PhD Programmes - MASTER'S PROGRAMMES

MASTER'S PROGRAMMES
There are two levels of Masters programmes in the University: MSc and MPhil.
Designation

• Master of Philosophy (MPhil) based on research with limited taught courses.
• Master of Science (MSc) based on a combination of taught courses and research.

Entry Requirements

• A candidate shall hold a First Class or Second Class (Upper Division) honours degree, or its equivalent, in an appropriate field of study, from a recognized University.
• A candidate who does not satisfy the requirement stated in (a) but is otherwise adjudged suitable by the Departmental Board, shall, where practicable, be interviewed and in addition may be required to take an entrance examination as determined by the Departmental Board concerned. A candidate who has satisfactorily completed a Postgraduate Diploma course may be considered for admission on the recommendation of the Departmental Board concerned.
• A candidate registered for the MPhil degree may be required to pass all Faculty core courses and may be required to audit appropriate courses on the recommendation of the Departmental Board concerned.

Duration of Programme
A full-time programme leading to a Master's degree shall be not less than one academic year except that:

• In special circumstances, the Department may recommend that a candidate be allowed to spend not more than six months of his programme in advanced study and research at another institution provided that his 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 and/or presentations, he/she may register and submit a thesis at any time.
• In special circumstances, the Board, on the recommendation of the Departmental Board concerned, may accept as a part-time candidate for the degree 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 the duration of his/her programme which in its opinion, having regard to the proportion of his/her time which he/she is a able to devote to the programme prescribed by the appropriate Department, is equivalent to twelve months full-time study.
• A full time candidate shall complete his/her programme not later than twenty-four months from the date of registration. A part-time candidate shall complete his/her programme not later than thirty-six months from the date of his/her registration.

Course Work

• Course work is required of all Postgraduate programmes at the Master’s level. A Master’s student is required to make a minimum of 24 credits.
• All examination results for the coursework shall be considered by the Departmental Board, which in turn, shall make 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 normally be written in English.
• The thesis shall consist of the candidate's own account of his research and be so 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 his/her statement is certified by the Supervisor. In 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 may be accepted as a thesis provided his/ her contribution is at least 60%. 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, but a candidate shall not be precluded, at the discretion of his 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.
• The candidate may submit subsidiary matter in support of his/her candidature any printed contributions to the advancement of his/her subject which he/she may have published independently or conjointly or any other supporting material. In the event of a candidate submitting subsidiary matter of a conjoint nature, he/she shall be required to state fully his/her share of such conjoint work.
• A provisional thesis topic shall be submitted through the Departmental Board within the first six months and the final topic before the last six months of the course. Within the last six months of the course any significant change in the thesis topic shall be submitted to the Board for approval.
• The thesis shall be submitted, accompanied by the prescribed form obtainable from the School of Postgraduate Studies, not later than the maximum duration for the programme. These maximum times may be extended by the Board, on recommendation of the Supervisor through the Departmental Board, by periods of not more that six months to a maximum of twelve months.
• Three typed or printed comb-bound copies of the thesis shall be submitted through the Head of Department to the Board. The paper size shall be A4 except for drawings and maps on which no restrictions are 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 and Right margins shall be 2.54 cm. The thesis shall be typed in either double or one and half line spacing and a maximum of 100 pages excluding appendices.
  • A thesis, which consists of a collection of excerpts or pamphlets, shall be bound in a similar cover. 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. Dark blue cover.

• One copy each of the thesis that has been accepted for the award of a Master’s degree shall be deposited at the University Library, the Department and the School of Postgraduate Studies.

Seminar
Every MSc/MPhil student is required to present at least one seminar having direct relationship to his/her thesis. This must be done before submission of the final thesis.

Publications
All MSc/MPhil students are encouraged to publish at least one paper having relationship to their theses.

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 in his/her thesis or fails to achieve a CWA of at least 55% after two semesters will be put on probation.
• A student who fails to make progress in his/her thesis for one academic year will be withdrawn from the programme.
• Under no circumstances should a Master’s programme extend beyond four years.

Supervision

• A Senior Member of the rank of Senior Lecturer and above is eligible to supervise an MSc/MPhil candidate, though more than one person is preferred.
• 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 concerned.
• 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 MSc and MPhil shall include:

1. Written examination (where appropriate)
2. Assessment of thesis
3. Oral examination

• Not less than three Examiners, of whom at least, one shall be an External Examiner appointed by the Board, on the recommendation of the Departmental Board, shall examine the thesis. A panel of not less than three Examiners, including at least one External Examiner, shall conduct the oral examination.
• 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
• One External Examiner and at least two Internal Examiners- Members
• The Examiners may recommend to the Board that the candidate whose thesis is not up to the required standard be permitted to re-submit his thesis in a revised form within a specified period of up to six months and the fee for re-entry be half the normal entry fee. This re-submission should be done only once. A candidate shall be awarded the degree after all outstanding fees have been paid.
• When recommending the appointment of an External Examiner, the Departmental Board shall submit an outline curriculum vitae of the proposed examiner based on a format obtainable from the Board.
• The panel shall submit its recommendations to the Departmental Board in the form of a joint report signed by both Internal and External Examiners with respect to the oral examination and separate reports with respect to the thesis, on the basis of prescribed criteria approved by the Board. These reports together with appropriate copies of approved thesis with the necessary corrections shall be submitted to the School of Postgraduate Studies through the Departmental Board.
• In the case of the MSc degree, the components of the examination shall be coursework, thesis and oral examination. Candidates shall be required to pass in each component and the candidate’s performance shall determine his/her success or failure. Fifty percent shall be pass for all courses, with fifty-five percent being the CWA for success or failure. 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.
• In the case of MPhil degree a candidate who does not pass the oral examination shall not be recommended for the award of a degree irrespective of the standard of his/her thesis. A candidate may re-submit himself for oral examination only once more within a period of twelve months. The student shall pass the Departmental core courses.
• 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 Postgraduate Diploma if the candidate so deserves.

Procedure for the Award of a Degree

• All examination results for the coursework shall be considered by the Departmental Board, which in turn, shall make their recommendations to the Board.
• After the oral examinations, extracts from the Examiners reports, shall be submitted to the Department concerned to enable the students make the necessary corrections in the thesis.
• The Departmental Board would, in turn, submit its recommendations together with three certified copies of the corrected thesis to the School of Postgraduate Studies for consideration. The submission to the Board shall include the pertinent extract from the Board's minutes.
• The recommendations of the Board shall be submitted to the Academic Board for approval.
• Each successful candidate shall thereafter be presented with a certificate, under the seal of the University at a congregation of the University assembled for that purpose, or failing that, the certificate shall be sent to him/her by registered post.