Doctor of Philosophy

Testamur Title of Degree:	Doctor of Philosophy
Abbreviation:	PhD
My University:	Creative writing, graphic design, theatre, visual arts, music, animation, drama, acting, drawing, electronic art, digital media, fine arts, media arts, painting, performance, photography, printmaking, sculpture, textiles, fibres
Duration:	3 years full-time or part-time equivalent
Total Credit Points:	144
Delivery Mode:	Supervised individual research/creative project
Starting Session(s):	Autumn or Spring
Location:	Wollongong
UOW Course Code:	201
CRICOS Code:	028401G

Overview – Doctor of Philosophy

The Doctor of Philosophy is for those individuals with a track record of high-level professional or academic experience who wish to extend their practice within a scholarly context.

The Doctor of Philosophy is based on submission of a thesis in a scholarly field or a combination of scholarly thesis or exegesis and creative work presentation. The course is intended for scholars or artist-scholars who have a solid academic and/or artistic background and who wish to develop either or both fields to a doctoral level. Such candidates may have limited artistic experience, but should demonstrate high levels of promise and an appropriate standard of preparation. Assessment is by two external examiners.

It may be possible for individuals with appropriate expertise to undertake studies that involve more than one discipline area.

Overview – Doctor of Philosophy (Journalism)

The Doctor of Philosophy (Journalism) is for individuals with a track record of high level professional practice who wish to extend their work within a scholarly context. It is a flexible degree that allows students to pursue a detailed research project through either traditional thesis research or through a significant practical journalism project with a theoretical exegesis.

Innovative approaches to journalism and journalism studies that explore interdisciplinary academic approaches or extend journalism practice into areas such as creative non-fiction and multimedia documentary are encouraged.

Entry Requirements / Assumed Knowledge - Doctor of Philosophy

Applicants should have an Honours Bachelor degree of at least four years duration in an appropriate discipline at Class II, Division 1 or higher or equivalent qualifications. Applicants wishing to submit a combination of thesis and creative work should demonstrate that both their academic and artistic backgrounds equate with the above minimum standard. Applicants without a solid scholarly research background deemed sufficient may be required to undertake up to 24 credit points of coursework before commencing work on their thesis or may be required to commence their enrolment in the Master of Arts – Research, Master of Creative Arts – Research, Master of Philosophy or Master of Philosophy (Creative Arts) and seek transfer to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), when and if they achieve the required standard.

It is important that applicants submit adequate material to demonstrate the quality and standing of their work.

Entry Requirements / Assumed Knowledge - Doctor of Philosophy (Journalism)

Applicants should have a relevant first degree with Honours Class II, Division 1 or higher, or a Masters degree either in Journalism or a related area, or possess equivalent high level professional qualifications. Graduates in other disciplines at Masters level may also be considered if they can provide evidence of professional practice and research interests in specialist areas relevant to journalism theory and practice.

Applicants must submit a one page statement detailing their research history and professional experience and a comprehensive proposal of 2500 words. Applicants will be assessed on the relevance of the proposal to the research interests of the journalism program. Other topics will be considered against the research expertise available in the Faculty. Applicants applying on the basis of professional media experience must include work samples.

Guidelines for submitting the research proposal are at http://www.uow.edu.au/crearts/ under prospective postgraduates.

In certain circumstances students may be required to commence their enrolment in the Master of Arts - Research (Journalism) or Master of Philosophy and seek transfer to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) when they achieve a suitable standard.

For further information on Awards or Degree Rules, please see the General Course Rules.

Course Requirements - Doctor of Philosophy

Students enrol in THES924 Thesis (full-time) or THES912 Thesis (part-time).

Submission will be in the form of:

• scholarly thesis (100%); or

• scholarly thesis or exegesis (50%) combined with creative work (50%).

The submission for the PhD will normally be a thesis in the range of 60,000 to 90,000 words, or an equivalent workload where submission is by thesis or exegesis and creative work. The exact nature of each submission will vary according to the student’s educational and professional background and will be negotiated in consultation with the supervisor(s) and the Head of Postgraduate Studies. Examples of creative work submission include a folio of compositions or writing, exhibitions of artwork, and theatre performances. As a guide, the scale of the submission of creative work would normally not constitute significantly less than for the Doctor of Creative Arts.

Where the submission is a combination of thesis or exegesis and creative work, the Faculty requires that students submit the written documentation no later than the date of examination of their final exhibitions and performances, except under extraordinary circumstances approved by the supervisor and Head of Postgraduate Studies. Students presenting folios, for example literary manuscripts or music compositions, should place their thesis or exegesis and folio together in one submission for examination.

Major Study Areas

For major study areas please refer to listings under the Doctor of Creative Arts.

Course Requirements - Doctor of Philosophy (Journalism)

Students enrol in THES924 Thesis (full-time) or THES912 Thesis (part-time).

This course requires the submission of a scholarly thesis in the range of 80,000 to 100,000 words which involves both empirical data collection and theoretical analysis. Alternatively, submission may take the form of a significant practical journalism project in any combination of media. Along with an exegetical component that situates the practical work in the theoretical context of contemporary journalism studies approximately 30,000 words.

The length and other requirements of a practical project will be determined during the proposal development process. As a guide, a significant print project would usually require the submission of approximately 50,000 words and could take the form of an inter-related series of features; a single piece of narrative non-fiction; or a project undertaken as an audio or audiovisual documentary. The latter would usually be of 60 - 90 minutes duration depending on the complexity of material and style. The parameters of equivalent combined multimedia projects will be determined on an individual basis. The exact nature of each submission will vary according to the student's educational and professional background and will be negotiated in consultation with the supervisor/s and the Head of Postgraduate Studies.

Major Study Areas

• Community Journalism

• Comparative Media Systems

• Documentary Journalism

• Journalism Education and Training

• Multicultural and Development Journalism

• Broadcast Journalism

• Political Journalism

• Journalism Ethics

• Journalism and Disability

• Literary Journalism

• Convergent journalism and new media

• Oral history and journalism

• Journalism narratives and popular culture

• Journalism and religion

Assessment

On commencement, students and their supervisors complete a Commencement of Candidature Form that confirms the expectations of the candidacy, particularly for the first year, the research/creative topic, a plan and timetable for the creative work and dissertation, and resource needs and skills required to complete the project. Students meet regularly with their supervisors to ensure that their progress is in line with the agreed plan. Students and supervisors must also submit an Annual Progress Report (APR). The APR is the means by which the University assesses the progress of the candidature and decides whether it will continue into the following year. Supervisors who have concerns about a student's progress may also initiate a progress review at other times during the candidature.

The final submission for the PhD is examined by two external examiners chosen from a list prepared by the supervisor/s in consultation with the student and approved by the Head of Postgraduate Studies.

Research Proposal Reviews (RPR)

The University’s Progress Review Guidelines stipulate that no later than the completion of the equivalent of one year full-time enrolment in the research component of the course, students must present an oral research presentation and prepare a written research plan and preliminary literature review. Students must also provide a written timetable for the coming year, and a statement of the resources required to complete their project (e.g. access to laboratories, field trips, libraries, specialist equipment etc). In the Faculty this Review encompasses student’s research in terms of both their theoretical and creative/practical work.

The Research Proposal Review Committee to hear students' oral research presentations usually meet during the Faculty’s Postgraduate Week normally held in September each year.

Other Information

Further information is available at:

UOW Coursefinder http://coursefinder.uow.edu.au/

Creative Arts Email fca_enquiries@uow.edu.au

Creative Arts Website http://www.uow.edu.au/crearts/