Procedure for PhD Submissions to the Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine.

 

1. Outline:

1. Have a study Concept, draft protocol, prospective supervision team.
2. Register for PhD at student admin.
3. Finalise supervision team and protocol.
4. Apply for funding if required.
5. Complete a research writing course if one has not been previously completed.
6. Have a meeting with statistician and incorporate into protocol.
7. Submit to PhD Committee and attend meeting.
8. Once approved, submit to Ethics Committee.
9. Once approved, submit to other bodies that require approval. (eg. NHRD, animal ethics)
10. Study may commence.
11. Supervisor appoints examiners 6 months before expected graduation.
12. Thesis is sent to post-grad office who sends it out to the examiners.
13. Examiner’s comments are addressed.
14. Thesis defence.
14. Graduation.

 

2. PhD Committee meeting dates and proceedings:

The student, supervisor and at least one co-supervisor should attend the PhD Committee meeting following their submission.

The dates and submission deadlines can be viewed here.

Committee members will review the protocol before the meeting. At the meeting, before the candidate and supervisors arrive, members will discuss their comments and come to a consensus.
The candidate and supervisors are then invited into the room. The candidate will be asked to briefly (2mins) summarise their study detailing the novelty, method, and expected problems. Thereafter, the members will ask questions and have a discussion with the candidate/supervisors as required. At the end of the meeting, the chairperson will summarise the committee’s opinion and deliver an outcome. A formal decision letter and reviewer comments will be sent after the meeting.

 

3. Documentation to submit to PhD Committee:

1. PhD Title Form
2. Memorandum of Agreement
3. Protocol
4. A declaration
5. Funding letter
6. Statistician letter or waiver
7. CVs with CV cover
8. Turnitin Report
9. Proof of research writing course attendance.
10. Proof of PhD registration.
11. Checklist

 

 

4. Revision submission

Revisions should be done as soon as possible to avoid delays for the candidate.  There is however no deadline.  Revisions for which a re-appearance at the meeting was not specifically requested, will be reviewed online, and the outcome thereof communicated.  It will either be approved, or further corrections may be requested. Feedback/approval may take a couple of weeks, so kindly submit well in advance of your desired ethics submission deadline. A re-appearance at a meeting may be requested should the committee feel that the comments where not adequately addressed and a discussion is needed. 

In those cases where a candidate was requested to re-submit and re-appear, the submission deadlines for a specific meeting should be adhered to.

Only 3 revisions will be considered.  If the protocol is still not approved after 3, it will be rejected and a new protocol should be submitted.

Documents to submit for revisions:
1. Protocol with track changes indicated
2. Clean protocol
3. Rebuttal letter (a reply to each comment, stating what has been changed and where in the protocol, or motivating for changes not made)
4. A new title form should the title have changed.
5. Any other documents which changes were requested for in the feedback letter.      

 

5. Progress reports:
Approval is subject to 6 monthly progress reports.
Progress report Template

 

6. Amendments / Supervisor changes

Amendments / supervisor changes should be submitted for approval to the PhD Committee, and thereafter to the Ethics Committee. For amendments, a motivation letter signed by the candidate and supervisor should be submitted together with a revised protocol indicating track changes.
For a supervisor change, a motivation letter signed by the candidate and supervisor should be submitted together with an updated title form, MOA, and CV with CV cover.

 

7. Examiners

The supervisor should submit examiner nominations for approval 6 months before expected completion.

NB: Do not copy in the candidate on the submission.

1. Examiners form
2. Short CVs indicating previous examination and supervision experience as well as research track record
3. CV cover

 

8. Contact details

For any queries directly related to the PhD Committee (submissions, amendments, revisions, examiners, progress reports etc.), please contact Franco Meintjes: [email protected] , 012 354 4513, Room 51238, level 5, bridge C, Department of Ophthalmology, Steve Biko Academic hospital.

For any queries that are not directly related to the Committee (registrations, graduations, finances etc.), please contact the Post Graduate Office: Annette Welman: [email protected] , 012 356 3062, Room 3.33, Floor 1, Tswelopele Building, Prinshof Campus.

 

9. Other documents

1. Standard Operating Procedure
2. Upgrade from MSc procedure