Jointly Awarded PhD Degree program

The Department of Infrastructure Engineering, The University of Melbourne and the Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University (‘the partner departments’) are committed to development of a scheme for the establishment of a Joint PhD degree Program in Water Resources Engineering. Applicants submit their application to Department academic affair office through email (sdxyjsb@oamail.tsinghua.edu.cn), including application for Jointly-awarded PhD degree Program and supplement materials (if necessary)illustrating the applicant's education and research experiences.


Appendix I:

Requirements for Jointly Awarded PhD Degree in Water Resources Engineering

Tsinghua University and the University of Melbourne


This document applies to all PhD candidates in Water Resources Engineering of the Jointly Awarded PhD Degree program between the University of Melbourne and Tsinghua University, as per the Memorandum of Understanding executed by the Department of Infrastructure Engineering, the University of Melbourne and the Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University.

1. Program Mission Statement

The Jointly Awarded PhD Degree is to encourage students to develop an in-depth understanding of the fundamental concepts of Water Resources Engineering, while, at the same time, broadening their perspective by sampling other research and education environments. Moreover, this Jointly Awarded Degree Program should enhance the development of cooperative research collaboration between the two Departments.

2. Admission of Program

Each of the Partner Departments must independently arrange for admission of the PhD candidate in accordance with their own procedures and according to their selection criteria and other entrance requirements. Applicants for PhD candidature should complete applications for each University. The financial arrangements between partner departments for student support and examinations should be agreed to in each case.

3. Duration of Program

Each PhD candidate should spend a minimum of 18 months at Tsinghua University and a minimum of 12 months at the University of Melbourne in a way that enables the PhD candidate to meet the PhD Program requirements at each Department. A prolonged period may be approved upon application, which should be made 3 months before the expiry of the period of the agreement.

4. Supervision

The PhD candidate shall have at least one supervisor in each Department. Both supervisors are responsible for the progress of the doctoral degree work. The supervisors undertake to jointly exercise their advisory function in respect of the doctoral degree candidate in compliance with the current regulations at each University. They also undertake to consult each other regularly concerning the progress of the research work.

5. Program Procedures and Requirements

l  Personal study plan

The PhD candidate must complete his/her personal study plan after consultation with their supervisors in the first months after registration, and then submit the plan to the departmental Graduate Program Office at Tsinghua University.

l  Qualifying Examination

All PhD candidates should complete a Qualifying Examination at their lead University. Exceptions to this policy due to extenuating circumstance must receive prior approval from the PhD administration office at both Universities.

l  Thesis Proposal/Confirmation of candidature

Each PhD candidate must complete their thesis proposal/confirmation procedure to the agreement of both supervisors or PhD committees. This examination consists of both written (about a 5,000 word report) and oral (20-30 min presentation) components in a way that enables the PhD candidate to meet the PhD Program requirements of each Department.

l  Progress Review

Each PhD candidate is required to complete a al written and oral progress review annually. The Progress review provides an opportunity for supervisors and the advisory committee at both the home and host universities to review and evaluate progress on the research project, and to identify any potential difficulties in candidature.

l  Final Thesis Presentation/Completion Seminar

Each PhD candidate is required to make a presentation of their research findings at their home or host University in the three month period prior to submitting their thesis for examination.

l  PhD Thesis

The PhD thesis is written succinctly and in good English. The normal length of a PhD thesis is 60,000-80,000 words, exclusive of words in tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices. Each PhD thesis must include an 800-1000 word abstract in Chinese.

l  PhD Thesis Examination

Each thesis needs four examiners normally. Two examiners are nominated by the University of Melbourne and two examiners are nominated by Tsinghua University.

l  Thesis Defense

Each PhD candidate needs to conduct a Thesis Defense. Normally, this will be done via video conference for a PhD candidate from the University of Melbourne. Exceptions to this policy due to extenuating circumstance must receive prior approval from both Universities.

l  Degree Requirements in academic publication

During the study period, each PhD candidate, as a first author (Supervisors as the first author, graduate students can be second author, the paper must be signed by both Universities), must publish academic papers to meet the requirements of the Department of first registration at Tsinghua University.

l  Academic activities

Each PhD candidate must attend sufficient academic activities to meet the minimum requirements from both universities.

6. Credit Requirements

A Ph.D candidate with/without a Masters degree must receive at 12/24 or more credits from qualified courses listed in the Department of Infrastructure Engineering, the University of Melbourne (UoM) and the Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University (THU). Among them, at least 6 credits must be received from the following courses at the Host University.  Note that the word “course” below is to be interpreted as “subject” in the context of the University of Melbourne and 3 credits in Tsinghua University are equivalent to 12.5 points at the University of Melbourne

(1) Philosophy and/or history/or Culture and language(≥4 Credits)

Each PhD candidate should select at least two course (≥4 credits) in the Host University from the following list that is provided by the University of Melbourne and Tsinghua University.  A maximum of 6 credit points can be accumulated from these courses.  University of Melbourne students must take a Chinese language course as one course unless exempted because of proficiency. Tsinghua University hosted students must achieve an IELTS 7.0 prior to graduation.

Chinese Culture and Society 60610082 2 Credits THU
Chinese Philosophy 60610132 2 Credits THU
Comparison Study of Chinese Society and Culture 60610142 2 Credits THU
Language (Chinese)
2 Credits THU
A History of Nature HPSC20002 3 Credits UoM
From Plato to Einstein HPSC10001 3 Credits UoM
Darwinism: history of a very big idea HPSC20001 3 Credits UoM
God and the Natural Sciences HPSC20020 3 Credits UoM
Social Technologies HPSC20010 3 Credits UoM
iSociety: Technology & Contemporary Life HPSC20009 3 Credits UoM

(2) Specialized courses(≥2 Credits)

Each PhD candidate should select at least one course (≥2 credits) from the following list that is provided by the Department of Infrastructure Engineering, University of Melbourne and the Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University.  Other technical courses may be taken with approval from the PhD Supervisor.

Quantitative Environmental Modelling ENEN90031 3 Credits UoM
Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering CVEN90043 3 Credits UoM
Engineering Site Characterisation CVEN90044 3 Credits UoM
Engineering Project Implementation CVEN90045 3 Credits UoM
Civil Hydraulics CVEN90051 3 Credits UoM
Environmental Analysis Tools ENEN90032 3 Credits UoM
Monitoring Environmental Impacts ENEN90028 3 Credits UoM
Sustainable Water Resources Systems CVEN90019 3 Credits UoM
Environmental Applied Hydrology ENEN90034 3 Credits UoM
Water and Waste Water Management ENEN90029 3 Credits UoM
Contaminant Hydrogeology ENEN90030 3 Credits UoM
Remote Sensing GEOM90005 3 Credits UoM
Research Methods COMP90044 3 Credits UoM
Management of Technological Enterprises ENGM90010 3 Credits UoM
Management and Leadership for Engineers ENGM90015 3 Credits UoM
International River Basin Management** ENEN90037 3 Credits UoM
River Basin Integration Management 80040103 3 Credits THU
Advanced Remote Sensing Hydrology 80040242 2 Credits THU
Project Delivery 80910202 2 Credits THU
Comparison study of River Basin Governance and Management** Y0040231 2 Credits THU

** Joint Tsinghua University/University of Melbourne course.  Students can take only one version.