SchoolofGraduateStudies

DoctorofPhilosophy(PhD)

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 Welcome
Asia e University School of Graduate Studies
A PhD is the abbreviaOon of Doctor of
Philosophy. It is the top academic degree
represenOng a mastering of one's eld of
study and enOtles the person who earns it
tobeaddressedwiththehonoric"Doctor.
Generally, a PhD graduate will nd great
opportunitygloballyinresearchandacademic
career which typically combines research,
teaching, administraOve and leadership
responsibiliOes.

Do I Qualify to be a PhD Student?

Ifyouhavethecuriositytoexploreasubjectindepthandthetenacitytodosofor3ormore
yearsandifyouhaveagooddegreefromarecognizeduniversitythatshowspotenOalfor
bothadvancedcourseworkandindependentresearchintheeldinwhichyouplan,you
maybeaPhDstudent.
Generally,youneedarecognizedMasterDegreeintherelevanteldbeforeapplyingtoa
PhDprogrammeoragooddegreeholdertoenrollintoaMasterdegreerstbeforeseeking
conversionofMasterresearchtoaPhDlevel.

What are the Important Skills for a PhD Student?

Display ini,a,ve: In a doctoral programme, it is
learnercentredandstudentsdirecttheirresearch
with the assistance of advisor or supervisor.
Though the university may sOpulate guidelines
and expectaOons of research progress, it is the
studentsresponsibilitytogettheworkdone.
Betenacious:AsaPhDresearchprogrammeand
thesis may normally take 3 to 4 years, students
mustbecommi^edtocompletetheprogramme.
Be eec,ve in ,me management: PrioriOze and
manage your tasks and commitments eecOvely
to ensure compleOon of one task before moving
on to the next. Be focused and do not lose sight
ofyourgoals.Youneedtolookaberyourphysical
andmentalhealthtofacethechallengesofyour
researchandthesis.
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Adapt to challenges: During your research
journey,youmayfaceobstaclesandchallengesin
compleOng your research, such as access to
faciliOes and faculty or Omeliness in gedng
feedback. How you adapt and work around the
challengeswillhaveanimpactonyoursuccess.
Interpersonal skills: Be humble and friendly to
others no ma^er how smart you may be, you'll
need the help of others in your research,
parOcularly the support sta. You also need to
regularly keep your Supervisor and Dean of
SchoolofGraduateStudies(SGS)updatedonyour
progress.
Communicate eec,vely: To earn recogniOon as
a PhD student and a researcher, you need to
present yourself well orally with condence
during your delivery of Research Proposal
Defense and vivavoce in addiOon to your thesis
wriOng. 2
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 The International Outlook of AeU
StudyinginAeUgivesyouapersonalizedlearningexperienceof
doing things dierently, think globally, dare to break new
groundsandreadytomakearealdierenceinoneselfandthe
world.

AeUisaninterna,onal
universityendorsedby31Asia
Collabora,onDialogue(ACD)
membercountries.

AeU is commi^ed to provide quality educaOon of internaOonal

reputaOon by capitalizing on the experOse and presOge of Itwasapleasureto
collaboraOnginsOtuOonsnotonlywithinACDcountriesbutalso c o m e t o A s i a e
a network of universiOes from the around the world. Such Universityagain,and
extensive collaboraOve network has enabled our PhD students
to uOlize faciliOes, resources and experOse from insOtuOons of I am proud to be an
higher learning in Malaysia and internaOonal insOtuOonal adjunct member of
partners. theFaculty.

Our faculty members are disOnguished experts in their elds ProfessorDr.ColinBrock
including senior professors and academicians from public and UNESCO Chair in Educa:on
private universiOes in the region, corporate and professional andSeniorResearchFellow
experOseandleaders,andmorethan100experiencedResearch UniversityofOxford,UK
Associates with PhDs as our advisors or supervisors to our PhD AeUsAdjunctProfessor
students.

AeU Knowledge Centre (AKC)

The AeU Knowledge Centre (AKC) oers an excellent combinaOon of
tradiOonal and electronic informaOon resources in a well designed
conducive living library ambience with the interface for the digital
libraryinavirtualenvironment.

AeUisproudtopossessoneofthebestelibraryintheregion.Itprovides
24/7accesstomorethan40,000Otlesofdigitalbook(mulOdisciplines),
over 2 million of eThesis, databases, thousands of journals and
publicaOons. Our AKC also provides User EducaOon & InformaOon Skills
trainingduringthestudentorientaOonperiodaswellasaccessibleonline.
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 Programme Structure and Content
ThisisaLevel8,noncreditfullybyresearchprogramme.
Students have to do 3 audit courses and choose a study discipline and
researchareatodoanindependentandoriginalresearchforathesis.
ThenormalduraOonis3yearsforfullOmeand4yearsforparttme.

Audit Subjects

Research QuanOtaOve QualitaOve

Methodology Analysis Analysis

Study Disciplines and Major Research Areas

PhD PhD
PhD
(Business (ICT)
(Educa,on)
Administra,on)
Businessand Curriculum& OpenSource,ERP,
Management,Public InstrucOon, ProjectManagement,
AdministraOon,Hospitality
Management,Banking EducaOonal eCommerce,e
Management,Micro Psychology, Learning,Business
Credits,MacroCredits, InstrucOonal ConOnuity
InternaOonal Technology,Language Management,
Management,Small &Literary, BusinessRecovery
Business,Economics, MathemaOcs& Planning,InformaOon
EducaOonalManagement,
PublicPolicy,Public
ScienceEducaOon, SecurityCyber
Management, EducaOonal Security,
InternaOonalRelaOons, Management& TelecommuOng,and
IslamicBankingand Leadership,andany anyotherICTrelated
Finance,IslamicInsurance, otherEducaOon researchareas
andanyotherBusiness relatedresearchareas
andManagementrelated
researchareas

KPT/JPS(KN9150)4/13,A9150 KPT/JPS(KN9152)1/14,PA9152 KPT/JPS(KN9886)7/14,PA9886

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 The PhD Journey >>
1
Selec,on&Admission 3
ofStudent
Onlystudentswhomeet
entryrequirementswillbe
admi^edinselectedareas
Capabilityof 4
ofresearchwhereexperOse
Students
isavailabletosupervisethe Capabilityofstudentsin
students. doingresearchisclosely
Examina,onof
monitoredbythesupervisor Thesis
2 andSGS.Bothstudentsand
supervisorsarerequiredto InternaOonalbenchmarking
submitaprogressreport isbeingappliedinthe
ResearchProposal every6months. evaluaOonofPhDthesis.
TheseincludeexaminaOon
Defense Researchdataarecollected, ofthesisby1internal
resultsproducedand examinerand2external
Studentsarenotrequired analyzedduringaeldwork
tosubmitaresearch examiners,followedby
periodofonetotwoyears. WivaVoceandthe
proposalforadmission
Thisphaseofthe examinersreportstobe
purpose.
programmeconsistsof approvedbytheUniversity
However,thestudentwill intensivethinkingand
beundertheguidanceof Senate.
wriOnginconsultaOonwith
thesupervisororadvisor thestudentssupervisor(s).
toprepareandpresentthe
researchproposalina
foruma^endedbyfaculty
membersand2External
Assessorstoensurethe
researchiscurrentand
adequateasaPhD
programme.
Thisisnormallyheldwithin
12monthsaberthe
registraOondate.
Onthebasisofthe
ResearchProposal
Defense,thestudents
performanceisevaluated
andadecisionistaken
aboutconOnuingthe
programme.

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 Objectives Learning Objectives

Toproduceknowledgeableand
competentresearchersinthe
choseneldthatcould
contributeeecOvelytowards
thebodyofknowledgeand
naOonbuilding.
Ingeneral,AeUsPhD
programmespromotecriOcal
enquiry,developproblem
solving,decisionmaking,and
analyOcalthinkingskills,aswell
asencouragestudentstotake
acOveresponsibiliOesfortheir
independentlearning,and
preparesthemforlifelong
learning.
UponsuccessfulcompleOonoftheprogramme,
graduateswillbeable:
1. Toproduceoriginalresearchoradvanced
programatdoctorallevel.
2. Toconceptualise,designandimplementprojects
forthegeneraOonofsignicantnewknowledge
and/orunderstanding.
3. Tocreate,interpret&disseminateknowledge
whichextendstheforefrontofthechosen
discipline.
4. Tomakeinformedjudgmentsoncomplexissues
inspecialisedelds,andcreateinnovaOonsin
tacklingandsolvingproblems.
5. ToappreciateresearchimplicaOonsand
eecOvelyconveyresearchndingsaccordingto
needs.
6. Todisseminatetheresearchndingsby
publishing,conducOngandparOcipaOngin
academicjournals,forumandseminars,etc.

Language of Programme Delivery Award

Alllearningmaterials,textbooksandreferencesfortheaudit A PhD degree will be
modulesarewri^eninEnglish.Thefacetofaceseminars/ awarded to students who
workshopswillalsobeconductedbyfacilitatorsinEnglish. have passed the thesis
LearnersfromdierentcountriescanparOcipate. examina,on, viva voce
examina,on and have
StudentsshouldhaveEnglishskillsequivalenttoIELTS6.5or
f u l l l e d o t h e r
TOEFL550.Forthesissubmi^edinlanguagesotherthan
English,itisrequiredtoincludeanExtendedExecuOve requirements as specied
Summary(EES)ofthethesis,usuallynotexceeding10,000 bytheUniversity.
wordsinEnglish.Ingeneral,theEESisaconcisedescripOon
ofeachchapterofthethesis.

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 Admission Requirements for International Students
AsPhDprogrammesarebasedonresearchinaselected
eldofstudy,studentsareexpectedtobeginwitha
thoroughinvesOgaOonoftheexisOngbodyof
knowledgeonasubjecttodenespecicquesOonsthat
canbeansweredthroughoriginalresearch.Therefore,
youmayberequiredtosubmitthefollowing:
1. Masterdegreeofrelevanteld
2. Acurriculumvitae(CV)orresume
3. Astatementofresearchintent,describingwhatyou
havealreadydoneandwhatyouhopeto
accomplishinyourdoctoralresearch.Thisisyour
preliminaryresearchintentorresearchproposal
4. Youmayberequiredtoa^endaninterviewinsome
cases
5. Forthesistobewri^eninEnglish,therewillbean
Englishlanguagecompetencyrequirement
equivalenttoIELTS6.5orTOEFL550.
6. ApplicaOonfeeis100USdollar.Thisamountof Accreditation
moneywillbedeductedwhenthestudentsare
acceptedtothecourse;otherwiseitisnot PhDprogrammesinAeUareapproved
refundable bytheMalaysianMinistryofHigher
7. ApplicaOondocumentsrequiredinclude: Educa,onwithaccreditaOongranted
1. CompletedapplicaOonforms bytheQualityAssuranceauthorityof
2. Scannedcopiesofyourdegreesandacademic MalaysianQualica,onsAgency
transcriptswithcerOedtranslaOoninEnglish (MQA).AeUisalsoworkingtowards
3. Onescannedcopyofyourphoto(jpeg,color, naOonalrecogniOonsinthecountries
150x150pixels) ofoperaOonviatheACDnetwork.
4. ProofofEnglishprociency

Thefullaccredita:onofyourdoctorateisaremarkableachievementanda
tributetoyouruniversity'sunswervingcommitmenttorigorousacademic
standards.Inmyexperience,newuniversi:esoNentakeshortcutsand
compromisestandardsintherushtobuildenrolmentsandgraduate
students.Thisisnotthecasehere.Welldone.

TheLateEmeritusProfessorDrJohnMiltonSmith,PhD(Cambridge)
SchoolofManagement
Cur,nUniversityofTechnology,Perth,Australia
AeUsAdjunctProfessor&
ExternalExaminertoAeUsPhD(BA)&
PhDsupervisor
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 Stages of Research
Stage1 Stage2 Stage3 Stage4
PhD
PartTime Semester13 Semester47 Semester811 Semester1112
PhD Semester12 Semester35 Semester67 Semester89
FullTime
1.PreparaOonof 7.Thesis
intentofresearch submission
8.NominaOonand
2.Appointmentof
appointmentof
supervisor
thesisexaminers
9.Thesis
evaluaOonby
3.PreparaOonof 5.Research/data 6.Thesisreport examinersand
researchproposal collecOon wriOng supervisorsand
their
recommendaOons
10.Thesis
4.Proposal
examinaOon/viva
defence
voce

11.GraduaOon

Guidance and Monitoring of Research Progress

Students are required to have frequent consultaOons with their supervisor(s) for guidance and advice. In
addiOon, SGS will organize colloquia, seminars, research clinics and course works are made available to
studentsimprovetheirknowledgeandresearchskills.

As part of the formaOve assessment, capability of students in doing research is closely monitored by the
supervisorandtheDeanofSGS.Bothstudentsandsupervisorsarerequiredtosubmitprogressreportsevery
6 months. This will assess students knowledge, criOcal thinking, pracOcal, technical, professional, scienOc
andproblemsolvingskills.

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 Selection and Roles of Supervisor
Supervisors are carefully selected to meet
the requirements in terms of experOse,
a c a d e m i c q u a l i c a O o n s , r e s e a r c h
backgroundandpublicaOonsintherelevant
eld. The appointment of supervisors also
requires approval from the Postgraduate
Studies Commi^ee and the University
Senate.

TheRolesoftheSupervisorinclude:

1. GuidesthestudentintheselecOonand
planningofanoriginalresearchtopic
thatcanbesuccessfullycompleted.
2. Establishes with the student a realisOc Ometable for compleOon of
thevariousphasesoftheresearch.
3. Provides the student with a realisOc Ome schedule for provision of
feedbackandtoensurethatthestudentadherestotheOmetable.
4. Ensuresthatstudenthasanunderstandingoftherelevant
theories and themethodologicalandtechnicalskillsnecessaryfor
the research, including provision of informaOon through an ethical
reviewprocesswhereapplicable.
5. Makes arrangements to ensure conOnuity of supervision during
leavesoranextendedperiodofabsence.
6. Submits a Progress Report on the students research work progress
twiceyearly,byrstweekofJanuary,andrstweekofJulytoSGS.
7. A^ends the students research proposal defense and decides
whethertheproposalisacceptableforthestudenttoproceedtothe
nextstageoftheresearch.
8. ProposessuitableReader(s)forproposaldefense.
9. ConOnues to guide and advise the student aber the research
proposaldefense.
10. DecidesandrecommendstoSGSforthesubmissionofthestudents
thesis.
11. ProposessuitableExaminer(s)toexaminethethesis.
12. A^endsthestudentsVivaVoceexaminaOon;howevertheSupervisor
doesnottakepartinthedecisionmaking.
13. Ensures that conduct all acOviOes with academic integrity and in
compliance with Code of Conduct, relevant laws, rules and
regulaOons
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 About Asia e University
AsiaeUniversity(AeU)isadualmode(residenOal
fullOmeoronlinedistancelearning)internaOonal
university by Asians for Asia, supported by 31
member countries under the Asia CooperaOon
Dialogue(ACD).

ThroughcollecOveexperOsefromeducaOonalpartners,AeUdeliversacomprehensivespectrumofprogrammesranging
fromDegree,MasterandDoctoratelevelsinManagement,ICT,EducaOonandArts,HumanityandSocialSciencesfocusing
onquality,exibility,aordability,accessibilityrelevanceandpersonalizedlearning.

AeUisrecognizedinMalaysiaasitsestablishmentisiniOatedbytheMalaysiangovernment.Allacademicprogrammesin
AeUareapprovedbytheMalaysianMinistryofHigherEducaOonandaccreditedbytheMalaysianQualicaOonsAgency
(MQA).MQA'saccreditaOonisbeingusedbymanycountriesforrecogniOon.

AeU is also a member of AssociaOon of Commonwealth UniversiOes (ACU), through which is also used as a basis of
UniversiOes Grant Commission (UGC) recogniOon in countries such as SriLanka. In addiOon, AeU is also a member of
European FoundaOon for Quality in ELearning (EFQUEL), InternaOonal Council for Open and Distance EducaOon (ICDE)
andAsiaAssociaOonofOpenUniversiOs(AAOU).ForeigngovernmentrecogniOonofAeUobeninvolvesthegovernment
togovernmentauthoriOestoselectappropriateuniversiOesformutualrecogniOonsuchasthecasebetweenChinaand
Malaysia. AeU is working towards mulOple naOonal recogniOon via mulOple channels including dual award partnership
withlocaluniversiOesaswellasusingACDgovernmentsnetwork.

AeU is also a facilitator for the mutual accreditaOon and

recogniOonofdegreesamongAsianHigherEducaOonInsOtuOons
(HEIs). Through the AeU plaxorm, HEIs in Asia will be able to
leverageoneachother'sresourcesandfaciliOesincludingsharing
of academic and professional programmes. ACD member
countrieshaverecognizedAeUasaninstrumentforgreaterAsia
wide cooperaOon and a catalyst in narrowing the digital divide
amongcommuniOesandnaOons.

The e in Asia e University reects not only applying elearning
technology to compliment learning, but also dene the WhoareourStudents?
empowering, enhancing, exploratory, experienOal, eecOve and
expandinglearningexperienceinAeU.

AeUistheuniversityofchoiceforPhDintheregion

with students coming from 20 dierent countries
Within a few years, AeU has established its reputaOon as an
fromAsia,AfricaandMiddleEast,pursuingmainlyin
acclaimed dualmode insOtuOon providing quality educaOon
BusinessAdministraOon(60%),EducaOon(30%)and
programmetoalmost10,000studentscomingfrom30dierent
ICT (10%). Our students come from a diverse
countries.
background from fresh university graduates who
aspire to pursue research and academic careers;
teachers of educaOonal insOtuOons seeking higher
academic qualicaOon appropriate to their career
advancement; and professionals with a passion for
research to contribute to the advancement of
knowledge.
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 CERTIFICATEOFACCREDITATION

SAMPLEOFDEGREECERTIFICATE

SAMPLE

By virtue of the authority vested therein,

the University Senate hereby certifies that
ABDUL HAMID BIN ABDULLAH
having fulfilled all the requirements prescribed by
the University has this day been conferred the

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION A S
I
Y
A
with all the honours and rights pertaining T

thereto. I
E
S

R
17 April 2011 E N
U

V I

_______________________________ ___________________
Prof. Dato Dr. Ansary Ahmed Meilina Puteh AMN
President & Chief Executive Officer Registrar
Asia e University Asia e University

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