Education

National Institute of Education (NIE): Philosophy (PhD)

Category Art and Social Sciences, Doctoral, Education, National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore
Tags National Institute of Education, NIE, PhD, Philosophy

In line with the increasing emphasis on research in the areas of Humanities, Education, Sciences and Physical Education, the National Institute of Education offers higher degree studies by research leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Candidates reading the degree of PhD by research will pursue an independent but supervised research in an approved field of advanced study based on which a thesis not exceeding 80,000 words must be submitted. A PhD thesis written in the Chinese language should not exceed 300,000 Chinese characters. The award of the research degree is based entirely on the work presented in the thesis.

A rigorous system is used to prepare the candidates into the research phase. In the initial stage of the PhD study, the candidates are required to pass a Qualifying Examination.

Qualifying Examination

(a) Full-time candidates

In the first 12 months of study, the full-time PhD candidates will be required to complete the Qualifying Examination requirements as indicated in (i) and (ii) below:

(i)	Attend classes and pass the examinations of
	-	6 graduate level courses chosen from the University’s Master-degree coursework programmes or from approved special topic courses and
	-	obtain an overall average Grade B, and no course should have a Grade below C+
(ii)	Submit an in-depth literature review of an approved research topic

(b) Part-time candidates

The part-time PhD candidates will be given 24 months to complete the Qualifying Examination requirements as indicated in (i) and (ii) above.

c) Exemption of courses

Exemption of courses may be granted by the Dean if the candidate is deemed to have already done sufficient coursework in the relevant area in a graduate level programme at a recognised university. The minimum requirement after allowing for exemptions is 3 courses for a PhD candidate.

Confirmation Exercise/Report

Candidates who are admitted as Research Students in the first instance will have to undergo a Confirmation Exercise in order to be confirmed as a PhD candidate. The exercise will take place about 6 to 12 months after the Qualifying Examination.

For the Confirmation Exercise, the candidates will have to submit a progress report on their research work as well as present and pass a confirmation seminar.

PhD Oral Examination

In addition to being examined on the thesis, the candidate must also pass an oral examination on the subject matter of his/her thesis and other related subjects. This is normally conducted at the final stage of the PhD study.

Candidates whose progress, in the opinion of the University, have not been satisfactory may be required by the University at any time to terminate their candidature.