Duration

• Full-time registration:
  • Minimum period: Three years (6 semesters)
  • Maximum period: Six years (12 Semesters)
• Part-time registration:
  • Minimum period: Five Years (10 semesters)
  • Maximum period: Eight Year (16 semesters)

Programme Structure

Semester One

• Course Work (completion of course work)
• Allotment of a supervisor (and co-supervisor, if applicable)
• Finalization of the research topic and submission of a research proposal, approved by the supervisor(s).

Semester Two to Penultimate Semester

• At the beginning of semester two, the candidate’s research topic and research proposal must be approved by the supervisor(s) and submitted to the Higher Degrees Committee for review and approval.
• The research proposal must also be approved by the Research and Ethics Committee, with ethical clearance granted, where applicable.
• After the research proposal has been approved and ethical clearance granted, the candidate would be allowed to work on the thesis under the guidance of the supervisor(s).
• The candidate is required to publish two research papers/articles relevant to their doctoral research project in peer-reviewed, academic journals prior to submitting the final draft of the thesis. The research papers/articles must be accepted for publication prior to submission of the final thesis draft. Evidence of acceptance for publication of the research papers/articles must accompany the final thesis draft submission.

Final Semester

• The candidate must submit the final thesis draft for external examination.
• The thesis submission must be approved by the supervisor(s).
• The external examiners will provide reports to the Higher Degrees Committee.

Public Defense and Thesis Revision

• Based on satisfactory reports of external examiners, the candidate will be permitted to complete the public defense of his/her thesis.
• A successful thesis should demonstrate the candidate’s mastery of the scholarly field of research and should make an original contribution to knowledge in its particular field.
• The Higher Degrees Committee may pass the thesis without changes, or may request minor changes.
• The thesis supervisor(s) will provide the final confirmation to the Higher Degrees Committee that the candidate has made the relevant changes, if and where applicable.

Final Thesis Approval

The Higher Degrees Committee will approve the final thesis, and grant permission for the Ph.D. to be awarded, and for the thesis to be published in the university’s repository for published dissertations and theses.