New Innovation In PhD Research Study

A School of Construction and Property Management product story

Edited by the Buildingtalk editorial team May 19, 2004

Responding to an increasing desire to undertake Doctorate Degrees off campus, the University of Salford has introduced an innovative PhD (without residence) programme, which is offered globally.

This programme, known as MERIT, offers potential PhD students the opportunity to carry out research in their home country without leaving their jobs and to tailor their research to the local environment and conditions.

Launched in January 2004 already the programme has attracted students from around the world studying such topics as E learning, E commerce, Procurement and Contract management.

WHY IS MERIT DIFFERENT? Unlike conventional PhD routes, MERIT is a highly structured research programme which involves a number of managed, timed and monitored research phases - each with a specific desired outcome leading ultimately to a final PhD thesis.

Each student will have an individual programme of study from registration to graduation reflecting their background and experience.

Students will normally be able to complete the requirements for the PhD within three to four years, dependant on prior relevant research background.

THE PROGRAMME.

The programme consists of two main parts.

The taught part develops students' background in the required research area through undertaking nominated MSc modules, normally two or three, during the first year.

Students may be exempted from this requirement depending on their background in the chosen research area.

The research part has been carefully developed to provide students with clear guidance and to enable supervisors to frequently monitor progress and evaluate the quality of students' research.

THE SUPERVISION PROCESS.

A continuous supervision process is provided for each student, throughout the programme.

A supervisor from the University of Salford and an experienced local academic advisor, are nominated for each student.

The supervisor and the advisor frequently interact with students through meetings, seminars and tutorials, either face to face or online, to discuss progress.

This supervision process is facilitated by a combination of professionally developed online and offline web-based tools.

Student and staff can access these tools from their own desktops.

Offline a virtual learning environment allows students to build up discussion threads with their supervisors, report on progress, submit reports, check updates and deadlines, etc.