this document is currently undergoing updates: March 2025
CS Department Research Postgraduate Coordinator: Prof John McDonald (contact: John.McDonald@mu.ie)
Head of Department: Prof. Aidan Mooney
CS865 and CS875 CS PhD Modules Coordinator: Rozenn Dahyot
Postgraduate student rep: Frank Gallagher
Department of Computer Science
Maynooth University
Maynooth
Co. Kildare
Ireland
The goal of the Maynooth University Department of Computer Science is the development of the field of Computer Science by:
The department’s research postgraduate community has a central role to play in each of these activities primarily through their research, but also through involvement in wide spectrum of the department’s activities. The strategic plans of both the department and the university prioritise the continuing development of the research postgraduate environment to provide an engine of learning at the core of our work.
The purpose of this handbook is to specify an environment where learning is maximised: both individually, through your own research, and as a group through participation in postgraduate workshop and related activities. Research postgraduates are unique in the student community in that their work has to regularly attain the highest international standards to merit publication, and it is vital that the department fosters an environment that facilitates this.
This handbook describes department-specific arrangements, and should be read in conjunction with the relevant Maynooth University policies and regulations, available from the Graduate Studies Office webpage, the Academic Policies and Procedure Webpage and the Irish university doctoral Skills Statement provided by the Irish University Association (IUA).
Successful completion of either an MSc or PhD is a significant undertaking that will require you to work closely with your supervisor typically over a period of two or four years (or more), respectively.
Part-time students will take longer, as specified in the University regulations. This requires a significant level of commitment both from you and your supervisor. Hence it is essential that prospective students meet with potential supervisors prior to formally applying in order to ensure that
A list of the current staff members in the department, along with details of their research interests is available from the department’s web pages.
Once a member of staff has agreed to supervise you, you should work with them to agree the main points of your research programme; specifically:
Since 2012 all research postgraduate students at Maynooth University must be registered on either the structured MSc or structured PhD programme. These structured programmes add to the student experience by offering subject specific modules to enhance the student’s knowledge in their subject area, and by offering transferable skills modules that broaden the student’s skill in areas such as research commercialisation, ethics, etc.
Over the period of their studies students will be required to accrue a minimum number of ECTS by taking structured modules. The current minimum is:
All CS research postgraduate students are required to take the following mandatory modules covering the minimum PhD requirement (30 ECTS):
In order to be permitted to submit their dissertation, students will first have to have attained these minimum ECTS requirement.
Full details of additional and optional modules that can be chosen by CS research students for their structured MSc and PhD programmes are available through the university’s course website.
Full-time research postgrad students usually work 9am-5pm and some work outside these hours. Students take holidays equivalent to when in employment ~4 weeks per year.
Reference: myphd.ie: What does the typical day of a PhD student look like?).
If you are a part-time postgraduate student you should ensure that clear arrangements are made for regular contact with your supervisor, and that the agreed duration of your research reflects your part-time status.
Please note that you cannot unilaterally extend the agreed duration of your research, or switch from full-time to part-time mode, or vice-versa, without your supervisor’s agreement. The department cannot guarantee continuing availability of facilities or supervision in the event of a unilateral change. However, the department is willing to accommodate unexpected changes in a student’s circumstances and, in such cases, the student should alert their supervisor and the CS Department Research Postgraduate Coordinator, as soon as possible.
Early-stage researchers, including research students and research fellows, are provided with space and IT support in the CS department (Eolas Building, MU campus), and also benefit from the same working flexibility and constraints as academic staff in the CS department.
All full-time research students will initially be allocated a desk and standard PC in one of the departmental research labs. With the agreement of your supervisor, you may alternatively or additionally be allocated space in one of the special-purpose labs, where relevant.
Full time research students have a responsibility to attend department workshops, seminars and participate in research postgraduate related departmental activities.
Part-time postgraduate students and “continuing” full-time students (i.e. PhD registered beyond year 4 and MSc students registered beyond year 2) will not normally have the use of a dedicated desk in the research lab. Subject to availability, facilities in the research labs may be made available for such students at the discretion of the Head of Department. If this is not possible, arrangements will be made for access to shared computing facilities.
You are reminded to consult the Maynooth University and Department of Computer Science codes of conduct regarding the use of university equipment; details can be found in the Student Handbook, available on the department’s web-site.
The department reserves the right to reallocate desks within the research labs when necessary. Prior to reallocating a student’s desk the postgraduate coordinator will contact the student via their mumail.ie email address requesting that they clear the space of personal items, equipment, etc. and giving them a reasonable timeframe within which to do so. In the event that the student fails to clear the space within the requested timeframe, the department reserves the right to clear the space, and in exceptional circumstances, to dispose of equipment or other materials.
The primary means of contact between members of the department and research students is via their University email address (i.e. the one ending in @mumail.ie). You may have other email addresses associated with other aspects of your work, but you should make sure to check your department email address regularly.
Departmental Research Seminars: Departmental research seminars and the annual CS research postgraduate workshop are vital parts of the department’s research activities. They provide you with an opportunity to present your own research and receive feedback, to learn from the research of others, and potentially to identify overlaps and synergies between researchers both at Maynooth and from further afield.
Attendance at departmental seminars, including seminars from postgraduate students, postdocs, staff and external speakers is expected from all full-time postgraduates. A student’s level of attendance for the year may be taken into account by the departmental research student progress committee when considering their annual progress report.
Each year the department will hold a Computer Science Research Postgraduate Workshop; typically at the end academic year (?June). The aim of the workshop is to provide a forum for research postgraduates to present their ongoing research activities, and to promote interaction between research postgraduates and the wider department.
The format of the workshop will be for all research postgraduate students to give a 20 min presentation on their research. Each seminar should be on a topic relevant to the student’s research and might include a review of related work by others, an overview of the student’s progress to date, or a snapshot of their latest work. In all cases, the content of the student’s seminar should be discussed in advance with their supervisor, who will be able to advise them on the most suitable content, focus and approach.
Students that are in their first year of study are not obliged to present at the workshop but are very welcome (and encouraged) to do so if they wish. For example presentations surveying their area of research and a summary of their proposed thesis would be very welcome.
The annual workshop provides an important element in the department assessment of the progress of research students. As such participation in the workshop is mandatory. However, in circumstances where it is not possible to attend e.g. due to a student being registered part-time, or located off-campus, students may arrange with the department to give a seminar separate from the workshop.
Additionally, a poster presentation by CS research students is organised as part of MU research week (~October).
Each postgraduate student is assigned a supervisor on initial registration, and this supervisor is the main point of contact for their studies. Co-supervision is possible in situations where the area of research overlaps the field of interest of the academics, and is the norm in cases where one supervisor is not on permanent contract. In all cases, students should be clear who the principal point of contact is for their research.
The research postgraduate supervisory process in the department is coordinated by the department research student progress committee (DRSPC) composed of:
This committee is responsible for discharging the department’s role in relation to postgraduate research, including preparing and revising the postgraduate handbook, setting postgraduate research policy, and assessing student progress on a yearly basis. Further details on the role and responsibilities of the DRSPC can be found on the Graduate Studies Office website.
Annual Report: Each postgraduate research student is required to complete an annual progress report to the DRSPC during April/May each year. Students will be reminded of this and provided with a deadline date by email by the Research Postgraduate Coordinator.
Students should complete the report in consultation with their supervisor. The report template is provide under the GSF2 Annual Progress Report Form on the Maynooth University Graduate Studies Webpage. Completing the report involves providing information, including:
In addition to the above, the report will also require your supervisor(s) to provide comprehensive comments on your progress over the year, and their opinion on your plan for completion.
Review & Outcome: The annual reports will be reviewed by the DRSPC, along with other relevant details such as seminar attendance, workshop participation, and demonstrating duties. Full details of the review process, procedures and policy are providing in Maynooth University Regulations for Postgraduate Research Degrees. The information below provides a summary of the pertinent points and department specific aspects.
The outcome of this review will be one of:
Subsequent to the review by the DRSPC the Research Postgraduate Coordinator will inform each student and their supervisor of the result by email along with any comments that the committee may have.
In order for the University to permit a student’s continuing registration they must have achieved a grade other than Not Progress from the DRSPC prior to the date of their next registration.
In order for the University to permit a student’s continuing registration they must have achieved a grade other than Not Progress from the DRSPC prior to the date of their next registration.
Not excepting student specific options as determined by the DRSPC, the standard options that will be available to a student who wishes to continue their studies subsequent to a grade of No Progress will be to:
All PhD students initially enter their studies as PhD Track students. Progression to the PhD register is contingent on completing a substantive review thesis. The PhD substantive review process constitutes the substantive review by the department, as required under the University procedures. The thesis should demonstrate that the student:
Note that for point 3 above, it is not a prerequisite that a student has published their work at this point.
Substantive review committee: The assessment is carried out by a panel that includes your supervisor(s), your supervisor’s nominee (member of faculty from CS), and a member of the Departmental Research Postgraduate Supervisory Committee (DRSPC) who chairs the committee.
To submit your substantive review thesis please follow instructions provided on CS875 moodle webpage. Once submitted they will contact your supervisor to arrange your substantive review committee. The substantive review exam starts with a ~20min presentation summarising the content of substantive review thesis and addressing the above 4 points. This is followed by a Q&A session with the committee (~20-40mins). The committee then meet in private to make a decision on their recommendation which then communicate to you on the day.
Outcome: The chair of the substantive review committee is responsible for relaying the recommendation to the DRSPC. The report is reviewed by the DRSPC which can then make a final decision on progression to the PhD register.
The substantive review committee may inform you and your supervisor of their recommendation, which they will communicate to the DRSPC.
Timeline: Although you may decide to submit a substantive review thesis as early as you wish, the recommended point for submission is not be later than 17 months after your first registration. For example, for a student who registers in September of a given academic year, it is recommended that they aim to submit their substantive review thesis by the end of March in your second academic year (as part of CS875 COMPUTER SCIENCE PHD YEAR 2). This will provide appropriate time for the substantive review committee to read the thesis, arrange and attend the presentation, and for the DRSPC to arrive at their final decision prior to the University June Progression Board.
Note that students should communicate their intention to submit their substantive review thesis to the Dept. Postgraduate Coordinator at least 1 month in advance of the submission. This is to allow adequate time for the coordinator to arrange for a substantive review committee, etc.
If a student does not pass their substantive review they will be provided with comments from the DRSPC stating what aspects of the work need to be strengthened. The student will be entitled to
Lab work is an important component of the department’s undergraduate teaching, with many of our modules allocating equal hours to lecture and lab work. The department encourages all research postgraduate students to become involved in demonstrating in labs since this involves them further within the department’s activities, improves their presentation and communication skills, and may even offer the opportunity of learning more about areas of computer science that they have not previously studied. Furthermore, as part of the structured MSc and PhD, students who demonstrate in labs are entitled to register and obtain credits for the activity (subject to also completing a short demonstrating course).
Typically the department recommends that you do not undertake more than six hours demonstrating per week, though your source of funding may impose additional constraints. Note that some funding organisations require that students seek permission prior to undertaking other duties (e.g. demonstrating, teaching, tutoring, etc.) It is the student and supervisor’s responsibility to ensure that these requirements are met prior to taking up any such duties.
Many of our modules also provide for paid marking of assessments in addition to demonstrating. In all cases you should ensure that your workload does not interfere with your research agenda.
Various courses are made available at university level that may help improve your demonstrating experience, and you are encouraged to participate in these.
All computer science research students should be aware (at least) of
Also, you should note that the Maynooth University plagiarism policy (described in the Maynooth University Calendar) makes specific reference to postgraduate students.
Your supervisor will be able to advise you on any other guidelines relevant to your specific field of research.
The Inter Library Loan (ILL) allocation for postgraduate students is fixed at approximately 10 ILLs per year. In practice, the availability of electronic journals through the NUIM library and IReL (the Irish Research eLibrary) means that many postgraduates will not have to use ILLs. However, if you reach your ILL limit during the year you should discuss getting it extended with your supervisor.
The department recognises that attendance at conferences, workshops and graduate schools is a fundamental part of your education in Computer Science. Since departmental funds are limited, prospective postgraduate students are required to discuss funding for yearly research expenses such as travel in advance with their potential supervisor; often this will be included as part of your funding.
The university (through the Graduate Studies Office) also provides some funding for conference travel, and you are encouraged to try this route before approaching the department for funding.
In the event of no other funding for travel being available, the department may be able to support some conference travel. The amount sought should be commensurate with the level of publication involved and the importance of the publication to your research. Postgraduate students who require funding should ask their supervisor to discuss it with the Head of Department; supporting documentation, such as the reviewer’s comments and the conference acceptance rate should also be supplied. It should be noted that departmental support is completely at the discretion of the department and as such supervisors should approach the Head of Department in advance of submitting to the conference to seek preliminary approval.
Students should be aware of the formatting guidelines for theses and the submission procedure; details are available from the websites of the Graduate Studies Office and the Examinations Office. Students should note that MSc and PhD examination boards need to be approved by Faculty in advance of thesis submission, and should consult with their supervisor as regards the appropriate notification schedule.
All artefacts of the research performed during the PhD should be made available to supervisor, co-authors, DRSPC members, and the examiners upon their request. These artefacts include software, data, and any other materials that are necessary to understand and evaluate the work reported in publications, reports, and the final thesis.
The department recommends that students use a version control system (e.g. git) to manage their research code and data, and that they make their repositories available to the examiners. As per Open Science/FAIR principles, students are encouraged to make their research data and code available to the wider research community and should follow guidance from their supervisor before doing so.
Early-stage researchers, including research students and research fellows, work as a team with their respective PI and/or supervisors. All research outputs (e.g. publications, software, datasets) need prior approval by supervisor/PI (team leader) before submission for publication.
Publications in suitable conferences and journals provide evidence that your work has met international standards, is one of the principal benchmarks for the progress of a research student, and are often taken into account by external examiners in the assessment of MSc and PhD theses. You should note that not all conferences and journals have the same standards, and you need to seek your supervisor’s advice in selecting a suitable form of publication for your work.
Students registered with the department should state their affiliation as being either of the following:
Short Format. Department of Computer Science, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co Kildare, Ireland.
Long format. Department of Computer Science, Maynooth University-National University of Ireland Maynooth, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland.
Your supervisor can recommend any additional authoring and funding credits. Section 6 and 7 of the Maynooth University Ethical Review and Research Integrity Policies deals with authorship of papers.
When noting the corresponding author on a paper, students should use their Maynooth University email address. It is also advisable to include your supervisor’s email address in the contact section to ensure there is a point of contact for the paper within the department after your studies have completed.
You should be aware that the university asserts certain intellectual property (IP) rights in relation to outputs from your research carried out within the University or that utilises University resources. Your funding sources may also have additional requirements. In some cases these requirements can include procedures that restrict or require authorisation for publication of research results.
In all cases, you should inform yourself of the relevant constraints and policies in advance of undertaking research.
MaynoothWorks – The Maynooth University Commercialisation Office is responsible for protecting and exploiting Maynooth University-generated intellectual property. The Maynooth University intellectual property and commercialisation policies are available from the Commercialisation Office web page.
You are strongly encouraged to discuss any problems relating to your research with your supervisor as soon as possible - this should always be the first recourse in event of difficulty. If you cannot achieve a resolution through this route then you should discuss the issue with the postgraduate coordinator or with the Head of Department, indicating clearly if you do not wish the discussion to be relayed to your supervisor.
For advice on general issues that may arise from your relationship with the University, you can contact the Academic Advisory Office. This office also runs regular study skills seminars, covering topics such as time management and stress management that may be of interest.
You are encouraged to note any difficulties, particularly with department policy or conditions, in your annual report.
Postgraduate reps: Each year the research postgraduates will elect one representative to act as a focal point for discussions among postgraduates, and as a point of contact with the postgraduate coordinator. They also attend department staff-student meetings where they can raise general issues on behalf of the postgraduates community.
Change of supervisor: On rare occasions it may prove in the best interests of all involved for a student to change to a different supervisor. However, you should note that an alternative supervisor will most likely not have the same skills as the original supervisor and, in most cases to date, a change in supervisor has resulted in the PhD project being re-started from scratch. Thus you are advised to only consider this course of action if all other possible strategies for resolution have failed.
In situations where the supervisor leaves the department, a replacement supervisor will be appointed by the Head of Department. This will be done in consultation with the original supervisor, who may continue to be involved in the project as circumstances permit.
Students are advised to consult the safety statement for the department, available from the department’s internal web-site.