Graduate School Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Faculty Training Programme
Introduction to the Faculty and the Research Training Programme
Registration for the 2012-13 Programme is now open. It must be done on the 2012-13 form, available from the link on the right.
What is the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences?
The Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences is an organisational, decision-making, resource-allocating and policy-formulating entity comprising all staff and students from the following departments, centres and institutes:
Applied Social Science; Educational Research; English & Creative Writing; European Languages & Cultures; History; Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts; Law; Linguistics & English Language; Politics, Philosophy & Religion; Sociology.
There is provision for student representation on the Postgraduate Studies Committee. Ask your department, centre or institute research students' tutor for details of how to become a student representative.
What is the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences Research Training Programme?
The Research Training Programme (RTP hereafter) is a specially designed suite of modules and workshops for research students, regardless of whether you are planning to acquire an MPhil or a PhD, and for research staff. The Programme offers both on-site taught modules and distance learning units and so is accessible to both full-time and part-time students and staff. Some modules include provision for work to be assessed and commented upon by the appropriate module tutor. The RTP modules are designed to complement more specialised subject or discipline-based training modules offered in the departments.
The modules designed for beginning students aim to provide you with a generic grounding in research design, research techniques, research strategies and the philosophy of the social sciences. Each module in the programme is designed to be free standing but there are also a number of advanced modules which are intended for more experienced research students already engaged in data gathering and data analysis. Most of these modules will take up relatively little of your time but will help you considerably with aspects of your research, presenting your research results or applying for jobs.
Who teaches on the Programme?
Tutors are all research-active academic staff currently working in one or more areas of the social sciences and they have considerable experience of supervising research students. The RTP has two core tutors, Lynne Pearce from the Department of English & Creative Writing and Uta Papen from the Department of Linguistics & English Language. Together they teach the majority of the RTP modules and they cover both the arts & humanities and the social sciences. In order to ensure that the full range of expertise available in the Faculty is offered to our research students, the RTP includes several modules taught by other staff with expertise in specific areas or methods.
Who attends RTP modules?
The modules in the programme are designed for research students. Several of the modules are utilised by Masters schemes, so a few Masters students may also be present in class; in addition some research staff may attend. The RTP modules are designed for students in FASS but they can also be attended by students from other Faculties.
Do students have to pay to attend these modules?
No: taught modules are provided free to FASS research students registered at the Bailrigg campus (but the departments of non-FASS students will be expected to pay for most modules). Students and staff from institutions formally associated with Lancaster University may take taught modules with the permission of the RTP Director and that of their own institution.
How do I enrol? Is there a lot of bureaucracy involved in registering for modules?
No; it's a quick and straightforward process.
- For research students registered in a department, centre or institute based in the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences (check this list if you are not sure about this), there are just two simple steps to be taken. First discuss the courses in the Modules Handbook with your supervisor(s), who will help you to assess your training needs. Then simply complete the form at the end of the Course Handbook or available online, get your supervisor to sign it, and either post it to the RTP Administrator, Michaela Scott, FASS, FASS Building, County South, place it in the RTP Secure Box on B Floor foyer of the FASS Building (this box is emptied every day, Monday to Friday), or complete and email it to Michaela on fass-rtp@lancaster.ac.uk - if you are returning the form by email, please also get your supervisor to email Michaela giving his/her approval.
- Students registered in departments, centres or institutes outside the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences must get the permission of their supervisor and head of unit before enrolling on any modules and get their signatures on the form; if you are such a student, you may still enrol using the downloadable form via email but please also get the relevant staff to email Michaela giving their permission. You will not be registered until this is received. Where the number of students wishing to take a module exceeds the maximum quota of students who may enrol, students from the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences will be given first preference.
- Research staff should also complete the form, and those from departments, centres or institutes outside FASS should get the signature of their head of department on the form.
- We would advise that, as far as possible, you should apply at the beginning of the academic year for modules running in all three terms, rather than waiting until the term in which they run. This gives you a better chance of being given a place on the module, and allows us to plan better.
Important note – it is essential to register for all those modules you wish to take (whether or not you intend to undertake assessment for them) and to deregister from any you decide you no longer wish to take. This helps us to prepare for modules (eg booking a suitably-sized room) and ensures that students who wish to take a course on which a quota is applied don’t miss out because other people accepted on to the modules don’t turn up. It also means that students have access to online module materials for the appropriate modules and that, if we need to contact students about a module (eg if a change of room takes place), we are contacting all the correct people.
If you wish to withdraw from a particular module, please contact Michaela by email or in writing to tell her - if there is a waiting list, this will allow someone to take your place; it will also mean that we don't bother you with information about a module in which you are no longer interested.
Useful links
Latest RTP News
FASS612: Interviewing as a Research Technique - sessions in Summer Term
This module will be run again in Summer Term.
More>>
New module - FASS621: Research Impact and User Engagement
The key aim of this module is to support students in their consideration of how research impact and user engagement relates to their chosen research field.
More>>
FASS Enterprise Centre events, Lent Term 2013
The FASS Enterprise Centre is running a variety of events in Michaelmas Term 2013.
More>>
Teaching development opportunities for postgraduates
Information about the teaching development opportunities for postgraduates, researchers and others involved in teaching in 2012-13. More>>
RTP Administrator
The RTP Administrator is located in Room C09 FASS Building. She is available to talk to students at the following times: 10.00-12.00, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. More>>
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Graduate School, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Lancaster University
Lancaster LA1 4YD
United Kingdom Tel: 44 0 1524 510880
Fax: 44 0 1524 510857
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