under the auspices of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery

B

L.N. 212 of 2010

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

Bye-Laws of 2010 in terms of the

Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D. - Degree Regulations, 2008

for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

under the auspices of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred upon him by article 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 Medicine and Surgery in virtue of the powers conferred upon it

by article 81 (1) of the said Act and which have been approved by the

Senate of the University of Malta as required by article 81 (2) of the said

Act

Citation and Interpretation

(1) These bye-laws may be cited as the Bye-Laws of 2010 in terms of the

Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D. - Degree Regulations, 2008 for the Degree of Doctor

of Philosophy – Ph.D. - under the auspices of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.

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

“the Board” means the Board of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery;

“the Degree” means the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy – Ph.D.;

“the Faculty” means the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery; and

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

Degree Regulations, 2008.

Applicability

These bye-laws shall be applicable from October 2008 onwards.

Requirements for Admission

(1) Applicants for the Degree offered by the Faculty shall be in

possession of one of the following degrees

(a) a Master’s degree, normally of this or another University, in an area of

studies relevant to that applied for, obtained subsequent to the completion of a first

cycle qualification;

(b) the degree of Doctor of Medicine and Surgery, passed in the first sitting

with at least Grade B in the subject area related to the proposed area of research;

(c) a Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) degree obtained with at least Second

Class Honours (Upper Division);

(d) a Bachelor (Honours) degree in a health science obtained with at least

Second Class Honours (Upper Division); or

(e) qualifications which the Board deems comparable to the degrees

indicated in sub-paragraphs (a) to (d).

(2) Applicants in possession of the degree indicated in

(a) sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (1) of this bye-law shall normally be

required to successfully complete a number of study-units in Research

Methodology, under those conditions that Senate, on the advice of the Board, may

impose; and

(b) sub-paragraphs (c) to (e) shall have successfully completed a substantial

dissertation / research component assigned not less than 15 ECTS credits.

Applicants may submit their application form, together with a

comprehensive research proposal outlining the proposed project, including research

sources and materials, at any time of the year.

Faculty Doctoral Committee

The Board shall recommend to Senate the appointment of a Faculty

Doctoral Committee, which shall be known as the Postgraduate Degree

Adjudicating Committee (PGDAC), composed as follows

The Dean of the Faculty (chairman) or delegate

3 - 4 members of the Faculty, possessing academic doctoral

qualifications.

Supervision and Students’ Progress

Principal Supervisors shall be required to submit a written report to the

Board, through the Faculty Doctoral Committee, annually for all students under their

supervision.

B

Students shall only be allowed to proceed with their studies subject to

satisfactory progress reports from their Principal Supervisor. If the report is

negative, the Board shall make recommendations to Senate on the student’s

continuing registration for the Degree.

Before transferring from the M.Phil. to the Ph.D. degree, students are

required to submit a report on their research work for consideration by an ad hoc

board. The ad hoc board shall be appointed by the Board on the advice of the

Factoral Doctoral Committee.

Students registered at the Faculty may be required to participate in the

Faculty’s research and teaching programmes.

Thesis Presentation and Format

Six months before the submission deadline students shall be informed

that they are required to inform the Faculty that they will be submitting their thesis

for examination not less than three months before the submission deadline.

The Board shall recommend to Senate the appointment of the Board of

Examiners in accordance with the Principal Regulations.

Students shall be required to defend their thesis orally. They are

expected to make a presentation of the major findings of their research work of

about 20 to 30 minutes and then to answer questions posed by members of the Board

of Examiners. The Chairman of the Board of Examiners shall ensure that the

student is aware of the procedure to be followed during the oral examination.

The Board shall approve and publish guidelines on the format and

presentation of the thesis for the Degree.

(1) Students shall be required to submit a loose bound copy of their

thesis for each member of the Board of Examiners, together with a copy in digital

format. The officer in charge of the Faculty shall issue a dated receipt.

(2) Students may publish the whole or part of their thesis before

submitting it for examination. Such published work may later be included in the

thesis submitted for examination, provided that a statement to this effect is included.

(3) On successful completion of their studies, students shall be required

to submit to the Faculty three hard bound copies of the thesis and one copy in digital

format within six weeks from the publication of their result. One copy of the thesis

shall be kept in the Library of the department and another at the University Library.

Students who do not comply with this bye-law shall not be awarded the Degree.

B

Repeal

The Bye-Laws of 1992 for the degree of Master of Philosophy – M.Phil.

- under the auspices of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, published as Legal

Notice 112 of 1992 and the Bye-Laws of 1998 for the degree of Doctor of

Philosophy – Ph.D. - under the auspices of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery,

published as Legal Notice 246 of 1998, shall be deemed to cease to be in force as

from 1st October 2008, provided that students registered for these degrees before 1st

October 2008 shall continue to be governed by the regulations that were in force at

the time of their registration for the degree.

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