PhD's galore at Rhodes University's graduation

11 Apr 2019 | Admin Author

A total of 2 321 graduates will be capped at the Rhodes University's ongoing three-day graduation ceremony in Makhanda, formerly Grahamstown.

This year, the university is churning out 89 Ph.D. graduates, which include a 77-year-old botanist Yvette Van Wijk, who will be getting her Ph.D. in Botany.

Rhodes is also celebrating a new record of 30 Ph.D. degrees for the faculty of humanities, up from the previous record of 26 achieved last year.

University spokesperson Velisile Bukula told ANA that the faculty of science has produced 38 Ph.D. graduates, the faculty of commerce has three, the faculty of education having 16 PhDs, and the faculty of pharmacy has produced 2 graduates.

"Sixty-one percent of the graduating students are women and over 19 percent of the graduates are international students," said Bukula.

"The university also has the best research outputs per academic staff member in the country," she said.

Five honorary doctorates will also be conferred on Professor Emeritus George Ellis, Professor Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, Professor Glenda Gray, and Professor Ian Scott will each be conferred with a Doctor of Laws (LLD) (HC), while Chief Nike Okundaye-Davies will receive a Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA) (HC).