Regulations for Degrees of Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy

Award of the Degree
  1. The degree of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) may be awarded by the Senate to postgraduate students who have successfully pursued a course of study as prescribed below to the satisfaction of the School Board concerned and have fulfilled any other University requirements.
Admission
  1. The requirements for candidature shall normally be a degree in a suitable subject of any approved university or the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA). Applications from candidates with other non-standard qualifications must be approved by the appropriate faculty.
  2. Candidates satisfying the requirement for candidature may be admitted provided the School Board concerned is satisfied as to both their chosen subject for research and the supervisory arrangements.

  3. In approving candidature the School Board shall state the effective starting date which may not normally be backdated beyond the day after the previous meeting of the Board.

  4. For the purposes of these regulations the University shall be deemed to include any clinical institutions in the Wessex Regional Health Authority area where the Board of the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences is satisfied that University staff can arrange proper supervision of a research candidate.
Candidature
  1. The programme to be followed shall be one of supervised study, research and skills training and shall normally be full-time except as provided in paragraphs 7-11 below. The programme shall be pursued in the University except in the case of candidates for whom joint supervisory arrangements have been approved in accordance with paragraph 10 below, or in other special cases where the School Board permits a period to be spent elsewhere.

  2. If it considers full-time candidature to be inappropriate, the School Board may permit part-time candidature provided it is satisfied as to the arrangements for the conduct and supervision of the research.
  3. Research and Teaching Fellows may, with the approval of the School Board, be admitted to staff candidature, but shall normally by virtue of their status and experience be in part-time candidature and shall pay the appropriate fees.

  4. Research and Teaching Assistants shall be in part-time candidature, except that in special circumstances the School Board, on the recommendation of the Head of School, may approve full-time candidature. Research and Teaching Assistants shall pay the appropriate fees.

  5. The School Board may approve arrangements for an individual candidate to receive supervision provided jointly by the University and another institution. In such cases, the School Board may permit a period or periods of study to be undertaken at the other institution. The minimum period of full-time study at the University shall be twelve months for candidates of jointly-supervised research degrees with approved institutions.

  6. The University may from time to time formally admit an appropriate institution to a special relationship for the purpose of furthering co-operation in teaching and research. A person holding an appointment in such a link institution may be registered in part-time candidature for a higher degree by research. If a candidate so registered leaves the employment of the link institution, candidature shall be reviewed by the School Board and, if permission is given for its continuance, the general provisions for part-time candidature shall normally apply.

  7. A candidate is normally required to register initially for the degree of MPhil. A candidate for the degree of MPhil may be permitted by the School Board to transfer not less than six months before submission of thesis to a course leading to the degree of PhD. A candidate for the degree of PhD may be permitted at any time prior to submission of thesis to transfer to a course leading to the degree of MPhil. The whole or part of the period spent in candidature may be counted towards the period of study required for the degree to which transfer is made.
Supervision and Progress
  1. Every candidate shall be allocated to a supervisor by the School Board on the recommendation of the candidate's Head of School. The supervisor shall be responsible for the supervision of the design and progress of the candidate's research project and for providing academic advice to the candidate. The supervisor shall report on the candidate's work and progress when requested to do so by the School Board. The Board shall also ensure that each School either appoints one member of staff to act as a general postgraduate tutor or appoints an adviser for each individual candidate in addition to the supervisor.

  2. A candidate may be required to take part in a programme of graduate studies, including lectures, seminars on research and generic/transferable skills and associated assessments, to the satisfaction of the Head of the School concerned.
  3. A School Board may at any time review the progress of an individual candidate. If this is unsatisfactory and if, after due warning, there is insufficient improvement, the Board may recommend termination of candidature to Senate. The candidate may appeal against the decision by using the procedure set out in General Regulations.
Duration of Research Courses
  1. (a) Except as provided under (b) below the period of supervised study for a research degree shall be:
    MPhil
    Full-time candidates: not less than twelve months
    Part-time candidates: not less than twenty-four months
    PhD
    Full-time candidates: not less than twenty-four months
    Part-time candidates: not less than thirty-six months

    (b) With the permission of the Head of School and the appropriate School Board a candidate for a research degree may be permitted to register concurrently for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PCAP) under special regulations in the Faculty of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences. In such a case the candidature must be full-time and the period of supervised study shall be:

    MPhil: not less than twenty-four months
    PhD: not less than thirty-six months
  2. The period of study for a research degree ends when the thesis is submitted. The maximum period of study in full-time candidature is four years (48 months) and in part-time candidature seven years (84 months). A candidate who fails to submit a thesis by the end of the maximum period of study shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the course. (See also paragraphs 18 and 23 below).
Temporary Suspension and Nominal Registration
  1. Candidates for either degree must continue in registration for the degree until such time as they submit their thesis or withdraw, except that the School Board may, on the recommendation of the Head of School, permit temporary suspension of candidature. Periods of temporary suspension shall not count towards the maximum period of study.

  2. If, having completed not less than the minimum period of supervised study, a candidate ceases to receive supervision, the School Board may allow transfer to nominal registration for a period not exceeding twelve months in the first instance. A candidate wishing to extend the period of nominal registration beyond twelve months must apply in writing through the School Office.

  3. Candidates shall pay the fee prescribed in the Fees Regulations if still in nominal registration after six months from the date of transfer.

  4. Periods of nominal registration count towards the maximum period of study.
Submission of Thesis
  1. After completion of the necessary period of study a thesis shall be submitted for examination in accordance with the instructions in the leaflet Completion of Research Degree Candidature (available through the School Office or via the University's website). Candidates in Music may submit original musical compositions or offer recital work, together with additional material, specifications for which are set out in Appendix 1. Candidates in Art and Design may submit an exhibition of original work, together with additional material, specifications for which are set out in Appendix 2.
  2. The submission following full-time candidature shall be made not later than four years from the date of first registration; and the submission following part-time candidature shall be made not later than seven years from the date of first registration. In cases where there have been periods of full-time and part-time candidature, the maximum permitted period of candidature shall be determined by the School Office, on the basis that periods of part-time candidature shall be deemed to be equivalent to four-sevenths of an equal period of full-time candidature. The time-limit may be extended by the Senate on the recommendation of the School Board in special circumstances.

  3. A candidate who is about to submit a thesis shall give at least two months' prior notice in writing to the School Office which shall include the full title of the thesis. Such notice of intention to submit a thesis shall be given not later than 1 February if the candidate seeks award of the degree by the following July.

  4. With the exception of restrictions on access as defined in paragraph 26 below, research work submitted as a thesis for a higher degree shall be openly available and subject neither to security classification nor to restriction on access. Candidates may publish the whole or part of their work prior to its submission as a thesis, provided that in the published work it is nowhere stated that it is in consideration for a higher degree.

  5. In exceptional circumstances access to a thesis may be restricted by the relevant School Board, on behalf of Senate, where such restriction is regarded as desirable on commercial grounds or pending patent applications, or as necessary to maintain confidentiality. The period of restriction shall be determined by the relevant School Board but shall not exceed three years from the date of examination. Each instance of School Board approval of restriction of access to a thesis should be reported to Senate.
  6. On submission of a thesis a candidate shall be required to sign two documents:
    1. a form of consent that the thesis, if successful, may be made available for inter-library loan or photocopying from a date stipulated (subject to the law of copyright);
    2. a declaration stating: that the thesis is the result of work done wholly or mainly while the student was in registered candidature; that where the thesis is based on work done by the candidate jointly with others, a substantial part is the original work of the candidate; the extent to which the thesis incorporates material already submitted for another degree.

  7. A thesis may not exceed 75,000 words in length, unless prior permission to exceed this length has been given by the School Board on the recommendation of the supervisor. Candidates who exceed this limit without School Board permission will normally be required by the examiners to resubmit in a form which does not exceed the stipulated length. Candidates may in addition submit a separate volume of factual information only, related to the content of the thesis, which must be prepared and bound in the same style as the thesis. Such additional information will be available to the examiners and will form part of the record.
Examination
  1. For each candidate, normally one internal and one external examiner shall be appointed to examine the thesis; in exceptional cases, one additional internal or external examiner may be appointed. The supervisor may not be appointed as an examiner.

  2. Candidates for the PhD will normally be required, and candidates for the MPhil may be required, to attend for an oral examination.

  3. The examiners for each candidate shall recommend one of the following courses of action:
    1. that the degree for which the candidate has submitted a thesis be awarded;
    2. that the degree for which the candidate has submitted a thesis be awarded subject if necessary to minor amendments to the thesis being made by a date specified (minor amendments include: minor omissions of substance, typographical errors, occasional stylistic or grammatical flaws, corrections to references, addition/modification of one or two figures, and minor changes to layout, and require no new research. These changes need only be certified by the internal examiner). The date specified for the submission of such minor amendments should normally be no later than a month after the formal notification to the candidate.
    3. that the degree for which the candidate has submitted a theses be awarded subject to the correction of modest errors/omissions of substance being made, by a date specified (the procedure for re-examination of the thesis should be clearly specified in the report). Such amendments may require limited further analysis but will not affect the originality of the central thesis. They will be of a scale to require certification by both the internal and external examiners, though normally not so extensive that an oral is required. The date specified for the submission of such intermediate amendments should normally be no later than six months after the formal notification to the candidate.
    4. that the candidate be required to attend for a further oral examination;
    5. that the candidate be permitted to submit by a date specified a revised thesis for the same degree for re-examination on one subsequent occasion. The date specified for submission of the revised thesis should normally be no later than twelve months after the formal notification to the candidate.
    6. that, in the case only of a PhD candidate who has failed to satisfy the examiners, permission be given to the candidate to apply within a specified time for the award of the degree of MPhil. This may be allowed without re-examination, subject to any minor amendment of the thesis which may be required by the examiners, or may be subject to re-examination of a revised thesis;
    7. that the degree be not awarded and that resubmission of the thesis be not permitted.

  4. A candidate who fails to submit a corrected or revised thesis by the date set by the examiners shall normally be regarded as having failed the examination and the recommendations of the examiners shall lapse.

  5. Where the examiners recommend that the degree be not awarded and that submission of a revised thesis be not permitted, the candidate may ask for the case to be reviewed in accordance with the procedures laid down by the Senate. A copy of the procedures may be obtained from the School Office.