General Regulations for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework

§ 1. Degree of Master of Science by Coursework

• 1. Any person who has been admitted to the status of student for the degree of Master of Science by Coursework, who has satisfied the conditions prescribed by this section, and has satisfied the examiners as required, may supplicate for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework.

• 2. The Education Committee shall have power to make and vary such regulations as may be necessary for carrying out the duties laid upon it and upon the Registrar by this section.

• 3. For the purposes of this section, the words ‘board’, ‘faculty board’, or ‘board of the faculty’ shall include any committee authorised to admit candidates for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework.

• 4. A Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework who is not a graduate of the University may wear the same gown as that worn by Students for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

§ 2. Admission of Candidates for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework

• 1. A candidate seeking admission as a Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework shall apply to the board under whose aegis the proposed course of study falls. Candidates for admission shall be required to provide such information as the board may determine from time to time by regulation. Applicants shall in addition be required to undertake such other tests and meet such conditions as, subject to the approval of the Education Committee, a board may determine by regulation.

• 2. Applications shall be made through the Registrar, and it shall be the duty of the Registrar to submit each application to the board concerned and to inform the candidate of the outcome, as soon as may be.

• 3. No person shall be admitted as a Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework under these provisions unless he or she is also a member of a college, and unless the application for admission as a Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework has the approval of that college. The Registrar shall forward the application to the candidate's college or to the college to which the candidate wishes to apply for membership, as appropriate; and admission by the faculty board shall be conditional upon admission by an approved society.

• 4. A student registered for any other graduate taught degree in the University may apply for transfer to the status of Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework. The board concerned shall have power to make such transfer, provided that it is satisfied that the student is well qualified and well fitted to undertake the course of study for which application is made, and that the application has the support of the candidate's society. A candidate who transfers status in this way shall be reckoned as having held the status of Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework from the time of admission to his or her previous status, unless the board shall determine otherwise.

§ 3. Supervision of Students for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework

• 1. Every candidate on admission as a Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework shall be placed by the board concerned under the supervision of a member of the University or other competent person selected by the board, 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 the supervisor of a student entered upon a course of study to direct and superintend the work of the student, to meet the student regularly, and to undertake such duties as shall from time to time be set out in the relevant Policy and Guidance issued by the Education Committee.

• 3. The supervisor shall submit a report on the progress of a student to the board three times a year, and at any other time when the board so requests or the supervisor deems it expedient. 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 Degree of Master of Science by Coursework.

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

§ 4. Residence and other Requirements for Students for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework

• 1. No full-time Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework shall be granted leave to supplicate unless, after admission, he or she has kept statutory residence and pursued his or her course of study at Oxford for at least three terms.

• 2. No full-time Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework shall retain that status for more than six terms in all, except that any candidate for the Examination in Education may retain that status for nine terms in all.

• 3. Part-time students for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework shall in each case be required to pursue their course of study for twice the number of terms required of an equivalent full-time student. Part-time students shall not be required to keep statutory residence but must attend for such instruction and undertake such supervised fieldwork as the faculty concerned shall require. The Director of Graduate Studies of the board concerned, or director of the department concerned, as the case may be, shall keep a register of attendance of part-time students. No student shall be granted leave to supplicate unless the register shows satisfactory attendance by him or her.

• 4. Part-time students may hold the status of Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework for up to twice the number of terms for which equivalent full-time students may hold that status except where an extension of time is permitted by special regulation.

• 5. A Student for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework shall cease to hold that status if:

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

  • (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 been transferred under the relevant provisions to another status;

  • (iv) he or she shall not have entered for the relevant examination within the time specified under this subsection.

§ 5. Examination of Students

• 1. The examinations for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework shall be under the supervision of the boards authorised to admit candidates for the Degree of Master of Science by Coursework. The examinations for the degree and the bodies responsible for the supervision of each examination are listed below.

  [See Table 26]

• 2. No candidate shall be permitted to take an examination under the preceding clause unless he or she has been admitted as a candidate for the examination in question by the body responsible for the course and has satisfied any other conditions prescribed in the regulations for that course.

• 3. Final examination marks shall be released to candidates at the conclusion of the examination. Exceptions to this may be made where assessment takes place throughout the course. In such cases, examination boards must meet formally, with all members present, at interim points in the year in order to agree final marks for specified assessment components. Marks released as final marks may not subsequently be amended without permission of the Proctors.

• 4. A candidate who has failed to satisfy the examiners in the examination may enter again for the examination on one, but not more than one, subsequent occasion. Unless the special regulations for the examination specify otherwise, this resit attempt shall normally be taken at the next opportunity, but may be deferred once, i.e. it must be taken at one of the next two opportunities. No candidate who has satisfied the examiners in the examination may enter again for the same examination.

• 5. The examiners may award a merit for work of particularly high quality in the whole examination or a distinction for excellence in the whole examination. Candidates who have initially failed any element of assessment shall not normally be eligible for the award of merit or distinction.