The first year of a research student's time in the Institute is spent with the status of a ``Supervised Postgraduate Student'', at the end of which the student is interviewed by two members of staff, on the basis of which the Institute decides whether or not to allow the student to continue studying for a PhD.
This procedure is usually, but not always, just a formality, but it is useful to the student involved. The interview is based around a discussion of the student's first year essay, which should be about ten pages long and should follow the pattern of the talk to the research students, in comprising a description of the work done on the thesis project so far and an outline of that remaining, as well as a sufficient quantity of background material to set the project in the wider context of previous research performed in that field.
Many students find that writing the essay helps them to sort out in their own minds the way that their PhD studies will progress, while the background reading necessary for it provides a fuller comprehension of the scientific motivation for the project, as well as stimulating ideas as to how it could be developed and extended, while the interview gives a gentle foretaste of what a PhD viva is like.