New Dean sets out vision for Graduate School

Posted on 7 January 2015

As part of its new Research Strategy announced today, the University of York has created a Graduate Research School to ensure consistency of opportunity, quality of training and ultimate success for its postgraduate research students.

Working with the Graduate Students’ Association, academic departments, research centres and doctoral training programmes, the Graduate School will help to deliver appropriate training, development and support to research students. The Graduate Research School Board will have oversight of all matters relating to research students and lead the strategic development of this vitally important section of the University community.

The University has named Professor Tom Stoneham as Dean of the Graduate Research School. He said the excellent and innovative research of York students was at the heart of the Graduate School.

“Undertaking a research degree in any discipline requires intelligence, diligence and resilience; it also requires attention to detail while understanding the project’s broader intellectual context,” he added.

“I want to ensure that the work of our graduate students is fully appreciated as a crucial part of the University’s research effort. Not only the results of this research, but also the skills, knowledge and imagination which went into achieving those results, need to be properly understood by society in general and potential employers in particular.”

Among other initiatives, Professor Stoneham plans to ask external examiners to nominate outstanding theses for a Dean’s List as well as to publish abstracts of all successfully defended theses in order to showcase the range and quality of research undertaken by our postgraduate students.

Professor Stoneham joined the University in 2000 from Merton College, Oxford, and holds degrees from both Oxford and London Universities. He is a former Head of the Department of Philosophy at York and also served as a member of Senate, Council and University Planning Committee.