Doctor of Philosophy

Priority is given to graduates of accredited master's degree programmes in the related discipline of choice. Individuals admitted with a bachelor's degree are required to complete a programme of master's courses at accredited national or international universities or colleges as a requisite to entry into doctoral courses.

Applicants must submit official transcripts from previous colleges and universities, and a statement of educational objectives, specific focus of research, and programme and career goals. It is also recommended, though optional, that applicants submit course descriptions of their Master's degree courses to assist the Admissions Committee in determining whether prerequisites have been met.

The written examination is taken immediately after completing the coursework sequence and covers the material in those seminars. It consists of a paper and a two-day written test, and is usually administered during the month following the end of the student's third year.

Students submit and defend their thesis proposals in the oral qualifying examination, no later than in the autumn of their third year. The objective is to determine whether students have the intellectual capacity and academic preparation to complete the programme. Successful completion of prior phases of the programme and a well-defined research proposal are required.

A thesis is the formulation and completion of a major research project and its written presentation. It is the last step in the programme. The partner universities have specific guidelines for completing the thesis, and a faculty committee reviews it as an ongoing process. The committee is chosen by the student and must consist of three or more faculty members, one of whom must be from a department outside the partner university or college. When all members are satisfied, they sign off on the thesis to signify their approval, and the student then files the work with the partner university or college where they are studying.

PHD 896, Thesis Mentoring. The purpose of this course is to assist doctoral students to receive mentoring for initiating and continuing steady progress toward their Ph.D. degree. Students prepare quarterly progress plans, engage in regular scholarly discussion with their faculty mentor and fellow doctoral students, and submit a personal progress report at the end of each quarter.

PHD 897, Developing a Prospectus. This course provides an opportunity to design a thesis prospectus in collaboration with programme colleagues, and especially with mentorship from a course instructor. Students may analyze examples of doctoral prospectuses covering a wide range of projects, refine their thesis questions, and further explore the research methods or project types they may incorporate into their own thesis. The prospectus is ultimately offered by the student as a document for review by potential mentors for the thesis.

PHD 898, Writing a Proposal. This course integrates all of the previous work throughout the programme, providing an opportunity to design a thesis proposal in collaboration with programme colleagues and the course instructor. The development of a proposal may feed the final thesis, allowing the student to incorporate feedback from the course in its completion.

PHD 899, Thesis. The final thesis demonstrates a student's scholarly ability to examine, critique and synthesize knowledge, theory and experience, so that new ideas can be tested, best practices identified, established and verified, and theoretical, practice or policy constructs evaluated and advanced. In all cases the thesis is a rigorous inquiry that results in new knowledge, insight or practice, and every thesis should make a fresh contribution to the field of practice in the management environment.

Emphasis on the substantive matter of the thesis. The student presents the subject matter of their thesis, indicating the background and significance of the topic, the objectives of the thesis, the conceptual framework, the source of data and the expected contributions of the findings, conclusions and recommendations. They exchange ideas with the seminar participants and with experts from private and public agencies related to their research problem.

Emphasis on research methodology. The student presents the review of the literature on data collection, and the development and testing of the research tools to be used for the thesis, in accordance with the thesis objectives, and exchanges ideas with seminar participants and experts.

Emphasis on the research findings and holistic presentation of the thesis. The student presents the findings and totality of the thesis at a seminar, responds to questions raised by the participants, exchanges ideas with seminar participants and experts, and makes any necessary corrections within the scope of the approved thesis proposal.

Students present their thesis to the thesis examiner committee. The committee consists of lecturers and academics from the university, experts and specialists from an organization or institute related to the thesis topic, and the thesis advisory committee. The thesis advisory committee is present as an observer only, and does not answer questions or comments from the examiner committee or offer any explanations.

Where the thesis is returned for reconsideration, the student and supervisors must correct it before presenting it to the public academic seminar. A thesis that needs to be corrected must go through reading by external members of the thesis examiner committee, of at least three members.