Postgraduate course information

UTS: Business offers a range of master's degrees, graduate diplomas and graduate certificates by coursework. In addition, doctoral and research master's (by thesis) programs are also offered.

Further information and general inquiries on postgraduate course information is available from the Student Centre at Haymarket.

Postgraduate coursework

Exemptions

Exemptions are granted on the basis of the successful completion of equivalent subjects from recent undergraduate or recent postgraduate studies. Students should lodge an application for subject exemption if they wish to apply for exemptions from subjects within their enrolled course.

Postgraduate subject exemptions are not normally granted where prior studies were undertaken more than 10 years previously. Postgraduate subject exemptions are also not granted for prior sub-degree TAFE studies.

Exemptions from electives are considered only for prior postgraduate studies. Students who have completed a UTS: Business honours degree or equivalent as determined by the head of the UTS Graduate School of Business may be eligible for up to an additional four subjects (to a maximum of 24 credit points) of exemptions where equivalent coursework subjects exist.

The maximum number of subject exemptions allowed in each course under the UTS: Business policy is detailed below.

Graduate certificates

Exemptions are not permitted except where an exemption has been approved for a specified UTS executive development course.

Graduate diplomas

A maximum of five subject exemptions is permitted, of which two core subjects can be approved from prior undergraduate study.

Master's degrees (excluding MBA)

A maximum of eight subject exemptions is permitted, of which four core subjects can be approved from prior undergraduate study.

MBA

A maximum of 10 subject exemptions is permitted, of which four core subjects can be approved from prior undergraduate study. Exemptions will not be permitted for the subjects 21715 Strategic Management and 21878 Organisational Dialogue: Theory and Practice.

Articulation

While courses are offered as stand-alone qualifications they are also components of integrated programs of study that enable students who satisfactorily complete a graduate certificate or graduate diploma to apply for entry to a higher-level course within their chosen field of study. Where a student articulates from one level of study to another, only one testamur is issued. Further information is available from the UTS Business School's postgraduate office.

Students must complete an internal course transfer form.

Progression

All UTS postgraduate students are subject to the Student Rules, Section 10 – Academic progression requirements. If students do not meet these requirements they can be excluded from their course. Full details are provided in the rules.

• Assessment of rate of progress (rule 10.2): UTS Business School postgraduate coursework students will have their enrolment discontinued if they fail:
  • two subjects in a graduate certificate
  • three subjects in a graduate diploma
  • four subjects in a master's degree, or
  • five subjects in the MBA and postgraduate extension degrees.
• Failure to maintain minimum rate of progress (rule 10.4)
• Maximum time to complete course requirements (rule 10.5)
• Repeated failure in a subject (rule 10.6)
• Academic caution (rule 10.7)

Early intervention

Early intervention applies only to international students and is a requirement of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS). International students who, because of poor results, are identified as being at risk of failing to make satisfactory academic progress if they failed 50 per cent or more of their enrolled subjects in the previous half year. If students are placed on early intervention following the release of results for a session, they receive a letter by email from UTS to their UTS email account advising them to undertake certain activities to help improve their academic performance.

Electives

Postgraduate students are not permitted to undertake undergraduate subjects, including language subjects, as electives in any UTS: Business postgraduate program. Students may only choose and enrol in postgraduate subjects as electives.

Majors and sub-majors

To have a major or sub-major noted on a final transcript, students must complete at least 75 per cent of the subjects in that major at UTS, under any approved postgraduate course.

Session load

Full-time study is usually undertaken at the normal load of 24 credit points a session. Students who wish to undertake more than the normal full-time load in one session must have their study plan endorsed by a student adviser from the Student Centre, Haymarket.

Part-time study is usually undertaken at the normal rate of 12 credit points a session.

Attendance

Postgraduate UTS: Business degrees are offered on campus only, but some subjects are also offered in block mode. The usual attendance for each subject is three hours a week, while subjects offered in block mode usually involve five or six full days of attendance spread over the session.

Most degrees are offered part time (one or two subjects a session) or full time (three or four subjects a session).

Local students may attend part time or full time. International students must complete their course by the end date specified on their Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE).

Subject attendance requirements

Students are required to be punctual and regular in attendance for all classes in which they are enrolled. It is the student's responsibility to study all material provided, or required to be accessed, to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the subject and to be informed of subject-related activities and administration.

International students in Australia are advised to attend all classes at their campus. Failure to attend may infringe on the conditions of the student visa.

The UTS timetable provides information on the location, day and time that individual subjects are offered.

Forms

Most postgraduate forms are available from Student forms, apps and systems except the faculty-specific Credit recognition (exemption) form.

Postgraduate research

Admission requirements

To be eligible for admission to the UTS Business School's Doctor of Philosophy program an applicant should:

• hold a relevant bachelor's degree with first or second class honours (division 1)
• hold a master's (by thesis) degree
• possess an equivalent qualification, or
• be a graduate of at least two years' standing of this University or another tertiary institution, whose research publications and written reports on work satisfy the Academic Board that the applicant has the ability and experience to pursue their proposed course of study.

Each applicant is required, prior to application, to contact the UTS Business School research office with a thesis area or topic and seek appropriate supervision. Applicants are also required to submit a brief thesis proposal with their application.

Course structure

Based on the candidate's proposed area of research, the University allocates a supervisory panel with expertise in this area.

While candidates with an insufficient background in research methods and/or theoretical knowledge in the core fields of study may be required to do some coursework, the final assessment for the degree is based on submission of a thesis of approximately 50,000–70,000 words. The thesis is examined by three examiners, of who at least two are external to the University, and are experts in the area of research addressed in the thesis. Guidelines for presentation and submission of the thesis are available from the UTS: Graduate Research School.

Both the candidate and the candidate's principal supervisor are required to submit progress reports at the end of each session. In addition, a student's candidature is assessed before or at the end of the first two sessions of candidature in the case of a full-time student, or the first three sessions in the case of a part-time student. The following components, considered by a review panel, constitute the assessment: satisfactory session progress reports, successful completion of prescribed coursework prior to the assessment, a written thesis proposal, and an oral seminar on the research topic and written proposal.

A student who does not satisfy the requirements for the assessment is not permitted to proceed with their candidature unless, with the approval of the Academic Board, the student is invited to re-attempt the assessment.

Contacts and inquiries

UTS Business School Research Office
telephone +61 2 9514 3691
fax +61 2 9514 3513
email research.business@uts.edu.au
UTS: Business