Programme Structure - MRes

Programme code: TMRESAC2

Department: Accounting

For students starting this programme of study in 2023/24

Guidelines for interpreting programme regulations

Classification scheme for the award of a taught master's degree (five units)
Exam sub-board local rules

Please note that places are limited on some optional courses. Admission onto any particular course is not guaranteed and can be subject to timetabling constraints and/or students meeting specific prerequisite requirements.

Prerequisite Requirements and Mutually Exclusive Options

# means there may be prerequisites for this course. Please view the course guide for more information.

Progression to Year 2 of the MRes in Accounting

In order to progress unconditionally from the first to the second year of MRes registration students are required to achieve pass marks of 50% or higher in papers 1, 2 and 3. With the permission of the MRes Programme Director, students missing the overall progression requirement by one paper may proceed to the second year but will subsequently need to re-sit and pass the paper to the necessary standard. Students missing the progression requirement by more than one paper are required to pass those papers to the necessary standard before progression to the second year can be permitted. Re-sits must be taken during the next available resit period.

Award of the MRes

The award and classification of the MRes degree is consistent with the School's Scheme for the Award of a five-unit Taught Master's Degree.

The mark of Paper 5 (Research paper) and the highest marks to the value of 4 course units out of the remaining 5 course units taken will be used to determine the degree classification. Students are required to achieve a pass mark of 50% in Paper 5 (Research paper).  A fail in one of the remaining four marks used for classification (but not a bad fail of 29% or less) can be compensated by a mark of 60% or higher in another paper, or an aggregate mark of 440 in the non-failed papers. If compensated, a fail shall result in a drop in the overall award classification where a Distinction or Merit would otherwise have been awarded. It shall have no further impact where a Pass is to be awarded.

An award cannot be made where the student receives a bad fail in any mark, even if it is not being used for the calculation of an award. Where a student receives a bad Fail mark they must resit on one occasion only in order to be considered as eligible for award of the degree.

Progression to PhD registration

For progression to PhD registration, students are required to achieve marks of 50% or higher in Papers 1, 2, and 3, marks of 60% or higher in Paper 6 (50% or higher if Paper 6 is an MRes/PhD research course in another department, e.g. Finance or Economics) and marks of 65% or higher in Papers 4 and 5.

Students missing the overall progression requirement by one paper are permitted to provisionally progress to PhD registration, but will subsequently need to re-sit and pass the paper to the necessary standard to continue their PhD registration. Students failing two papers may exceptionally be permitted to provisionally progress to PhD registration when they miss the progression requirement by 3 marks or less in each paper (with permission from the Doctoral Programme Director and MRes Accounting Sub-Board of Examiners) but will subsequently need to re-sit and pass these papers to the necessary standard to continue their PhD registration. Students failing to meet the progression requirements for more than 2 full units will need to re-sit and pass these papers to the necessary standard before continuing to PhD registration.  

Should students not meet the progression requirements for Paper 5 (AC599), they will be asked to revise and resubmit their research paper within 3 months of having received their grade which will count as a re-sit attempt. Papers 4 and 6 must be retaken during the next available resit period.

Students can resit each paper only once. Students registered for the PhD remain subject to the relevant MRes regulations for any courses or examinations they are completing. Students who have been permitted to progress onto the PhD without satisfying the complete progression standard will have their PhD registration discontinued if they fail to reach the required standard at resit.

The MRes Accounting Sub-Board of Examiners will meet twice: in late June/early July to receive and confirm the summer examination marks and to make progression decisions in relation to these; and in September to receive and confirm the AC599 marks and to make progression decisions in relation to these.

Programme Structure - PhD

Programme code: RPAC4

Progression during PhD registration
Throughout the PhD registration, progression is monitored via bi-annual progress reviews by the departmental Research Student Assessment Review Committee. The Committee meets each year in January to assess a student’s progress mid-year progress and in June to assess a student’s end-of-year progress and make decisions on continued registration/de-registration.

During their second year of the PhD, students will undergo a ‘mid-term review’. As part of the mid-term review, students have to submit a solid draft of one complete core chapter, a less developed draft of one further core chapter, as well as a detailed outline for the rest of the PhD thesis with a timeline for completion. Students will be provided with an opportunity to defend their submitted written materials orally. The materials will be reviewed by a Departmental Review Committee which will consist of the supervisory team and one internal reviewer drawn from the Department, who has not been involved in the supervision of the student. Students need to pass the ‘mid-term review’ to progress to the third year of their PhD studies.

The School allows students to submit their thesis in one of two formats:

1. a monograph that forms an integrated whole; or
2. a series of at least 3 papers

Students should liaise with their supervisor for advice on the format of their thesis and refer to the Regulations for Research Degrees for further details.

The Department of Accounting requires a paper-based thesis to contain at least 3 separate papers, one of which must be solo authored.

Note for prospective students:
For changes to graduate course and programme information for the next academic session, please see the graduate summary page for prospective students. Changes to course and programme information for future academic sessions can be found on the graduate summary page for future students.