Admission

To be eligible for admission in the Postgraduate Diploma programme, candidates must be first-degree holders in a relevant discipline from any recognized University, or holders of HND with minimum of Upper Credit and 5 years post-qualification experience.

To be eligible for admission into the Masters Degree programme, candidate must be graduate of this University or any other University recognized by Senate and shall normally have obtained a minimum of Second Class (Upper Division) degree in the relevant field. In exceptional cases, candidates with Second Class (Lower Division) may be considered.

To be eligible for admission to the Doctor of Philosophy degree programme, a student must have obtained a Master’s degree from this University or its equivalent from any other University recognized by Senate. For holders of one year degree of Master’s the minimum duration on the Ph.D programme shall be three years.

Registration and Duration of Programmes

The Postgraduate Diploma programme shall be field/practical-oriented, shall run on full-time or part-time basis only, and shall normally be for duration of two semesters for full time and four semesters for part-time.

The Master degree programmes may be run on full-time or part-time basis. For full-time registration, the minimum duration shall normally be four semesters and maximum of eight semesters. For part-time registration, the minimum duration shall be eight semesters and maximum of twelve semesters, from the date of registration.

Registration for the Doctor of Philosophy degree programme shall be on full-time and part-time basis. For full-time registration, the minimum duration of the programme shall be six semesters; the minimum duration shall be eight semesters for part-time registration. However, if the Masters degree was obtained from the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta or its equivalent elsewhere, minimum duration shall be four and six semesters for full time and part time candidates respectively.

Registration formalities shall be conducted within the first weeks of the commencements of the semester beyond which there shall be a penalty of an amount set by Senate for late registration without acceptable reason, up to the fifth week of commencement of the semester. Registration shall lapse at the end of each academic session and shall be renewed at the beginning of new academic session.

Every candidate shall renew his registration at the beginning of each academic session throughout the normal duration of the degree programme as specified above. However if a candidate does not complete the degree programme in a maximum of ten and twelve semesters for full-time and part-time studies, respectively, he shall normally be expected to withdraw from the programme unless his case is favourably reviewed by Senate on recommendation from the relevant College through the Postgraduate School Board.

Course-work requirements

The Higher Degree Programmes of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta shall normally be based partly on course-work and partly on research. The postgraduate courses shall be numbered in the 700 series (i.e. 701-709).

Courses shall be evaluated in terms of course units. A course unit is defined as one lecture or tutorial contact hour or three hours of laboratory/practical work per week, or a combination of these for a 15-week semester period. The minimum number of units per course is 1, while the maximum number shall normally be 6.

Students admitted into the postgraduate programme who have had any previous postgraduate studies from this or other recognized Universities shall be required to register for a prescribed number of units per semester.

Students who enter the University for postgraduate work may, by approval of Senate, on the recommendation of the College concerned, be allowed to register for less than the minimum number of units stipulated. This is if exemptions from certain courses are allowed for, on the basis of courses already taken from previous postgraduate courses.

All students must pass all compulsory, core and elective courses approved for the programme. The pass mark for all courses shall be 50%. A student shall be allowed to repeat courses failed at the next available opportunity but in such cases, scores obtained in every attempt shall be used in the final computation of his results, which shall be by weighted average.

Course examinations shall be taken at the end of the semester in which the courses are offered. Examination questions and marked scripts for all postgraduate courses shall be subjected to external moderation.

Postgraduate Diploma Programme
Each student shall register for a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 16-course units per semester subject to the approval of Senate on the recommendation of the Postgraduate School. For part-time students, a candidate shall be expected to register for a minimum of six units and a maximum of ten units per semester. Minimum number of Units required for graduation is 24.

Master’s Degree Programme
For the first year, the minimum number of course units for full time students shall be 12 semesters while the maximum shall be 20. For part-time students, a candidate shall be expected to register for a minimum of six units and a maximum of ten units per semester. Minimum number of Units required for graduation is 30.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree Programme
Candidates for the Ph.D degree shall normally be expected to register only for their Research Seminar and Theses. However, a candidate may, if considered necessary, be required to register for an approved combination of courses on the recommendation of the Board of the Postgraduate School and approved by Senate.

Postgraduate Supervision
No lecturer without a research degree, preferably the Ph.D, will be allowed to supervise postgraduate students. No Supervisor shall normally supervise more than eight postgraduate students (at the same time). Research work of students shall be carried out under the supervision of a Major Supervisor with the assistance of at least two other members of the Supervisory Committee, one of whom shall be from a related discipline in another Department preferably from another College.

The research work shall normally be carried out under the guidance of the Supervisory Committee of academic staff appointed by Senate on the recommendation of the Board of the Postgraduate School.

Only academic staff with Ph.D degree, who are Senior Lecturers and above can serve as Major Supervisor for Ph.D students’ research. A Master degree holder shall not be eligible to supervise Ph.D research work. Academic staff with less than five years of post-doctoral research experience may serve as co-supervisor. The number of supervisors per student shall be three or four.