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A PhD student must:

1. under the supervision of a supervisor at the University of Pretoria with an optional co-supervisor from the University of Pretoria or another institution approved by the Senate, undertake original research to the satisfaction of the examiners; and
2. submit a thesis which will prove, according to the opinion of the examiners, that he or she has, on the grounds of independent critical judgement, made a distinct contribution towards the enrichment of knowledge in the chosen subject.

A student for the PhD degree must be registered for the doctoral degree study at the University of Pretoria for at least one academic year before the degree can be conferred.
The PhD degree is conferred by virtue of a thesis and, should the Dean deem it necessary, an examination on the field of study of the thesis.
The maximum period for completion of a doctoral degree is three years. Under exceptional circumstances, a student may apply to the head of the department, in writing, for a fixed, limited extension of this period.

1. Master's degree (equivalent to NQF level 9) within a biological or medical sciences discipline, or one that has been deemed equivalent to provide the student with sufficient discipline-specific knowledge

TNM 700 or TNM 802 as well as MBS 800 or equivalent status must be achieved before completion of the PhD degree. If pharmacology status cannot be shown, the modules (FAR 381, 382) Pharmacology 381, 382 must be completed at the Department of Pharmacology for non-degree purposes.

If advised by an examiner(s), an oral doctoral examination that will deal with the content of the thesis and those subdivisions of the field of study on which the thesis is based, will need to be passed.

A complete research protocol regarding the proposed thesis (as well as the curriculum vitae of the candidate) must be approved by the Postgraduate Committee of the School in question and also by the Research Ethics Committee before commencement of the study. The thesis must deal with a pharmacology related problem from any field in the Health Sciences and must satisfy the supervisor and the examiners that it represents advanced original research and/or creative work in the field of the Health Sciences. It must give an overview of the topic and contain a description of the observations made and experiments done by the student, with appropriate data interpretation and a discussion of the conclusions reached.