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RAC Presentation Template

A slide-by-slide outline for your Research Advisory Committee (RAC) progress presentation — from action taken on last meeting's remarks to a dated plan for the next six months.

How to use this template

A RAC presentation is a progress review, not a seminar. The committee wants to see three things quickly: that you acted on what it asked last time, that the work has moved forward, and that your plan for the next six months is realistic. Build every slide around one of those three questions and cut anything that answers none of them.

Structure the talk as promised versus delivered. Open with where you are on the whole thesis, then take the previous meeting's remarks one by one with the action you took, then show the work and results since the last review, and close with problems you need the committee to decide on and a dated plan. Ten to twelve slides is usually enough for a 10–20 minute slot, and a rehearsed ten-minute version protects you when the committee runs late.

Bring your problems to the committee yourself. A slide that names what is blocking you — access refused, a scale that will not validate, output you cannot interpret — turns the meeting into problem-solving. Hiding the same problem usually turns the next review into an inquest.

Your university's RAC ordinance and progress-report proforma take precedence over any template, including this one. Check the required format, the number of copies and any documents to circulate in advance, and read our RAC guide for what happens in the meeting and afterwards.

Companion guide: RAC in PhD: meeting process, members and how to prepare

RAC Presentation Template

Progress review · DOCX template

Slide 1 — Title

Scholar name and registration number: ______________________

Supervisor (and co-supervisor): ______________________

Date of registration: ____ · Review number / date of this RAC: ____

Working title of the thesis: ______________________

Slide 2 — Where I am on the thesis

Thesis roadmap with each stage marked completed / in progress / pending:

Coursework · Proposal approved · Literature review · Instrument & pilot · Data collection · Analysis · Chapters · Synopsis · Submission

Slide 3 — Last RAC remarks and action taken

Remark 1: ______________________ → Action taken: ______________________

Remark 2: ______________________ → Action taken: ______________________

Remark 3: ______________________ → Action taken: ______________________

Slide 4 — Plan agreed last time vs work completed

Planned: ______________________ | Done: ______________________

Planned: ______________________ | Done: ______________________

Anything not done, and why: ______________________

Slide 5 — Objectives and research questions (recap)

Objective 1 / RQ1: ______________________

Objective 2 / RQ2: ______________________

Objective 3 / RQ3: ______________________

Any change since the last review, with justification: ______________________

Slide 6 — Literature added since the last review

Key new studies and what they change (or confirm) about the research gap:

______________________

Slide 7 — Methodology and data progress

Design, population and sampling: ______________________

Instrument / protocol status (pilot, reliability, validity): ______________________

Data collected so far: ____ of ____ target responses / cases

Ethics approval status (if applicable): ______________________

Slide 8 — Results so far

Two or three key tables or figures, each with a one-sentence interpretation:

1. ______________________

2. ______________________

Slide 9 — Problems and decisions needed from the committee

Problem / blocker: ______________________

What I propose: ______________________

Decision needed from the RAC: ______________________

Slide 10 — Publications and compliance

Papers published / under review / in preparation: ______________________

Coursework result (if registration not yet confirmed): ____

Conferences, workshops, plagiarism screening where required: ______________________

Slide 11 — Plan for the next six months

Month 1–2: ______________________

Month 3–4: ______________________

Month 5–6: ______________________

Deliverables for the next RAC: ______________________

Slide 12 — Thank you / questions

Contact details and a list of documents submitted to the committee.

Checklist — carry to the meeting

☐ Progress report proforma with your section filled in

☐ Minutes of the previous RAC and an action-taken note

☐ Presentation (plus printed handouts if your committee uses them)

☐ Evidence of work: chapter drafts, instrument, analysis output

☐ Publication and coursework proof

☐ Dated six-month plan

Template provided by phdguide — academic support, mentoring, analysis, editing and structuring; not authorship. Your work stays compliant with university policies.

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We provide academic support, mentoring, analysis, editing and structuring — not authorship. Your work stays compliant with university policies.