General Regulations for the Degree of Master of Science by Research

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1.General Degree of Master of Science by Research

• 1. The following may be admitted to the status of StudentRegulations for the Degree of Master of Science by Research:

  • (i) aPart member1 Degree of the University who, having held the statusMaster of ProbationerScience by Research Student under the provisions of the appropriate regulation, has successfully completed the relevant qualifying test for transfer to M.Sc. status prescribed in §3 of this section; 

  • (ii)General a member of the University who, holding the status of student for another higher degree within the University, has successfully completed the relevant qualifying test for transfer to M.Sc. status prescribed in §3 of this section.

• 2. It shall be the duty of the Registrar to keep a Register of those admitted to the status of StudentRegulations for the Degree of Master of Science by Research.: Part 2 Status 

• 3.General A board may grant a student suspension from the Register or deprive a student of his or her status; and in such cases it shall at all times follow procedures determined by the Education Committee by regulation. A board may also reinstate a student to the Register, provided that the number of terms a student has spent as a Student for the Degree of Master of Science shall not have exceeded fifteen in all in the case of a full-time student, or eighteen terms in the case of a part-time student.

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4.General Supervision of StudentsRegulations for the Degree of Master of Science by Research

• : Part 6 Examination 

  1.General Every candidate on admission as a StudentRegulations for the Degree of Master of Science by Research: shallPart be7 placedSupervision, by the board concerned under the supervision of a member of the University or other competent person selected by the board,extension and the board shall have power for sufficient reason to change the supervisor of any student or to arrange for joint supervision by more than one supervisor, if it deems it necessary.

• 2. It shall be the duty of a supervisor to direct and superintend the work of the student, to meet the student regularly, and to undertake such duties as shall be from time to time set out in Policy and Guidance issued by the Education Committee. The supervisor shall submit a report on the progress of the student to the board three times a year, and at any other time when the board so requests or the supervisor deems it expedient; and shall carry out such other duties as are set out in Policy and Guidance issued by the Education Committee. The supervisor shall communicate the contents of the report to the student on each occasion that a report is made, so that the student is aware of the supervisor's assessment of his or her work during the period in question. In addition, the supervisor shall inform the board at once if he or she is of the opinion the student is unlikely to reach the standard required for the Master of Science by Research.

  The Registrar shall send a copy of each report by the supervisor to the student's college and to the Director of Graduate Studies or other nominated person under the faculty board concerned.

• 3. It shall be the duty of every Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Research to undertake such guided work as his or her supervisor requests; to attend such meetings with his or her supervisor as the latter reasonably arranges; and to fulfil any other requirements set out in Policy and Guidance issued by the Education Committee.

• 1. A Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Research shall, after admission for full-time study, keep statutory residence and pursue his or her work at Oxford for at least three terms. Time spent outside Oxford during term as part of an academic programme approved by Council shall count towards residence for the purpose of this clause.

• 2. Any student who, after admission under §3 of this regulation, has kept statutory residence and studied at Oxford for a period of forty-two days, not necessarily consecutive, but falling within the same academic year, may apply to the board concerned for leave to reckon such period as one term towards the total required under the preceding clause. The board shall have power to grant such leave provided that:

  • (i) no day so reckoned which falls within any term shall also be reckoned for the purpose of keeping that term;

  • (ii) no student who has kept the Michaelmas, or the Hilary, or the Trinity Term shall be allowed to reckon in this manner any day that falls within the eight weeks beginning on the first day of Full Term in Michaelmas, or Hilary, or Trinity Term, as the case may be;

  • (iii) no student shall be allowed to reckon in this manner more than one such period in the same academic year;

  • (iv) no student shall be allowed to reckon more than three terms in the same academic year.

  For the purposes of this clause, the academic year shall begin on the first day of Michaelmas Term and end on the day preceding the first day of Michaelmas Term in thesuspension following calendarexamination year.

• 3. Applications for leave to reckon any period as a term under the provisions of the preceding clause shall be made to the board, through the Registrar, by the student's society.

• 4. Part-time[For students holding the status of Student for Degree of Master of Science by Research shall in each case be required to pursuesubmitting their course of study for a minimum of six terms, subject to the provisions of § 3, cl. 5. Part-time students shall not be required to keep statutory residence, but must attend for such instruction as the board or other relevant body shall require, subject to the approval of the Education Committee. No student may apply to the relevant board or other body for the appointment of examiners unless his or her supervisor has certified that the student has fulfilled the requirements for part-time students laid down by the board or other relevant body.

• 5. For a student who changes from full-time to part-time study or vice-versa, the period of study will be calculated on the basis that each term of full-time study counts as 1 FTE, and each term of part-time study counts as 0.5 FTE, and the student must pursue his or her course of study for a minimum equivalent to three FTE terms.

• 6. Any student may, with the permission of the board, alter the subject of research approved by the board, provided that the conditions of suitability set out in §2 above continue to be met. In such cases the date of the student's admission for all the purposes of this section shall remain unchanged, unless the board shall determine otherwise.

• 7. If a full-time Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Research has held that status for nine terms, or a part-time student for fifteen terms but has been prevented by exceptional circumstances from completing his or her thesis, the board shall have power to grant an extension of time for a period or periods not exceeding three terms in all for a full-time student, or three terms in all for a part-time student, to be determined by the board. Applications for such an extension of time shall be made through the Registrar not later that the term in which the student is due to apply for permission to supplicate.

• 8. A Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Research shall cease to hold such status if:

  • (i) he or she shall have been refused permission to supplicate for the Degree of Master of Science;

  • (ii) the board concerned shall, in accordance with provisions set down by regulation by the Education Committee, and after consultation with the student's society and supervisor, have deprived the student of such status;

  • (iii) he or she shall have failed to complete his or her thesis within nine terms for a full-time student, or fifteen terms for a part-time student, or within such further extension of time as may have been granted by the board concerned.

§6. Examination of Students for the Degree of Master of Science by Research

• 1. Candidates who have fulfilled the applicable residence and other requirements set out in §5 of this section, and whose status has not expired, may apply for the appointment of examiners and for leave to supplicate for the Degree of Master of Science by Research.

• 2. Applications for the appointment of examiners should be made to the board concerned through the Registrar. They shall include:

  • (i) a certificate from the student's society that the application has the approval of that society;

  • (ii) a certificate from the supervisor that the candidate has pursued his or her course of study in Oxford in accordance with the provisions of §5 of this section;

  • (iii) a statement by the candidate what part, if any, of the thesis has already been accepted, or is being concurrently submitted for any degree or diploma or certificate or other qualification in this University or elsewhere;

  • (iv) a statement by the candidate that the thesis is his or her own work, except where otherwise indicated.

• 3. The supervisor shall consult with the candidate concerning possible examiners, and forward to the board the names of suggested examiners with details of any special considerations which the candidate wishes to make known about any potential examiners.

• 4. The student shall also submit for examination, at such time as the Education Committee shall by regulation require:

  • (i) two printed or typewritten copies of a thesis;

  • (ii) two printed or typewritten copies of an abstract of the thesis, which shall not normally exceed 300 words.

• 5. On receipt of an application for the appointment of examiners the board concerned shall appoint two examiners neither of whom shall be the candidate's supervisor, and whose duties shall be:

  • (i) to consider the thesis and the abstract of it submitted by the student under the provisions of the preceding clause, provided that they shall exclude from consideration in making their report any part of the thesis which has already been accepted, or is being concurrently submitted, for any degree or other qualification in this University or elsewhere and shall have the power to require the candidate to produce for their inspection the complete thesis so accepted or concurrently submitted;

  • (ii) to examine the student orally, and also, if they think fit, by a written examination, in the subject of the thesis and in other relevant subjects;

  • (iii) to report to the board through the Registrar;

  • (iv) to return to the student the copies of the thesis and of the abstract thereof submitted for examination.

  • The Education Committee shall have power to make regulations concerning the notice to be given of the oral examination and of the time and place at which it may be held. The examination may be attended by any member of the University in academic dress, while non-members may attend only with the consent of the examiners. In the case of theses submitted to the Social Sciences, Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences, and Medical Sciences Boards, the Proctors after consultation with the relevant divisional board may decide (either at their own discretion or at the request of the candidate or the supervisor or department) to forbid the attendance of any person or all persons (other than the examiners and the candidate) or to impose any condition on attendance if and to the extent that such action is in their view necessary to protect the interests of the University or the candidate or both, and the examiners shall be informed accordingly and shall include this information in the notice of examination. The student, or his or her college, may within fourteen days of the date of the Proctors' decision appeal in writing to the Chair of the Education Committee (who may nominate another member of the committee, other than one of the Proctors, to adjudicate the appeal).

• 6. Having completed the examination of a candidate for the first time, the examiners may make recommendation (i) or (ii) below only. Having completed the examination of a candidate who has revised and re-submitted his or her thesis, the examiners may make any one of recommendations (i) to (iii). The recommendations are:

  • (i) that the candidate should be granted leave to supplicate for the Degree of Master of Science by Research. In this case the examiners must include in their report statements that:

    • 1. the candidate possesses a good general knowledge of the field of learning within which the subject of the thesis falls;

    • 2. that the candidate has shown competence in investigating the chosen topic;

    • 3. that the candidate has made a worthwhile contribution to knowledge or understanding in the field of learning within which the subject of the thesis falls;

    • 4. that the thesis is presented in a lucid and scholarly manner;

    • 5. that it merits of the award of the Degree of Master of Science.

  • Examiners shall bear in mind that their judgement of the extent of the candidate's contribution to knowledge or understanding of the relevant field of learning shall take into account what may reasonably be expected of a capable and diligent student after two years of full-time study in the case of a full-time student, or twelve terms in the case of a part-time student.

  • If the examiners are satisfied that the candidate's thesis is of sufficient merit for the degree but consider, nevertheless, that before the thesis is deposited the candidate should make minor corrections (which are not sufficiently substantial to justify reference back for re-examination), they must require the candidate to correct the thesis to their satisfaction before they submit their report. If the candidate has not completed these corrections within one calendar month of the date of the oral examination, his or her name shall be removed by the Registrar from the Register of Students for the Degree of Master of Science by Research, provided that the board may, on good cause shown by the candidate, grant an extension of time of one further calendar month in which the candidate may fulfil this requirement before the removal of his or her name from the Register. No subsequent extension shall be granted, but it shall be open to a candidate who has failed to fulfil this requirement within those one or two months in total, as the case may be, to apply to the board for reinstatement as a Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Research, with the support of his or her society and supervisor, upon submission to the Registrar of a copy of his or her thesis incorporating the required corrections, and upon payment of such reinstatement fee as may from time to time be prescribed by Council by decree. Permission to supplicate shall not be granted until this fee has been paid;

  • (ii) that the board should refer the thesis back to the student in order that he or she may revise it for re-examination. If the examiners so recommend they shall annexe to their report to the board a statement (for transmission to the student) setting out the respects in which the thesis falls below the standard required for the degree. If the board adopts this recommendation the student shall retain the status and obligations of a Student for the Degree of Master of Science, and may apply again for the appointment of examiners, in accordance with the procedure laid down in this subsection, not later than the third term after that in which the board gave permission so to reapply. If such permission shall have been given by a board during a vacation, it shall be deemed to have been given in the term preceding that vacation. On re-submission of the thesis, students should submit a separate report indicating the specific changes made. For students in the Medical Sciences Division and the Department for Continuing Education, the word limit for the accompanying report shall be 1,000 words; for students in the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division, the word limit shall be 2,000 words;

  • (iii) that the board should refuse the candidate's application for leave to supplicate.

• 7. In each case the examiners must embody in their report, in support of their recommendation, an account of the scope, character, and quality of the candidate's work.

• 8. On receipt of the examiners' report the board shall reach a decision on whether to accept the examiners' recommendation, provided that no candidate shall be given leave to supplicate unless the examiners have made the statements required in clause 6 (i) above.

• 9. A candidate who has been granted leave to supplicate by a board shall be required to submit to the Examination Schools a copy of his or her thesis, incorporating any amendments or corrections required by the examiners and approved by the board, with a view to deposit in the Bodleian or other appropriate university library. [For candidates admitted on or after 1 October 2007: candidates are also required to submit an electronic copySunday of their thesis to the Oxford Research Archive, unless an exception to this requirement has been granted by the Proctors.] [For candidates supplicating on or afterweek 1 JulyMichaelmas 2013:term candidates are also required to submit the library copy to the Examination Schools and where applicable the electronic copy of the thesis to the Oxford Research Archive no later than the end of the fifth day before the date of the degree ceremony booked by the candidate for conferral of their degree.2025] Permission to supplicate shall in all cases be conditional upon fulfilment of these requirements.

• 10. In an exceptional case in which a board is unable to accept the examiners' recommendation, or in which the examiners cannot reach an agreed recommendation, the board shall have power to appoint one or two new examiners as it deems necessary, to conduct such further examination of the candidate as the board may require. The board shall make a report on any such case to the Education Committee.

• 11. The board may exempt a candidate who is being re-examined under the provisions of clause 6 (ii) above from the oral examination, provided that the examiners are able to certify that they are satisfied, without examining the candidate orally, that they can recommend to the board in the terms required by clause 6 (i) above that he or she be given leave to supplicate for the Degree of Master of Science.

• 12. It shall be the duty of the Registrar to notify the candidate of the board's decision as soon as may be. The Registrar shall also be responsible for publishing at the end of each academic year the names of those candidates to whom permission to supplicate has been granted during that year, together with a statement of the subject of the thesis written by each.

• 13. When, on the conclusion of the investigation of a complaint made by a candidate, the Proctors recommend that a candidate be re-examined, the board shall have power to hold a new examination.