Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

RESOLUTION

The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy is governed by Resolution No. 507 of the University Court. The provisions of the Resolution are as follows:

1.   The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) may be awarded by the Senate of the University of Glasgow in each of the Colleges thereof;

2.   The Senate shall have power to make such regulations governing the award of the Degree as may be approved by the University Court, and these shall be as stated in Schedules A to D;

3.   A candidate for the Degree may either undertake study or research in accordance with the provisions of Schedule A or, in the case of The Glasgow School of Art, Schedule C, or shall present either a published thesis or a published memoir or work or other material in accordance with the provisions of Schedule B or, in the case of The Glasgow School of Art, Schedule D;

4.   The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy whether by research or by published work shall in no case be conferred on persons who have not satisfied the conditions set out below, and shall not be conferred honoris causa.

Schedule C[1]: Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Research at The Glasgow School of Art

1.   Eligibility

Research students who have pursued in The Glasgow School of Art, a course of special study or research may offer themselves for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, under the following conditions, namely:

a)   that normally they have obtained, as a minimum, an undergraduate Degree with First or Upper Second Class Honours in any Scottish University, or in another University or College specially recognised for the purpose of this Section by the University Court on the recommendation of the Senate (provided always that a diploma or certificate recognised in like manner as equivalent to a undergraduate or postgraduate Degree may be accepted in place of a Degree);

b)   that they have produced to the Senate evidence of satisfactory progress in the special study or research undertaken by them;

c)   that they have pursued such study on a full-time basis for a period of not less than three academic years, or for a period of part-time study of not less than five academic years; provided always that the Senate shall have power, in exceptional cases, to reduce the period by one academic year, and to permit a research student during part of the period to pursue elsewhere their special study or research;

d)   The period of study or research elsewhere, permitted by §1(d), shall not normally exceed 12 months.

2.   Supervision

The progress of each research student shall be overseen by a Supervisory Team appointed for that student, and by the Research Degrees Sub-Committee of the Research & Enterprise Committee of The Glasgow School of Art (hereinafter referred to as the RDSC). A student can enrol only with their Primary Supervisor. If it is not apparent at the commencement of studies the context of the particular nature of, or specialism, required for the supplementary supervision of a student’s study, the rest of the student’s Supervisory Team may be considered at a later stage. By the time the student submits their registration to the RDSC, a second supervisor should be approved by the RDSC or its Convener no later than eight months from the commencement of studies.

The Supervisory Team must meet with the research student at regular intervals. A meeting of the research student and the full Supervisory Team (including PhD Coordinator and/or Head of Doctorial Studies, where appropriate) will take place not less than every six months. A first meeting with the student should take place within the first few weeks of the student’s first term. Students should regularly check-in with the Primary Supervisor through a series of tutorials that should be arranged throughout the year. A minute of each meeting should be kept, initiated by the student and recording what is discussed and agreed. The Supervisory Team shall be comprised of the following:

• A Primary Supervisor (main subject domain), who shall be the main supervisor and a member of the academic staff at The Glasgow School of Art, and shall be competent to supervise postgraduate research degrees;
• One or two co-supervisor(s) as may be appointed by the RDSC. The co-supervisor may normally be a member of the academic staff at The Glasgow School of Art, or may be external to the School if their particular expertise is relevant to the programme of research being proposed and/or undertaken. The co-supervisor shall be competent to supervise postgraduate research degrees;

In addition to the core Supervisory Team, the local PhD Coordinator will support the student and the Supervisory Team in relation to procedures. The Head of Doctorial Studies will provide key overview, in particular with regard to funding, training and regulations.

The Supervisory Team shall be responsible to the RDSC to which it shall report annually. The RDSC shall be responsible to the Academic Council of The Glasgow School of Art for the progress of all research students. The Academic Council shall be responsible to the University Senate through the Higher Degrees Committee of the College of Arts.

Candidates must be available for regular supervision by their supervisor(s) unless given permission otherwise by the RDSC.

Candidates on a part-time basis must be available for regular supervision throughout their period of study unless given permission otherwise by the RDSC.

3.   The Research Project and the Thesis

(Entrants prior to session 2013-14 should consult the regulations published in the University Regulations for their year of entry.)

All candidates for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy shall present for the approval of the Senate either a research project (portfolio with extended written text) or a full written thesis which shall embody the results of the candidate’s special study or research. A candidate must include in the extended written text or full written thesis a written abstract of 250–500 words. The abstract must be an adequate and informative summary of the work suitable for publication by The Glasgow School of Art. The research project or full written thesis shall be accompanied by a declaration signed by the candidate that the research project or thesis has been composed by themself. Any written extended text, supporting documentation or thesis must be written in English.

3.1   Portfolio

Within these regulations, the term portfolio shall be taken to mean a body of original work, comprising one or a number of items, in fine art, craft, design or architecture. The body of work may be presented in material or virtual reality. The work may take the form of objects, images, environments, architectural structures, performances, texts, virtual or conceptual works, software or designs for any of these, or any comparable form. The portfolio may include work of an interdisciplinary character when the predominant discipline is fine art, craft, design or architecture.

The body of original work shall be documented by photographic or other visual process together with any necessary textual material, including labels or notes of explanation written in English. The documentation must be in permanent form. The documentation shall be to a standard whereby a future researcher may recognise the new knowledge represented or embodied within the research project, as determined by the Examiners. The documentation shall include references, a bibliography and notes in which the candidate must state the sources from which their information is derived, the extent to which they have availed themself of the work of others, and the portions of the portfolio and any accompanying written thesis which they claim as original.

The documen­tation of the research project and the full thesis shall become the property of The Glasgow School of Art and shall be lodged in the Library of The Glasgow School of Art.

A research student may submit their work within one of the following categories: PhD by Research Project or PhD by Thesis. An initial proposal of a category should be made by the student within their application for registration. A final proposal of category should be agreed by the student and the Supervisory Team and submitted to the RDSC for approval prior to the examination. If the category of research project has been approved, the content of the portfolio and the arrangements for its exhibition shall be subject to the agreement of the Supervisory Team.

PhD by Research Project

A candidate may submit for examination a portfolio together with an extended written text which, together but not necessarily separately, represent or embody new knowledge. An extended text shall normally consist of 25,000-40,000 words excluding refer­ences, bibliography and appendices. A candidate who wishes to submit an extended text of lesser or greater length must seek prior permission from the RDSC.

3.2   PhD by Thesis

A candidate must submit a thesis which shall embody the results of the candidate’s special study or research, and which shall be accom­panied by a declaration signed by the candidate that the thesis has been composed by themself.

The thesis shall be a minimum of 70,000 and a maximum of 100,000 words including references, bibliography and appendices in each case. A candidate who wishes to submit a thesis of greater or lesser length must seek prior permission from the RDSC.

4.   Examination

The research project or thesis shall be examined by a team of Examiners appointed by the RDSC and approved by the College of Arts Higher Degrees Committee and the Senate. The team of Examiners shall include at least one internal examiner appointed by the Senate and one external examiner appointed by the University Court on the recommendation of the Senate. In the case of a submission by a member of staff or a former member of staff two of the examiners must be external.[2]

A candidate for the Degree of PhD must normally expect to be asked to present themself for oral or other examination by the Examiners on the subject-matter of the research project or thesis.

A candidate must submit the research project or thesis for examination at the conclusion of the minimum period of full-time or part-time study. This period shall commence from the date of initial registration as a postgraduate student in The Glasgow School of Art. In the case of candidates who do not submit the research project or thesis at the conclusion of the minimum period of study, extension to the deadline may be granted in accordance with the following provisions:

i)    the RDSC may, on consideration of a stated case from the candidate’s Supervisory Team, approve an extension of one year full-time or two years part-time for full-time candidates, or two years part-time for part-time candidates;

ii)   the Senate, in exceptional circumstances, may approve a further final extension of up to one year full-time or part-time.

A candidate who fails to meet the standard required for the award of the Degree of PhD may be permitted by the Examiners to present themself for re-examination on one occasion only and normally not later than three years from the date of their first submission. In each case the examiners shall prescribe whether the candidate will be required to represent in the whole of the examination or in a specific component.

Alternatively, if the Examiners consider that the submission has not achieved the standard required for the award of the Degree of PhD, but is of sufficient merit, they may recommend the candidate revise and resubmit the work for consideration for either the Degree of MLitt or MPhil as appropriate.

A candidate must submit one printed copy and one digital copy of the thesis or extended written text accompanied by a declaration that the research has been carried out and the work completed by the candidate, and that the work has not been accepted in fulfilment of the requirements of any other degree or professional qualification. The layout and binding of the printed copy should generally conform to the British Standard Institution’s Recommendations for the presentation of theses (BS4821:1990), a copy of which is available in the Library. The digital copy should be formatted according to recommendations made available through the GSA Library website. In addition a candidate for the PhD by Research Project must submit one copy of the documentation of their portfolio in either print or digital form. A PhD by Thesis candidate who chooses to submit a portfolio alongside their thesis must also submit one copy of the documentation of their portfolio in either print or digital form. If the Degree is awarded, both print and digital copies of the thesis or extended written text, and the copy of the documentation of portfolio shall become the property of The Glasgow School of Art and be deposited in the Library.

Schedule D: Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Published Work at The Glasgow School of Art

1.   A person may be admitted as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by published work who:

a)   i)    is a graduate of The Glasgow School of Art and whose date of submission of their thesis is at least five years from the date of their first graduation in The Glasgow School of Art; or

ii)   is a member of staff who has normally been employed for the full-time equivalent of at least five years and is paid through The Glasgow School of Art Finance Office or directly by a grant aided body approved by the Research and Enterprise Committee; or

iii)  is a former member of staff who has completed the full-time equivalent of a minimum of five years employment and was paid through The Glasgow School of Art Finance Office or directly by a grant aided body approved by the Research and Enterprise Committee, and who presents themself as a candidate for the degree within one calendar year of leaving The Glasgow School of Art’s employment.

b)   has not been enrolled as a Research Student in The Glasgow School of Art during the five years preceding the date of submission although the RDSC shall have the discretion to entertain applications from candidates who wish to transfer from the conventional PhD; and

c)   does not hold any Doctoral Degree of The Glasgow School of Art or of any other University or College in the same subject area; and

d)   has been found by the appropriate School to possess prima facie a qualification for the Degree.

The RDSC shall have the discretion to reduce the qualifying period to three years in the case of full-time members of academic staff in the employment of the University.

2.   Subject to the provisions of §9 of Schedule D of this Resolution, candidates for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by published work shall present for the approval of Academic Council published work, which shall be a record of original research undertaken by the candidate, and shall be accompanied by a declaration signed by the candidate detailing the extent to which the research has been done and the work written by themself.

3.   Every prospective candidate for the degree shall submit to the relevant School Research Sub Committee two copies of the work to be examined together with copies of the following documentation each in triplicate: a curriculum vitae, and an critical overview of 2,000-5,000 words which justifies the intellectual significance of the submission. Should the submission comprise diverse publications, the critical overview should explain the relationship, between the works submitted, including any developments which have occurred between one piece and another.

4.   The Head of the appropriate School shall nominate a member of staff to give advice to the candidate with regard to the preparation of their submission.

5.   Preliminary assessment: Only if it is in the opinion of the School Research Sub Committee or RDSC and of any adviser(s) whom it may consult that the work described in the abstract, in the explanatory essay and the publications is of the standard expected for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by supervised research, will the full application be accepted for consideration.