In my last post I talked about how the compulsory coursework in my EdD ended up being way more useful than I expected. This post is about the payoff: using it to get through confirmation of candidature.
Quick explainer for the non-academics: confirmation of candidature is the first big milestone in an Australian research degree. You submit a proposal (background, literature, methodology, timeline, ethics considerations), then present it to a panel of internal reviewers who decide whether your project is feasible and you can continue. It’s basically “prove this is a real doctorate research study.”
This is where my coursework really earned its keep. I didn’t start my confirmation document from a blank page. I had 2 large assessment pieces that had already been drafted, marked, and commented on. My job was to stitch them together, update the reading, and address the feedback I’d already been given. That’s a very different headspace to staring at an empty Word doc at 11pm. I also had connections with other students and academics who supported these units, and could help answer extra questions.
The marker feedback was gold here. Comments like “reference the methodology earlier” and “ensure your ontology aligns with your approach” were exactly the kind of questions a confirmation of candidature panel asks. I’d already had a practice run at answering them.
Was it still nerve-wracking? Absolutely. I ended up with a third reviewer and some additional challenging questions – not a surprise for a qualitative research project. But I walked in to the process feeling like my project had been tested, poked and prodded before that day, and that made a huge difference.
If you’re heading toward confirmation: go back through every bit of feedback you’ve received so far. Make a list. Tick them off. Your panel will very likely ask the same things.
