under the auspices of the Faculty of Education

L.N. 213 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 Education

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred upon him by articles 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 Education 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

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 under the auspices of the Faculty of Education.

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

“the Board” means the Board of the Faculty of Education;

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

“the Faculty” means the Faculty of Education; 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

B

(a) a Master’s degree or equivalent in an area of study related to the

proposed area of research; or

(b) a Bachelor Honours degree (First Class or Second Class Upper), or

equivalent in Education, in an area of study related to the proposed area of

research.

(2) In special circumstances, applicants who do not possess the formal

qualifications delineated above, but hold a proven track record of peer reviewed

scholarly achievement (including published works) that demonstrates an original

and significant contribution to knowledge and outstanding professional experience

in a related field may be considered for admission. In such exceptional cases,

applicants shall be required to follow and successfully complete an ad hoc

preparatory advanced research training study-unit following admission.

(3) Final decisions about the eligibility of all applicants shall remain at

the discretion of the Board, in consultation with the Faculty Doctoral Committee.

(1) Applicants may submit their application form, CV and a 3000-word

research proposal outlining the proposed project, including research sources and

materials, at any time of the year.

(2) Applicants shall be asked to attend an interview following

submission of the proposal.

Faculty Doctoral Committee

The Board shall recommend to Senate the appointment of a Faculty

Doctoral Committee composed as follows

The Dean of the Faculty or delegate (chairman)

3 - 4 senior members of the Faculty.

Supervision and Students’ Progress

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

Board, through the Faculty Doctoral Committee, every June for all students under

their supervision.

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 concerning the

continuation of the student’s doctoral programme.

(1) After 12 months of full-time, or 24 months of part-time study,

students are required to submit a report on their research work for consideration by

an ad hoc board appointed by the Board on the recommendation of the Faculty

Doctoral Committee. The ad hoc board shall be composed of a chairman, who

shall be the head of the department concerned or his delegate, and two examiners,

one of whom shall be the Principal Supervisor and the other a specialist in the area

covered by the thesis.

(2) The ad hoc board shall examine the student orally and shall submit

a written report for consideration by the Faculty Doctoral Committee in the first

instance. The report shall contain recommendations according to the provisions of

the Principal Regulations.

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

Faculty’s research and teaching programmes.

Thesis Presentation and Format

Students registered for the Degree 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.

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 soft-bound copy of their

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

format.

(2) 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.

Repeal

The Bye-Laws of 1999 for the degrees of Master of Philosophy –

M.Phil. - and Doctor of Philosophy – Ph.D. - under the auspices of the Faculty of

Education, published as Legal Notice 33 of 1999, shall be deemed to cease to be in

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

before 1 st October 2008 shall continue to be governed by the regulations that were

in force at the time of their registering for the degree.

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