE) for our postgraduate students. In addition, John will take on additional responsibilities within our DProf and induction provision.
In developing the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, we have appointed Dr Sarah Wydall as Academic Lead (at 0.25 FTE) and Dr Otar Akanyeti as Deputy Academic Lead (at 0.15 FTE). The pair will lead the university’s increasing efforts to create a healthy, inclusive, and supportive research environment where researchers are recruited, employed, and managed under conditions that recognise and value their contributions, and have time and opportunity for personal and professional growth. The Concordat team will also contribute to the design and delivery of the Aberystwyth-Bangor Research Leadership programme.
Taken together, these fractional appointments significantly strengthen support for empowering PGR students and early career researchers across the university to succeed in their chosen careers, bringing a range of expertise and experience as well as enthusiasm to their roles.
They are expertly supported by the wider Graduate School team, which includes Jan Davies (Assistant Registrar), Shân Jones (Administrative Officer), Julie Hancox (DProf Administrator), and Claire Salter (Academic Registry Admin Assistant), who can all be contacted through the graduate.school@aber.ac.uk email address. Finally, Dr Alan Macmillan (Faculty Registrar for Business and Physical Sciences), has responsibility for the Graduate School within the Academic Registry and oversees PGR policy, regulations and quality assurance.
Why you should use it
The Graduate School exists to support postgraduates, and to enhance the academic side of their time at Aberystwyth. If you have any concerns about your studies, please seek our advice and support.