An important aspect of any Ph.
D programme is the transition of the research student towards independence.
It is the responsibility of the supervisor to design a research project and programme that will allow them to 'manage' this transition by their students. Many universities specify in their guidance notes to examiners that the Ph. It is therefore important that in the initial stages of its design, consideration is given to the scope of the project not only for good research work and training in techniques but also of a real chance of high quality publishable results that may provide new insights into a specific area of science. Therefore, if the student can do the minimum of work, write up their thesis and perform reasonably in an initial transfer viva, they will usually get to the final examination and will often receive the qualification. The supervisor inevitably invests a considerable amount of time and effort in a Ph.