PhD (Science)

  Institution: Taylor’s University

A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) offers students the opportunity to gain entry to an academic or research career. This programme will enable students to have an independent thinking approach and develop unique expertise in its own research interest. Independent research requires diligent and thorough investigation into a topic with the aim to formulate new and original ideas, findings and theories.

Students are confirmed as PhD candidates at the end of the first year, on the basis of satisfactory completion of the Research Methodology & Advance Research Methodology modules, and a successful presentation and formal defense of a thesis proposal.

As a prospective PhD student, it is important to choose research projects and topics that align with your interests, qualifications and experience.

Research in the School of Biosciences encompasses four broad themes and is supported by a core group of researchers in bioactive compounds (Drug Discovery & Development Team) :

• Infectious Diseases
  The rich biodiversity of Malaysia enables the discovery of novel compounds to fight infectious diseases. At Taylor’s University, the identified natural compounds will be examined for their bioactive properties as well as their mode of action. In addition to the antimicrobial research, the host-pathogen interaction research is focused to understand the disease manifestation in host cells.
• Non-communicable diseases
  Diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, a sedentary lifestyle and stress have contributed to greater incidences of heart disease, respiratory disease, diabetes and cancer, among others. Available drugs for these diseases are often accompanied by undesirable side effects, not selective enough or simply too expensive. Hence, this cluster targets the discovery of novel lead compounds and to scientifically validate natural remedies for lifestyle-related chronic diseases
• Environmental Research
  Research conducted in this cluster focuses in bioremediation, taxonomic identification of marine flora and to facilitate the development of mechanisms or processes that are in compliance with environmental laws. It will target improvement in resources savings, waste disposal and resolving environmental stress issues. In addition, researchers in this cluster also provide consultation and training in environmental management systems
• Food Science and Nutrition
  The broader aim of research in this cluster is to study the fundamentals and applied aspects of new functional foods, medical foods and nutraceuticals as well as new technologies that facilitate development of novel consumer products that enhance human health, food safety and functionality.

These areas are important because they address pertinent issues in human health and sustainability. Current work emphasises fundamental research activities that will allow a better understanding of cancer, infectious diseases and lifestyle diseases via the use of molecular and cellular biology techniques. This will be complemented with research in bioactive natural products, particularly for medicinal and nutraceutical uses to treat and prevent diseases. Ultimately, the main goal is to improve human health and identify affordable alternative therapies. Environmental research will focus on developing mechanisms to save energy resources and use biological indicators to monitor and detect the source of microbial contaminants in our water and food systems.

Programme Structure

Duration of Candidature

Candidature starts on the first day of the first semester registered. In principle, a two semester registration on a part-time status is equivalent to a long semester on a full-time status. Part-time students pay half of the tuition fees required of full-time students. For either forms of registration, there is a minimum residency requirement student needs to fulfill. In particular, students must spend a minimum amount of time on campus to ensure they receive quality supervision and cultivate scholarly etiquette.
The minimum and maximum durations are as follows:

• Minimum length of candidature
  The minimum length of candidature is two years for full-time students and four years for part-time students. Candidature cannot be less than these periods. Part-time students who are confident of graduating in less than four years should register for full-time status at the end of the second year.
• Maximum length of candidature
  The average duration of candidature for full-time students is three years with a maximum of six years. Part-time students normally take six years to complete their candidature, with a maximum of eight years.

Extension of candidature beyond the maximum period is only possible with the approval of the Senate and the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA).

Off-Campus Candidature

Off-campus candidature enables working adults who have access to research facilities in the vicinity of where they work or reside to benefit from the experience of research supervision from the university. Below are the required requirements for off-campus candidature

• Payment of an application fee of RM500
• Appointment of an external co-supervisor
• Submission of a Research Meeting Log twice per semester for the University to monitor the research progress

The application form for off-campus candidature must be submitted to Taylor’s Graduate School for processing. The School’s Postgraduate Committee will decide on the approval of the application.

Research Methodology

• Scientific Research Practices and Entrepreneurship
  This compulsory module begins with an exposition of the characteristics a critical analysis of literature research must possess at the doctoral level. Then, a synthesis and documentation of the information gathered will be conducted as it is of paramount importance for successfully understanding the landscape of the existing knowledge boundary. Working closely with respective PhD supervisors, students are expected to narrow their thesis problem statement without losing sight of its significance. Once the present domain specific knowledge is well-understood, the focus will be on comparing among the different channels of communications such as journal publications, conference proceedings, expository magazine, and poster presentation will be expounded. Subsequently, we elaborate on the research ethics and regulations for experiments involving human and animal specimens to prepare students’ selection and execution of domain specific research methodology. This is followed by a forum discussion on sourcing research funding internally and externally as well as studying the basic aspects of commercialization.

Source: Taylor’s University