Regulations for The Doctor of Philosophy - PhD

Qualification Regulations

Part I

Part II

Admission

1. Admission to the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy requires that the candidate will:

(a) meet the University admission requirements as specified; and

(b) have been awarded or qualified for a Master’s degree or Bachelor Honours degree with First or Second Class Honours Division One, or an equivalent qualification; and

(c) have sufficient independent research experience to satisfy the Doctoral Research Committee that they have the capacity to successfully undertake the programme.

Qualification requirements

2. Candidates for the Doctor of Philosophy shall follow a parts based programme of study which shall consist of a thesis totalling 360 credits, comprising:

(a) Part One: Provisional Registration;

(b) Part Two: Full Registration;

and including:

(c) a thesis;

(d) participation in required activities including presentation of a research report at a confirmation event and defending a thesis in an oral examination.

Specialisations

3. The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy is awarded without specialisation.

Thesis Requirements

4. The thesis must demonstrate the candidate’s ability to carry out independent research, which must make a significant contribution to knowledge and understanding of a field of study. The thesis shall be a cohesive and integrated report of the candidate’s supervised work and may consist of several studies or cases, and will include the candidate’s published or unpublished material or a combination of both.

5. Theses with publications must have an appropriate introduction, including research objectives, and a comprehensive conclusion which clearly identifies the original contribution to knowledge of the subject with which it deals. The thesis must work as an integrated whole, and linking sections may also be used to this end.

6. Candidates submitting a thesis in the creative and performing arts shall prepare a presentation which consists of creative component and exegesis. The creative works and/or performance should take a form appropriate to the discipline.

7. There shall be one main supervisor, who shall be a member of the academic staff of the University, and at least one co-supervisor who shall also be a member of the academic staff of the University; all supervisors, including any additional co-supervisors, must be approved by the Doctoral Research Committee.

8. The thesis must comply with the following requirements:

(a) the work on which the thesis is based has not been accepted either in whole or in part for any other degree or diploma; and

(b) must clearly define the nature and extent of any assistance the candidate has received in pursuing the research on which the thesis is based;

(c) reference to work other than that of the candidate must be appropriately acknowledged;

(d) all relevant policies underpinning research practice have been complied with;

(e) the thesis must not exceed 100,000 words (excluding appendices and bibliography);

(f) the thesis must be submitted for examination in the manner specified by the Doctoral Research Committee in accordance with the published guidelines;

(g) for candidates submitting a thesis in creative and performing arts, the thesis must include a permanent record of the performance/ exhibition.

9. The thesis will be independently examined by an Examination Panel experienced in the subject area, appointed by the Doctoral Research Committee in accordance with published guidelines, and will include an oral examination of the candidate on the thesis and the subject area. Any aspect of the thesis for which public performance is an integral part will be examined in that context.

10. The oral examination will not proceed if the examiners agree that the thesis is of an inadequate standard.

11. The Thesis Examination Panel shall make a recommendation to the Doctoral Research Committee on the whole examination and will advise the result of the examination by using one of the following categories:

(a) Pass without emendation.

(b) Minor emendations required.

(c) Major emendations required.

(d) Further research and re-examination required.

(e) Fail. The candidate shall not be awarded the degree and shall not be permitted to apply for re-examination.

12. If minor emendations are required the candidate will have a maximum of three months full time, or five months part time, to complete the emendations. The candidate must complete the emendations to the satisfaction of the examination panel within the specified time period or the candidate will be failed.

13. If major emendations are required the candidate will have a maximum of six months full time, or nine months part time, to complete the emendations. The candidate must complete the emendations to the satisfaction of the examination panel within the specified time period or the candidate will be failed.

14. If further research and re-examination is required, the candidate will have a maximum of one year full-time and eighteen months part time to conduct the required additional research and emendations. The candidate must re-enrol and pay tuition fees on a pro-rata basis. A candidate may only revise and resubmit a thesis for re-examination once. If the candidate does not complete the emendations to the satisfaction of all the examiners within the specified time period, the candidate will be failed.

15. No appeals are allowed except on completion of the examination process on the grounds of procedural irregularities in the examination process. For an appeal to be considered, applications must be received by the Doctoral Research Committee within three months of formal notification of the examination result by the Graduate Research School.

Student progression

16. Candidates are required to make successful progress in the thesis as determined by six-monthly progress reports in accordance with the guidelines published by the Doctoral Research Committee and assessed by the Supervisors, Head of Academic Unit, and the Doctoral Research Committee.

17. For progression from Provisional Registration to Full Registration candidates must have participated in a confirmation event, during which they have presented their research report to, and had it accepted by, a confirmation committee; the confirmation event must be held within 12 months from commencement of provisional registration if candidacy is full time and within 18 months if part time. unless the Doctoral Research Committee has approved a period in which the candidate’s provisional registration is deferred..

Completion requirements

18. A candidate’s period of registration (including provisional registration) shall normally be a minimum period of three years (36 months) and a maximum of four years (48 months) if full time, and a minimum period of 55 months and a maximum period of six years (72 months) if part-time, unless a specified time of suspension or extension has been approved by the Doctoral Research Committee.

19. The maximum period of registration shall include:

(a) submission of a thesis in the manner required under the published Doctoral Research Committee guidelines;

(b) application to be examined, including submission of the thesis for examination;

(c) examination (including, completion of any emendations or re-examination);

(d) submission of one PDF copy of the final thesis as approved by the Examination Committee.

20. Candidates may be graduated when they meet the Admission, Qualification and Thesis requirements within the prescribed timeframes; candidates who do not meet the requirements for graduation may, subject to the approval of Academic Board, be awarded an exit qualification should they meet the relevant Qualification requirements.

Unsatisfactory academic progress

21. In the following circumstances a candidate enrolled in the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy will either be permitted to withdraw without prejudicing future doctoral applications, or have their provisional or full registration terminated by the Doctoral Research Committee:

(a) failure to make adequate progress as required by the six-monthly progress reports in accordance with the guidelines published by the Doctoral Research Committee as assessed by the Supervisors, Head of Academic Unit, and the Doctoral Research Committee;

(b) failure to successfully complete the confirmation event within the stated timeframes.

Schedule for the Doctor of Philosophy