The faculty offers the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and the Master of Engineering Science (MEngSc) degrees by research. These courses are currently offered at the Caulfield, Clayton and Gippsland campuses.
For admission to full candidature for the degree of MEngSc(Research), there must be clear and irrefutable evidence that a candidate has (a) a university honours degree (at least H2B) in engineering.
A candidate who seems to have the potential but is deemed to be inadequately prepared for MEngSc(Research) studies may be considered for preliminary candidature. Such a candidate would be required to pass a preliminary prescription recommended by the head of the department or school; this will normally consist of undergraduate units for which credit towards the MEngSc(Research) will not be allowed. Admission to full candidature will follow on receipt of an appropriate recommendation from the head of department or school certifying that the preliminary prescription has been passed.
Candidature is either on a full-time or part-time basis as determined by a committee of the faculty board. The duration of the full-time candidature is normally 24 months, although regulations allow for a minimum completion time of 12 months in special circumstances. Every two months of part-time study counts as one month of full-time study for the purpose of calculation of duration of candidature. There are no levels of candidature other than part-time or full-time.
Part-time candidature is permitted under the following
guidelines:
(a) The supervisor shall be a full-time member of the academic staff of the
university. An associate supervisor may be an appropriately qualified member of
an external organisation. If the associate supervisor is from an external
organisation, frequent communication with the supervisor should be
maintained.
(b) The topic of the thesis shall be decided by the candidate in consultation
with the supervisor.
(c) (i) In order to undertake part-time candidature, a candidate must be able
to devote the equivalent of a minimum of two days per week to the pursuit of
the research project.
(ii) Where the postgraduate's research work involves the systematic use of the
university facilities, the faculty may require that these two days be
weekdays.
(iii) Where the candidate is engaged in full-time employment, the head of the
department or school will be required to certify that the head is satisfied
that the candidate is able to spend the equivalent of two days a week in
pursuit of the research project.
(d) The candidate must discuss progress with the supervisor in person at least
once each calendar month.
(e) The candidate must attend the university frequently and on a regular basis;
one day per week on average is considered the minimum necessary.
(f) The candidate must attend all such courses, seminars, workshops etc as are
deemed necessary by the head of department (in the case of a regular seminar or
lecture series a minimum of 80 per cent attendance may be deemed adequate).
(g) The candidate shall be required to undertake the equivalent of three months
of full-time study within the university (including its research stations and
teaching hospitals); the apportionment of that attendance period should be
determined by the faculty at the time of application but need not be
continuous.
(h) Where the candidate is engaged in full-time employment, the head of
department or school will be required to certify at the time of application
that the head is satisfied that the candidate will be able to comply with the
residency requirements of this regulation.
(i) The supervisor and head shall certify that the requirements for candidature
have been met and an annual report of attendance and progress will be
presented.
(j) The thesis is to be available for publication.
(k) Off-campus equipment and other facilities may be used with the permission of the head and supervisor. Whenever feasible, on-campus facilities shall be used or developed in preference to those off-campus.
The manager (graduate student services) will maintain a master list of all
candidates enrolled on a part-time basis.
There may well be circumstances in which to ensure equity with regard to
duration of candidature, a supervisor may wish to recommend that a part-time
candidate be registered as a full-time candidate who is undertaking field work
(see regulation 7 of the MEngSc[Research] regulations).
A candidate whose preparation for the MEngSc(Research) and potential for MEngSc(Research) studies may be adequate, but for whom some doubt exists in respect of either or both, may be considered for probationary candidature.
Such a candidate will be required to pass a probationary prescription
recommended by the head of department or school. This prescription may take
different forms dependent upon the nature of candidature.
The prescription may consist of the requirement to prepare an adequate
literature survey and research program proposal in the candidate's chosen field
of study. Admission to full candidature will follow on receipt of an
appropriate recommendation from the head of department or school which includes
examiners' reports on the documentation submitted.
For all MEngSc(Research) candidates, probationary candidature will not normally
exceed one calendar year.
In special circumstances, external candidature for the MEngSc(Research) is available for interstate and international students. All external candidates are admitted on a probationary basis.
A minimum of 15 days of attendance per year at the department or school at
Monash University for the duration of candidature is required. Apportionment of
these days would be determined on a case-by-case basis (eg a single or the
equivalent in several smaller blocks of time). A portion of this attendance
could be off campus, provided that the candidate is able to interact with the
principal or associate (university) supervisor during this time (eg attending a
conference). Proposals for programs considered equivalent to 15 days of
residency would be considered by the faculty as they arose.
It must be certified that there are appropriate means by which the candidate
could communicate with the supervisor on a daily basis, eg email, fax,
telephone. Regular interactive communication between candidate and supervisor
should take place at least once a month via telephone, video conference or
other interactive communication.
Candidates may be permitted to transfer between standard and external
candidature in special circumstances, as assessed on a case-by-case basis.
External MEngSc(Research) candidates would be permitted to transfer to external
PhD candidature under the same guidelines which apply to standard candidature.
The guidelines for part-time PhD candidature are the same as the 18 points listed above for MEngSc(Research), save that part-time PhD candidates must also attend the department, faculty, centre, school or unit for not less than six of the first 24 months of candidature.
In Engineering, the six months attendance requirement for each candidate
will be specified at the time of admission. Each case is considered in terms of
the candidate's demonstrated experience and aptitude for research.
All requests for admission to part-time candidature and for transfer from
full-time to part-time candidature will be decided on their merits.
The duration of candidature is three to four years for full-time candidates and
eight years for part-time candidates.
A candidate for a PhD will normally undertake the first year of studies on
probation. During this probationary year the candidate may be registered either
for a MEngSc(Research) or for a probationary PhD. Candidates who do not possess
an honours degree in either the first or upper second class must register
initially for an MEngSc(Research) degree.
The transfer to full PhD status will be initiated by the Research Graduate
School Committee in the case of a candidate who is registered for a
probationary PhD or by the candidate's department or school in the case of a
candidate who is registered for a MEngSc(Research). In either case, on receipt
of an appropriate recommendation from the head of department or school and the
presentation of an account of the candidate's progress during the first year of
research and performance in the appropriate departmental/school transfer
procedures together with assessors' reports of the candidate's performance in
such departmental/school transfer procedures, the candidate will be permitted
to transfer to full PhD candidature.
In special circumstances, external candidature for the PhD is available for interstate and international students. All external candidates are admitted on a probationary basis.
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