Doctor of Philosophy - Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences) at the University of Melbourne marks a student's admission to the community of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences scholars. It signifies that the holder has undertaken a substantial piece of original research which has been conducted and reported by the holder via thesis.

The submission must be a careful, rigorous and sustained piece of work demonstrating that a research 'apprenticeship' is complete.

The PhD will demonstrate authority in the candidate's field and shows evidence of command of knowledge in relevant fields. The thesis must make a distinct contribution to knowledge and is judged on originality of approach and in some cases, the discovery of new facts.

PhD in Psychological Sciences Information evening webinar
The Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences 2021 course information session for prospective students interested in undertaking PhD studies in psychological sciences.

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• You will enrol in a thesis subject for the duration of the degree.
• The normal period of candidature is 3 years for full-time candidates (part-time equivalent) with the possibility of up to 12 months extension.
• You are required to complete a minimum of 12 months full-time research at the University in order to benefit from planning, conducting and writing up your research within a University community and environment.
• Normally the entire degree is undertaken at the University.
• You will have appropriately experienced academics available to arrange a course of supervised research designed to suit your requirements and interests.
• You may be required to supplement your research program by attendance at, or enrolment in, additional subjects if considered necessary by the supervisor(s).
• You are expected to attend departmental seminars over the period of their candidature.
• Academic progress is reviewed regularly throughout the degree.
• You will be examined based on your thesis which is examined externally. The normal length of a PhD thesis is between 80,000 and 100,000 words, exclusive of words in tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices.
• You should refer to the University policy library and the Graduate Research Hub for further information regarding candidature, academic progress, ethics, thesis preparation and examination.
• To be eligible to submit a thesis for examination, you must be enrolled in their course for the minimum period of 24 months full-time equivalent.

Undertaking a PhD with the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health involves one semester of coursework. For more information on PhD coursework in neuroscience please see the Handbook.

Doctoral degrees at the University of Melbourne seek to develop graduates who demonstrate academic leadership, increasing independence, creativity and innovation in their research work.

The University expects its doctoral graduates to have the following qualities and skills:

• an advanced ability to initiate research and to formulate viable research questions;
• a demonstrated capacity to design, conduct and report sustained and original research;
• the capacity to contextualise research within an international corpus of specialist knowledge;
• an advanced ability to evaluate and synthesize research-based and scholarly literature;
• an advanced understanding of key disciplinary and multi-disciplinary norms and perspectives relevant to the field;
• highly developed problem-solving abilities and flexibility of approach;
• the ability to analyse critically within and across a changing disciplinary environment;
• the capacity to disseminate the results of research and scholarship by oral and written communication to a variety of audiences;
• a capacity to cooperate with and respect the contributions of fellow researchers and scholars;
• a profound respect for truth and intellectual integrity, and for the ethics of research and scholarship;
• an advanced facility in the management of information, including the application of computer systems and software where appropriate to the student's field of study;
• an understanding of the relevance and value of their research to national and international communities of scholars and collaborators;
• an awareness where appropriate of issues related to intellectual property management and the commercialisation of innovation; and
• an ability to formulate applications to relevant agencies, such as funding bodies and ethics committees.

The University provides a variety of opportunities in addition to the supervised research program, to facilitate a student's acquisition of these attributes.