Doctor of Medical Science (J15TC)

The Doctor of Medical Science (DMedSc) is a graduate research doctorate offered by the Melbourne Medical School to medical graduates of the University of Melbourne and other recognised universities.

Selection into the DMedSc by compilation of published papers is at the discretion of the Head of Department. Normally a candidate is expected to have an association with the department such as a staff appointment or similar.

At the time of application, the Head of Department will appoint an advisor who will normally be expected to have an MD, DMedSc or PhD and who will normally be a senior member of staff or an honorary member of staff with significant research and supervisory experience. The role of the Adviser is to guide the candidate in preparing the compilation of published papers for examination.

Applicants seeking to submit a compilation of published papers are not set a prescribed limit as to the number of papers that may be submitted. It is the role of the Adviser, appointed by the Head of Department at the time of application, to guide the applicant in choosing an appropriate number of papers including decisions as to the number of papers in which the applicant was first author. The School expects that the Adviser will seek guidance from the Head of Department as required.

Work carried out in collaboration with others, and the nature and proportion of the contribution of others, must be clearly indicated in the preface and in general terms the portions of the work that the candidate claims as original.

Where multi-author published material is included in the thesis, the candidate must prepare a statement explaining the contributions of all involved. The statement must be signed by all authors and be included with the submission form.

The School of Medicine expects the applicant to be aware of any obligations or contractual agreements with a third party that may attach to any work submitted as part of a compilation of published papers.

Applicants are expected to have a significant research and publication track record prior to application. Publications would normally be based on research undertaken in the ten years prior to submission of the compilation. Applicants under this stream may include the actual publications such as reprints or journal articles in their published form as part of the body of the compilation. The submission would normally include a general introduction, a literature survey, a general discussion and a summary. The primary aim in preparing the submission is to enable the examiners to judge fairly and accurately the compiled published papers in relation to the standard examination questions (refer Examinations below).

Transfers between course codes J15TC and J15AA are not permitted.

Applicants are enrolled on the date of submission of the compilation papers for examination As the thesis is placed under examination status from that date, there is normally no specified time commitment for enrolment.

Doctor of Medicine (research doctorate):

Rules and regulations relating to the Doctor of Medical Science govern the teaching out of the Doctor of Medicine (research doctorate) degree. The last intake for the Doctor of Medicine (reserach doctorate) was 2009. Students may apply to transfer to the Doctor of Medical Science at any time prior to submission of their thesis for examination. Transfer to the DMedSc is not available at any time after submission of the thesis for examination.