Curriculum

  • 14 May 2021, 22.23
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The academic activities of the Doctoral Program in Geography consist of lectures, independent material exploration, and dissertation research. The lecture activities can be carried out face-to-face in the classroom or through an online meeting, group discussions, paper presentations, and evaluation exams. Independent material exploration is intended to enrich the scientific knowledge of students who are evaluated based on the prepared paper and the draft of the dissertation proposal. Dissertation research is the main activity of the doctoral program starting from the preparation of the proposal, data collection and analysis, dissertation writing and writing for scientific journals, seminars, and ending with dissertation examinations. Writing a dissertation manuscript must refer to the scientific writing rules.

 

A. Doctoral (Ph.D.) Program Streams

The current curriculum structure is the 2019 curriculum (with some adjustments), according to the Decree of the Dean of the Faculty of Geography UGM Number 1064/UN1/FGE/KPT/PPS/2021. Starting in the even semester of the 2020/2021 academic year, the Doctoral Program in Geography operates two program streams: the regular doctoral program and the doctoral program by research. These two program streams are based on UGM Chancellor Regulation Number 18 of 2019 concerning the implementation of research-based postgraduate programs (by research) at Universitas Gadjah Mada. In general, the regular program has more credits for lecture courses than the by research program. However, it has a large number of dissertation research credits. The comparison of the characteristics of the two program streams is presented in Table 1 below:

Table 1. The differences between the regular and by research doctoral programs.

No. Component Regular By Research
1 Legal basis UGM Chancellor Regulation Number 11 of 2016 UGM Chancellor Regulation Number 18 of 2019
2 Study load
  • Total of 46–50 SKS*
  • Lecture courses 12–20 SKS
  • Dissertation 36 SKS
  • Total of 42–46 SKS
  • Lecture courses 6–9 SKS
  • Dissertation 38 SKS
3 Targeted publication At least one indexed international journal publication (accepted: Q1, Q2, Q3), or a combination of 2 accepted publications from:

  • indexed international journal (Q4),
  • indexed international conference proceeding, or
  • accredited national journals

 

 At least two indexed international journal publications (accepted: Q1, Q2, Q3), or a combination of accepted publications from:

  • one reputable international journal (Q1, Q2, Q3), and
  • two reputable international journal articles (Q4) or two reputable international conference proceedings
4 Length of study 6–10 semesters >5–10 semesters
5 Evaluation of the learning process
  • Semester exam
  • Research proposal confirmation
  • Research progress seminar
  • Dissertation assessment and qualification
  • Dissertation examination
  • Research proposal confirmation
  • Research progress seminar at each semester
  • Dissertation assessment and qualification
  • Dissertation examination
6 Dissertation type
  • Monograph-type thesis
  • Thesis by publication
  • Thesis by publication

*1 SKS = 1-course unit, equals 170 minutes of academic activities per week each semester.

 

B. Curriculum Structure of the Regular Program

Students of the regular program are scheduled to attend lectures in semesters 1 and 2 with a weight of six credits of compulsory courses and six credits of elective courses. Meanwhile, the dissertation weighs 36 credits, including a research proposal confirmation, research progress monitoring/seminar, dissertation assessment and qualification, closed dissertation examination, and scientific paper publications. The structure of the compulsory courses can be seen in Table 2, while the list of elective courses offered is presented in Table 3:

Table 2. The structure of compulsory courses for the regular doctoral program.

Semester Course Code Course Name Status SKS
I-II GEO 8102 Research Methods for Dissertation in Geography Compulsory 2
GEO 8101 Philosophy of Geography Compulsory 2
GEO 8103 Capita Selecta in Geography Compulsory 2
Elective Courses Elective 6*
II-VIII GEO 8299 Dissertation** Compulsory 36

Total SKS

 48

*Students are recommended to take up the elective courses for a maximum of 6 credits; an additional two credits is allowed only for students whose undergraduate and postgraduate backgrounds are far from geography.

**This includes promotor meetings, research proposal confirmation, research progress monitoring/seminar, dissertation assessment and qualification, closed dissertation examination, and scientific paper publications.

Table 3. List of elective courses offered.

No. Course Code Course Name SKS
1 GEO 9120 Advanced Bio-environment 2
2 GEO 9121 Advanced Geomorphology 2
3 GEO 9122 Advanced Hydrology 2
4 GEO 9123 Environmental Degradation 2
5 GEO 9124 Population 2
6 GEO 9125 Urban Area Management 2
7 GEO 9126 Regional Dynamics and Development 2
8 GEO 9127 Natural Resource and Environmental Economics 2
9 GEO 9128 Landscape Ecosystem 2
10 GEO 9129 Advanced Oceanography 2
11 GEO 9130 Natural Resource and Environmental Management 2
12 GEO 9131 Population Mobility, Human Resources, and Urbanization 2
13 GEO 9132 Advanced Cartography and Visualization 2
14 GEO 9133 Advanced Remote Sensing 2
15 GEO 9134 Advanced Geographic Information System 2
16 GEO 9135 Cross Study Program Subject I 2
17 GEO 9136 Cross Study Program Subject II 2

 

C. Dissertation Credit Components

The adjustment of the 2019 curriculum has implications for the division of the dissertation credits into components composing the dissertation. Hence, the contribution of each dissertation component is more explicit and can be linked directly to the Graduate Learning Outcome (GLO) for the Doctoral Program in Geography. The conditions are as follows:

  • This dissertation credit division is applied partially for students of class 2019/2020 and fully applied for students starting from class 2020/2021, both for the regular and by research streams.
  • This dissertation component also functions as an indicator of the stages (milestone) of the Candidate process for students of the Doctoral Program in Geography.
  • The SKS weight is adjusted based on the workload of each dissertation component.

The details of the dissertation credits division are as follows:

Table 4. Dissertation credit components.

Dissertation Course Code Component SKS Remarks
GEO 8399 Research proposal confirmation 6 Research proposal preparation activities include consultation with promotors, promotor meetings, and research proposal confirmation.
GEO 8499 Research progress seminar 4 This activity aims to monitor the progress of doctoral candidate research; it is attended by the Head of Study Program, the promotor team, and candidate peers.
GEO 8699 Dissertation assessment and qualification 6 It includes an assessment of the dissertation results and the feasibility of the dissertation for closed examination.
GEO 8599 Article publication 10 This component assesses the process and results of article publications following predetermined requirements.
GEO 8799 Closed dissertation examination 10 It includes an assessment of the final results of the dissertation manuscript and the implementation of the closed dissertation examination.

Total SKS

 36

 

D. Curriculum Structure of by Research Program

Students of the by research program are scheduled to attend lectures in semester 1 with a weight of six credits of compulsory courses. Two credits of elective courses are provided according to Table 3 only for students who need it to support the preparation of a dissertation. The dissertation weight is 38 credits, including research proposal confirmation, research progress seminar, dissertation assessment and qualification, closed dissertation examination, and scientific publications. The structure of the by-research program is presented in Table 5 below:

Table 5. Structure of courses for the doctoral program by research.

Semester Course Code Course Name Status  SKS

I

 GEIG203102 Research Methods for Dissertation in Geography Compulsory 2
GEIG203101 Philosophy of Geography Compulsory 2
GEIG203103 Independent Study Compulsory 2
Elective Courses Elective (2)*

II

 GEIG203221 Research Proposal Confirmation Compulsory 6

IV

 GEIG203422 Research progress seminar Compulsory 4

V

 GEIG203524 Dissertation assessment and qualification Compulsory 6

II-VI

 GEIG203523 Article publication Compulsory 12

VI

 GEIG203625 Closed dissertation examination Compulsory 10

Total SKS

 44

* Elective courses can be taken only if necessary.

Courses rationals:

  • Geographical Dissertation Research Methods: provide a basic understanding of the concepts, objectives, and mechanisms for implementing dissertation research, which serves as a framework for proposal preparation.
  • Philosophy of Geography: provides a scientific basis for geography.
  • Independent Study: contains intensive consultations with promoters in the framework of preparing research proposals.

 

E. Dissertation (Thesis) Format

  • A monograph-type thesis is a traditional dissertation writing format containing scientific writing on a specific subject or aspects of a particular topic. The body of a monograph dissertation usually consists of an introduction, literature review, methods (preparation, data collection, data analysis), results, conclusions.
  • A thesis by publication is a format for writing a dissertation in the form of a compilation of publications or research chapters related to particular fields produced during the candidature process. The body of a thesis by publication generally consists of an introduction, research approach/method, publication 1 (or research chapter 1), publication 2 (or research chapter 2), publication 3 (or research chapter 3), the significance of the findings, and the conclusion. Each publication or research chapter has its objectives, methods, and results.

 

F. Appointment of the Promotor Team and Selection of the Elective Courses

At the start of the Doctoral Program, students submit the dissertation research topics, the proposed promotor team, and elective courses to the Study Program. Students will then be asked to deliver a short presentation on the topic of dissertation research and the reasons for choosing elective courses in front of the academic board (Head of Program, Dean and Vice Deans, and the Faculty Curriculum Committee). Furthermore, the academic board conducts a meeting to (1) appoint the promotor team by considering the field of expertise of the prospective promotor team, and (2) select the elective courses that students will take to support their dissertation research.

 

G. Mapping of GLO and Course Relationships

The detailed competency components of the Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLO) of the Doctoral Program in Geography are embedded in the courses according to Table 6 below:

Table 6. Relationship between GLO and courses.

No. Course Name Status

GLO
1 2 3 4 5
1 Research Methods for Dissertation in Geography Compulsory x x
2 Philosophy of Geography Compulsory x x
3 Capita Selecta in Geography Compulsory x x
4 Independent Study Compulsory x
5 Dissertation Research Proposal Confirmation Compulsory x x
6 Research progress seminar Compulsory x x
7 Dissertation assessment and qualification Compulsory x x
8 Article publication Compulsory x x
9 Closed dissertation examination Compulsory x
10 Elective Courses Elective x x