Academically a PhD is the highest academic degree available. It is a globally recognised research degree awarded to candidates who have completed and submitted a thesis by Universities or higher institutions of learning. Generally, the requirements for PhD vary owing to the choice of university and the field of study and must be met before this degree is awarded.
A PhD involves full-time study for three or more years or part-time study for four years or more. In these years, the student is expected to complete coursework, pass exams, and write research work as a thesis or dissertation. Getting a PhD requires that the candidate get a Master’s first, and in some cases, there may be exceptions where one can be allowed to do a PhD without a Master’s degree in some countries. Some programs allow students to go straight from Bachelor’s to PhD.
At times, candidates with the required skills, knowledge, research capacities, and grades can fast-track their Master’s to PhD. Apart from completing the coursework and thesis, the candidate must also present an oral defence. This will be done before a faculty examination panel, which includes examiners from within and outside the university. Unlike the undergraduate program, a PhD is a postgraduate study and can be done as
- Full-time
- Part-time or
- Distance-learning
Application Requirements for PhD
Before deciding to pursue a PhD, it is assumed that the candidate already has an area of specialisation. When this is done, the candidate is expected to research the institutions that offer what he/she wants to study. Then, he/she is expected to choose the institution(s) that meet his/her desires, considering the tuition cost (with the candidate’s budget in mind), cost of living, proximity, etc.
The application process requires that the candidate must:
Fill the Application Form
This is the first thing a PhD candidate must do. Most Universities have their application forms online, which can be accessed on their portals. However, some Universities also email their forms to the candidate’s email address. Hence, the candidate fills out the form and emails it to the school.
Pay the Application Fee
The candidate must pay a non-refundable application fee before the application deadline. This amount is usually between $100 and $500 or more, depending on the school or country. This fee does not apply to free tuition PhD scholarship applicants, as the scholarship board takes care of it.
Admission Requirements for PhD
Some requirements must be met before a candidate is admitted to study for a PhD. Some of these requirements are listed below, but they are not limited to what is listed here, as universities’ requirements may differ.
Academic Degrees Certificates
This is top on the list as it proves that the candidate has undergone the preliminary classes and attained the prerequisite degrees/knowledge to undergo a PhD study. The necessary certificates are essential school certificates, high school certificates, Bachelor’s degrees, and Master’s degrees.
The university evaluates these certificates to see if they meet the requirements for a PhD. Most universities require a Master’s degree with a minimum CGPA of 3.0 on a 5.0 scale. The equivalence, depending on the scale, will also be considered. This indicates that the candidate has completed the Master’s requirement and is free to do a PhD.
English Language Proficiency Certificate
Applicants whose official language is not English require an English language proficiency certificate. Also, those whose Bachelor’s and Master’s courses were not taught in English must submit an English Language proficiency certificate.
Candidates whose bachelor’s and master’s courses were taught in English are expected to get a certificate from their institution indicating that they were trained in English Language. Candidates whose official language is not English and who were not taught in English at the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels are expected to submit any of the following:
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score with an average of 7.0
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 100 for the internet-based test, 250 for the computer-based test and 600 for the paper-based test.
Statement of Purpose
This is another essential requirement for postgraduate studies, not just the requirements for a PhD. A statement of purpose is where you clearly state your reason for applying for the particular program in the specific university, how prepared you are for the study, and how the program suits you.
It also sometimes accounts for your career plans, interests and motivation. You are required to keep a copy for yourself, for record sake. Some institutions (Stanford University) have specific guidelines for how a statement of purpose should look. This guideline will help you narrow down your write-up to meet particular targets.
Letters of Recommendation
Three letters of recommendation from persons (primarily professors) who have worked with you at one time or another. The recommenders must have supervised you during your Bachelor’s or Master’s studies. By any means, if the three are not professors/lecturers (at least two must be) who have taught you, then they must have supervised you in employment or community service settings.
In their recommendations, they must state your suitability for admission to PhD. The applicant must submit the recommenders’ names and email addresses online during the application. These recommenders will be communicated through their emails to send their recommendations. The applicants owe it a duty to notify and remind them to submit their recommendations before the deadline.
Academic Transcripts
Academic transcripts are significant requirements for a PhD and can never be overlooked. It serves as a report card for your academic performance in previous studies. The transcripts are scanned in PDF forms and uploaded to the online application portals. Some universities also require that your university sends a hard copy through post.
In most cases, the university you are applying to writes back to where you graduated to verify and authenticate the sent transcripts. This happens mostly when you have met the admission requirements. This aims to eliminate fraud and ensure that only qualified candidates are admitted.
While uploading your transcript, ensure no page is missing, as this will prevent your application from being considered.
CV or Resume
This is required for admission/application as it contains a detailed background summary. A CV or resume has no page limit; you must note your research experiences. Endeavour to add your academic publications from your previous research. This will help to inform the admission board of your readiness through experience.
Research proposal
Submitting a research proposal enables the university to assign the most suitable supervisor to you. Some universities will require you to choose a supervisor and let the supervisor accept to supervise you before being admitted to a PhD program. Whichever way, it is worth noting that your research proposal has a say in whether you will be accepted or rejected by your supposed supervisor.
Choosing a novel research topic will hasten your acceptance by your supervisor. Having a good background knowledge of your intended research area is necessary. This will enable you to estimate the cost of the research, know the estimated completion time frame, and understand the research methodology.
Although your research topic is subject to change, it forms the basis for you to enhance your research idea. In a nutshell, a PhD Research Proposal should:
- State your proposed research topic
- Have a justification of study (Reasons why you choose the topic and relevance to knowledge)
- State the problems you intend to solve through your research
- Be able to note down current knowledge gaps and necessary hypotheses to bridge these gaps.
- State your research methodology (how you intend to carry out the research
Qualification Requirements for PhD Award.
The award of a PhD is done when the candidates must have satisfied the examiners and the university senate. The candidate must have:
- Completed and passed the required credit load for the award of a PhD
- Completed a PhD thesis or dissertation and defended it before an examination panel at the faculty and postgraduate school levels.
