Post Graduate Programmes

Regulations for the PhD Degree 

• The PhD Degree is a research degree and shall be awarded on the basis of a thesis.

• It is normally open to students with at least and Upper Second Class honours degree who have completed appropriate Post-graduate qualification or who are on transfer from the MPhil research degree.

• A candidate may be required to attend courses during the period of registration.  He/she may be required to write examination.  Such requirements must be approved by the Faculty Sub-Committee at the time of registration of the student.

• A candidate registered for full-time studies will be required to present a thesis on an approved subject not less than 6 semesters, and not more than six calendar years after full registration.

• Part-time candidates shall be required to present their thesis not less than 8 semesters and not more than eight calendar years after full registration.

• The length of the thesis shall be in accordance with specifications laid down by the Departments of the Faculty, but shall not exceed 80,000 words excluding footnotes and appendices.  The Board for Graduate Studies may in special circumstances give permission for its limit to be exceeded.

• A thesis will not be deemed adequate unless:

  (a)    it is judged to be a new contribution to knowledge  
  (b)    it shows clear evidence of original research  
  (c)    it is worthy of publication.

A candidate for the PhD will be required to take an oral examination on a general field of study and on the thesis submitted.  Wherever possible, the External Examiner should be present at the oral examination.  In his absence, his written report shall be made available to the examiners present.

• A candidate, after consideration of his thesis by the Examiners and after oral examination may be

  - recommended to Senate for the award of the degree

  - required to re-submit the thesis within 18 months

  - required to re-submit his thesis and repeat the oral examination and one subsequent  occasion within eighteen (18) months from the decision of the Board for Graduate Studies.

  - required to make corrections to thesis within six (6) months from the decision of the Board for Graduate Studies.

  - failed outright.
  

   Regulations for Master of Philosophy (MPhil) Degree

• The MPhil Degree is a research degree and shall be awarded on the basis of a thesis:

• It is open to students with at least an Upper Second Class Honours Degree.

• A candidate who does not satisfy this requirement may be admitted in the first instance as a  qualifying student, and must satisfy specified requirements before being finally admitted to the MPhil Degree.

• A candidate may be required to attend courses and or seminars and pass specified departmental examinations.  Such requirements for each candidate shall be determined by the department and must be approved by the Faculty Sub-Committee at the time of registration of the student.

• A candidate registered for full-time studies shall be required to present a dissertation on an approved subject not less than 6 terms and not more than five (5) full calendar years after registration.

• Part-time candidates shall be required to present their dissertation not less than 9 terms and not more than seven (7) calendar years  after registration.

• The length of the dissertation shall be in accordance with specifications laid down by the departments of the Faculty but should not normally exceed 50,000 words excluding footnotes and appendices.

• A candidate will normally be require to take an oral examination on the general field of study and on the dissertation.  If the External Examiner is unable to be present at the oral examination his written report should be made available to the other examiners at the oral examination.  Exemption from the oral examination will be at the discretion of the Faculty Sub-Committee for Graduate Studies on the recommendation of the Examiners.

• A candidate, after consideration of his dissertation by the Board of Examiners and, where relevant, the oral examination may be -

  - recommended to Senate for the award of the degree

  - required to re-submit the dissertation and repeat the oral examination on one subsequent occasion within 18 months from the decision of University Board for Graduate Studies or

  - failed outright.

    

  Regulations for Master of Science (MSc) Degree

In the Faculty of Social Sciences, the Master of Science degree will normally be awarded on the basis of a written examination or of a written examination and thesis in one of the disciplines of Economics, Government or Sociology as set out in the detailed regulations below.  It is not intended that the papers or fields of specialization listed should have detailed syllabuses.  The examiners shall be at liberty to test any candidate by awarded the degree on the basis of the thesis, but in such cases candidates shall always be required to satisfy the examiners in a viva voce examination or by a written test that they have an adequate general knowledge of the subject.

Candidates may be given permission to take an examination for the degree consisting of papers chosen from more than one of the subject areas of Economics, Government, Management Studies and Sociology, with or without a thesis, the precise combination of papers or of papers and the thesis being approved in each case by the Board of the Faculty.

 The MSc Degree in Economics

The MSc in Economics shall be awarded on the following basis:  

Examinations in:

Four (4) compulsory half-courses:  
(1)    Microeconomic Theory  
(2)    Macroeconomic Theory  
(3)    Quantitative Methods I  
(4)    Development Policy and Planning  

AND

(i)     A short Dissertation Research Project, and  
(ii)    An examination in any FOUR (4) half courses chosen from among the following:  
         (a) industrial Organization  
         (b) Macroeconomic Policy  
         (c)  International Trade Theory and Policy  
         (d) Quantitative Methods II  
         (e) Advanced Econometrics  
         (f)   Public Sector Economics  
         (g)  Agricultural Economics  
         (h)  Monetary Economics  
         (i)   International Finance  
         (j)   Labour Economics  
         (k)  any other approved course

N.B. In special circumstances, students may be permitted to follow the MSc programmed as approved for the Mona Campus (See Mona Handbook)

The Faculty of Social Sciences
University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus
P.O.Box 64, Bridgetown, Barbados

Tel: (246) 417-4265/66 Fax: (246) 417-4270
E-mail: socsci@uwichill.edu.bb