The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences) at the University of Melbourne marks a student’s admission to the community of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences scholars. It signifies that the holder has undertaken a substantial piece of original research which has been conducted and reported by the holder via thesis.

The submission must be a careful, rigorous and sustained piece of work demonstrating that a research 'apprenticeship' is complete. The PhD will demonstrate authority in the candidate's field and shows evidence of command of knowledge in relevant fields. The thesis must make a distinct contribution to knowledge and is judged on originality of approach and in some cases, the discovery of new facts.

PhD thesis

In scope, the PhD thesis differs from a research master’s thesis chiefly by its deeper and more comprehensive treatment of the chosen subject. It is completed over a maximum period of up to four years full-time.

It is written succinctly, in English, unless approval has been given for the thesis to be written in a language other than English. All candidates for the degree will be examined on the basis of their thesis which is examined externally. The normal length of the submission is between 80,000 and 100,000 words, exclusive of words in tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices.

The PhD is an internationally recognised and highly transferable qualification designed for graduates to demonstrate academic leadership, independence, creativity and innovation in their research work.

Graduate attributes

Doctoral degrees at the University of Melbourne seek to develop graduates who demonstrate academic leadership, increasing independence, creativity and innovation in their research work.

The University expects its doctoral graduates to have the following qualities and skills:

• an advanced ability to initiate research and to formulate viable research questions;
• a demonstrated capacity to design, conduct and report sustained and original research;
• the capacity to contextualise research within an international corpus of specialist knowledge;
• an advanced ability to evaluate and synthesize research-based and scholarly literature;
• an advanced understanding of key disciplinary and multi-disciplinary norms and perspectives relevant to the field;
• highly developed problem-solving abilities and flexibility of approach;
• the ability to analyse critically within and across a changing disciplinary environment;
• the capacity to disseminate the results of research and scholarship by oral and written communication to a variety of audiences;
• a capacity to cooperate with and respect the contributions of fellow researchers and scholars;
• a profound respect for truth and intellectual integrity, and for the ethics of research and scholarship;
• an advanced facility in the management of information, including the application of computer systems and software where appropriate to the student's field of study;
• an understanding of the relevance and value of their research to national and international communities of scholars and collaborators;
• an awareness where appropriate of issues related to intellectual property management and the commercialisation of innovation; and
• an ability to formulate applications to relevant agencies, such as funding bodies and ethics committees.

The University provides a variety of opportunities in addition to the supervised research program, to facilitate a student's acquisition of these attributes.