PhD Programmes

PhD PROGRAMMES

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is awarded upon completion of the appropriate course work and research project in which a candidate has made an original and significant contribution to knowledge.

Entry Requirements

• A candidate shall hold a Master’s degree or its equivalent from a recognised institution and shall submit evidence of adequate training and ability to undertake the proposed programme.
• A candidate who does not hold a Master’s degree shall first register for a Master’s degree. If he proves himself/herself to be of sufficient calibre by the end of the first year of the programme, he/she may be permitted by the Board on the recommendation of the Department to register for the PhD degree. This registration shall be deemed retrospective from the date of the original registration of the Master’s degree.
• A candidate who does not satisfy the requirements stated above but is otherwise adjudged suitable may be admitted. For the purpose of assessing his suitability, such a candidate may either be interviewed or be required to take an entrance examination, or both, as directed by the Board on the recommendation of the appropriate Faculty Postgraduate Committee and Departmental Board.
• A candidate may be required, on the recommendation of the Supervisor concerned, to audit appropriate number of courses.

In all cases an interview may be required at the discretion of the Department.

Duration of Programme

Subsequent to registration, the candidate shall pursue a full-time programme of study and research for at least two academic years, except that:

• A candidate fully engaged in advanced study and research for his/her degree, who before registration, was engaged in research to the satisfaction of the Department concerned, may be exempted from not more than one academic year.
• In special circumstances, the Department may recommend, that a candidate be allowed to spend not more than one academic year of his/her programme in advanced study and research at another institution, provided that this work can be supervised in a manner satisfactory to the Department and the Board.
• A member of the full-time academic staff of the University may be accepted as a part-time candidate. Where the Board is satisfied that a Senior Member has been engaged in research evidenced by publications, he/she may submit a thesis at any time without previous registration.
• In special circumstances, the Board on the recommendation of the Departmental Board concerned may accept as a part-time candidate a person who is not a member of the full-time staff of the University but is engaged in an occupation which, in its opinion, affords the candidate the opportunity to pursue his/her programme. In such a case the Board, on the recommendation of the Departmental Board, shall prescribe a minimum period for his/her programme, which in its opinion, having regard to the time he/she is able to devote to the programme prescribed by the appropriate Department, is equivalent to two academic years of full-time study.

A full-time candidate shall complete his/her programme not later than thirty-six months from the date of registration. A part-time candidate shall complete his/her programme not later than forty-eight months from the date of registration.

Course Work

• Course work may be required at the PhD level. A PhD student is required to make a total of 36 credits, a part of which may be credits earned at the Master’s level. A minimum of 24 months shall be spent on the research project.
• All examination results for the course work shall be considered by the Departmental Board, which in turn, shall make its recommendations to the Board not later than three months after the examination.
• The Dean of Postgraduate Studies shall call a meeting of the Board, at least once a semester, for the exclusive purpose of approving examination results of coursework, subject to the approval of the Academic Board.

Thesis
The thesis shall comply with the following conditions:

• The greater portion of the work submitted must have been done subsequent to the registration of the student as a candidate for the degree.
• The thesis shall be written in English.
• The thesis shall consist of the candidate's own account of his/her research, and be certified. It may describe work done in conjunction with the candidate's Supervisor, provided the candidate states clearly his/her share in the investigation, and that the Supervisor certifies this statement.
• Under no circumstances shall a paper written or published in the joint names of two or more persons be accepted as a thesis. Work done conjointly with persons other than the candidate's Supervisor shall be accepted as a thesis in special cases only. In such cases the approval of the Departmental Board and the Board shall be given.
• A candidate shall not be permitted to submit a thesis which has been submitted elsewhere. Nonetheless, a candidate shall not be precluded, at the discretion of his/her Supervisor, from incorporating work which he/she has already submitted for a degree in this University or elsewhere, provided that he/she indicates in his/her thesis any work which has been so incorporated.
• Not later than six months before the date when he/she proposes to enter for the examination a candidate shall submit the title of his/her thesis to the appropriate Departmental Board for approval and submission to the Board. After the final title of the thesis has been approved it may not be changed except with the express permission of the Board on the recommendation of the Departmental Board.
• The thesis shall be submitted, accompanied by the prescribed form (obtainable from the School of Postgraduate Studies), not later than thirty-six months after the beginning of the programme. In the case of part-time students, this period shall be forty-eight months. These maximum times may be extended by the Board, on the recommendation of the Supervisor through the Departmental Board, by periods of not more than six months, to a maximum of forty-eight months for full-time students and sixty-months for part-time students.
• FIVE typed or printed comb-bound copies of the thesis shall be submitted to the Board through the Head of Department. The paper size shall be A4 except for drawings and maps, on which no restriction shall be placed. Only one side of the paper shall be used with a margin of 3.05 cm on the left-hand side of the page. Top/Bottom/Right margins shall be 2.54 cm. The thesis shall be typed in either one and half or double line spacing with a maximum of 200 pages excluding appendices.
  After the thesis has been approved it must be bound in a standard form as follows:
  art vellum or cloth; overcast; edges uncut; lettered boldly up spine in gold (0.625 cm - 1.255 cm) degree, date, name. Black cover.
• One copy each of the thesis that has been accepted for the award of a PhD degree shall be deposited at the University Library, the Department and the School of Postgraduate Studies.

Seminar
All PhD students are required to present at least two seminars having direct relationship to their thesis.

Publications
All PhD students are encouraged to publish at least a technical paper arising out of their work before graduation.

Progress Report

• Students’ progress on thesis should be monitored through the use of progress report forms. The forms shall be completed by each Supervisor and each Supervisor shall submit a copy to the Dean of Postgraduate Studies and the Head of Department.
• After the first year, students are required to be on campus to work on their thesis during the 10-day periods allotted to the thesis module.
• A student who is unable to be present on campus during the 10-day period should write to the Department concerned with justification and show evidence of progress in his/her thesis.
• A student who fails to turn up for any of the 10–day periods or show evidence of progress in his/her thesis will be deemed not to have made academic progress on his/her programme for the semester.
• A student who fails to make progress for a semester will be put on probation.
• A student who fails to make progress on his/her programme for one academic year will be withdrawn from the programme.
• Under no circumstances should a PhD programme extend beyond five years.

Supervision Committee

• For the supervision of a PhD thesis, a team of a minimum of two (2) Supervisors is recommended to serve as Supervision Committee. The principal Supervisor should be a Senior Lecturer (with a PhD) or above. A Lecturer with a PhD may serve on the committee.
• Supervisors shall submit reports on the work of each student at the end of each semester on prescribed forms to the Dean of Postgraduate Studies through the Head of the Department.
• On the basis of work done in the course of the year, the Departmental Board may recommend for approval by the Board that a candidate continue or terminate his studies.

Assessment
The examination for the award of a PhD degree shall comprise:
Written examination (where appropriate)
Assessment of thesis, and Oral examination

• Two External Examiner s and at least three Internal Examiners shall be appointed to examine the thesis. A panel of not less than five Examiners including the two External Examiner s shall conduct the oral examination. Only Senior Lecturers (with PhD) and above may be appointed as Internal Examiners except where a Lecturer with PhD is a member of the Supervision Committee. The oral examination shall be public.
• The panel for the oral examination shall be made up of the following:
• Dean of Postgraduate Studies or his/her representative - Chairman
• The Head of Department or his/her representative - Member
• Two External Examiners and at least three Internal Examiners - Members
• In recommending the appointment of an External Examiner for the purpose stated above, the Departmental Board shall submit to the Board an outline curriculum vitae of the proposed examiner based on a format obtainable from the School of Postgraduate Studies. The External Examiner should show significant contribution in the area concerned.
• The Examiners may recommend to the School of Postgraduate Studies that the candidate whose thesis is not up to the required standard be permitted to re-submit his/her thesis in a revised form within a specified period up to a maximum of twelve (12) months, or recommended for the award of MPhil degree if the candidate so deserves.
• A candidate who does not satisfy the Examiners at the oral examination shall not be recommended for the award of a degree, the standard of the thesis notwithstanding.
• Where a candidate fails the oral examination, he/she shall present himself/herself for re-examination within six months of the initial oral examination. Where a candidate fails a third time, he/she is deemed to have failed the entire examination.
• The panel shall submit its recommendations to the Head of Department concerned in the form of a joint report signed by both Internal and External Examiner s with respect to the oral examination, and separate reports with regard to the thesis on the basis of prescribed criteria. These reports together with appropriate copies of the approved thesis (with the necessary corrections) shall be submitted to the School of Postgraduate Studies through the Departmental Board.
• A maximum period of 90 days shall be allowed for any corrections to the thesis.
• The fee for re-entry shall be half the normal entry fee.

Procedure for Award of a Degree

• After an oral examination, extracts from the Examiners’ report shall be submitted to the Department concerned to enable the student make the necessary corrections in the thesis.
• The recommendation of the Board shall be submitted to the Academic Board for approval.
• Each successful candidate shall thereafter be awarded a certificate under the seal of the University at a congregation of the University for that purpose, or failing that, the certificate shall be sent to him/her by registered post.