The Department offers research postgraduate programs leading to the degrees of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

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Candidates normally conduct research work under the supervision of at least one member of the Department’s teaching staff. Candidates without a research Master’s degree will be considered for admission to a 4-year PhD program, and those who hold research Master’s degrees will be considered for admission to a 3-year PhD program. Candidates for the research degrees of MPhil and 4-year PhD will be required to follow an approved course of study and research, including coursework. The objective of the coursework component is to aid research work and preparation for writing the thesis.

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Full-time candidates may hold a University postgraduate studentship or another postgraduate studentship or scholarship which is intended to enable them to study on a full-time basis.

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MPhil students may apply for transfer to PhD after confirmation of candidature and after completion of coursework requirements, provided that such transfer is approved at least 3 months prior to the expiry of the MPhil candidature. PhD students may apply for transfer to MPhil within the first 12 months (3-year PhD) or 18 months (4-year PhD) of candidature, in the case of full-time students; or within the first 18 months (3-year PhD) or 27 months (4-year PhD), in the case of part-time students.

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The results of the research must be presented in the form of a thesis, which will be examined by both internal and external examiners. In addition, candidates are required to take an oral examination.