Doctor of Philosophy
School of Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences (SBEHS) offers four Doctor of Philosophy programmes:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Health Science)
- Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Engineering)
- Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Engineering) – Double Degree
*Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Technical University Ilmenau (TUIL) Germany have started an International Double Degree programme in Biomedical Engineering. The doctorate double degree programme enables student to be awarded with 2 certificates, which are Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Biomedical Engineering from UTM and Doctor in Computer Science and Automation (Dr.-Ing) from Technical University Ilmenau, Germany (TUIL). The students are required to spend at least 9 months at the partner university.
Programme Features
SBEHS offers Doctor of Philosophy program by research. This program is offered as a full-time. A student will carry out research in any one of the areas of research chosen. Each research project is supervised by a lecturer of the Graduate Faculty. A Graduate Faculty member is an academic staff who has a doctoral degree qualification or an academic staff who holds an academic post at least senior lecturer and is involved directly or indirectly in the postgraduate programs. Co-supervisor may also come from a related industry.
Doctor of Philosophy – Programme Flowchart by Academic Office
This programme flowchart can be used as a guideline for students to ensure that they are well informed on action items which need to be fulfilled during their active semester. This is also to avoid any late subject registration at the beginning of every semester and to assist all students with their research timeline towards graduate on time (GOT).
General Information
| 1. Awarding Institution | Universiti Teknologi Malaysia |
| 2. Teaching Institution | Universiti Teknologi Malaysia |
| 3. Programme Name |
Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Engineering) Doctor of Philosophy (Health Sciences) |
| 4. Final Award |
Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Engineering) Doctor of Philosophy (Health Sciences) |
| 5. Programme Code |
PMBE (Old code is PWB) PMBH (Old code is PWR) |
| 6. Professional or Statutory Body of Accreditation | Malaysian Qualification Agency Engineering Accreditation Council |
| 7. Language(s) of Instruction | English |
| 8. Mode of Study (Conventional, distance learning, etc) | Conventional (Coursework) |
| 9. Mode of operation (Franchise, self-govern, etc) | Self-governing |
| 10. Study Scheme (Full Time/Part Time) | Full Time |
| 11. Study Duration | Minimum : 3 years (6 semester) Maximum : 6 years (12 semester) |
Program Educational Outcomes (PEO) & Program Leanring Outcomes (PLO)
Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Engineering)
Program Educational Objective (PEO)
| PEO1 |
Mastery of knowledge and competency in advanced areas of Biomedical Engineering. |
| PEO2 |
Professionalism and high standards of ethical conducts within organization and society. |
| PEO3 |
Responsive to changing situations by continuously acquiring new knowledge and skills. |
Program Learning Outcomes (PLO)
| PLO1 |
Synthesize, critique, apply, and extend in-depth relevant knowledge independently using innovative techniques, tools, and skills in the field of Biomedical Engineering as a basis for research to produce new ideas and solution. |
| PLO2 |
Create new knowledge/theories/ solutions/practice through independent research and originality that satisfies international standards within the field of Biomedical Engineering using the latest techniques, tools, and skills. |
| PLO3 |
Integrate highly advanced, specialized research methodologies based on the forefront knowledge and latest development in the field of Biomedical Engineering to solve complex research problems with a reasonable degree of originality. |
| PLO4 |
Demonstrate decent collaboration with peers, scholarly communities and society at large in the relevant field of expertise and research. |
| PLO5 |
Communicate effectively the knowledge, skills, ideas and research findings using appropriate methods to peers, scholarly communities, and societies through various medium. |
| PLO6 |
Use, improve existing or develop new appropriate tools or methodologies using a broad range of digital technology, media and software to support and enhance research activities. |
| PLO7 | Demonstrate skills in designing, critical evaluation, and analysing numerical and graphical data using quantitative or qualitative tools to support and enhance research activities. |
| PLO8 | Demonstrate leadership, professionalism and management skills, and take full responsibility for own work, and significantly for others in the research organization. |
| PLO9 | Demonstrate the ability to manage and enhance own self- and where relevant be accountable for overall management of one’s research organization and professional development. |
| PLO10 |
Develop potential commercialisation research output. |
| PLO11 | Demonstrate adherence to legal, professional and contribute to the development of ethical sound codes of practice |
Doctor of Philosophy (Health Science)
Program Educational Objective (PEO)
| PEO1 |
Mastery of knowledge and competency in advanced areas of Engineering and Health Science. |
| PEO2 |
Professionalism and high standards of ethical conducts within organization and society. |
| PEO3 |
Responsive to changing situations by continuously acquiring new knowledge and skills. |
Program Learning Outcomes (PLO)
| PLO1 |
Synthesize, critique, apply, and extend in-depth relevant knowledge independently using innovative techniques, tools, and skills in the field of Health Science as a basis for research to produce new ideas and solution. |
| PLO2 |
Create new knowledge/theories/ solutions/practice through independent research and originality that satisfies international standards within the field of Health Science using the latest techniques, tools, and skills. |
| PLO3 |
Integrate highly advanced, specialized research methodologies based on the forefront knowledge and latest development in the field of Health Science to solve complex research problems with a reasonable degree of originality. |
| PLO4 |
Demonstrate decent collaboration with peers, scholarly communities and society at large in the relevant field of expertise and research. |
| PLO5 |
Communicate effectively the knowledge, skills, ideas and research findings using appropriate methods to peers, scholarly communities, and societies through various medium. |
| PLO6 |
Use, improve existing or develop new appropriate tools or methodologies using a broad range of digital technology, media and software to support and enhance research activities. |
| PLO7 | Demonstrate skills in designing, critical evaluation, and analysing numerical and graphical data using quantitative or qualitative tools to support and enhance research activities. |
| PLO8 | Demonstrate leadership, professionalism and management skills, and take full responsibility for own work, and significantly for others in the research organization. |
| PLO9 | Demonstrate the ability to manage and enhance own self- and where relevant be accountable for overall management of one’s research organization and professional development. |
| PLO10 |
Develop potential commercialisation research output. |
| PLO11 | Demonstrate adherence to legal, professional and contribute to the development of ethical sound codes of practice |
Entry Requirements
Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Engineering)
- Master of Engineering (Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer Engineering), Master of Science (Biology, Physics, Chemistry), Master of Medicine with CPA ≥3.0 will be considered for this program; OR
- Other qualifications equivalent to a Master’s degree and experience in the relevant field recognized by the Senate; OR
- Candidates who are currently registered in a Master’s Degree programme at Univeristi Teknologi Malaysia, and approved by the Graduate Studies Committee of the respective faculty and the Senate.
- An International student candidate is required to have a minimum qualification of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) of 525 or TOEFL-IBT of 69 or International English Language Test System (IELTS) of band 5.5.
Doctor of Philosophy (Health Science)
- Master Degree in Rehabilitation Technology, Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Physics, Health Sciences, Sport Sciences with CPA ≥3.0 will be considered for this program; OR
- Related fields with good honour from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia or any other institution of higher learning recognised by the Senate
- An International student candidate is required to have a minimum qualification of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) of 525 or TOEFL-IBT of 69 or International English Language Test System (IELTS) of band 5.5.
Award Requirements
Assessment is done by examining first assessment report and presentation (research proposal), each semester’s progress reports, second assessment report and presentation (mini viva) and thesis examination (viva voce).
All PhD students must undergo first assessment report and presentation by presenting their research proposal after completed General Elective University Course and Research Methodology Course. They also must undergo second assessment report and presentation (mini viva) at the middle of their study to present their progress. The first and second assessments are scheduled according to the student’s appropriate semester of study as follows:
| Task | Full Time |
| First Assessment | Semester 3 |
| Second Assessment (mini Viva) | Semester 3 or 4 |
| Progress Report | Week 12 (Every semester) |
Additional Requirements
In addition to the university compulsory course, research students may be required to attend lectures related to their research fields. The courses to be taken shall be determined by the respective department graduate committee from time to time. As part of their training, students are required to present in seminars and conferences, as well as producing technical reports or papers for publications in proceedings or journals.
Thesis Submission Requirements
Notice of Thesis Submission (NHT)
Students who are submitting the final draft of their thesis should send in the Notice of Thesis Submission to the Faculty at least three (3) months prior to the date of submitting their thesis. Notice of Thesis Submission valid period is for one (1) year from the date of JAPSU approval
Publication Requirement for Thesis Submission
A doctoral candidate may submit his/her thesis for viva-voce provided that he/she has produced at least one (1) indexed journal article or two (2) indexed conference proceeding accepted or published in SCOPUS/ERA or WOS