Indicative Timeframe for Some General Requirements for MPhil/PhD Students
Indicative timeframe for some general requirements for MPhil/PhD students is presented in the following table to facilitate planning (for students commencing studies in September). There are other requirements to be fulfilled such as course taking, graduate seminar training, residence requirements and completion of the Supporting Learning and Teaching @Lingnan (SLT@Lingnan). You may refer to the Guidebook for Research Postgraduate Students for details.
Requirements | Indicative schedule for normal Full-time students | Indicative schedule for normal Part-time students |
| 1. Discuss and agree on thesis topic and courses to be taken with your Supervisor(s) | Dates to be agreed between the student and the Supervisor(s) | |
| 2. Attend the development workshop organised by the Teaching and Learning Centre with support from the Office of Student Affairs, the Library, and the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer | September of Year 1 | Not applicable |
| 3. Complete the online mini-course entitled “Online Tutorial on Plagiarism Awareness” | Usually by January of Year 1 | |
| 4. Prepare an outline paper and defend research topic in a seminar before the Assessment/Qualifying Panel | Usually by April of Year 1 | Usually by September of Year 2 |
| 5. Submit a Progress Report to your Supervisor(s) for completion of an Assessment Report (written with reference to the recommendation of the Assessment/Qualifying Panel) for confirmation of candidature (the RPSC concerned/BGS/WJYSISMB may require a student to pass additional qualifying examination) | Usually by April/May of Year 1 | Usually by October of Year 2 |
| 6. Submit a Progress/Assessment Report for annual reporting, including recommendation from Supervisor(s), with reference to the recommendation of the Assessment/Qualifying Panel, on your progression of studies | By May of non-final year of study | |
| 7. Give notice of intention to submit an MPhil/PhD thesis | December to March of Final Year | |
| 8. Present research findings in a seminar before the Assessment/Qualifying Panel | (Please allow ample time to revise the thesis taking into account feedback received from the research findings seminar before submitting the thesis to the School of Graduate Studies.) | |
| 9. Submit via your (Chief) Supervisor four copies of the thesis in temporary binding, an electronic copy of the Turnitin originality report of that thesis to be generated by your (Chief) Supervisor, a thesis submission form and a performance report completed by your (Chief) Supervisor | March to May of Final Year | |
| 10. Defend your thesis in the presence of examiners | April to early July of Final Year | |
| 11. Submit revised thesis where necessary | April to late August of Final Year | |
| 12. Submit approved thesis in perfect binding | May to mid-September of Final Year (if wishes to be conferred the award in July/August/November of the year) | |
Updated: December 2025