This form must be filled out for all research reports, Final year projects, theses, and dissertations to confirm that the students' work complies with the anti-plagiarism requirements outlined in the Busitema University Anti-Plagiarism Policy. When a plagiarism incidence is discovered, a description in this format should be provided. A copy of the first page of the Turnitin test should be submitted with this form. Up on submission of this form, the Plagialism Clearance Certificate signed by the Director DGSRI as proof that the scholarly work submitted by a student meets the Busitema University Anti Plagialism Policy will be issued 

Request for Programme Change.

This form should be filled in by candidates who have already registered to undertake graduate studies at Busitema University. No student shall be allowed to change subjects/courses/programmes after the fourth week of commencement of the semester. Transferring from one academic programme to another will be allowed only if the candidate possesses the required admission criteria for the programme for which transfer is being sought and if a vacancy exists in that programme. A copy of admission letter and academic transcripts MUST be attached to the form for the request to be considered. Download this form.

Notice of intention to submit a Thesis/Dissertation and Examination arrangements

This form is meant to be filled by a student who has finalized his/her thesis/dissertation and it is ready for examination. It should be filled in triplicate. Two copies of this form MUST be returned to the Department and Faculty. Download this form.

Postponement of Studies Form

This form should be filled in by candidates who are pursuing graduate programmes by Coursework and Dissertation at the coursework stage as stipulated in the Graduate Handbook. 
No candidate can be allowed to postpone studies if the candidate has not paid tuition fees and officially be registered for studies. 
A candidate may attach any relevant documents to support his/her request.
If Postponement is sought on medical grounds, the candidate MUST attach a medical report certified by the Medical Officer Busitema University. Download this form.

Application for Extension Form

This form should be filled by candidates who intend to apply for an extension
A candidate can only apply for extension for only three times. However, if a candidate is applying for second and third times, an extension fee shall be charged, and the receipt must be attached to this form 
This form must be filled in quadruplicate. Download this form

Amendment of PhD title

This form is filled by PhD candidates who intend to amend their PhD titles and topics. However, the following precautions should be put under consideration: 

• Changes in the research topic and/or title in doctoral studies require approval by the Higher Degrees and Research Committee and Faculty Board. If the change in topic is not simply a focusing of the original topic, a new research proposal must be prepared and submitted to the Faculty Board via the Higher Degrees and Research Committee.
• If the change is merely a focusing of one kind or another of the original topic and/or title, it must also be submitted, with a written justification, to the Faculty Board via the Faculty Secretary and Higher Degrees and Research Committee.
• Title changes must be approved prior to submission for examination, or the examination panel may propose a title change during the oral examination, which must be recorded by the non-examining chair and included in their report. Download this form

Pro forma Cover page for Doctoral Submissions

This form must be completed by the supervisor, preferably electronically. 
The Admissions Committee must formulate a recommendation and sign the form
The committee should consist of at least four members, all of whom should have doctorates :

1. The supervisor(s); the chair of the department (or a senior member from the department if the chair is the supervisor) who acts as the chair of the committee; 
2. An additional member who is a senior colleague in the department.
3. One further member from a related department.
4. If preferred, the committee may have more than four members, but the representatives must be drawn from at least two departments. Download this form
    

The policy guides the recruitment of early career graduates into academic staff ranks. The program serves to prepare early career graduates for postgraduate training and it focuses on research, product development and innovations, consultancy, outreach and instructional techniques. The Program participants shall be called “Graduate Fellows”. and they shall include Junior Graduate Fellows and Senior Graduate Fellows. More information about this program can be obtained at our Institutional Repository or download a copy of this policy 

This form acts as a supporting document to prove that the students’ work meets all the ethical standards in regard to his/her observance of these standards eg.confidenciality to sensitive information  
This completed and signed form must be emailed to dgsri@adm.busitema.ac.ug as part of supporting documentation in the ziped folder of each higher degree student during submission.
 

This form is issued to provide guidnace incase of any amendment or appointment of new supervisors to the graduate students 
Details of both the old and new supervisor must be provided 
Other Guidelines on how supervisors are amended are outlined herein 
This completed and signed form must be emailed to dgsri@adm.busitema.ac.ug

This form if is filled to resolve disagreements in the marks among Examiners 
Where no consensus can be reached by the examiners as to the outcome of the examination of a PhD dissertation (during the oral examination), two independent assessors are appointed.
Other guidelines on the appointment of an  Assessor are outlined herein 
This completed and signed form must be emailed to dgsri@adm.busitema.ac.ug
 

This form is meant to  have details of the nominated External and internal examiners Examiner for a Ph.D student 
Motivation for the nomination of an International Examiner should be indicated if applicable 
This form should be signed by the departmental chair up on its completion 
Guidelines on the selection of the Doctoral Examination panel are outlined herein 
This completed and signed form must be emailed to dgsri@adm.busitema.ac.ug

This form should be completed and signed by the Departmental Chair in case of change of examiners for a Ph.D candidate 
Details of both the first approved and the new examiners must be provided
Guidelines on the amendment of examiners for a Doctoral candidate are outlined herein 
This completed and signed form must be emailed to dgsri@adm.busitema.ac.ug

This form is meant to  have details of the nominated External and internal examiners  for the Master’s student
Motivation for the nomination of an International Examiner should be indicated if applicable 
This form should be signed by the departmental chair up on its completion 
This completed and signed form must be emailed to dgsri@adm.busitema.ac.ug

This form is filled to resolve the difference between the marks of the internal and external examiner and the guidelines to dissolve this are outlined herein 
This completed and signed form must be emailed to dgsri@adm.busitema.ac.ug preferably in Word format

This form should be completed and signed by the Departmental Chair in case of change of examiners for a Master’s candidate. Details of both the first approved and the new examiners must be provided
This completed and signed form must be emailed to dgsri@adm.busitema.ac.ug

This agreement is intended to foster mutual understanding between supervisors and higher degree students. The document establishes some basic principles for undertaking higher degree research at Busitema University and the implementation thereof will depend on the needs and expectations of supervisors and individual higher degree students. 

The Plagiarism Clearance Certificate is signed by the Director DGRSI as proof that the scholarly work submitted by a student meets the Busitema University plagiarism cut-off points as per the Busitema University Plagiarism policy(2019)

The Declaration of Originality Form is filled and completed for all works submitted to the university for examination by candidates to declare the originality of their work in accordance with Busitema University Plagiarism policy.

The External Examiner’s Claim Form for Dissertation and Thesis is filled by an external examiner to indicate details through which his/her honorarium can be paid. In case of any other expenses incurred, the examiner should include the total amount for reimbursement of such expenses. The examiner should also indicate the number of candidates examined; their names, Registration numbers, and degree programmes as well as attach his report on the examination.

The Internal Examiner’s Claim Form for Dissertation and Thesis is filled by an Internal examiner to indicate details through which his/her honorarium can be paid. In case of any other expenses incurred, the examiner should include the total amount for reimbursement of such expenses. The examiner should also indicate the number of candidates examined; their names, Registration numbers, and degree programmes as well as attach his/ her report on the examination

The Doctoral degree VIVA VOCE examination results form is one on which a Ph.D. student is assessed to determine his/ her passing or failure. This form should be filled and signed by all the committee members among which the candidate's supervisor belongs. In case of disagreements, each panelist should show his/her number of preferences against his/her signature. 

The Masters degree VIVA VICE Examination Results form is one on which a Master’s student is assessed to determine his/ her passing or failure. This form shall be filled and signed by all the committee members among which the candidate's supervisor belongs. In case of disagreements, each panelist should show his/her number of preferences against his/her signature

Guidelines of dissertation/thesis submission

• Prior to submission of the dissertation/thesis for examination, the candidate at least three months prior to submission of the dissertation/thesis for examination shall, through the supervisor, Department, and Faculty, give notice in writing to the Director, DGSRI, expressing the intention to submit the dissertation/thesis. 
• This notice shall be submitted using the form BU/DGSRI/.F5.
• There will be at least two internally appointed examiners who are not supervisors of the respective candidates and shall be senior members of the academic staff. There will be at least one external examiner

   Appointment of Internal and External Examiners

When a candidate gives notice of submission, the respective Faculty Higher Degrees committee shall recommend at least three examiners (at least one external examiner and two internal examiners) to the DGSRI. The DGSRI will approve and appoint the proposed examiners. 

For Masters the external examiner is not involved in the viva voce, but the internal examiner (02), assisted by the Dean, plus the Chairperson of the Higher Degrees Committee, will constitute the viva voce panel. 

For PhDs, the panel will comprise one opponent, the Dean, plus the Chairperson of Higher Degrees will constitute the viva voce panel. This will be an invitation for the public to the presentation for PhDs. 

There will be an invitation for limited individuals from the public for Master's presentation. 

All examiners of Ph.D. candidates or Doctoral students shall be independent academicians who did not play a role as Supervisors or Committee members. 

It is the responsibility of the Board of Graduate Studies, Research, and Innovations to appoint examiners and to ensure the safe dispatch of copies of the thesis or dissertation to them. 

The Board of Graduate Studies, Research, and Innovations shall appoint for each Thesis or Dissertation at least three examiners one of whom shall be an examiner external to the University.

Where necessary, units may recommend the use of external examiners from non-academic institutions provided the individual has prerequisite credentials and expertise in the field.

Reports of Internal and External Examiners.

Examiners are expected to submit their reports in a period of three months. 
Failure to submit, the examiners are reminded to do so within two weeks. A complete failure by examiners is unusual but if this occurs, the DGSRI shall request the responsible Departments to nominate a replacement examiner.

The reports of examiners are sent to the Director of the Directorate of Graduate Studies who sends them to the Dean/Director for consideration by the Faculty Higher Degrees and Research committees. 

The Faculty Higher Degrees and Research committees shall handle the reports as follows:

Where all three reports are favorable or two reports are favorable, one of which must be from the external examiner and only minor corrections are required, the Faculty goes ahead to conduct the viva voce examination without delay. 

After a successful viva voce examination, a candidate shall be advised by the Dean/Director (Chairman) to carry out the minor corrections to the satisfaction of the examiner appointed by the viva voce. 

Finally, the Faculty submits its recommendations to the Board of Graduate Studies and Research for the award of the degree. This must be accompanied by signed minutes of the Viva Voce panel.

The Supervisor/Internal Examiner appointed to ensure that corrections are affected should submit his/her report to the Directorate of  Graduate Studies through the Dean/Director.

 Examination procedures

Both Masters and Doctoral thesis and dissertations shall be assessed by at least one (1) examiner.

External Examiners shall compile a report on their assessment of the thesis or dissertation and send the report to the Director, DGSRI.

Every faculty/institute shall be responsible for the transmission of theses/dissertations to the internal and external examiners.

The examiners shall evaluate and grade the thesis/dissertation in accordance with the criteria prescribed in the Busitema University theses/dissertation grading form BU/DGSRI/PG.F6).

If the External examiner detects plagiarism, the examination process shall be terminated and the thesis or dissertation shall be returned to Busitema University.

The External Examiner shall be required to report the suspected plagiarized material in writing to the DGSRI, giving reference to the original material which was plagiarized.

The plagiarism case shall then be investigated by DVC Academic Affairs, Research, and Innovations and if the candidate is found guilty of the offense, he/she shall be discontinued.

On receipt of the examiner's report, the Department will evaluate the overall performance of the candidate by comparing the marks awarded by the internal and external examiner and thereby enter an overall mark on the Departmental Overall Evaluation Report on Masters/Ph.D. Dissertation/Thesis (BU/DGSRIG.F7). The report shall then be transmitted to the Faculty Higher Degrees Committee.

Where the examiners differ significantly (one passes and one fails the candidate or a difference of two grades) in their overall recommendation, the Faculty Higher Degrees Committee shall examine the case and recommend one of the following actions: 

• The recommendation of the External Examiner be adopted
• An additional independent examiner (without knowledge of the previous examiners’ assessments) be appointed;
• An Assessment by an additional independent examiner together with the other examiners’ assessments shall form the basis of determining whether the candidate passes or fails the thesis/dissertation.
• If the External Examiner reports minor corrections, a viva voce shall be arranged for the candidate by the department. The thesis/dissertation shall be corrected within one month.
• If the External Examiner recommends major revisions, a viva voce shall not be organized for the candidate. The candidate shall be advised to revise and re-submit for either external or internal reexamination within 9 months.
• Major revisions shall consist of new experimentation, a new study, additional research to be carried out, and poor quality of thesis or dissertation presentation that warrants extensive re-writing.
• Copies of the External Examination Report shall be circulated to the Department, Faculty/Institute, viva voce panelists, and the Supervisor(s).
• The University shall pay honoraria to the Internal and External Examiners at the rate prescribed by the Council and upon receiving detailed reports and summary reports of the thesis/dissertation under examination. The claims shall be made by filling in forms BU/DGSRI/G.F11 (for Internal Examiner) and BU/DGSRI/G.F12 (for External Examiner).
• Subsequent publications from a thesis/dissertation submitted for a Master’s degree must contain a statement that the work is based on a thesis/ dissertation submitted to the University.
   

1. Graduate Admission Committee
2. Higher Degrees Committees
3. Doctoral Committees for Ph.D. students

1. Graduate Admission Committee (Terms of reference)

The Graduate Admissions Committee: 

• Seeks from the Faculties or Departments for programmes and application requirements
• Establish, maintain, and publicize appropriate admission and selection criteria and ensure that all stated admission criteria are used in admission decisions. 
• Appropriately carry out any tasks related to admission decisions, including timely communication with the DGSRI about recommendations for admission and funding opportunities.
•  Ensure that recruitment and admission policies are consistent with stated University goals of maintaining and improving equity for all applicants and quality of Graduate Programmes and increasing student diversity.
• Utilize available and appropriate websites to communicate Graduate Programme information to prospective students and to publicize admission processes and selection criteria. 
• As much as possible, match the knowledge, interests, and skills of applicants with the requirements, characteristics, and capacity of graduate programs and the research and training interests of their Faculty. 
• Periodically assess the effectiveness of admission procedures and appropriateness of admission criteria. 
• Receive information about applicants in confidence and respect the private nature of these data, consistent with national and local statutes. 
• Ensure professionalism and ethical conduct when handling matters of Graduate admission and financial support deliberation. 
• Process applications and respond to inquiries in a timely manner, with attention to stated and relevant deadlines. 

2. Higher Degrees Committee

The Higher Degrees Committee (HDC) will be found at two levels: Departments and Faculties. The HDCs together with the Graduate Admission Committees will:

• Establish, maintain, and publicize appropriate admission and selection criteria and ensure that all stated admission criteria are used in admission decisions. 
• Appropriately carry out any tasks related to admission decisions, including timely communication with the DGSRI about recommendations for admission and funding opportunities. 
• Ensure that recruitment and admission policies are consistent with stated University goals of maintaining and improving equity for all applicants and quality of Graduate Programmes and increasing student diversity. 
• Utilize available and appropriate websites to communicate Graduate Programme information to prospective students and to publicize admission processes and selection criteria. 
• As much as possible, match the knowledge, interests, and skills of applicants with the requirements, characteristics, and capacity of graduate programs and the research and training interests of their faculty. 
• Periodically assess the effectiveness of admission procedures and appropriateness of admission criteria. 
• Receive information about applicants in confidence and respect the private nature of these data, consistent with national and local statutes.
• Ensure professionalism and ethical conduct when handling matters of Graduate admission and financial support deliberation. 
• Process applications and respond to inquiries in a timely manner, with attention to stated and relevant deadlines. 

Chairs of Higher Degrees Committees

• Dr. Masaba Sowedi (Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences)
• Dr. Ildephonse Nibikora (Faculty of Engineering and Technology)
• Dr. Dennis Zami Atibuni (Faculty of Science and Education)
• Professor Peter Olupot-Olupot (Faculty of Health Sciences)
• Assoc. prof. Mpaata Kaziba(Faculty of Management Sciences)

3. Doctoral Committees for phD students

Doctoral students are required to have a Doctoral Committee which will be charged with monitoring the student’s performance and progress and advising the student throughout the study period. Although the doctoral student may propose some names to be considered for his/her Doctoral Committee, the final decision lies with the Higher Degrees Committee based on competence. The supervisors of the student are members of the Doctoral Committee.

Roles of the Doctoral Committee

The doctoral Committee shall be mandated to execute the following roles:

• Monitor, review and endorse the reports from the student and supervisors and the 6 monthly progress reports 
• Identify the external examiner and recommend it to the DGSRI for approval and appointment.
• Identify other academic and research opportunities, both inside and outside the university (e.g. conferences, workshops, collaborative opportunities, training, research canters/labs, etc).
• Mediate in case of disagreements between the supervisor and student and report to the Higher Degrees Committees.

Composition of the Doctoral Committee

The composition of the doctoral shall be as follows:

• The Committee shall be established at the Departmental level and shall constitute at least two members from the student’s major field of study (one or both of them could be the doctoral student’s supervisors), the Head of the Department and two other experts deemed helpful in the pursuit of the study in question. 
• Membership of the Doctoral Committee shall be composed of 5 persons. Membership on doctoral committees will be based on expertise in the major or related fields of study and from the industry where necessary. 
• The composition should as much as possible be interdisciplinary and include at least one individual/expert from outside the candidate’s major field of study to provide a broader range of interdisciplinary perspectives and expertise.

There are two levels of Registration. 

• Once a candidate has been accepted for registration, he/she must complete a registration form, which accompanies the letter of admission, and return it to the DGSRI. The first level of registration is at the DGSRI, thereafter, one is expected to register at the Faculty/ Department level.
• All registrations are handled by the Academic Registrar’s Office.
• Before registering, one is not regarded as a Busitema University Student. Once a student has been accepted for registration, he/she must complete registration forms, both at the Directorate of Graduate Studies and at his/ her respective Faculty/Unit duly stamped and signed by the Registrar. 
• Candidates shall renew their registration at the beginning of every subsequent year and upon paying the fees due to the University.

A Candidate is only registered after fulfilling the following requirements:

• Evidence of payment of University fees as indicated on the admission  letter 
• Two copies of certified academic transcripts/ certificates
• Completed registration forms (Online/ Hard Copies) submitted for onward processing, signed by the Registrar 
• Current valid identity card
• Four passport-size photographs, 2 to be left at the Directorate of Graduate Studies, and one to be delivered to the Dean of Students and the fourth to the Faculty.

Graduate Handbook

The Graduate Handbook contains rules, regulations, and materials that are key for the Graduate Students and staff. The information contained in this handbook is intended to serve as a source for easy access to the key University policies, guidelines, and operational procedures pertaining to Graduate Studies.  It is not an end in itself; therefore, you are encouraged to consult Programme Managers and the Management at various levels, where further clarity is needed. Download the handbook 

Research Dissemination Handbook

This handbook is to enable students in compilation and dissemination of research work to allow easy storage or archiving for future use by both the University and the society. This handbook is not exhaustive of all the issues that emerge in research but shall be a guide to the students and researchers in the University. Download the handbook
 

Busitema University plagiarism policy 

Busitema University plagiarism policy is a step in the direction of securing quality research and acts as a guideline to direct participants in research to act in the most ethical manner. This policy works in accordance with existing policies and adds on critical matters to be addressed in terms of plagiarism. The University management and the Directorate of Graduate Studies and Innovation have presented this policy to ensure that efforts towards research are unified whilst creating a regulatory environment that stimulates innovation.The policy provides a guideline on how to identify, manage and deter acts of plagiarism. Learn more about this policy

Busitema University Intellectual Property Policy 

Busitema University IP Policy is aimed at encouraging and supporting staff, researchers and students in creating and exploiting Intellectual Property. The expectation is that when the University commercializes IP, it will generate income for the inventor and the University. The University is committed towards managing, supporting development of its inventions and discoveries through patenting and licensing to industry in particular and generally to the private sector. Learn more about this policy