Advisory Committee in Respect of Doctorates

The Professorial Board (PB) had been discussing the introduction of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy since 1944. On 5 August 1947 the  Board approved a draft By-law re the Doctor of Philosophy. The By-law evolved over the next few years. The Faculty of Engineering had received applications for admissions to candidature for a PhD and asked that the PB establish a PhD Advisory Committee in accordance with the By-laws [PB meeting 21/6/1948]. Consequently the Board at its meeting on 18 October 1948 resolved "that to meet the requirements of the PhD degree a PhD Advisory Committee consisting of the Vice-Chancellor, The Chairman of the Professorial Board and the Deans of the several Faculties be appointed.'The Professorial Board felt it was  desirable that there should be a general supervision not only of the standard of the PhD degree, but also of the standard of the degree of Doctor in other faculties , i.e. Doctor of Letters, Doctor of Divinity, Doctor of Science and the like.  The Board therefore recommended to Senate that the PhD Advisory Committee be  replaced by a permanent committee  styled the "The Advisory Committee in respect of Doctorates", and that the functions of this committee be to advise the Board and the Faculties on matters pertaining to the award of the doctorates.  This was approved by Senate on 6 December 1948)A printed copy of the November 1948 By-law in the Committee's minute book reads:"2. The Professorial Board shall appoint a permanent Committee the "PhD Advisory Committee", to advise the Board and the Faculties on matters pertaining to the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. This committee shall consist of the Vice-Chancellor, the Chairman of the Professorial Board and the Deans of the several Faculties.'The Committee now called itself 'The Advisory Committee in respect of Doctorates'. The functions of the Committee were transferred to the Committee of Graduate Studies and Research. From mid-1951 the Minutes of the PhD committee are under the title of Committee of Graduate Studies and Research. At its meeting of 7 September 1950 the Advisory Committee adopted the following resolution "That the Committee resolved to recommend that its powers and functions be delegated to the Committee of Graduate Studies until such time as that Committee is legally constituted".Changed By-laws in the 1952 Calendar list the Committee for Graduate Studies and Research for the first time. Under 3. it reads: The Committee shall be responsible for the conduct of all matters pertaining to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and such other matters relating to graduate studies and research as the Board may from time to time delegate to it. The By-law for the PhD no longer refers to the PhD Advisory Committee but makes reference to responsibilities of the Committee for Graduate Studies and Research.