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Doctoral Programme Regulations

Entry Requirements and Application Procedures

To be eligible to enter on a course of study and research for the Degree of Ph.D., a candidate must have reached a high Honours Standard, at the Examination for the Primary Degree, or presented such other evidence as will satisfy the Head of Department and the Faculty of his/her fitness.
The application of a graduate of this University or of another University or of a student of advanced standing, who proposes to enter on a course of study and research for the Degree of Ph.D., shall be considered by the relevant Faculty on the recommendation of the Head of Department in which the course is to be pursued.
The candidate’s application, if accepted by the Faculty, shall be submitted for approval to the Academic Council. The title of the Thesis or a short description outlining the nature of the work must be provided to Academic Council when the student is being recommended for acceptance as a candidate for the Ph.D. Degree. If the student’s application is approved by the Academic Council, he/she must register
as a Ph.D. candidate for the terms prescribed as a minimum.
The Academic Council is empowered to withdraw the acceptance of any candidate on the recommendation of the Faculty concerned.

Direction and Supervision

The Academic Council on the nomination of the Head of Department and the recommendation of the Faculty, will assign a member of staff to supervise the candidate’s research. The name of the Supervisor should be forwarded when the candidate’s name is submitted by Faculty to Academic Council.
Unless permission is given to the candidate by the Academic Council, on the recommendation of the Faculty, to work elsewhere under the general direction of the Supervisor, the Research for the Degree will be carried out in the Department mainly responsible for the subject-area concerned but, where the research is inter-disciplinary in nature, there shall be due co-operation between the main Department and the other Department(s) involved. The Academic Council may arrange for joint-supervision of the Thesis. In the case of joint-supervision, one of the Supervisors need not be a member of the staff of the University.
The candidate shall pursue research for a period of nine terms and also shall follow such a programme of study in the University as may be prescribed by the Academic Council unless on the recommendation of the Faculty Academic Council, may accept a period of six instead of nine terms in the case of any such candidate whose attainments, justify it.
The Candidate’s research must be carried out, and the Thesis for the Degree must be prepared, under the direction of the Supervisor. The Supervisor should assess the progress of the candidate and, if he/she arrives at the view that the candidate is unlikely to achieve the Degree for which he/she is registered, this shall be notified to the Head of Department, who shall communicate with the candidate without delay. A candidate shall not submit his/her Ph.D. Thesis until the final draft of the thesis has been approved for examination by the Supervisor, and such approval has been notified, on the prescribed form, by the Supervisor to (a) the nominating Professor, or, where appropriate, the Head of Department and (b) the Registrar of the National University of Ireland. Where a candidate considers that such approval has been withheld unreasonably, he/she may appeal to the President of the University.
Candidates are allowed six years in which to complete the Degree from the date of acceptance. If candidates do not complete the Degree within six years from the date of acceptance they must re-apply to the Faculty, presenting justification for an extension.

Examination

In all Faculties, the Examination Board shall consist of two Intern Examiners, normally the Supervisor and the Head of Department or his/her nominee, and the Extern Examiner in the relevant subject, or such other Extern Examiner as may be nominated by the Academic Council on the recommendation of the Faculty concerned.
In the case of a Thesis being presented by a full-time member of the Staff of the University, one of the Intern Examiners shall be replaced by a second Extern Examiner.
The time of examination is arranged as may be convenient to the candidate and the Examiners. In the Academic year in which the candidate’s work is due for examination, the candidate must lodge an Entry Form and the requisite examination Fee by 1st November with the Examinations Office. Entry forms are available from the Examinations Office. If the Thesis is not presented within one year the candidate must re-enter (which will not necessitate an additional fee).
To ensure that the Ph.D. Degree will be conferred at a particular conferring ceremony, a candidate should lodge the Ph.D. Thesis at least three months in advance of the appropriate Meeting at which the reports of the Examiners are considered. Meetings to approve results will be held in November, June (Medical Only), July, and September. Reports by Examiners on works submitted for Ph.D. Degrees will not be considered unless received at least ten clear days prior to a Board Meeting.

Three copies of the Ph.D. Thesis, gum or spiral bound, should be lodged with the Examination Office, NUI, Galway. Each copy of the Thesis must be accompanied by a Summary of the contents, not exceeding 300 works in length.

When lodging the thesis, candidates must also lodge the ’Approval for examination form’, duly signed by the Supervisor and by the Head of Department or his/her nominee.

Work on which a Degree in this University, or elsewhere, has already been obtained will not be accepted as the main work for a Ph.D. degree. A confirmatory statement to this effect must accompany the submission.

The University then forwards for examination to each of the Examiners a copy of the Ph.D. Thesis, together with a copy of the 300 word Summary.

Before making their report to the Board, the Examiners should consult with one another and, unless they recommend otherwise, they should conduct an oral examination. Where the Examiners are in agreement, they shall submit a joint report to the Board with a view to the award or otherwise of the Degree. Where the Examiners are not in agreement, separate reports shall be made. Copies of such reports will be submitted for consideration to the Board.
The Degree of Ph.D. will not be awarded unless the Examiners report that the work is worthy of publication, in whole or in part, as a work of serious scholarship.
If the Examiners recommend that the Ph.D. Degree be awarded, the candidate must re-submit a bound copy of the Ph.D. Thesis, and where recommended, embodying any changes prescribed by the Examiners. The Examiners’ report will not be considered by the Board until the revised Thesis, incorporating the recommended changes, and confirmed by the Supervisor, has been lodged with the Examinations Office.
Unless candidates indicate otherwise, a copy of the Thesis will be lodged in the University Library. Candidates will be invited to complete the following form when lodging the Thesis for the Ph.D. Degree:
"I hereby agree that the copy of my Thesis deposited in the Library should be available for consultation under conditions laid down by the Library."

All Theses shall remain the property of the University.

Fees

The fees for the coming academic year have not been determined by the Governing Authority but will be in the region of €4,700, not including an element for Examination Fees.
A higher rate of fee is payable for students whose residence is outside the European Union. Non-EU students are obliged to pay higher fees than those payable by EU students. These fees are known as ECONOMIC FEES and reflect both the full economic cost of providing the relevant course, and the ex quota nature of the place awarded.
As a general rule ECONOMIC FEES are charged at not less than 2 1/2 times the EU equivalent.
The definition of an EU student for fee purposes is as follows:
EU nationals (i.e. holding an EU Passport) who have been ordinarily resident* in an EU member state for at least three of the five years immediately preceding their entry to the third level course.
*"ordinarily resident" excludes residency for educational purposes.
The EU/Non-EU fee status determined on entry to a course will be applied for the duration of the course. An EU student who is dependent on financial assistance form a source outside of the EU will be treated as a Non-EU student for fee purposes, and accordingly , the full Economic Fee will be payable. Economic Fees are payable in full in advance.

Irish Centre for Human Rights
National University of Ireland, Galway
Phone: +353 (0)91 493948, Fax: +353 (0) 91 494575
E-mail: humanrights

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This page was last updated Thursday, October 15, 2009