Submitting Higher Degrees Committee: Essential Steps and Requirements 

1. Download the 2025 meeting schedule and check the deadline for agenda items. Late submissions will not be accepted by the Faculty committee.

2. Departments and Schools should set an internal deadline to ensure adequate time for review before the Faculty committee's deadline.

3. Familiarize yourself with your roles and responsibilities by downloading the Higher Degrees and Ethics Process Flow document, which outlines the duties of the Student, Supervisor, Post-Graduate Administrator, and Faculty Officer.

4. Download the Agenda Submission Template, follow the document submission guidelines, and ensure proper naming conventions. Complete the template by summarizing the agenda item in the appropriate fields.

5. Download the Higher Degrees Submission Checklist. Supervisors must confirm that the documents have been checked and quality-assured.

6. Refer to the relevant section below for a list of required documents to submit with the Checklist and Agenda Submission summary.

HOW TO MAKE A SUBMISSION TO THE HIGHER DEGREES COMMITTEE:

To guide you in making a submission to the Higher Degrees Committee, we have provided a step-by-step flow below outlining the entire process. Most steps include convenient links—simply click on the names to access detailed information for each one. Follow these instructions carefully to ensure your submission is completed on time:

Submission of Annual progress reports 

• Click here to see an overview of the roles and responsibilities of the students and others in the progress report submission process.

• As indicated in the University General Calendar, Part 1, ALL registered Masters and PhD students are required to submit an annual progress report.  Students who have not submitted a progress report will not receive approval for renewal of registration and will thus not be able to register for the following academic year. 

• The closing date for the upload of progress reports by masters and doctoral students is 30 September.  

• Download the document that guides you as to how to generate the annual progress report.  

• Extension of studies : Students who will exceed the maximum allowed programme duration (5 years for PhD and 3 years for Masters) in the next year of registration, should also request permission for extension of studies. This request must be submitted together with the student’s progress report and must include an agreed upon (between the supervisor and student) workplan. Should the application be successful a 20% levy will apply.

 Submission of FINAL thesis after revisions

1. Download the document outlines the steps to be followed once the revisions have been completed, to ensure the student gets to graduation stage.  

This document indicates the responsibilities of the supervisor, student and various administrators.  Please take time to read.

2. Download the UWC Thesis Submission Portal - Workflow document (created Nov 2021) 

Once a thesis has been presented (and passed) at the SHD, the student uploads their thesis to the Thesis Submissions portal. This document outlines instructions for Students, Faculty Administrators and Supervisors, each of whom has a role in the process. 

AD HOC HDC ITEMS

• Leave of Absence:  Leave of Absence form

• Change of Thesis Title:  Request to change thesis title form

• Application for  Extension of Studies 

All applications for i) Applications for Re-Admission and ii)  Extension for registrations must be accompanied by the academic transcript of the applicant.  

Furthermore, all such applications, must be accompanied by:

1. A motivation from the applicant, together with a proposed work-plan, and any supporting documents to substantiate claims e.g. absent from study because of illness. 

2. A motivation from the supervisor indicating support or non-support of the application.

3. Sign-off from the head of department indicating support or non-support of the supervisor recommendation.

• Application for Re-Admission

1. Students who have formally terminated their studies or taken a break of one year or more are required to apply for readmission via the central UWC portal. The closing date for applications is 30 September.

2. All submissions are first assessed by the Department’s Higher Degrees Committee based on their evaluation, a recommendation is made.

3. The application, along with the departmental recommendation, then serves at the Faculty Higher Degrees Committee (FHD) for further consideration.

4. The FHD Committee reviews and, if in agreement, recommends the application to the Senate Higher Degrees Committee (SHDC) for final approval.

5. Once the SHDC grants approval, the student becomes eligible to register for the following academic year.

Research conducted for the purpose of NQF L8 qualifications

• The HSSREC research training advisory provide guidelines to staff with respect to the exemption of formal research ethics application for projects undertaken for the purpose of ‘training’.   Note that this guideline is applicable only to research that is normally within the purview of the HSSREC, and not the BMREC.

• All research conducted for the purpose of training is subjected to risk assessment.   In the Faculty of Economic and Maangement Sciences, please consult the Standard Operating Procedures in this regard.