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Education Act (Cap. 327) Bye-Laws Of 2007 For The Degrees Of Doctor Of Philosophy - Ph.D. - And Master Of Philosophy - M.Phil. - In The Institute Of Health Care, 2007 (L.N.81 Of 2007 )

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 Institute of Health Care 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:

1. (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 Institute of Health Care, 2007.
(2) In these bye-laws, unless the context otherwise requires - “the Board" means the Board of the Institute of Health Care;
“the Degree" means the Degree of Master of Philosophy - M.Phil. - or the
Degree of Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D. - as the case may be; “the Institute” means the Institute of Health Care;
“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 Principal Regulations” means the Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D. - and
Master of Philosophy - M.Phil. - Degrees Course Regulations, 1998.

2. These bye-laws shall be applicable from 1st October 2006 onwards.

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he/she:
3. An applicant shall be eligible for registration for the M.Phil. degree if
(a) is in possession of a first degree in a related subject with at least Second
Class Honours (Upper Division); or
(b) is in possession of an equivalent degree qualification as approved by Senate on the recommendation of the Board.
4. 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.
5. Before being allowed to register for the Ph.D. degree, an applicant in possession of the qualifications indicated in paragraph (a) of bye-law 3 shall normally be required to register in the first instance for the M.Phil. degree. Only in exceptional circumstances shall the applicant be considered for direct registration for the Ph.D. degree.

6. Students shall be required to register every twelve months on the written recommendation of their supervisor.
7. In the case where a student’s appointed supervisor is unable to continue providing supervision, another supervisor shall be appointed to enable the student to proceed with his/her studies.

8. Transfer of studies from the M.Phil. to the Ph.D. degree shall be considered in terms of the Principal Regulations.

9. The Institute attaches great importance to the association of students for the degrees with other research students and members of staff. Students shall therefore be required to participate fully in the research seminars of the Institute and present at least one seminar during the course of their studies.

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10. 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.

11. Further to regulation 3 of the Principal 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 / her own research and observations, and to what extent the investigation advances the study of the subject.
12. When submitting a thesis or dissertation for examination in terms of regulation 10 of the Principal Regulations, students shall submit five spiral-bound copies, according to the format indicated in bye-laws 13 and 14 (except for the hard binding requirement) to the Institute Administrative Officer. The Administrative Officer shall endorse the copies submitted and issue a dated receipt.

13. (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.
14. (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;
left;
(b) the margins shall be at least 20 mm top, bottom and right and 40 mm to the
(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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(i) the name of the student;
(ii) the title or short title of the thesis/dissertation;
(iii) the degree for which the thesis/dissertation is submitted; (iv) the year of submission;
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.
15. A short abstract of the thesis/dissertation, of not more than 500 words, shall be bound with each copy submitted to the University.
16. Students may publish the whole or part of their thesis prior to its submission for examination, provided that in the published work it is not stated that it is under consideration for a higher degree. Such published work may later be incorporated in the thesis submitted for examination, provided that a statement to this effect is included in it as required by the Principal Regulations.
17. 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 Institute Administrative Officer, one of which shall be retained in the University Library and another one in the custody of the division concerned. The latter two copies and the supervisor’s copy shall be hard- bound as indicated in bye-law 13.

18. (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 Principal Regulations and shall submit a report to the Board.

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19. 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.
20. In the report specified in bye-law 19, the Board of Examiners shall recommend one of the following outcomes:
(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.
21. In the case of a Ph.D. thesis that has not been approved in terms of paragraph (d) of bye-law 20, the Board of Examiners may recommend to Senate the award of the M.Phil. degree.

22. 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.

Ippubblikat mid-Dipartiment ta’ l-Informazzjoni (doi.gov.mt) Valletta - Published by the Department of Information - (doi.gov.mt) - Valletta

Mitbug] fl-Istamperija tal-Gvern - Printed at the Government Printing Press

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