Postgraduate Admission

FAST TRACK TO PHD REQUIREMENTS

General Requirements:

Applicants must hold a Bachelor’s Degree (Honours) with a minimum CGPA of 3.67/4.00 from Universiti Sains Malaysia or another university recognised and accepted by the University Senate.

International applicants must obtain a minimum English language qualification of IELTS Band 6.0 or TOEFL 80 (Internet-based). IELTS/TOEFL results are valid for two years from the date of issuance.

Applicants must submit a comprehensive research proposal with the potential for doctoral-level research. The research proposal must be submitted to the PKTAAB together with the Fast-Track application.

Applicants are required to attend an interview conducted by the PKTAAB.

GENERAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

The minimum score for each programme can be vary from the below list, candidates are required to check for each programme requirements. Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements:

IELTS: Minimum Band 5.0; or
TOEFL iBT: Minimum score of 40; or
TOEFL Essentials (Online): Minimum score of 7.5; or
PTE: Minimum score of 47; or
MUET: Minimum Band 3.5; or
CAE/CPE: Minimum score of 154; or
Linguaskill Online: Minimum score of 154; or
ELS: Minimum score of 107 (CIEP Level).

MASTER (RESEARCH MODE)

Entry Requirements

1. Bachelor’s Degree

Applicants must possess a Bachelor’s Degree and meet one of the following CGPA requirements:

A) CGPA of 2.75/4.00 or above

No additional entry requirements.

B) CGPA of 2.50–2.74/4.00

Applicants must fulfil at least one (1) of the following additional requirements:

At least one (1) year of research experience; or

At least one (1) year of professional experience in a related field; or

One (1) academic publication in the relevant field; or

A Grade B in major/elective courses; or

A Grade B+ in the final year project.

C) CGPA of 2.00–2.49/4.00

Applicants must fulfil at least one (1) of the following additional requirements:

At least five (5) years of research experience; or

At least five (5) years of professional experience in a related field; or

One (1) academic publication in the relevant field; or

A Grade B in major/elective courses; or

A Grade B+ in the final year project.

2. APEL A

Applicants with APEL A – Level 7 are also eligible to apply.

No additional entry requirements are stipulated

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (RESEARCH MODE)

Entry Requirements

Applicants must possess a Master’s Degree and meet one of the following requirements:

A) Master’s Degree (Research Mode)

Applicants who have successfully completed a Master’s Degree by Research are eligible to apply.

- No additional entry requirements.

B) Master’s Degree with a CGPA of 3.00/4.00 or above

- No additional entry requirements.

C) Master’s Degree with a CGPA of 2.50–2.99/4.00

Applicants must fulfil at least one (1) of the following additional requirements:

At least two (2) years of research experience; or

At least two (2) years of professional experience in a related field; or

Two (2) academic publications in the relevant field; or

A Grade B+ in major/elective courses; or

A Grade B+ in the final project for a Master’s Degree by Coursework, or a Pass (P) for the dissertation under a Mixed Mode Master’s Degree.

Exemption is given to candidate with:

English is the candidate’s mother tongue or National Language; or
Candidate graduated from an Institution of Higher Learning in which the medium of instruction at Bachelor and/or Master degree level is English

OnlineApplication: https://admission.usm.my/index.php/en/postgraduate/postgraduate-programme

PROGRAMME DURATION

MSc (Research)

Full-time: Min 2 semesters / Max 6 semesters
Part-time: Min 4 semesters / Max 12 semesters (for Malaysian only)

PhD (Research)

Full-time: Min 4 semesters / Max 10 semesters Part-time: Min 6 semesters / Max 15 semesters (for Malaysian only)

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

A Research Mode student must comply with the following graduation requirements:

Fulfill the minimum duration of candidature;
Pass the pre-requisite courses (if any) as determined by the School/Centre/Institute;
Must obtain minimum grade C for Malaysian Culture and Malay Language (LKM111). This course is

compulsory for all international students;

Pass the Research Methodology course;
Fulfill the publication requirements as below;

CLUSTER

Sciences/ Engineering/ Health & Medical

MASTER’S DEGREE

At least one (1) article journal, accepted or published in journals/proceedings indexed by WoS / SCOPUS

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

One (1) article journal, accepted by or published in a journal indexed by WoS in Q1/Q2 OR At least two (2) articles journal accepted or published in journals indexed by WoS / SCOPUS

CLUSTER

Arts

MASTER’S DEGREE

At least one (1) article journal, accepted or published in any categories listed below: i. Journals/proceeding indexed by WoS / SCOPUS / ERA ii. Journals by the University or listed in myJurnal (Malaysian Journal Management System) from MyCite (Malaysian Citation Centre) iii. Book chapters published by publishers listed in the Thomson Reuters Web of Science (WoS) Master Book List or Penerbit USM or MAPIM

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

At least one (1) article journal, accepted or published in journals indexed by WoS / SCOPUS / ERA or At least two (2) articles journal, accepted or published in any categories listed below:- i. Journals by the University or listed in myJurnal (Malaysian Journal Management System) from MyCite (Malaysian Citation Centre) ii. Book chapters published by publishers listed in the Thomson Reuters Web of Science (WoS) Master Book List or Penerbit USM or MAPIM

CLUSTER

Authorship

MASTER’S DEGREE & DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Publications accepted must be published with the supervisor(s). The candidate must be the first student author. Only the first student author is allowed to use this article to fulfil his/her graduation requirement.

CLUSTER

Plagiarism

MASTER’S DEGREE & DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Plagiarized article will not be accepted for graduation requirement

CLUSTER

Topic of Publications

MASTER’S DEGREE & DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Publications accepted must be related to his/her thesis/dissertation.

CLUSTER

Affiliation

MASTER’S DEGREE & DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Publications accepted must carry USM affiliation.