Study Journey

Your journey towards a research degree

1.

Introduction

We want to make sure that you have all the information you need to succeed in your research degree, so this guide is to help you understand the requirements and expectations for your journey towards earning your degree.

2.

Research Degrees Committee

The Research Degrees Committee (RDC) is responsible for approving applications for and overseeing the progress of all students in the research degree programmes.

3.

Admissions

In order to be admitted, you will need to meet the entry requirements for the specific programme that you are interested in.
You will also need to demonstrate proficiency in the language (usually Chinese or English) in which your research and thesis will be conducted and presented.
The RDC will make decisions on your application, and the Registry will issue a letter of admission or rejection. If you are admitted, the letter will also state the language in which your thesis should be presented.

4.

Registration and Re-registration

The RDC may require special conditions for your admission, such as a preliminary course of study or an oral or written examination, either before the date of commencement, or during the period of, the programme of study and research.
The RDC will determine the date of commencement of your programme, which is usually the start date of the Autumn or Spring term after your application is approved and fees are paid. For professional doctoral degree programmes involving coursework, the date of commencement of study is normally the start date of the Autumn Term.
If you are admitted to a PhD or MPhil programme, you will be provisionally registered until your candidature is confirmed through the Candidature Confirmation process.
You will need to re-register annually throughout your programme, subject to approval from the School Research Degrees Committee (SRDC) and as prescribed by the Registrar.
You may not register for any other research degree programme from our university or any other institution during your study without express permission from the RDC.

5.

Period of Study and Research

The maximum period of study and research, including periods of leave of absence and/or suspension of studies, is subject to the following time frames:

Programme	Full-time	Part-time
MPhil	Three years	Six years
PhD	Four years	Eight years
Professional doctoral degrees	Four years	Eight years

You will need to submit your thesis for examination within the following time frames:

Programme	Mode of Study	Time Frame for Submission of Thesis
MPhil	Full-time	No less than one and no more than two years after a student's first registration for the thesis of the MPhil degree
	Part-time	No less than two and no more than five years after a student's first registration for the thesis of the MPhil degree
	PhD	Full-time	No less than one and no more than three years after a student's first registration for the thesis of the PhD degree
		Part-time	No less than two and no more than six years after a student's first registration for the thesis of the PhD degree
		Professional doctoral degrees	Full-time	No less than one and no more than two years after a student's first registration for the thesis of the doctoral degree with coursework components
			Part-time	No less than two and no more than five years after a student's first registration for the thesis of the doctoral degree with coursework components

If you need more time than the above time frames, you will need to obtain approval from the RDC after receiving recommendations from the SRDC and your Principal Research Supervisor.

6.

Termination of Registration

As a student, you will need to follow a prescribed programme of study and research for a specific period of time in an approved field under the supervision of the RDC.
The Senate may terminate your registration at any time if you are not meeting the programme requirements or if you are not following the academic regulations of the University.

7.

Place of Study and Research

You may be able to undertake your programme of study and research somewhere other than our university, as long as the RDC approves the location and your Principal Research Supervisor can properly supervise your work.

8.

Candidature of PhD and MPhil Students

If you are a PhD or MPhil candidate, you will be provisionally registered until your candidature is confirmed through the Candidature Confirmation process.
The confirmation of candidature process usually happens within the following time frames:

Programme	Full-time	Part-time
MPhil	By the 12th month of study	By the 24th month of study
PhD	By the 18th month of study	By the 36th month of study

You can request confirmation of candidature with the support of your Principal Research Supervisor anytime 3 months after initial registration to have your candidature confirmation process take place within the above time frames.
You will need to submit a written proposal/chapter of your research and complete an oral presentation to present your research proposal.
If you fail to have your candidature confirmed by the deadlines, you will be terminated from the programme.

9.

Supervision

When you register for the programme, the RDC will appoint a full-time member of the academic staff or another approved person as your Principal Research Supervisor.
The RDC may also appoint an Associate Research Supervisor to help you.
If your supervisor(s) are not full-time members of academic staff, the RDC will need approval from the Senate.
You will be responsible for reporting regularly to your Principal Research Supervisor and Associate Research Supervisor, if any.
You will need to submit an interim report (IR) by the end of the tenth month of each year of your period of study and research, based on which your supervisor will assess your progress.
Your Principal Research Supervisor will present a progress report (PR) to the RDC through the SRDC by the eleventh month of each year of your period of study and research, along with a recommendation on whether you should be allowed to re-register. You will have the opportunity to comment on the report.
Three months before the PR is due, the Secretary of RDC will remind you and your supervisor of the due dates for your interim and progress reports.
The SRDC will consider the IR and PR and make recommendations to the RDC on your annual progress by the end of the twelfth month of each year of your period of study and research.
Your Principal Research Supervisor can recommend termination of your studies if you are not making satisfactory progress, and the recommendation will go to the RDC via the SRDC.
The RDC's recommendations for your progression will be conveyed to you by the Registry, and any recommendation for termination will go to the Senate for approval.

10.

Presentation of Thesis

Before you can be examined for the research degree, you have to notify the Registrar of your intention to present a thesis and submit a short summary of 200 to 300 words of its proposed contents. The proposed title of the thesis needs to be approved by the RDC via the SRDC, and you may need to pay a prescribed fee.
You need to give notice of the intended presentation of a thesis at least three months in advance of the intended date of presentation.
You can present a thesis only after the minimum period of submission for examination has expired.
The Registrar will request your Principal Research Supervisor to complete a certificate on whether the thesis is worthy of examination. The Supervisor will also certify that you have complied with any registration conditions.
You will need to submit a soft copy and four unbound copies of your thesis to the Registrar, which include a certificate from the Principal Research Supervisor, a short abstract, and a certificate signed by you stating that the thesis embodies the results of your study and research, has been composed by you, and has not been presented for a higher degree or any other award to any other institution.
Your thesis should meet the University's English language standard expectations, be spell-checked, have accurate references and appendices, and be in the prescribed format.

11.

Contents and Length of Thesis

The length of your thesis should comply with the following guidelines:
(a) MPhil thesis: 20,000 to 40,000 English words or a maximum of 60,000 Chinese characters (excluding references, tables, and appendices)
(b) Doctoral thesis: 50,000 to 100,000 English words or a maximum of 150,000 Chinese characters (excluding references, tables and appendices)
Your thesis should include a detailed statement of the sources of information you have used in the preparation of the thesis, their extent, and the nature of their use. If you have incorporated written material directly attributable to others, you need to specify this in the statement.

12.

Appointment of Examiners

After you have given notice of your intention to present a thesis, the RDC will appoint an Award Committee on the recommendation of the SRDC. The Committee will consist of at least three examiners nominated by the School, including two internal examiners (one of whom will be your Principal Research Supervisor without voting rights) and one external examiner who has not had a supervisory relationship with you. If the external examiner is based overseas and cannot attend the oral examination, an additional local examiner may be appointed to act on his/her behalf.
The School should identify the subject area of your research and the proposed thesis title for inclusion in the award certificate.

13.

Examination

Your thesis will be dispatched in hardcopies to the Examiners after they have been received from you. The Examiners will consider your thesis.
Each Examiner needs to submit a report on the thesis to the Award Committee Chairman, through the Registrar, within approximately four to six weeks in normal circumstances, upon receipt of the thesis.
The Examiners will jointly examine you orally on the subject of the thesis and the area of study within which the thesis falls.
The Examiners may require you to present yourself for a written or practical examination or other test.
After the Examiners' reports on the thesis are received, the Registry will arrange an oral examination for you. If the External Examiner is overseas and no local examiner has been appointed in place of the External Examiner for the purpose of the examination, the oral examination can take the form of telephone conferencing or online meeting, where possible. The Award Committee will meet, and you may be required to amend the thesis.
The oral examination is compulsory and ranges from one to three hours. The language used should be the same as the language used in the thesis, and a consensus is required for all decisions.
Some research postgraduate programmes may contain coursework components. Students are required to complete the required postgraduate level courses before proceeding to the thesis stage. You may refer to webpage on examinations for postgraduate programmes and part-time (Distance Learning) programmes for the relevant information on examination arrangements relating to postgraduate level courses.

14.

Report of the Award Committee

After the examination is completed, the Award Committee will report to the RDC via the SRDC.
If the Examiners unanimously recommend the degree, the SRDC will make a recommendation to the RDC for approval.
If there is disagreement amongst the Award Committee, the Examiners will submit individual reports to the SRDC, and an additional External Examiner may be appointed to make a report and recommendation to the SRDC.
After considering the reports, the SRDC will make a final recommendation on the examination result, which the RDC will consider.
The Award Committee will make one of the following recommendations:
(a) that the degree be awarded,
(b) that the degree be awarded subject to the candidate making minor corrections to the thesis,
(c) that the degree be not awarded, but the candidate be allowed to submit a revised thesis and present themselves for examination again,
(d) that the degree be not awarded, and the registration be terminated.
The Report of the Award Committee will be confidential to the SRDC and the RDC.
If corrections are required, the Chair of the Award Committee will confirm to the SRDC that they have been satisfactorily carried out.
If the SRDC recommends that you present a revised thesis, they will specify the further work required and the period within which the thesis may be represented.
The SRDC will not recommend that the degree be awarded unless the Award Committee reports that you possess a sound general knowledge of the area of study, have critically investigated and evaluated the approved topic, have acquired competence in research and scholarship methods, have displayed sustained independent effort, have presented the results of your work lucidly and have satisfied the examiners in the oral examination.

15.

Disposition of and Access to the Thesis

After you have amended the thesis to the satisfaction of the Examiners, you need to submit two hard copies and a soft copy in the prescribed format to the Registrar. The soft copy and one hard copy will be deposited with the University Library, and the second hard copy will be deposited with the School in which the programme was conducted.
You may present further copies to any collaborating or cooperating establishments.
The thesis you submit has the status of an unpublished manuscript, and you remain the copyright holder. Depositing a copy in the Library or School does not transfer the copyright.
Consultation of the theses should follow University policies. However, you can apply to the RDC for a period of restriction of up to two years during which time your permission is necessary for access to the thesis. The period of restriction may be extended for further periods, each not exceeding one year

16.

The Award of PhD/MPhil and Professional Doctoral Degrees

To be eligible for the award of the PhD/MPhil and other doctoral degrees, you need to comply with the University Regulations and the Regulations for the Award of Postgraduate Degrees.

17.

Conferment of the Degree

The University confers awards three times a year, in March, July, and September, and you will be invited to attend the Congregation within the same year. The date of award by the Council is the date on which the degree is conferred.

We want to make sure you have a positive experience, so please do not hesitate to ask questions or seek guidance from our academic staff.

Good luck on your research journey!