Degree of Doctor of Health Professions Education

RESOLUTION

The Degree of Doctor of Health Professions Education is governed by Resolution No. 633 of the University Court, the provisions of which are as follows:

1.   The Degree of Doctor of Health Professions Education (DHPE) may be awarded by the Senate of the University of Glasgow in the College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences (the College).

2.   The Senate may make Regulations governing the award of the Degree, which are subject to the approval of the University Court. These shall be stated under 'Regulations'.

3.   The early exit awards of Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma and Master of Science (MSc (Med Sci) Health Professions Education) are also included in the Regulations.

REGULATIONS

A candidate admitted to the Programme leading to the award of the Degree of Health Professions Education must follow the instructions issued by the relevant School and be aware of the content of the Programme Specification and the Programme Document which will contain further details on the Programme including further requirements associated with the award.

1.   Admission

Before being considered for admission to study for the Degree of Doctor of Health Professions Education, a candidate must normally have obtained a First Class or Upper Second Class Honours MBChB, BVS, BDS, Bachelor of Nursing, BSc Degree or other equivalent qualification. 

2.   Duration of Study

2.1   The minimum period of study for the award of the Degree is one year of full-time study followed by two years of part-time study, or five years of part-time study.

2.2   The maximum period within which the Programme must normally be completed is six years from the date of initial registration. 

2.3   A candidate who has not completed the Programme, and the duration of whose period of study has reached the limit prescribed in §2.2, may apply to the College Higher Degrees Committee (or equivalent) for permission to extend their period of study by a maximum of one year. Such application must be accompanied by evidence of the candidate’s progress and an explanation for the delay in completion, and must be supported by the candidate’s supervisor and the Programme Director. Where the candidate has fulfilled the minimum period of part-time study or full-time study required by the regulations, and has not submitted the thesis for examination, the candidate shall register as a writing-up student for the final session. If further supervision is required, the College may require the candidate to register as a full-time or part-time student.

3.   Recognition of Prior Learning

Credit may be awarded towards the completion of the Programme for courses or examinations satisfactorily completed while following another programme at the University of Glasgow or at another institution. Such award will be made in accordance with procedures approved by the College Higher Degrees Committee and set out in the Programme Handbook, up to a maximum of 60 credits.

4.   Structure of Programme

The programme will consist of two taught courses, each carrying a value of 60 credits, a dissertation carrying 60 credits, and a research project leading to the submission of a thesis or equivalent research portfolio. In other respects the taught courses, dissertation and research project will conform to the descriptions set out in the Programme Handbook.

5.   Minimum Requirement for the Award of Credits

Credits for taught courses shall be awarded subject to the fulfilment of required conditions. The minimum requirements for the award of credits are set out in the Code of Assessment at §16.40 – §16.44 in the ‘University Fees and General Information for Students’ section of the University Regulations.

6.   Progress

6.1   A candidate will be permitted to progress to preparation of the dissertation only if they have obtained a grade point average[1] of 12.0 or above in the taught courses described in §4 with at least 75% of the credits at grade D3 or above and all credits at grade F3 or above.

6.2   A candidate will be permitted to progress to commencement of the research project leading to submission of a thesis or equivalent research portfolio only if they have obtained a grade point average of 15.0 or above in the taught courses and dissertation described in §4.

7.   Thesis or Research Portfolio

The thesis or research portfolio must be written in English and must consist normally of approximately 50,000 words. It must be the candidate’s own account of their research and must be accompanied by a declaration to this effect signed by the candidate.

A candidate must submit two copies of the thesis which must include a summary of 250–1,000 words. The summary must be an adequate and informative abstract of the work, suitable for publication by the University. The submitted copies of the thesis may be soft-bound but otherwise should generally conform to the British Standard Institution’s Recommendations for the presentation of theses (BS4821:1990) which is available for consultation in the University Library or from the College Graduate School.

In signing a submission form, the supervisor is confirming that the work was undertaken by the candidate. The wording of the form makes it clear that the supervisor's signature does not endorse that the work has been completed, nor does it indicate that the thesis has achieved the required standard for the award of the degree. A candidate may submit a thesis against the advice of the supervisor but in such cases the supervisor may state the position in a report submitted to the Convener of the Committee of Examiners.

If approved for the degree, one hard-bound copy of the thesis and one electronic copy shall be deposited with the University Library. The bound copy should normally be produced to the standard defined in BS4821:1990, and the electronic copy must conform to University Library specifications published at https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/research/enlighten/theses/formattingyourthesis/. It is the University's normal practice to make the bound copy available for consultation in the Library, and to permit computer download of the electronic copy through its repository service, Enlighten. Such access may, however, be restricted under provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 or the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

8.   Assessment

8.1   Each candidate will be assessed on all taught components of the Programme, on the dissertation, and on the thesis or research portfolio.

8.2   For each academic session, assessment and reassessment of the taught components is governed by the Code of Assessment which is contained in the ‘University Fees and General Information for Students’ section of the University Regulations published for that session.

8.3   An oral examination of the candidate must be held in the presence of all of the examiners of the thesis or research portfolio.

9.   Examiners

The thesis shall be examined by one or more examiners appointed by the Senate from among the experienced academic staff of the University, and by one or more External Examiners appointed by the University Court on the recommendation of the Senate. No person who has been involved in the direct supervision of the research student may be appointed as an examiner. The internal examiner shall not undertake any duties which have been allocated to the Convener andshall act as an examiner in the normal way. In the case of a submission by a member of staff or a former member of staff two of the examiners must be external. A thesis may be examined by two external examiners without the appointment of an Internal Examiner, with the approval of the Dean of Graduate School.