An Alternate Route to a PhD Degree

Emeritus Professor Dato Dr. S.K. Lam Research Consultant Universiti Malaya

The Lifeline of Research

Students Good supervisors Choice of discipline Good ideas Enthusiasm Hard work Funding Finished products : thesis and publications

UM PhD Scholarships

Since 2006, 483 PhD scholarships awarded, 128 for studies in UK, 84 in Australia and 271 locally National target to produce 60,000 PhDs by 2020 Many unable to finish degree within stipulated time of 3-4 years Poor selection of students, poor monitoring Special committee of 6 set up under TNC(A) to look into weaknesses and to recall students from overseas where necessary

Know Your Rights!

Choose discipline and topic Check out the track record of your supervisor using UM Expert

List of ISI publications Citation index, h-index Past PhD students performance Views of current PhD students Funding history International linkage New technologies or re-cycled technologies Beware of IP Rights

PhD Thesis : Conventional Route

Standard chapters
Introduction Literature review Materials and Methods Results Discussion Summary References No more than 100,000 words

PhD Via Publications

Many universities adopted this

University of Reading, UK City University, London University of Technology, Sydney University of New York, Prague University of Southampton, UK University of Canterbury, UK University of Cambridge, UK University of Sydney, Australia

UNIVERSITI MALAYA

Initiated this in early 2009 Worked with IPS Dean to get paper approved by Senate Several rounds of meetings with Deans and others to seek views Final paper submitted to Senate in June 2009 Approval obtained and implemented in 2009

IPS PhD Guidelines (IPS195/2009)

UM permits presentation of thesis for PhD in the format of published and/or submitted papers in high impact journals during the period of candidature Papers must be based on a particular theme or focus and form a cohesive research write-up Quality of thesis by published papers should be in accordance with PhD-level research

Quality and Quantity

High impact journals such as ISI and WoS journals of respective disciplines Minimum number of papers and/or manuscripts is normally THREE In some disciplines a larger number of papers is required (e.g. crystallography) Candidate must be main or first author of at least TWO out of THREE papers

THESIS CONTENT

List of publications and/or manuscripts Acknowledgements of joint writers and evidence of permissions from various authors Published papers or evidence of acceptance by journals Clear statement of each published joint paper the role or contribution by candidate

Thesis Synopsis

The preface should summarize the most important findings presented in each published paper Indicate how the included works are thematically linked or tied to a particular research framework and how, when considered together, they contribute significantly to knowledge in the discipline

Introduction Chapter

Similar to a traditional PhD thesis with:

Description of research problem investigated Objectives of the study Account of research progress linking the research papers so that the examiners can understand the logic behind the progression of the research

Literature Review

This should be comprehensive and provide a critical review of relevant literature Knowledge gaps must be highlighted to justify the objectives of the research programme Published work, both national and international, must be cited

Conclusion Chapter

Materials and Methods which are included in the published papers need not be detailed Conclusions from each published papers should be linked thematically into a cohesive whole The cumulative effect of the published papers, the significance of the findings and the new knowledge claims must be substantiated

PhD Thesis Examination

Examination process is similar to the traditional thesis 2 external and 1 internal examiners in the discipline Theses which are considered not meritorious enough may be referred for further work within a period of 6-18 months Thesis may be re-submitted in the same format or in the traditional PhD thesis format

Who Qualifies?

EVERYONE Identify project topic and good objectives Significant progress within first 12 months Discussion with supervisor re possibility of alternate route of PhD submission Department/Faculty Panel to make decision Be prepared to make oral presentation (similar to conversion seminar)

He Qualifies

Dr. Tee Kok Keng, UMMC Topic : HIV molecular analyses and evolutionary biology of HIV strains Finished within allowable period 16 published papers to date, mostly during PhD candidature 10 papers as first author 2 review articles in peer-reviewed journals 1 book chapter as sole author on HIV Diversity and Antiretroviral resistance Graduated in 2009 based on conventional route

She Qualifies

Dr. Sim Yoke Leng, Chemistry Department Topic : Organic solvents 10 published papers in peer-reviewed journals Good citation index (J. Org. Chem.) Graduated in 2008 by conventional route Could have completed PhD well within 3 years if alternate route was in place in 2008

Academic Staff Qualifies

Admission criteria for academic staff Served not less than 3 years as an academic staff of the University and still active in the service in the University Graduates of the University having the minimum qualification as follows: (1) a Masters degree (2) a Bachelor of Medicine or Dentistry degree An individual who, through prior publication and contribution towards the body of knowledge, is accepted by the Senate as a scholar in the field The candidate must NOT already hold a doctoral degree from the University in the same discipline or area of research

PhD APPLICATION
Candidate must submit a written application together with a curriculum vitae to the Registrar

Application should include the following:

(a) at least 5 samples of published work in high impact journals (e.g. ISI journals) prefaced by a critical summary of about 3,000 words about the publications (b) the summary should document the theme or research focus as well as identify the contribution of the research to the advancement of knowledge (c) a detailed list of the papers with a synopsis of about 1,000 words summarizing the most important findings of each paper

Administrative Process
Duration of Study (a) Minimum period (b) Maximum period 6 months 24 months

Faculty will appoint at least one supervisor for the candidate whose role will be to advise and guide the candidate

Format of thesis is as stated in IPS 196/2009

(a) Number of papers not less than 5 and published within 10 years to the date of submission

(b) Academic publication in the form of a book acceptable

(c) Candidate must be main author of at least four out of 5 papers (d) Evidence of accepted paper can be considered

MOCK THESIS CONVENTIONAL THESIS

Writers block : I need help!

HELP AT HAND

Emeritus Professor Dr. Yong Hoi Sen Dr. Sim Yoke Leng IPS Academic Staff Emeritus Professor Dato Dr. SK Lam Other senior professors in respective disciplines
Help in stringing chapters together to make into a cohesive whole Help in writing of papers

TO BE THE FIRST CANDIDATE TO OBTAIN SUCH A PhD AND MAKE HISTORY