Doctor of Philosophy in Arts and Social Sciences

Purpose

The Degree will provide training in advance research techniques, data gathering and analysis and scholarly presentation appropriate to the field of Arts and Social Sciences. The Degree will equip the student with the skills necessary either for employment in the educational or sectors needing expertise in Arts and Social Sciences or for further independent research in the same or related field.

Rationale

Social Scientists are becoming rare in a world depending too much on Science and Technology, hence the need for such a qualification. This will also be in line with the Department of Higher Education and Training's establishment of the Charter for Humanities and Social Sciences thus meeting a national goal. The graduates would work in both the public and private sector in various capacities. They will also help document and store socio- cultural issues in society for posterity. The programme will prepare doctoral students for work, locally and/or abroad, in Arts and Social Sciences and in related subject areas.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Non-Masters' Degree holders who have shown by examination or publication or a record of appropriate training that they have reached a level in Arts and Social Sciences or cognate subjects equivalent to a Masters' Degree in Arts and Social Sciences may be permitted to register for a doctoral Degree in Arts and Social Sciences.

Entry Requirements

• Master of Philosophy in Arts and Social Sciences.

Or

• Master of Arts and Social Sciences.

• Full thesis for 360 Credits.

1. The Doctor of Philosophy in Arts and Social Sciences will be acquainted with methods of research to adequately deal with problems in the field, conduct advance literature searches and critique current literature in the form of a review, prepare a professional paper for peer review, write research and funding proposal.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Successful students should show that they have acquired skills in critical thinking, problem solving, data collection and organisation and effective written communication.
• S/he should be in position to demonstrate mastery over theoretically sophisticated subject matter, exhibiting deep and comprehensive knowledge of the field to which s/he can apply relevant theory; evaluate critically the literature in the field, challenge orthodoxies and redefine existing knowledge, while being aware of the nature of knowledge in the field to communicate verbally and orally with professional audiences.
• The expertise of the graduates would also become handy in fields where Social Scientists are needed.

Integrated Assessment

The integration of skills learned in the Doctor of Philosophy in Arts and Social Sciences Degree is assessed by means of a dissertation of a word length stipulated by the School of Human and Social Sciences.

Assessment is based on criteria, which include

• Scope and quality of literature reviewed from a variety of text and other media.
• Accuracy with which the literature is represented and applied to the research questions.
• The formulation of a research question/s and the development of a research proposal based on the literature review. The proposal must specify a research design, and the method/s to be applied to answer the research question/s and be of appropriate scale and complexity of a Masters dissertation.
• The demonstration of a professional working relationship by responding to the comments of the dissertation supervisor/s.
• The execution of the research proposed.
• Presentation of the research in an acceptable manner in Arts and Social Sciences.