Communication Technology, 2008

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L.N. 214 of 2008

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

Bye-Laws for the Degrees of Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D. - and

Master of Philosophy - M.Phil. - in the Faculty of Information and

Communication Technology, 2008

IN exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 74(5) and

75(6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the University of

Malta has promulgated the following bye-laws made by the Board of the

Faculty of Information and Communication Technology in virtue of the

powers conferred upon it by section 81(1) of the said Act and which have been

approved by the Senate of the University of Malta as required by section 81(2)

of the said Act

Citation and Interpretation

(1) These bye-laws may be cited as the Bye-Laws for the Degrees of

Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D. - and Master of Philosophy - M.Phil. - in the Faculty

of Information and Communication Technology, 2008.

(2) In these bye-laws, unless the context otherwise requires -

“the Board" means the Board of the Faculty of

Information and

Communication Technology;

“the Degrees" means the Degrees of Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D. - and

Master of Philosophy - M.Phil.;

“the Faculty” means the Faculty of Information and Communication

Technology;

“the M.Phil. / Ph.D. Committee” means the Committee appointed by Senate as

prescribed in regulation 4 of the Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D. - and Master of

Philosophy - M.Phil. - Degrees Course Regulations, 1998; and

“the Regulations” means the Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D. - and Master of

Philosophy - M.Phil. - Degrees Course Regulations, 1998.

Applicability

These bye-laws shall be applicable from 1 May 2008 onwards.

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Award of Ph.D. Degree

Further to regulation 3 of the Regulations, a thesis for the Ph.D. degree

shall report the discovery of new facts and/or demonstrate that the student has

exercised independent critical power in reaching the reported conclusions. In both

respects, the student shall indicate clearly the extent to which the thesis embodies

the results of his own research and observations, and to what extent the investigation

advances the study of the subject.

Registration for the Degrees

(1) The M.Phil. degree is open to graduates who have obtained a good

Honours degree (normally not below Second Class Upper Division) in

(a) Computer Information Systems, Computer Science and Artificial

Intelligence, Engineering, Information and Communication Technology, or

Mathematics; or

(b) an equivalent degree qualification as approved by Senate on the

recommendation of the Board.

(2) The M.Phil. degree is normally open to graduates who have obtained

the qualifications specified in paragraph (1) of this bye-law

(a) within the last ten years before applying for registration for the M.Phil.

degree; or

(b) if the qualification is older than ten years, if they produce sufficient

proof of their competence to carry out such a research degree, subject to approval by

Senate on the advice of the Board.

Where the Senate, on the recommendation of the Board, deems it

necessary, it may require applicants to successfully complete a number of study-

units under those conditions it may impose.

All successful applicants shall normally be required to register as M.Phil.

candidates in the first instance, with the possibility of transfer of registration to PhD

candidates after the lapse of not less than 15 months.

Transfer of Registration

Further to regulation 9 of the Regulations, the student shall submit a

written application requesting the transfer to the Ph.D. degree, together with a

summary of the work carried out by him/her, preferably in the form of a technical

report. The Board would give favourable consideration to work published or

accepted for publication in refereed technical journals and conferences. The report

shall also include a research proposal for the Ph.D. degree which shall indicate

clearly the research questions in the field to be addressed, the hypotheses to be

tested, and the methodology to be adopted in dealing with the research issues.

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Where necessary, the student may be required to demonstrate competence in those

skills required by the nature of the investigation.

Research Seminars

Students shall therefore be required to participate fully in the research

seminars of the Faculty and present at least one seminar during the course of their

studies.

Change in Title

Any changes to the title of the thesis or dissertation shall be approved by

Senate, acting on the advice of the Board, and following a written recommendation

by the student’s supervisor.

Submission of Thesis / Dissertation for Examination

When submitting a thesis or dissertation for examination in terms of

regulation 10 of the Regulations, students shall submit five spiral-bound copies,

according to the format indicated in bye-laws 16 and 17 (except for the hard binding

requirement) to the Faculty Officer. The Faculty Officer shall endorse the copies

submitted and issue a dated receipt.

Procedures of the Board of Examiners

(1) The Board of Examiners shall meet following the receipt of a

preliminary report by the external examiner, who is not required to be present for

this meeting. Due consideration shall be given to the preliminary report of the

external examiner.

(2) If, during the meeting referred to in paragraph (1) of this bye-law,

the Board of Examiners considers that the thesis/dissertation is of the necessary level

to allow the student to proceed to the oral examination, it shall inform the student in

writing of the date for the oral examination, not later than two weeks before the oral

examination is due to take place.

(3) If, during the meeting referred to in paragraph (1) of this bye-law,

the Board of Examiners considers that the thesis/dissertation clearly does not satisfy

the requirements for the degree registered for, it shall refer it back to the student for

revision according to the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of regulation 12 of the

Regulations and shall submit a report to the Board.

In assessing the student for the award of the degree concerned, the Board

of Examiners shall take into account both the thesis/dissertation and the performance

of the student during the oral examination. A detailed written report shall be

submitted to the Senate through the Board.

In the report specified in bye-law 12, the Board of Examiners shall

recommend one of the following outcomes

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(a) that the thesis/dissertation is judged to be satisfactory, possibly subject to

the correction of typographical or spelling errors, which do not require approval of

the supervisor; or

(b) that the thesis/dissertation is judged to be satisfactory subject to revisions

that are editorial in nature or that affect the presentation of the material. Such

revisions shall require the approval of the supervisor only, who shall inform the

Board of Examiners in writing that the revisions have been done according to the

recommendations of the Board of Examiners by not later than one month following

the student’s oral examination; or

(c) that the thesis/dissertation is unsatisfactory in its current form, and major

rethinking and/or research are required; or

(d) that the thesis/dissertation has not reached the required standard for the

award of the degree, and that re-examination on the same research is not permitted.

In the case of a Ph.D. thesis that has not been approved in terms of

paragraph (d) of bye-law 13, the Board of Examiners may recommend to Senate the

award of the M.Phil. degree.

Procedure during Oral Examination

During the oral examination, the student is expected to present a

synopsis of the thesis / dissertation of about 20 minutes, and then to answer

questions posed by the members of the Board of Examiners. The supervisor shall

ensure that the student is aware of the procedure to be followed.

Thesis Format and Presentation

(1) Ph.D. theses shall not normally exceed 60,000 words, exclusive of

appendices, bibliographies, glossaries and footnotes.

(2) M.Phil. dissertations shall not normally exceed 50,000 words,

exclusive of appendices, bibliographies, glossaries and footnotes.

(1) Theses/dissertations shall be presented in the following format

(a) typewritten or printed, using a 12 point font, on good quality white A4

paper, on one side only; the text to be in double line spacing;

(b) the margins shall be at least 20 mm top, bottom and right and 40 mm to

the left;

(c) the binding shall be in cloth (preferably black), with stiff boards and

good quality end papers, with lettering (preferably in gold) on the front and the spine

showing

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the name of the student;

the title or short title of the thesis/dissertation;

the degree for which the thesis/dissertation is submitted;

the year of submission; and

(d) maps, diagrams, graphs, printed material, diskettes, etc. shall be

bound with the thesis/dissertation, but if this is not possible they shall be presented

separately in special folders or volumes and numbered.

(2) A short abstract of the thesis/dissertation, of not more than 500

words, shall be bound with each copy submitted to the University.

(3) The structure of the thesis/dissertation shall be according to the

guidelines issued for the purpose by the Board.

Students shall be required to submit a copy of the final version of their

thesis/dissertation, within six weeks from the publication of the result, to each

member of the Board of Examiners, as well as two copies to the Faculty Officer, one

of which shall be retained in the University Library and another one in the custody

of the department concerned. The latter two copies and the supervisor’s copy shall

be hard-bound as indicated in bye-law 17.

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