Master's Degree Programmes

Master of Agriculture

School of Agriculture & Food Technology

Master of Arts

Faculty of Arts, Law and Education

Faculty of Business and Economics

Faculty of Science, Technology & Environment

Master of Business Administration

Graduate School of Business

Master of Commerce

Faculty of Business and Economics

Master of Computing & Information Systems

School of Computing, Info. & Mathematical Sciences

Master of Education

School of Education

Master of Information Systems

School of Computing, Info. & Mathematical Sciences

Master of Laws

School of Law

Master of Science

Faculty of Science and Technology and Environment

Persons shall be eligible to be admitted to study for the degree of Master if they have:

1. obtained an appropriate Postgraduate Diploma of the University of the South Pacific with a GPA of at least 3.0 for master by thesis, OR by two additional postgraduate courses plus a Supervised Research Project OR master by coursework; or
2. obtained from some other tertiary institution a qualification deemed by Senate or its delegate to be equivalent to the requirements set out in (a) above for programmes in (a); or
3. obtained a professional qualification deemed by Senate or its delegate to be equivalent to the requirements set out in (1) above.
4. A student of the Postgraduate Diploma who obtains a GPA of 3.0 or more in each of at least two courses may apply for admission to a relevant programme by thesis.
5. An outstanding candidate with the degree of bachelor of the University of the South Pacific with a GPA of at least 3.5 in the courses in an appropriate major(s) at the 200- and 300- levels may bypass the postgraduate diploma and proceed to complete the Masters programme by thesis. The candidate may be required to complete postgraduate courses as specified on admission to the Masters programme.
6. In exceptional cases the University may consider applications from persons who can demonstrate that they have the experience or achievement relevant to the proposed programme of study, which Senate or its delegate deems to be sufficient for the person to pursue at a satisfactory level.
7. Senate or its delegate may require applicants to demonstrate their suitability for admission as students for the degree of Master by carrying out such work and/or sitting for such examinations as it may determine.
8. Students proceeding to the thesis for the degree of Master shall enrol provisionally for a period not exceeding six months. Students shall during this period prepare and develop their thesis proposal. At the end of this period Senate or its delegate shall on the recommendation of the appropriate Faculty Committee decide whether as a result of the review of the student’s work the student’s enrolment should be confirmed or cancelled. Where the student’s enrolment is confirmed the date of registration of the student of the degree of Master shall be the date on which they were enrolled provisionally for the degree.

Additional or exceptional requirements are not part of the general regulations indicated above. These are included here under each programme, where such requirements exist. The composition of each Master programme is indicated per programme. The normal semester course load per candidate per semester, particularly for Master by coursework programmes, varies per programme but generally is such that the programme can be completed in an academic year.

The selection of postgraduate courses if required for the completion of a Master programme shall be made from the courses for the relevant PG Diploma and Master.

Regulations concerning the presentation of theses and research projects appear after the Doctor of Philosophy Regulations in this section of the Handbook and Calendar.

1. The University may award the degrees of Master approved by the Senate to candidates who fulfill the requirements.
2. Admission to the degree of Master shall be in accordance with the Admission Regulations for the degree.
3. A period of study and research originally approved for the degree of master may be considered for acceptance as part of the period of study for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
4. Candidates are admitted into the degree of master following the admission criteria set out in the Admission Regulations.
5. Students of the degree of master shall:
   1. be enrolled in one of the faculties of the University (although Academic Standards and Quality Committee may permit a student to pursue a programme at another institution for such period as Senate shall determine); and
   2. complete a minimum time in residence amounting to one semester.
6. A student of the degree of Master shall follow a programme of study approved by the Senate.
7. After registration students of the degree of Master with thesis or Supervised Research Project shall be required to re-enrol each semester until they have presented their thesis.
8. A student of the degree of Master shall, following appropriate admission, follow a programme including:
   1. a thesis; or
   2. two or three courses and a Supervised Research Project; or
   3. two courses and a thesis; or
   4. coursework only.
9. A thesis may not contain any material that the student has previously submitted for a higher degree of any university.
10. The word limit of a thesis or a Supervised Research Project, including notes and bibliography, shall be specified by the relevant faculty.
11. The Faculty Research and Graduate Affairs Committee shall appoint a supervisor or supervisors for every student enrolled in a Master with a thesis or Supervised Research Project. The supervisor, or one of the supervisors, shall be a member of the academic staff of the University and shall be referred to as the university supervisor.
12. Tenure of the degree of Master shall be from the date of registration and shall not include any period during which, with the prior approval of the Faculty Research and Graduate Affairs Committee, students have been allowed to suspend their studies.
13. Students may be allowed during their candidature for the degree of Master to suspend their studies for up to six months (being one semester) on application showing sufficient cause to the Chair of the Faculty Postgraduate Committee through their Supervisor. Any appeal arising should be directed to the PVC, Research & International for resolution. A student suspending his or her studies without prior approval will be considered to have withdrawn from the programme.
14. A candidate who, having suspended candidature with approval as provided for above in (a) and (b) does not resume in the immediately following semester will be considered to have withdrawn from the programme, and candidature will lapse automatically.
15. The minimum period of candidature for the degree of master shall be one year full-time study.
16. If a candidate has not submitted the thesis after having been enrolled and paid fees for the equivalent of two years full-time or four years part-time, candidature may continue on a non-payment, non-supervisor basis for a further period of up to three years. The thesis may then be submitted at any time during this period on the payment of an examination fee, and subject to the normal regulations for the submission of a thesis.
17. For the purpose of these regulations, a full-time and a part-time student are defined as follows:
    1. A full-time student is one who is undertaking no more than eight hours per week of paid employment, or where Senate is satisfied the student is not so employed, one who identifies himself or herself on enrolment as a full-time student; and
    2. a part-time student is one who is undertaking paid employment for more than eight hours per week, or where Senate is satisfied the student is so employed, one who identifies himself or herself as a part-time student on enrolment.
18. The course load for a full-time and a part-time student shall be as approved by the Senate for the programme.
19. Students enrolled for thesis shall submit to the relevant Faculty Research and Graduate Affairs Committee at the end of each semester reports on their progress with the thesis during the semester just ended. The report shall have observations made by the supervisor and comments by the student on the observations.
20. The following procedures shall apply in respect of the presentation of the Thesis or the Supervised Research Project.
    1. Students for the degree of Master shall present their Thesis or Supervised Research Project for examination within five years (or seven years in the case of part-time students) of initial enrolment for the degree. Note: the maximum period for a Masters will be:
       *Full time students: 5 years (2 years plus 3 years)
       *Part-time students: 7 years (4 years plus 3 years)
    2. Students shall submit two copies of their Thesis or Supervised Research Project to the Faculty Research and Graduate Affairs Committee.
    3. The Thesis or Supervised Research Project may be soft cover or ring-bound for the purpose of the examination but, before the award of degree, students must deposit for retention by the University two hard-bound copies that have been corrected or otherwise modified if required by the University.
    4. When the Thesis or Supervised Research Project is forwarded to the examiners it shall include a statement by the student, accompanied by a certificate from the university supervisor, stating that the Thesis or Supervised Research Project is work carried out by the student under direct supervision of a supervisor. The university supervisor shall indicate what part he or she has played in the preparation of the Thesis or Supervised Research Project.
    5. The Faculty Research and Graduate Affairs Committee shall, on the recommendation of the School, appoint two examiners for the Thesis, one of whom shall normally be internal to the University and the other shall be a person not on the staff of the University.
    6. The University supervisor shall not normally be one of the examiners for the Thesis.
    7. The Faculty Research and Graduate Affairs Committee shall, on the recommendation of the School, appoint two examiners for the Supervised Research Project, both of whom may be internal to the University and one of whom may be the supervisor.
    8. Having considered a student’s Thesis or Supervised Research Project, each examiner shall report independently to the Faculty Research and Graduate Affairs Committee or nominee on the form provided, whether:
       1. the degree be awarded to the student, or
       2. the degree be not awarded to the student, or
       3. additional work on the Thesis or Supervised Research Project be undertaken by the student and the Thesis or Supervised Research Project be re-examined by the examiner (s), or
       4. additional work on the Thesis be undertaken by the student and the Thesis or Supervised Research Project be re-examined by both examiners.
       5. The examiners shall not consult with each other before presenting their reports.
21. In submitting his or her report each examiner shall indicate whether or not the student should be required to undergo an oral, written or practical examination and whether or not consultation between the examiners should take place. After receiving the reports, the Faculty Research and Graduate Affairs Committee or nominee shall arrange for any such examination and/or consultation to take place. Following such examination and/or consultation, each examiner shall submit a report confirming or amending his or her original recommendation.
22. In order to qualify for the award of the degree of Master a student must complete all the required courses, in a Master by course work only, or
    1. obtain passing grades in all courses taken; and
    2. submit a Thesis or Supervised Research Project adjudged by the examiners to be of at least a pass standard; and
    3. satisfy the requirement for the deposit with the University Librarian of copies of the Thesis or Supervised Research Project as specified in the Regulations on the Presentation of Thesis and Supervised Research Project for Higher Degrees. To satisfy this requirement the University Librarian must confirm in writing to the relevant Faculty Research and Graduate Affairs Committee that the requirements have been met and that the required copies of the Thesis or Supervised Research Project have been received by the Library.
23. After considering the recommendations of the examiners, where the Master programme involves a thesis or Supervised Research Project, together with the comments thereon from the relevant Faculty Research and Graduate Affairs Committee, the Academic Standards and Quality Committee shall decide:
    1. to award the degree; or
    2. not to award the degree; or
    3. to permit the student to submit either an amended or a re-written thesis within such further period as may be prescribed; or
    4. to take such actions as it deems appropriate (which may include appointment of an external arbitrator).
    5. Where substantial concurrence is not achieved by the examiners, the Dean, on the recommendation of the Faculty Research and Graduate Affairs Committee may appoint an external arbitrator.
    6. If agreement still cannot be reached at the Faculty Research and Graduate Affairs Committee, the case shall be referred to the Academic Standards and Quality Committee with a full brief.
24. A student will not be permitted to submit a substantially re-written thesis on more than one occasion after the original submission.
25. The Academic Standards and Quality Committee may, in respect of any recommendation made under Clause 20(e) (iii) or (iv), specify the period within which such additional work shall be completed, and the thesis re-submitted.
26. Where the degree is awarded, the area of study shall be included in the title of the degree.