What do you do?
There are many staff in professional services across campus working to support doctoral researchers. In this regular item we will be highlighting a staff member and service supporting the doctoral community & telling you a bit more about their role, and how they can help you.
Name: Dr Camilla Briault
Role: Head of Research Student Administration
Department/Division: Research Student Administration Office
What do you do?
I lead the Research Student Administration Office team, who provide advice and guidance to doctoral researchers around University regulations and procedures, and manage all administrative processes relating to the admission, registration, academic progress and assessment of doctoral researchers at Sussex.
My role involves developing policy, regulations and guidance for the University on matters relating to doctoral research, supervision and examination and I also provide advice to supervisors, examiners and students on complex regulatory and process queries to help ensure that the high standards of the doctoral degree are maintained across the University. I also participate in a number of University Committees, reporting official statistics on admissions, submission and completion rates across the academic Schools and helping to develop policy in these areas in order to meet the University’s strategic aims.
What support do you offer to doctoral researchers?
The Research Student Administration Office offers support and advice designed to assist researchers in navigating the University’s regulations and administrative procedures, such as those outlined in The Handbook and Regulations for Doctoral Researchers. In addition, we deal with pre-applicant enquiries as part of managing the admissions process for doctoral students, we monitor and record academic progress and assessment, and we administer the examination process from thesis submission through the viva process to graduation.
We also offer guidance on areas such as:
- Admissions criteria and how to apply for doctoral study at Sussex
- Registration and Induction
- Supervision
- The Annual Review Process
- Applying for fieldwork
- Intermission
- Changing your thesis title or supervisors
- Appointing examiners
- Submitting your thesis
- The viva examination
- Visas for international doctoral researchers
How can doctoral researchers get in touch?
Doctoral researchers can get in touch with the Research Student Administration Office by e-mail or telephone, or can come and see us in person by popping into our reception in Sussex House.
E: researchstudentoffice@sussex.ac.uk
T: 01273 876550
Researchers can also speak to their school’s REC to find out which member of the Research Student Administration Office team works specifically with their school.
What’s the most common question you are asked by doctoral researchers?
Most of the questions I’m asked come from supervisors, examiners and other colleagues from around the University, but the team as a whole deals with a wide range of questions from doctoral researchers at all stages of their degree, as well as those who are in the process of making an application.
Whether it’s a question about your Visa, the Annual Review Process, or how many copies of your thesis to submit, we’ll do our very best to provide you with all of the information you need. We’ve also developed our webpages so that information for students, supervisors and examiners is easily accessible to everyone, along withall of the forms you might need to fill in over the course of your doctorate.
Are there any useful online resources doctoral researchers need to know about?
The Handbook and Regulations for Doctoral Researchers is a key online resource for researchers. This is your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about doctoral studies at Sussex, so it’s really important you familiarise yourself with this official document as well as referring to any handbooks developed by your school.
You can access the complete Handbook here, or take a look at the pages of the handbook that are most relevant to you in the ‘For Students’ section. In addition, you might also find it useful to take a look at the pages we have put together specifically For Supervisors and For Examiners.
Beyond the Doctoral School website I also recommend and – it’s never too early to start thinking ahead to the future beyond your doctorate.