PhD at Asia e University
This AeU PhD program enhances the candidates’ research, analytical and conceptual skills. AeU PhD program is accredited by MQA Malaysia and is also currently recognized by Ministries of Higher Education in several other Asian countries (including Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, etc). The PhD Supervisor shall be selected from the student’s country or any neighboring country) and approved by AeU School of Graduate Studies and AeU Senate. This ensures ability of supervisor to provide direct care to student and also ensures relevance of students research topic based on meeting local and regional requirements.
AeU is also planning to launch its own Learning Centres and Branch Campuses in GCC region during next two years. This would contribute to recognition of its programs by respective educational authorities in this region. The AeU PhD degree enables its holders to participate heavily in the knowledge-based society and improve the quality of life for themselves and others. They will also be able to enhance Asia’s economic competitiveness in the global market.
AeU provides its PhD candidates with an e-Library, accessible anywhere and anytime, consisting of a wide collection of academic resources including e-Books, e-Journals, reference materials, and many more. Being a platform for 31 ACD member countries, AeU gives the opportunity to its candidates to access a variety of references in those countries’ HEIs.
PhD Research Programs:
1. Management
2. Education
3. Information Technology
4. Social Science
5. Humanities and Arts
Program Structure
AeU PhD program is a postgraduate research degree, which is mostly based on preparing and completing an original extensive research thesis. The Program normally takes four years (eight semesters) to complete and it consists of four parts:
I. Study of Core Courses
During the initial stage of the PhD program, students will attend a live session through Webex electronic classroom to be trained on how to do research methodology and write PhD proposal and thesis. These sessions are normally conducted during the first semester of research while students are already starting to prepare for their research proposal under the supervision of their assigned PhD supervisor.
II. Preparation of Research Proposal
After completing the initial stage of the PhD program, AeU School of Graduate Studies (SGS) will assign supervisors to assist the students in preparing their research proposals. Students normally need two semesters to complete the preparation of their research proposal. Then the AeU SGS shall assign two external examiners to assess the student’s research proposal based on presentation and Q&A session. External examiners’ feedback on the student’s performance shall be sent to the SGS and shall then be referred to both PhD supervisor and student for them to rectify their proposal before proceeding to next stage of the program.
III. Preparation of Thesis
The PhD candidate student will pursue implementation of above mentioned research proposal until completion of the research thesis. This stage normally takes five semesters to complete.
IV. Final Examination (Viva Voce)
Once the PhD candidates have completed their research thesis and submitted their final report via their supervisor to the AeU SGS, then AeU SGS studies such proposal and confers with respective authorities within AeU before they can decide on the eligibility of these students to sit for the “viva voce” exam. AeU SGS shall then appoint the evaluation panel (of external examiners) to assess the quality of the PhD candidate’s thesis during the “viva voce” session. This process normally takes one semester once it is submitted to the AeU Senate for the approval of candidate’s graduation leading to the award of the PhD degree.
Entry requirement:
Master's Degree (or an equivalent degree) in any field, recognized by AeU Senate.
Program language:
The Program is offered in English as well as in Arabic. Since the Program is research-based without taught courses included, the student may choose to write the research in English or in Arabic, and use the same language during his/her research at the final Viva defense. Upon choosing English, the applicant should have a mark of at least 5.5 in IELTS, or 500 in TOEFL, or its equivalent.
Duration and Admission:
· New applicants can be admitted at any time in the year. Once admitted, a student shall be assigned a supervisor to guide him/her throughout his/her study. At an early stage, a special session will be organized online using virtual classroom platform in order to brief students on research methodology.
· A student can normally complete his/her research work and apply to sit for research defense in 4 years.
Accreditation:
The Program is accredited and recognized by the Ministry of Higher Education in Malaysia, as well as by Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA) which is a regionally and internationally reputed accreditation body based in Malaysia. However, this program is studied as external program for students resident in the GCC and other Arab countries, and therefore is not associated with Ministries of Higher Education in this region.
Application and Admission Procedures
a. The applicant should apply by emailing a scanned copy of:
· Master Certificate;
· Passport
· Personal Recent Photo
· Recent CV
· Research Intent Document
to: menamanage@aeu.edu.my
The applicant should also pay the admission fees and scan the transfer voucher and email it along with the other documents (this is a non-refundable fee whether the applicant is accepted or rejected).
b. AeU will email the Admission Letter to the applicant within 2 weeks from application date.
c. Once an applicant is notified about admission, he/she should immediately pay the fees according to the payment schedule.
Program’s fees and Payment Method
· Admission Fees: USD250.
· Total Program Fees: USD24000.
The fees are paid on annual installments, USD6000 per installment.
If the student needed more than 4 years to complete his/her work then an extra amount of USD3000 should be paid per each extra year. The payment is made either electronically or via direct wire transfer to a specified account which shall be announced in due time to the new and ongoing students.
Applicants for the above programs may also apply for scholarship grants. Qualified cases shall be provided scholarship grant up to maximum 50% of the program fees.