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Courses
Courses
Choosing a course is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make! View our courses and see what our students and lecturers have to say about the courses you are interested in at the links below.
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University Life
University Life
Each year more than 4,000 choose University of Galway as their University of choice. Find out what life at University of Galway is all about here.
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About University of Galway
About University of Galway
Since 1845, University of Galway has been sharing the highest quality teaching and research with Ireland and the world. Find out what makes our University so special – from our distinguished history to the latest news and campus developments.
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Colleges & Schools
Colleges & Schools
University of Galway has earned international recognition as a research-led university with a commitment to top quality teaching across a range of key areas of expertise.
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Research & Innovation
Research & Innovation
University of Galway’s vibrant research community take on some of the most pressing challenges of our times.
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Business & Industry
Guiding Breakthrough Research at University of Galway
We explore and facilitate commercial opportunities for the research community at University of Galway, as well as facilitating industry partnership.
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Alumni & Friends
Alumni & Friends
There are 128,000 University of Galway alumni worldwide. Stay connected to your alumni community! Join our social networks and update your details online.
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Community Engagement
Community Engagement
At University of Galway, we believe that the best learning takes place when you apply what you learn in a real world context. That's why many of our courses include work placements or community projects.
Natural Sciences
Postgraduate Research Students, NUI Galway
National Student Survey
School of Natural Sciences
2020 Action Plan
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Actions |
Responsible |
Status* |
1 |
Research Infrastructure and Facilities |
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Insufficient computing resources |
Inclusion of a list of cheaper student-computers on the NUIG ISS website |
PGR committee |
In Progress |
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Lack of work/desk space |
Facilitate identification of available space in nearby, less-occupied units |
PGR committee |
In Progress |
2 |
Supervision |
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Some students feel they do not receive adequate level of support |
Emphasize to students to be pro-active in asking for help and support from supervisors and mentoring committee (GRC) in University Guidelines for Research Degree Programmes |
PGR committee |
In Progress |
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|
Reiterate the availability of the GRC committee for advice and support |
GRC committees |
In Progress |
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Limited technical support |
In the absence of funding available for additional technical staff (experimental officers and/or laboratory technical staff) at NUIG, this issue cannot be resolved. |
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Encourage to supervisors to identify a senior PhD student or postdoctoral researcher for the day-to-day supervision for all 1st year PhD students. |
PGR committee |
In Progress |
3 |
Research Culture |
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No specific actions were deemed necessary |
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4 |
Progress and Assessment |
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Lower percentage of SNS students understand the required standard of their thesis then students in other Schools |
Clearly articulate the required standard of the research thesis to all starting students at their Orientation. Include this information in the University Guidelines for Research Degree Programmes Ensure all 1st year PhD students receive the University Guidelines for Research Degree Programmes. |
Graduate Studies |
Complete |
5 |
Development Opportunities |
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Many students do not have or are not aware of having a personal training and development plan (PTDP) |
All scholarship students have a training plan included in their awarded scholarship application. Using this as a backbone, students should draft a PTDP at the start of their PhD training with the help of their supervisor. |
PGR committee, students, supervisors |
Not Started |
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The GRC can base the assessment on the PTDP and recommend its annual update |
PGR committee, students, supervisors, GRC committees |
Not Started |
6 |
Research Skills |
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No specific actions were deemed necessary |
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7 |
Personal Outlook |
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No specific actions were deemed necessary |
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8 |
Other Transferable Skills |
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No specific actions were deemed necessary |
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9 |
Responsibilities and Supports |
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No specific actions were deemed necessary |
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10 |
Overall Experience |
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A slightly higher proportion of students feel 4 years is not sufficient to complete their PhD training |
Improving this rate, would require higher PhD stipend (so student would not need to take on additional, part-time work) and sufficient consumable budgets for funded scholarships (e.g. IRC and NUIG fellowships). |
School is keen to promote improved stipends but this is not an internal decision so discussions are at CoSE level. |
N/A |
*Not Started
*In Progress
*Complete