iPhD South Coast DTP (iPhD Economics, iPhD Gerontology, iPhD Education) 2025-26

Academic Regulations: Faculty of Social Sciences

School	Economic, Social and Political Sciences Southampton Education School
Final Award	Doctor of Philosophy With exit awards of: Master of Philosophy (MPhil) Postgraduate Diploma Postgraduate Certificate
Programme(s)	Integrated PhD in Economics SCDTP (9332 (FT)) Integrated PhD in Gerontology SCDTP (9335 (FT) & 9336 (PT)) Integrated PhD in Education SCDTP (9333 (FT) & 9334 (PT))
Last modified	April 2025

The Academic Regulations apply to and regulate the programme(s) listed above.

On occasion, programmes can be exempted from one or more of the clauses in the Regulations; one or more of the clauses can be varied; and programmes can impose additional requirements.

Exemptions are characterised by the omission of the relevant clause.
Variations are characterised by the replacement of the clause with alternative wording.
Additions are characterised by requirements in addition to those detailed in the Academic regulations.

The programmes listed have approval from the Academic Quality and Standards Committee for the exemptions and/or variations and/or additions to the regulations noted below.

Regulations for Research Degrees

Exemption/Variation/Addition

69. Duration of Research Degrees

69.1

The minimum and maximum periods of candidature for each research degree is set out in the following table.

Degree	Minimum length candidature		Maximum length candidature
	Full-time	Part-time	Full-time	Part-time
PhD - Integrated Route	36 months	48 months	60 months	108 months

Variation

The minimum and maximum periods of candidature for the SCDTP research degree is set out in the following table.

Degree	Minimum length candidature		Maximum length candidature
	Full-time	Part-time	Full-time	Part-time
PhD - Integrated Route	36 months	48 months	63 months	114 months

Progression, Determination and Classification of Results: Postgraduate Master’s Programmes

Exemption/Variation/Addition

5. Referral

5.1

A student who fails a taught Module, after the application of Compensation, may take Referral assessments in failed taught Modules totalling at most 15 ECTS (30 CATS) Credits, subject to the following exemptions:

(i) For programmes with a minimal Module size of 10 ECTS (20 CATS) Credits, a student who fails a taught Module, after the application of Compensation, may take Referral assessments in failed taught Modules totalling at most 20 ECTS (40 CATS) Credits.
(ii) For programmes where all Modules are Core and where it is specified in the Programme Regulations, the student may take Referral assessments in failed taught Modules totalling at most 30 ECTS (60 CATS) Credits.

Addition

For students entering the programme from 2022/23:

A student is not permitted to refer in any taught module that has already been passed specifically in order to improve the mark, with the following exception:

A student who has failed to achieve the required average pass mark of at least 60 in the taught modules may refer in taught modules in which the mark originally achieved was less than the required average pass mark, to a maximum credit value of 15 ECTS (30 CATS). In this case:

(i) Students may choose the taught modules in which they refer, with the constraint that modules in which the mark achieved is a non-compensable fail must be taken.
(ii) The actual marks obtained at referral will be inserted into the student’s mark profile to determine whether the required average pass mark (60) has been achieved.
(iii) Marks for modules originally failed but passed at referral will be capped at the capped mark (50) and published in the student’s transcript. The original marks for modules passed but referred to raise the average mark (60) for the taught modules part, will be published in the student’s transcript.
(iv) If the student subsequently elects to transfer to the MSc Economics, that part of the referral not needed to meet the requirements of the new programme shall be disregarded and the average mark for the part recalculated on that basis.

Students who elect to transfer to the MSc Economics will be required to successfully complete a 30 ECTS/60 CATS MSc Dissertation and will be required to pay an additional tuition fee.

5.2

A student who has failed taught Modules totalling more than the permitted number of Credits for Referral as stated in 5.1 above, is not eligible to Refer in any Module and is required to Repeat.

5.3

The mark obtained at Referral will be Capped at the Module Pass Mark.

5.4

The Capped Mark achieved at Referral will be used for calculating the Final Average Mark and determining award eligibility and final classification, where applicable.

5.5

Where a student is undertaking their programme through part time study, it may be in the student's best interests to take Referrals at the earliest opportunity, which may be outside the normal assessment periods. For such students, Referrals may be permitted while they are still completing their other taught Modules. The arrangements will be communicated via the Programme Handbook.

6. Repeat

6.1

A student who has not passed at the first attempt or is not eligible to refer, or who has Referred and not passed, may Repeat the taught part of the programme Internally or Externally as chosen by the student following academic advice from within the School.

Exemption

No repeat year is allowed.

7. Dissertation

7.2

The Pass Mark for the dissertation is 50.

Variation

Students will be required to complete a non-credit bearing Transitional Project to support them in their transition from the taught part to the research phase of the programme. The Transitional Project will be submitted and reviewed in conjunction with the material submitted with the First Progression Review milestone; however the Transitional Project will not determine the outcome of that milestone.

Regulations and Definitions Applying to Progression for all Credit Bearing Programmes

Exemption/Variation/Addition

2. Definitions - Average Mark contribution to a Part of a Programme

2.1

The Average Mark is the mark obtained by taking the average of all individual Module Marks, weighted according to their respective credit point weightings that contribute to the assessment of a single Part of a programme. The Average Mark is recorded truncated to 1 decimal place in the assessment grid.

Students must achieve an average pass mark of at least 60 in the taught part of the programme.

Code of Practice for Research Degree Candidature and Supervision

Exemption/Variation/Addition

15. Progression Monitoring and Reviews

15.5

Progression reviews must be sufficiently rigorous to provide an adequate test of the student’s knowledge and understanding of the subject material, of progress to date, and of plans for the remainder of their candidature. Faculties will bring to the attention of research students and relevant staff, clearly defined formats for the written report submission which will inform each Progression Review, and the criteria to be used for defining outcomes from Progression Reviews. Any additional assessment criteria specific to the student’s programme of study will be published in the Academic Regulations.

Variation

Where the scholarship holder is required to enrol in and pass any credit-bearing taught modules in line with their funding offer and selected as a result of the Development Needs Analysis, the following regulations will apply.

All components requiring summative assessment will be described within the relevant module profile.
The scholarship holder will be required to pass each module at the postgraduate module pass mark of 50% and achieve an average mark of 60% or above across all taught modules they are enrolled on.
If the scholarship holder has an average mark of less than 60% for the taught modules after referral attempts, the SCDTP reserves the right to terminate the scholarship.
The scholarship holder may take referral assessments in failed taught modules. The mark obtained at referral will be capped at the module pass mark and the capped mark will be used for calculating the average.
The scholarship holder will be required to meet the standard criteria to pass the First Progression Review and the criteria associated with any credit-bearing modules as described in these regulations.
Failure to pass the First Progression Review at the second attempt will result in (i) transfer to MPhil candidature and withdrawal of the SCDTP scholarship, or (ii) termination of candidature.

The scholarship holder will be required to undertake a Research in Practice placement lasting a total of 12 weeks, normally after the Second Progression (Confirmation) Review has been successfully passed.

The placement is an integral and assessed part of the SCDTP iPHD and PHD programme.
The scholarship holder will be required to complete and submit a reflective report which demonstrates their learning and skills and which will be assessed by the end of Year 3 of candidature (for full-time students) or the end of Year 5 of candidature (for part-time students). (NB: Please read the Funding Terms and Conditions with regard to the funding implications of not submitting this report).
The scholarship holder will be required to meet the standard criteria to pass the Second Progression Review as described in these regulations.
Should the scholarship holder fail to pass any element of the required criteria, they will be deemed to have failed their first attempt at the Second Progression Review. Failure to pass the second attempt at the Second Progression Review will result in (i) transfer to MPhil candidature and withdrawal of the SCDTP scholarship, or (ii) termination of candidature.

15.6

Faculties will bring to the attention of students, and relevant staff, clearly defined formats for the written report submission which will inform each Progression Review, and, in accordance with the requirements specified in the paragraphs below, the standard criteria to be used for defining outcomes from Progression Reviews, and any additional assessment criteria specific to the student’s programme of study (which must be published in the Academic Regulations).

These regulations should be read in conjunction with the programme specification.

Disclaimer

As a research-led University, we undertake a continuous review of our programmes to ensure quality enhancement and to manage our resources. As a result, these regulations may be revised during a student’s period of registration, however, any revision will be balanced against the requirement that the student should receive the educational service expected. Please read our Disclaimer to see why, when and how changes may be made to a student’s programme.