The following are procedures specific only for the examination of students for the award of the M.Phil. degree who:

(i)  are not allowed by the Transfer Assessment Board to proceed towards the Ph.D. degree but whose work may be eligible for the award of the M.Phil. degree after further work; or

(ii)  opt to terminate their studies at M.Phil. level (normally after at least three semesters of study on a full-time basis) and wish to be examined for the award of the M.Phil. degree.

For matters not provided for in the Doctor of Philosophy Regulations and in these Procedures, reference for guidance as appropriate may also be made to the General Regulations for University Postgraduate Awards, 2021.

Further to section 2.1 of the Ph.D. examination process:

10.1.1  The Faculty Offices are responsible for the following aspects of the examination process:

• Sending a reminder to students about the maximum period by when they are required to submit their work for the M.Phil. degree;
• Processing of the students’ request to submit their work for examination on the Intention to submit Master of Philosophy Dissertation for Examination Form [Word] and the Master of Philosophy Dissertation Embargo Request Form [Word], if required;
• Assisting the FDC in checking that the students have successfully completed any required study-unit/s with an overall average mark of at least 60% and (for students who commenced their studies as from 1 February 2023) that they have pursued at least 30 hours of professional development activities (Ph.D. Regulation 31 refers);
• Processing of Appointment of Master of Philosophy Degree Board of Examiners’ Form [Word] through the FDC and the Faculty Board and referring the recommendation for consideration of the DAC and Senate;
• Receiving the students’ work for examination, as well as the Submission of Master of Philosophy Dissertation for Examination Form [Word], together with a signed declaration that it has been submitted through the Turnitin plagiarism detection software and resultant report; issuing a receipt for all documentation received;
• In liaison with the Chair of the BoE, dispatching the students’ work, the Master of Philosophy Degree Examiner’s Preliminary Report Form [Word], and instructions to the BoE;

• After Senate’s decision, assisting the Chair in forwarding a copy of the Master of Philosophy Degree Board of Examiners’ Final Joint Report Form [Word] to students.The examination process for Ph.D.

Further to section 3 of the Ph.D. examination process:

10.2.1  The examination process set out here relates to the submission of the students’ work, its preliminary assessment by the BoE, and the subsequent oral examination. The procedure to be followed is set out in the flow chart of the procedure for the examination process [PDF].

10.2.2  A dissertation being considered for the award of the M.Phil. degree must demonstrate that it:

(i)   constitutes research of an advanced or an original nature; 

(ii)  contains evidence of the ability of the student to relate the subject matter of the dissertation to the existing body of knowledge;

(iii)  contains evidence of the ability of the student to apply research methods appropriate to the subject; and

(iv)  has a satisfactory level of literary presentation.

Further to section 4.1 of the Ph.D. examination process:

10.3.1  Not less than three months before the intended date of submission of the students’ work for examination, students shall signify their intention to the Faculty Office using the Intention to submit Master of Philosophy Dissertation for Examination Form [Word]. This will allow the Faculty to start the process of appointing the BoE. 

10.3.2  Students who wish to have their thesis embargoed should submit the Master of Philosophy Dissertation Embargo Request Form [Word], if required;

10.3.3  Students are required to formally submit an electronic copy of their work and/or any copies (as directed by the Faculty Office) to the Faculty Office by the deadline indicated. Besides copies of their work students are to submit (a) the Submission of Master of Philosophy Dissertation for Examination Form [Word] that comprises a signed statement (including a declaration of authenticity) and a signed declaration by the Principal Supervisor certifying that they are aware that the student is submitting the dissertation for examination; and (b) a copy of the receipt generated by the Turnitin plagiarism detection software and the resultant report.

Further to section 4.2 of the Ph.D. examination process:

10.4.1  Dissertations considered for the award of the M.Phil. degree shall be examined by a BoE appointed for the purpose by Senate, on the recommendation of the Faculty Board and the DAC. The BoE shall include a Chair, who shall act as convenor and who shall be a resident academic, a visiting external examiner, and two internal examiners who shall normally be resident academics. Where the student is currently involved in teaching and/or research at the University or at the Junior College, whenever practicable, the internal examiners, who shall normally be resident academics, shall be appointed from different faculties or departments than those where the student teaches.   

10.4.2  A majority of the members of the BoE shall have experience of conducting doctoral examinations.

10.4.3  Heads of Department/Directors are responsible for nominating suitable examiners using the Appointment of Master of Philosophy Degree Board of Examiners’ Form [Word].

Further to section 4.5 of the Ph.D. examination process:

10.5.1  The dissertation should be assessed by the examiners who are each required to prepare a preliminary report, in all cases written in English, using the Master of Philosophy Degree Examiner’s Preliminary Report Form [Word] which will be provided by the Faculty Office when the dissertation is sent for examination.

Further to section 5.1 of the Ph.D. examination process:

10.6.1  The oral examination should be held at the University of Malta. A suitable venue should be identified and the examination session should not begin earlier than 09:00 nor be concluded later than 18:00. An oral examination for an M.Phil. shall normally extend over a minimum of one hour and a maximum of two hours, with appropriate breaks. Students must be present for the oral examination in person at the University of Malta. In exceptional circumstances, the Doctoral Academic Committee may approve that an oral examination is held with one of the examiners participating remotely. In such cases, the Chair of the Board of Examiners should send a request to the Chair of the Doctoral Academic Committee and consult the Guidelines for Online Oral Examinations.

10.7.1  After the oral examination, the examiners will produce a final joint report written in English and make an agreed recommendation on the award of the M.Phil. degree (see section 10.8 below). The Chair of the BoE is responsible for ensuring that the Master of Philosophy Degree Examiner’s Preliminary Report Form [Word] and the Master of Philosophy Degree Board of Examiners’ Final Joint Report Form [Word] are completed, signed and submitted to the DAC within two weeks following the oral examination. In case of disagreement amongst the members of the BoE, the procedures as described in the University Assessment Regulations, 2009 shall apply. 

Further to section 6.1.1 of the Ph.D. examination process:

10.8.1  The various recommendations provided for in the Ph.D. Regulations are set out on the Master of Philosophy Degree Board of Examiners’ Final Joint Report Form [Word] and examiners are to tick the section which applies. The decisions available to the examiners and which may be recommended to Senate for students being considered for the M.Phil. degree are the following:

10.9.1  These are changes that, although possibly extensive, will not result in changes to the claims that students make about their contribution or familiarity with knowledge.

10.9.2  Students required to make minor changes to their work will be granted 3 months to complete them. The period starts from the date on which they are provided with an itemised list of changes by the Chair of the BoE. Examples of minor changes include, but are not limited to, the following:

• correction of typographical and/or grammatical errors;
• improvement in the readability/accessibility of the information and knowledge contained in the thesis;
• improvement in a minor way to the logical argument.

10.9.3  Once Chairs of BoEs check and confirm that the changes have been undertaken, the Chair must sign and date the Confirmation of Minor/Major Changes to Master of Philosophy Dissertation Form [Word] and return it to the Doctoral School for consideration by the DAC. As a general guideline, the Chair should aim to complete their checking of the changes and forward the Confirmation of Minor/Major Changes to Master of Philosophy Dissertation Form [Word] within up to three weeks of receiving the revised dissertation.

10.10.1  These are changes that are likely to result in a change to the claims that students make about their contributions, or their conclusions. A second oral examination may be held at the discretion of the Board of Examiners. The external examiner need not be present for the oral examination physically but should participate in the oral examination through remote means.

10.10.2  Students required to make major changes to their thesis will be granted 6 to 12 months to complete them. The period starts from the date on which they are provided with the itemised list of changes by the Chair of the BoE. Examples of major changes include, but are not limited to the following: 

• significant changes to the methodology and/or evaluation processes, that either render invalid some but not all of the claims made by the student, or that are required to support the claims made;
• grammatical and/or typographical errors that are so frequent that they may impede the examiners’ ability to understand the dissertation;
• re-writing of substantial parts of, or complete, chapters;
• restructuring the dissertation, as long as the changes do not affect the validity of the claims made, and conclusions drawn by the student;
• adding to the discussion of relevant literature;
• improving in a major way the logical argument.

10.10.3  Once the major changes have been checked by the BoE, the members must sign and date the Confirmation of Minor/Major Changes to Master of Philosophy Dissertation Form [Word] and return it to the Doctoral School for consideration by the DAC. As a general guideline, the BoE should aim to complete their checking of the changes within six weeks of receiving the revised thesis and forward the Confirmation of Minor/Major Changes to Master of Philosophy Dissertation Form [Word] forthwith. 

10.11.1  Students shall be granted a period of 12 to 18 months to re-submit their work and be re-examined. Students are required to follow the submission procedures in the same way as for the work submitted originally.

10.11.2  Following receipt of the re-submitted work, the examiners should review it in the same way as they did the version of the dissertation submitted originally. Each examiner should prepare another preliminary report on the work.

10.11.3  A second oral examination should be held at the discretion of the Board of Examiners. The external examiner need not be present for the oral examination physically but should participate in the oral examination through remote means.

10.11.4  The Master of Philosophy Degree Board of Examiners’ Final Joint Report Form [Word] should be completed, signed and returned to the Doctoral School, along with each examiner’s Master of Philosophy Degree Examiner’s Preliminary Report Form [Word], within two weeks.