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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
96468  Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy 
ORIGINATOR
University of Fort Hare 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Doctoral Degree  Field 07 - Human and Social Studies  General Social Science 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  360  Not Applicable  NQF Level 10  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Registered-data under construction  EXCO 0324/24  2024-07-01  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2027-06-30   2029-06-30  

Registered-data under construction

The qualification content is currently being updated for the qualifications with the status “Registered-data under construction” or showing “DETAILS UNDER CONSTRUCTION” to ensure compliance with SAQA’S Policy and Criteria for the registration of qualifications and part-qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) (As amended, 2022). These qualifications are re-registered until 30 June 2027 and can legitimately be offered by the institutions to which they are registered.

 

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
Purpose:
This qualification is aimed at producing specialists in the various career fields such as Education, Research and Government.

On completion of this qualification the student would have gained a comprehensive grasp of the discipline and would have a critical understanding of advanced research methodologies. The student would be able to comfortably do independent research which could result in publishable work. The student would also have gained the ability to confidently defend his/her research and communicate the findings on an international level.

Rationale:
  • The rationale for this qualification is to expand the base of expertise with regards to new research initiatives as well as to produce more independent and publishable work:
    > To demonstrate in-depth and expert knowledge and skills as a competent reader, writer and speaker on philosophical matters, at a most advanced level.
    > To demonstrate the ability to do independent research at the most advanced level in the field of philosophy.
  • This is a non-professional qualification.
  • Learners would be required to be in possession of a Master's Degree in order to be considered to register for this qualification which would inevitably qualify them (depending on their area of specialisation) to operate as one of the following: Professional educator, academic researcher etc.
  • As mentioned above this qualification opens up a manifold of career opportunities with the most appropriate being the Professional educator.
  • Not only does this much specialised qualification enrich the knowledge of the learner, but it also creates the opportunity for the dissemination of new research/knowledge within the broader society. 
    		•

    LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
    Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
    Master's Degree or equivalent qualification in philosophy provided that such qualification would be suitable to serve as basis for advanced research in the discipline.

    Entry Requirements:
    Master of Arts in Philosophy or equivalent. 

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    Y 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    100% Research. 

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    Exit Level Outcome 1:
    Student will be able to:

    Specific:
  • Demonstrate his/her drawing on a wide range of theoretical and practical skills derived from different branches of philosophy.
  • Demonstrate the capacity to design, conduct and write up research that is original, relevant and which contributes to knowledge and insight into the area of interest in philosophy and that can respectably stand alongside refereed and published research in the same field.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of philosophical methods and an ability to cope with research techniques.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of philosophy related to the research problem.

    Critical:
  • Initiate, guide and reflect with participants on the empowerment of the community and its members in the philosophical spheres of life.
  • Organise and manage his/her activities and time.
  • Analyse, reformat and evaluate a wide range of information pertaining to philosophical issues.
  • Communicate effectively, using visual and language skills in the mode of oral and written presentation.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognising that problem-solving contexts do not exist in isolation.
  • Reflect on and explore a variety of strategies to learn more effectively.
  • Be culturally and aesthetically aware across a range of social contexts.
  • Explore educational and career opportunities. 
    		•

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Associated Assessment Criteria For Exit Level Outcome 1:
    Student will be able to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and values by:
  • Generating contextually relevant interpretations of philosophical texts by using recognized analytical and hermeneutic methods. This relates to AC 4 on Blooms Taxonomy (Analysis) and outcomes will be measured and examined in terms of whether an appropriate scope of literature has been covered and integrated, whether the use of such literature is relevant and the interpretation accurate.
  • Integrating secondary resources to interpret texts in a way relevant to the broader social context. This relates to AC 4 and 5 of Blooms Taxonomy (Analysis and Synthesis) and outcomes will be measured in terms of whether insights emerging form literature on the broader social context have been integrated into the study to a sufficient degree, and whether problems have been conceptualised with the appropriate degree of contextual sensitivity.
  • Explain the cultural and social features of the communities behind texts and identify the differences between those and contemporary communities, where necessary Integrating historical sources to interpret the history of interpretation in their respective contexts.
  • Writing research proposals that indicate that the learners are able to identify a problem or problems in philosophy, and formulate research problems and subsets of problems and suggest possible solutions.
  • Knowing, selecting and utilising research frameworks that are relevant to the research of a specific problem in philosophy.
  • This relates to AC levels 4, 5 and 6 (Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation). Assessment will be implemented on both research proposals and research outcomes in terms of whether the research is situated within a generally recognized area of philosophy.
  • Create a theoretical framework provided by the literature review.
  • Select and use appropriate methods to interpret the material of the investigation.
  • Evaluate and interpret texts.
  • Make conceptual suggestions or create a new theory that can be applied to solve the problem investigated.
  • Identify and analyse different philosophical procedures in terms of the problem being researched (relates to AC 4).
  • Critically read, interpret and analyse literature from different sources.
  • Search for literature in the identified research problem.
  • Compare the writings of different authors on the same related topic.
  • Synthesize reading material on the topic being researched.
  • Draw conclusions from different readings and indicate anomalies.
  • Create a new model/approach/theory that is applicable to the research problem.
  • Compile a complete bibliography/reference list.

    Integrated Assessment:
    100% Research Thesis examined both internally as well as externally to ensure that student conform to national and international standards.

    Formative:
  • Defending Research Proposal.

    Summative:
  • Comprehensive thesis. 
    		•

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    This Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy is comparable to similar qualifications and best practices around the world with regard to outcomes and assessment criteria, the level of depth and complexity involved in the study processes and the notional hours in research activities.

    To ensure international comparability the Level Descriptors were benchmarked against the standards and norms contained in the qualifications frameworks of well-known and reputable universities.

    The qualification standard was constructed using the qualification descriptors for the advanced studies for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in philosophy around the globe. These include: scope of knowledge; knowledge literacy; method and procedure; problem solving; ethics and professional practice; accessing, processing and managing information; producing and communicating information; context and systems; management of learning; and accountability. 

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    Horizontal articulation could be established with following cognate discipline: African studies, Linguistics, Psychology, Sociology, Theology, History and Music. 

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    N/A 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    N/A 

    NOTES 
    N/A 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    When qualifications are replaced, some (but not all) of their learning programmes are moved to the replacement qualifications. If a learning programme appears to be missing from here, please check the replaced qualification.
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. University of Fort Hare 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.