• Section 1 - Purpose
• Purpose
• Scope
• Section 2 - Policy
• Section 3 - Procedures
• Admissions
• The nature of the work
• Quality of the work
• Published work
• Unpublished work
• Collaborative work
• Previously submitted work
• Submission
• Admission and duration
• Examination
• Examination fee
• Right to reapply
• Section 4 - Guidelines
• Section 5 - Glossary

Section 1 - Purpose

Purpose

(1) This procedure establishes the process and requirements of admission, enrolment and examination of a candidature for a higher doctorate.

(2) This procedure is to award a higher doctorate (Doctor of Letters or Doctor of Science) to an applicant, who is recognised to have achieved an international level of excellence, made original contribution to knowledge in their specified field over a number of years and surpassed the standard of work required for the award of a Doctor of Philosophy.

Scope

(3) This procedure only applies to the following higher doctorate courses:

1. Doctor of Letters
2. Doctor of Science

(4) Some aspects of requirements for HDR courses are stated by other policies and procedures:

1. the Admissions Policy and Admissions - Entry Requirements (Higher Degrees by Research) Procedure state entry requirements for HDR courses

Section 2 - Policy

(5) This procedure should be read along side the Higher Degree by Research Policy and Admissions Policy.

Section 3 - Procedures

Admissions

(6) The Admissions Policy and Admissions - Entry Requirements (Higher Degrees by Research) Procedure state the minimum entry requirements for higher doctorate courses.

(7) To be eligible, an applicant must have held a bachelor degree for at least ten years, a master degree for at least seven years or a doctoral degree for at least five years.

(8) If the applicant is a graduate of the University, they must have worked continuously in the field relevant to the award since graduation.

(9) If the applicant is a graduate of another university, they must have carried out a substantial part of the work submitted for the award at or in connection with Charles Sturt University.

(10) Admission to candidature will not normally be accepted from an applicant who already holds a higher doctorate of the University, or an equivalent qualification from another tertiary institution.

The nature of the work

Quality of the work

(11) The work submitted for the award of a higher doctorate must be a substantial and scholarly contribution to the advancement of the relevant field of learning, surpassing the standard of work required for the award of Doctor of Philosophy.

Published work

(12) The work submitted for the award of a higher doctorate will normally be a published work, in that the work will have been available publicly for a reasonable period of time for review and criticism.

Unpublished work

(13) The University may consider for the award of a higher doctorate an unpublished work if the University is satisfied that the work does not lend itself to publication as broadly defined in clause 12.

Collaborative work

(14) Collaborative work may be considered for the award of a higher doctorate if the applicant submitting the work is the substantive contributor to the work.

Previously submitted work

(15) The work submitted for the award of a higher doctorate must not have been the basis upon which the applicant was awarded any other degree from Charles Sturt University or any other university but may be work that follows on from work submitted for another degree.

Submission

(16) The work submitted for examination for a higher doctorate award will normally be work that:

1. has been published and publicly available for enough time to permit evaluation of its critical reception, and
2. has not been the basis on which the candidate was awarded any other degree, although it can be work that builds upon work previously submitted for a degree. 

(17) Unpublished work can be considered, however, where the nature of the work does not lend itself to publication.

(18) Collaborative work can be considered where the candidate demonstrates that they were the primary author of the work.

(19) The candidate will submit a digital copy of:

1. the work itself in printed form or, if not in printed form, in a form approved by the relevant Sub Dean (Graduate Studies)
2. a summary of the work of approximately 500 words, detailing the extent to which the work is original work and, where the work is collaborative, the extent of the candidate’s contribution to it
3. where the work is collaborative, signed confirmation from at least one of the other authors that the candidate was the primary author
4. a bibliography of nine articles in which the submitted work has been reviewed or critiqued, including an abstract of each article of approximately 200 words
5. a statement that the work:
   1. has not been submitted for an award that has been conferred on the graduate by Charles Sturt University or any other institution, and
   2. is not currently under consideration for an award by another institution.

(20) Submission must be lodged with the Graduate Research team in accordance with the above clause. Such applications may be lodged at any time.

(21) The Graduate Research team will check that the application conforms to the clause above and will then refer the application to the relevant Executive Dean.

(22) The Executive Dean will refer the application to the faculty's Higher Degree by Research Committee (or equivalent), which may:

1. seek further information from the applicant
2. decline to support the application, in which case the committee will forward the application to the University Research Committee (URC) giving reasons for the committee's decision, or
3. agree that the application should proceed, in which case the committee will forward the application to the URC with the names and background information of three persons recommended as examiners of the work.

(23) Upon receiving an application for the award of a higher doctorate, the URC may either:

1. refer the application back to the faculty's Higher Degree by Research Committee for further advice
2. determine it is worthy of examination, request the Dean, Graduate Research to make offer for admission into the course and appoint examiners to examine the work, and advise the Graduate Research team to distribute for examination, if the applicant accept admission into the course.
3. Decline the submission, with reasons, to be sent onto the applicant by the Graduate Research team.

Admission and duration

(24) To accept admission and its conditions, the applicant pays the examination fee (payable to the sponsoring school). The candidature begins from the date of admission.

(25) There are no maximum or minimum periods of candidature for the award of a higher doctorate.

Examination

(26) Examiners must:

1. be persons of outstanding reputation in the area of the work concerned
2. be from outside the University, and
3. unless the URC in any particular case otherwise determines, not have published, or engaged in substantial research collaboration, with the student.

(27) Each examiner must independently:

1. assess the student's work, and
2. report the results of the assessment to the URC.

(28) Each examiner is to recommend, on the basis of the published work, whether the candidate:

1. is regarded as a recognised authority
2. is commanding of international recognition in the branch of learning, and
3. has contributed significantly to the advancement of learning by extensive original contributions to the field with evidence of innovative work.

(29) Each examiner will be given two months to produce a separate written report on the merits of the submission. Examiners shall not consult each other when producing their separate reports.

(30) The URC shall seek unanimity from the three examiners and, after receiving and reading the examiners' reports, will make a determination to either:

1. recommend to Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Research) that the candidate be awarded the degree, or
2. advise the candidate to withdraw from their candidature.

(31) Once a candidate’s submission is approved as a pass, the candidate must upload the final submission to the University's research output repository. The University may withhold a candidate’s transcript or award if they have not uploaded their submission.

Examination fee

(32) Upon admission to candidature, the candidate shall pay the examination fee required by the University. The University shall determine this fee annually.

Right to reapply

(33) A candidate who fails to qualify for the award of a higher doctorate may, after a period of not less than five years, reapply for admission to candidature for the degree.

Section 4 - Guidelines

(34) Nil.

Section 5 - Glossary

(35) See the glossary section of the Higher Degree by Research Policy for definitions of terms used in this procedure.