Malaysian public universities (IPTA), private universities as well as private colleges (IPTS) offer postgraduate studies to local and international students. The quality of the programmes conducted is assured by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) with effective from 1st November. MQA is a unified quality assurance agency which is established as a result of the merger of National Accreditation Board (or Lembaga Akreditis'i Negara, LAN) and the Quality Assurance Division (QAD) of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education. Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) is responsible in implementing the Malaysian Qualifications Framework (MQF) for all higher educational institutions in Malaysia (both public and private providers).

Postgraduate courses using English as a medium of instruction are made available in a wide range of options by the following education providers, such as:

4 TYPE OF EDUCATION PROVIDERS IN POSTGRADUATE STUDIES IN MALAYSIA

A wide range of courses are offered  ranging from Life Sciences, Library & Information Science Dissertation to Environmental Engineering.

Master's and Doctoral degree programmes are called postgraduate programmes but sometimes, they may be referred to as graduate programmes, depending on the country of origin.

In the US, the Master's Degree is the first level of graduate qualifications. The students' general entry requirement for graduate programmes.

The completion of a graduate admission test called the GMAT and a four-year university degree or its equivalent. In many programmes, the Master's degree is a professional or non-research degree such as Master's of Business Administration (MBA) while there are some in other areas which are more research-focussed, such as the Master's of Arts (MA) or the Master's of Science (MSc). The professional Master's degree generally takes two years to complete.

The UK postgraduate study and most other postgraduate programmes in Malaysia (because Malaysia follows the UK system mostly), are basically divided into those that are largely taught (e.g. MSc, PGDip) and those that are largely research-based (e.g. MPhil, PhD).

Taught-courses involve classes and seminars, supervised project work and partial assessment by examination or course work,

Research programme will involve taking a student through a self-directed project.

Taught—courses
Master Degree

Research-based Courses
Master's degree & Doctoral degrees

The main objective of these programmes is to widen your knowledge which you have gained from your first degree or for you to convert your expertise to another field of study. Programmes of a taught-course normally last one to two years, depending on whether it is done full- time or part-time.

In Malaysia, Master's programmes normally involve classes and seminars plus dissertation.

The qualifications obtained are either a Master's degree or Doctoral degrees. Research programmes at the Master's level might be called a Master's in Research (MRes) or, regardless of the actual subject studied, a Master's in Philosophy (MPhil) which usually take two years. The highest research degree is the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) which will take a minimum of three years to complete. PhD and MPhil qualifications are obtained through research, a thesis and a viva voce (oral) examination.

Apart from some training in research skills, there will be very little taught content on research programmes. The dissertation will be longer, about 70,000 to 100,000 words for a PhD. It should also be original and, in theory, publishable. Essentially, possessing a PhD should mean that you are one of the leading experts in your field of specialisation in the world.

Doctoral programmes, namely the PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) are the most common research-based postgraduate degrees and it usually takes three or four years of full-time studies. Intake is normally from those with a Master's degree and occasionally by transfer from a Master's course, although those with very good first degrees would also be considered. Doctorate research work is intensive and requires strong commitment from the student, especially in terms of dedication, finance and time.

For example, if your career goal is in an academic area, possibly teaching at a university or conducting a research, then the Master's choice for you will be a Master's of Arts or a Master's of Science, depending on the field. Either of these will have a research focus and may be a transitional degree to the Doctorate.

There are four Qualification Levels for Taught-Postgraduate Programmes as following:

The postgraduate certificate (PG Cert) and postgraduate diploma (PG Dip) are normally short, that is, one year or less. They can also be part of a continuing professional development (CPD). Most PG Dip programmes also consist of a series of assignments and a short dissertation. A taught-Mas+er's degree programme can involve one year of full-time or two years of part-time studies. Students of such programmes who do not complete the final dissertation (which can be up to 20,000 words) have been known to be awarded postgraduate diploma qualifications. Postgraduate diplomas which can be taken as a stand-alone qualification, or used to proceed to a full Master's degree, may require a shorter dissertation.

A Master's degree programme normally consists of several compulsory subjects and a choice of optional modules. It could also involve a number of extended essays and / or a lengthy dissertation (up to 20,000 words). A specialist or professional Master's degree generally takes one to two years to complete.

Taught business-related doctorate programmes are on the increase. Some business schools offer a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programme. This is aimed at high-level executives who may have completed an MBA already.

Some schools offer a Professional or Practitioner Doctorate, mainly on subjects with a vocational orientation such as education, engineering, clinical physiology and business studies. In subjects such as education and business studies, essays, projects and dissertations can be structured around work experience as well as academic content. In technology subjects, group projects are conducted in relation to industrial placements, highlighting the vocational orientation of the degree.

Types of
Taught Master's Degrees

In Malaysia, the most popular taught Master's degree programme is the post-experience business-related programme which is the Master's in Business Administration (MBA). This particular programme teaches finance, statistics, managerial economics and knowledge of how companies compete and operate in different global environments and situations. MBA degrees are frequently sought by individuals with little or no educational background in the field of business but with some work experience.

In many cases, MBA programmes are sought by many engineers to strengthen their interpersonal and management skills so as to enhance their technical background. Another example could be the specialist postgraduate programme such as the Master's in Computer Science which is almost exclusively for those who have already earned Bachelor's degrees in related subjects and who are actively working in that field.

Programme Structure for Doctorate Degrees

Requirements for MA and MSc as well as PhD vary widely from programme to programme and from one university to another. If your long-term goal is the PhD degree, some universities prefer that you apply directly to the PhD programme. Once admitted, you may pursue a Master's degree first or may proceed to the PhD degree without taking a Master's degree. Some universities will require that you complete a Master's degree before gaining admission to the PhD programme.