1. A candidate for a taught Master's level award must:
(1) hold a degree or other equivalent qualification approved by the Board of the School;
(2) submit evidence of adequate training and ability to undertake the proposed course;
(3) be approved by the appropriate Board of School as a candidate for the degree;
(4) study in accordance with these Regulations for the period prescribed in the Appendix to these Regulations.
2. A candidate may proceed to a Master's degree either by:
(1) undertaking as a full-time or a part-time student one of the programmes of study listed in the Appendix to these Regulations, to include attendance at classes, fieldwork and such other elements as may be prescribed by the Board of the School.
or
(2) undertaking as a full-time student or as a part-time student a programme of advanced study and training designated by the Board of the School concerned and approved by the Learning, Teaching and Quality Committee of the Senate.
3. In approving a candidate for the degree, the Board of the School may accept accredited prior learning (APL) and accredited prior experiential learning (APEL) up to a maximum of 90 credits (or 50% of the award where less than 180 credits). Of the total so accepted, no more than 40 credits (or 25% of the award where less than 180 credits) may be in respect of APEL.
4. Candidates taking certain programmes may be required to attend and complete fieldwork, a basic course in relevant techniques, practical work or an English language course, prior to or during the degree programme.
5. For all programmes the Board of the School concerned shall publish annually a list of available units, together with their duration, credit rating and any associated conditions, summarised details of which shall be included in an Appendix to the Regulations which shall be approved by the Learning, Teaching and Quality Committee of the Senate. To facilitate portability between courses, units should be assigned credit in multiples of ten and shall normally be marked numerically. With prior permission of the School, candidates shall be permitted to take credit in addition to the credit required for the award they are registered for.
In some units, candidates may additionally be required:
(1) to achieve a mark at a minimum specified level (not above 50%) in all
elements within the unit in order to obtain a pass in the unit as a whole
(2) to attend a minimum specified number of sessions in order to be considered for credit in the unit.
In such cases details of the requirements shall be included in the annual list of available units published by the School.
6. For each candidate the Board of the School concerned shall appoint an adviser who shall be a member of academic staff in the University.
7. In cases where the Board of the School has approved that part of the study may be undertaken at a location other than the University, satisfactory evidence must be provided to the Board that candidates will be granted access to appropriate facilities for the purposes of their study, and that the supervisor will also have such access as may be necessary for supervision purposes.
8. The University Guidelines on Plagiarism and Collusion shall apply to all assessments.
9. Each candidate shall be examined by a Board of Examiners consisting of two or more examiners, at least one of whom shall be an external examiner.
10. In cases:
(1) where the Board of the School has determined it appropriate, an extension of not more than one month (and not more than 3 months for part time candidates) to the date for the submission of any piece of assessed work may be granted for reasons of ill health or unforeseen and urgent personal circumstances.
(2) where a candidate in good academic standing can show good cause, the Board of the School concerned may grant an interruption of the candidate's period of study for not more than one year.
(3) where a part-time programme extends over five years, the Board of the School may extend by up to 12 months the period of study of a candidate requiring more time to accumulate sufficient credit for a particular qualification.
11. If a candidate who has completed the programme of study for the degree has been prevented from taking the prescribed examination or part thereof and has presented sufficient evidence of ill health or other urgent and reasonable cause, the examiners shall arrange for the candidate to take an examination which may be written or oral or both. In such cases, the University rules on good cause shall apply.
12. Provision may be made for a Unit or Intermediate Assessment, which shall be conducted in accordance with Regulation 13 below. Where such provision has been approved, it will be specified in the Appendix to these Regulations. A candidate who fails to reach the required standard in an intermediate assessment including any reassessment shall be required to withdraw. Such candidates may apply to the Registrar and Secretary for an appropriate award in accordance with Regulation 13 (6) b).
13. The Board of Examiners shall observe the following principles:
(1) the pass mark in every unit shall be 50%.
(2) if a candidate has achieved the pass mark in any unit, credit shall be awarded for that unit.
(3) credit may not be deemed in respect of a dissertation mark. The Board of Examiners may refer the candidate to reassessment, which shall be on one occasion only.
(4) where a candidate has failed by a narrow margin to achieve the pass mark in any unit the Board may deem credit (up to a total of 40 credits within the overall programme) or shall refer to reassessment. Where marks fall below that same narrow margin of failure, the Board of Examiners may refer the candidate to reassessment. Whatever the mark, a candidate may be reassessed for any individual unit on one occasion only.
(5) a candidate may be invited to attend for an oral (viva voce) examination.
(6) for candidates other than those referred to in Regulation 14 below:
(a) where a candidate has accrued 180 credits within the requisite time scale and in accordance with the requirements of an individual programme as specified in the Appendix to these Regulations, it shall recommend the award of the degree.
(b) where a candidate has failed to accrue 180 credits within the requisite time-scale, taking account of any reassessments permitted under Regulation 13(3) the Board shall consider the candidate's eligibility for an award based on the credit ratings below:
Postgraduate Diploma - 120 credits
Postgraduate Certificate - 60 credits
Candidates shall be awarded the highest qualification to which they are entitled by their accumulated credit
(c) where the presentation of an otherwise acceptable dissertation is unsatisfactory a candidate shall be asked to represent the dissertation in a revised form within three months, on one occasion only.
(d) where a candidate has failed to accrue sufficient credits under Regulation 13 (6) a) or to meet the standards expected by the examiners for the award of another qualification under Regulation 13 (6) b), it shall recommend that no degree or other qualification be awarded.
14. Candidates registered for such programmes identified in the Appendix may at any time during their period of registration apply to the Registrar and Secretary for the award of a qualification for which they have accumulated sufficient credit. Candidates shall not normally be permitted to count such credit towards two separate qualifications.
15 .Where applicable, the Board of Examiners may recommend the award of the degree with Distinction. No such recommendation may be made for a candidate who is reassessed in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 13 (3).
16. The Board of Examiners, having completed the assessment, shall send its reports and recommendations to the Board of the School concerned for appropriate action.
If the examiners do not agree in their recommendations or if for any other reason the Board of the School needs a further opinion, the Board of the School shall recommend to the Senate the appointment of an additional external examiner who shall conduct a further assessment of the candidate(s) in question.
17. In cases where a candidate is reassessed the Board of Examiners shall then proceed as follows:
(1) if the candidate's performance in the Reassessment has reached the pass
mark in a unit, it shall award the credit associated with the unit. In the event
that a candidate has failed by a narrow margin as in Regulation 13 (4), the
Board may deem credit at its discretion; otherwise it shall determine that
credit be not awarded.
(2) if applicable, it shall proceed as in Regulation 13(5).
(3) the Board of Examiners, having reassessed the candidate, shall send its
reports and recommendations to the Board of the School concerned for
appropriate action.
18. A candidate whose programme of study requires the submission of a dissertation shall submit two copies of such dissertation, securely bound, by the date prescribed by the Board of the School. If a candidate is approved for the award of the degree, one copy shall be retained in the School.