A Handbook of PhD Studies
2016-7
Table of Contents
1
1. Aims and objectives…………………………………………………...
2. Admission criteria……………………………………………………...
3. Medium of instruction………………………………………………….
4. Duration of the programme…………………………………………..
5. Duration of semester………………………………………………….
6. Scheme of study………………………………………………………
7. Minimum requirement for the degree………………………………..
8. Routing of academic matters…………………………………………
9. Deficiency courses…………………………………………………….
10. Time for admission…………………………………………………..
11. University employees………………………………………………..
12. Authority of admission………………………………………………
13. Postponement/Freeze of study/semester…………………………
14. Re-admission…………………………..…………………………….
15. Research supervisory committee………………………………….
16. Course of study………………………………………………………
17. Examinations………………………………………………………...
18. Grade point average…………..…………………………………….
19. Thesis/research work………………………………………………
20. General…………………………………………………………….
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
6
6
7
7
8
9
11
11
13
1
1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The PhD programme at the University of Kurdistan Hewlêr is a full-time course of study which is organised to achieve the following objectives:
1.1 To enable students to engage in advanced study and research in a variety of disciplines.
1.2 To foster original and scholarly research that serves humanity.
1.3To provide doctoral students with the knowledge and skills necessary for them to engage in independent scholarly research, generate new knowledge and perform diverse tasks in Kurdistan and other countries requiring skills to employ scholarly methods.
2. ADMISSION CRITERIA
2.1Academic Requirements: A candidate seeking admission to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at UKHmust have M.Phil./MA/MScor any other equivalent educational certification for the degree on the basis of which admission is requested, with a minimum score of 70% or a CGPA 2.7from any recognised institution, in a field of study relating to the respective subject for which s/he is seeking admission.
2.2A score of at least 6 in an IELTS examination, 54 in a Pearson Test of English (Academic), or 79 in an ibt TOEFL examination.
2.3Age/Gender: There shall be no gender or age discrimination for admission to the PhD programme.
2.4Candidates seeking admission to a PhD programme shall have to appear for an interview.
2.5The respective schools reserve the right to adjust the admission criteria at their discretion.
3. MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION
3.1The medium of instruction and examination shall be English.
4. DURATION OF THE PROGRAMME
4.1 The duration for the degree of PhD programme shall not be less than eight and not more thanten semesters.
4.2Employees of the government/other agencies nominated for admission at this university shall have to take study leave to pursue studies as a full-time student; failing this, her/his admission shall be cancelled. After gaining admission to the university, the candidate must obtain the requested study leave within one semester of her/his admission, otherwise the admission shall be cancelled.
4.3Refer to item 17.2.2 of this document for the attendance requirements.
5. DURATION OF THE SEMESTER
5.1 There shall be 2 semesters (fall and spring) of 16 weeks each per academic year. The dates of the semesters shall be regulated by the Registrar's Office (RO).
6. SCHEME OF STUDY
The subjects of study (coursework) for the degree of PhD programme/s may be amended from time to time. A student shall present a thesis/research work after successful completion of her/his approved coursework in order to qualify for the award of the degree.
7. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
7.1 A student admitted to a PhD degree programme at UKH shall take a minimum of 240 to 300credits. S/he will have to passcoursework consisting of from four to eight courses/modules worth from 60 to 120 credits, defend a PhD synopsis and a thesis (worth 180 credits) at the appropriate university level. Deficiency course/s shall not be counted toward the minimum credit hours requirement.
Note: The relevant department reserves the right to adjust the credits of coursework between 60 to 120 credits overall.
7.2 Public thesis defense is mandatory, in the presence of a board of senior researchers, consisting of members both from UKH and from an outside organisation/research centre/university. The defense is done in a public presentation in which teachers, students, and the general public can participate. The scholar presents her/his research work and answers the questions of the audience. The University will notify in advance the date, time and venue of the event via its website and newspapers etc.
7.3 The definition of credit hour is provided in the UKH Academic Manual.
8. ROUTING OF ACADEMIC MATTERS
8.1 All academic matters shall be routed through a proper channel i.e. through a coordinator proposed by the Chair of the Department and approved by the Dean of the School concerned.
9. DEFICIENCY COURSES
9.1 If the course/sstudied by a candidate in her/his previous degree (on the basis of which admission is requested) do/does not provide adequate background for the PhD degree programme of study, s/he may be required to rectify the deficiency by passing an additional course/s as determined by the Board of Postgraduate Studies (BPGS).
10. TIME FOR ADMISSION
10.1 Admissions shall be conducted in the fall semester and only once in an academic year. If a candidate fails to complete enrolment by the published cut-off date, her/his admission shall be cancelled.
11. UKH EMPLOYEES
11.1The Academic Staff: Academic (regular) staff of UKH may be allowed to enrol for PhD studies after getting permission from their line manager and approval by the Vice Chancellor. Under this arrangement, s/he will be exempted from 50% of the university fees.
11.2 Administrative Staff: Administrative (regular) staff of UKH, will be treated in the same way as academic staff for admission to PhD programme after getting permission from the relevant authority. However, the number of places for admission to various degree programmes for administrative staff might be limited by the Vice Chancellor.
11.3UKH employees who wish to pursue their PhD degree at UKH must apply for study leave without payafter being accepted for the programme.
12. AUTHORITY OF ADMISSION
12.1 Admission to PhD programme/s shall be determined by the Board of Postgraduate Studies (BPGS) on the basis of a merit list prepared and checked by the programmecoordinator.
12.2The BPGS may refuse admission of a candidate without assigning any reason.
13. POSTPONEMENT OF STUDY
13.1A student may postpone an enrolled semester before appearing in the final examination with the permission of the Vice Chancellor, obtained through the Chair of BPGS on the recommendation of the appropriate programme coordinator, on account of sickness duly certified by the University Medical Authority or due to circumstances beyond her/his control, subject to fulfilment of the condition that the student has passed the final examinations of the previous semester with the minimum prescribed marks (in each module) required for the particular PhD programme.
13.2The facility of postponement can be availed only once during the whole degree programme for up to a single year depending upon circumstances.
13.3A candidate shall not ordinarily be allowed to postpone studies during the first semester after admission.
13.4A student so permitted to postpone is required to resume her/his studies from the next semester or year on the recommendation of the departmental coordinator and on notification by the Chair of BPGS.
13.5During the postponement period, bonafide status of the student shall remain suspended. S/he will not be entitled to avail themselves of any of the privileges of a regular student.
14. RE-ADMISSION
14.1 The Board of Postgraduate Studies (BPGS) may refuse re-admission if the reasons presented are not convincing.
Note: The period of the postponed semester or year will not be counted towards full-time study requirements.
15. RESEARCH SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE
15.1The Supervisory Committee of a student shall be proposed by the programme coordinator during the first week of the second semester of the first year.
15.2The Supervisory Committee shall consist of one lecturer as supervisor from the major field of research and one co-supervisor from an associated field of study. However, if an outstanding specialist in a major or minor/elective field of study is available outside the university, s/he may be taken as a member of the Supervisory Committee in place of a lecturer or as an additional member.
15.3 The supervisor of the student will act as chair of the Supervisory Committee.
15.4The proposed Supervisory Committee shall be approved by the Board of Postgraduate Studies (BPGS) no later than the end of the semester that it is proposed.
15.5The Supervisory Committee may be revised according to the regulationsand the reasons for the change will be recorded.
15.6In case a student, duly recommended by the programme coordinator, is allowed by the Chair of the Board of Postgraduate Studies (BPGS) to conduct part or all of her/his research in another institution/laboratory, then the helping scientist/specialist may be taken as co-supervisor or special member on the Supervisory Committee of the student. UKH will be responsible to bear any financial liability in this context.
Note - A separate document describes the responsibilities of the Supervisory Committee.
16. COURSE OF STUDY
16.1Course Codes
All post-graduate courses/modules will be designated an appropriate course code by the RO in which suitable letters indicating the name of the respective department will be followed by numbers.
16.2 Transfer of Credits
TheBPGS may accept credits earned by a student at any other institution recognised by Ministry of Higher Education (KRG), to replace up to a maximum of 50 percent of the coursework credits requirement for the degree, on the recommendation of the Equivalence Committee (proposed by RO) provided that:
16.2.1The contents of the coursework for which credit is claimed, are identical or similar to the coursework included in her/his planned coursework, and the coursework for which credit is claimed has not been used for another degree.
16.2.2Coursework for which the final grade was less than B shall not be considered for transfer of credit.
16.3A course/module studied to qualify for a degree will not be considered as contributing to any other degree programme.
16.4Credit earned for the coursework shall lapse after 3 years for a full-time student towards the completion of the degree. The Board of Postgraduate Studies (BPGS) may revalidate the lapsed coursework for special reasons, which must be recorded.
Note: A satisfactory result for a deficiency course will not lapse and shall neither be called into question again nor need to be revalidated.
16.5 No course/module shall carry more than 20 credits (i.e. 4 weekly contact hours).
17. EXAMINATIONS
17.1 Examination Fee: For the examination fees, refer to the UKH Student Handbook.
17.2Tests and Examinations
17.2.1 There will be a final examination, and also normally a mid-term examination in each semester. In addition to these examinations, the lecturer shall give home assignments and quizzes etc. to the students. The form of these examinations will be left to the respective lecturer who will be solely responsible for the conduct of the examination as well as the evaluation in her/his course. The grade awarded in the course/module by the lecturer shall be final.
17.2.2 Students with less than 80% attendance in theory and practical sessions, separately in each course, shall be capped at the minimum pass mark.
17.2.3The final examination for a semester shall be held on a date and at a time and place to be notified by the RO in advance.
17.2.4To pass a deficiency course, a student is required to obtain at least "C" grade.
17.2.5The mid-term examination (if required) shall be held during the 8th week of the semester. This examination shall be conducted by the lecturer concerned, who shall determine the form of the examination.
17.2.6The following weightage is normally given to the examinations and assignments:
1 / Mid-term examination / 30%2 / Assignments, seminars, quizzes etc. / 20%
3 / Final examination / 50%
Total / 100%
Note - The total marks earned for a course/module will be rounded to the nearest whole number.
17.2.7However, (See 16.5) this can be adjusted by the respective lecturer in an appropriate way, which ensures the quality.
17.2.8The duration of examinations shall normally be as below:
1 / Mid-term examination / Two hours2 / Final examination / Two to three hours
17.2.9The final examination shall cover the full syllabus of each course/module for a semester.
17.2.10Question papers for the mid-term (if required) and final examinations for each course/module shall be set by the respective lecturer. However, the Chair of the Department shall ensure the quality and standard of the question paper(s).
17.2.11To qualify in a course/module, it is essential to pass separately both the theory and the practical examinations.
Note - Type of assessments (practical and theoretical) shall be declared in the module descriptors (MDs).
17.3 Resits and Retakes
17.3.1 Students must pass all courses/modules in order to progress to the next stage (year).
17.3.2If a student fails up to half of the courses/modules in a year, s/he is allowed to attempt the failed courses/modules in resit exams.
17.3.3If a student fails any course/module in the resit exam, s/he must retake the failed module the next time it is offered.
17.3.4If a student fails more than half of the courses/modules, s/he may not take the resit exams but must retake the failed modules.
17.3.5 Each student is only given one opportunity for retaking subjects they have failed.
17.3.6If a student fails all the courses/modules of the first semester of the first year, s/he cannot proceed to the next semester and must retake the whole year in the following academic year.
17.3.7The duration of study cannot exceed the maximum duration (i.e., five years) in any circumstances, including any possible retake year.
17.3.8The lecturer shall send the final results list along with the answer sheets of mid-term exams, final exams and practical assessments for each module to the RO within the prescribed time limit. The BPGS may condone a delay in result submission. A soft copy of the results list should also be sent to the office of the Chair of Department and the Chair of BPGS.
17.3.9RO shall notify the results to the students and send copies to the programme coordinators.
18. GRADE POINT AVERAGE
18.1 Grade points and equivalence between letter grading and numerical grading shall be as follows:
Grade / Marks (%) / RemarksA / 90-100 / Excellent
B / 80-89 / Very Good
C / 70-79 / Good
D / 60-69 / Acceptable
18.2 An overall 70% score is required to pass the PhD coursework.
19. THESIS/RESEARCH WORK
19.1A student shall be entitled to submit a thesis for examination after s/he has passed the approved taught courses/modules. S/he is required to submit a thesis submission form and thesis examination fee (if any) before the submission of a thesis.
19.2The thesis shall be completed according to the guidelines approved bythe BPGS and shall be submitted to the programme coordinator.
19.3The thesis, once duly certified by the Supervisory Committee that the contents and form of the thesis are satisfactory for submission, shall be sent to the external examiner by RO for evaluation.
19.4 Thesis Evaluation
19.4.1 The thesis shall be evaluated by a Board of Examiners comprising members of the Supervisory Committee and external examiner(s) appointed by the Vice Chancellor from a panel of names recommended by the BPGS. At least three members of the Board of Examiners, of whom one must be an external examiner, who shall be appointed to evaluate the thesis, hold a viva voce examination and such other tests as are considered necessary for assessing the research work. The external examiner shall be given reasonable time to critically go through the contents of the thesis. The viva voce examination would be conducted as early as practicable.
19.4.2A plagiarism report, along with the certificate from supervisor and declaration by the student, must be submitted to the BPGS with the thesis. The programme coordinator shall notify the dates for the submission of the draft and final version of the thesis.
19.4.3The thesis evaluation should be completed within three months from the date of the dispatch of the thesis by RO to the external examiner. The RO shall get the approval of the external examiner from the Vice Chancellor, and the thesis shall be dispatched to her/him accordingly. In case of rejection from the first nominated external examiner, approval of an alternative external examiner shall be sought within two weeks from the Vice Chancellor by RO. However, the Vice Chancellor may allow an extension for the thesis evaluation up to 6 months in hardship cases.
19.4.4The programme coordinator, after consultation with the Board of Examiners, shall write to RO to notify the date, time and venue of the thesis evaluation.
The programme coordinator shall send the list for thesis examination after counter signature for each student of the Chair of Department to RO after making sure that the student has incorporated the suggested improvements. RO shall notify the students of their results after receiving the following: a bound copyand a soft copy for each of the member of the Board of Examiners; a bound copy and a soft copy for library; and a bound copy for supervisor.
19.4.5The colour of the hardbound covers of PhD theses shall be black.
19.4.6In case of disagreement between the Supervisory Committee and the External Examiner regarding the acceptance of the thesis, it shall be referred to another external examiner whose decision shall be final.
19.4.7If a candidate fails in the thesis examination, s/he may submit a revised thesis within six-twelve months after the date of declaration of the result of the last thesis examination. S/he can avail of this chance only once.
19.4.8If the thesis submitted by a candidate for final evaluation is proved to be plagiarised, it will be liable to be rejected on the report of the BPGS, and the RO will declare that the candidate has failed in the thesis examination. The admission of such a candidate shall be cancelled, and she shall not be readmitted under any circumstances.
20. GENERAL
20.1 After submission of the thesis, a student will not be allowed to stay in the university accommodation.
20.2The Chair of the BPGS will retain students' records for 3 years after the declaration of the final result. After that period, the record may be disposed of with the permission of the Vice Chancellor.
20.3The responsibility for the safekeeping of the scripts of students' examinations for three academic years rests with the RO.
1