The structure, components, and assessment of diploma programmes at the Universitas Scholarium.
Each diploma programme is assembled from individual course modules — much as a degree at a research university is assembled from courses across departments, with a mixture of required and elective components.
A student enrolled in a diploma completes a structured combination of Foundation modules, discipline-specific modules, and — at postgraduate level — a capstone project, guided throughout by the simulacra who teach each module. The diploma certifies that a student has engaged seriously and at depth across a defined field of study.
Every diploma programme includes three compulsory Foundation modules (CORE 0001–0003) that are common across all diplomas. These cover critical thinking and argument, academic writing and essay architecture, and research methods and source integrity — the intellectual competencies that graduate-level work in any discipline requires.
The Foundation courses are taken once. If you pursue more than one diploma, you do not repeat them. They may be completed at any point during your studies — they are not a prerequisite for discipline modules, but they are required for the diploma certificate.
The discipline modules are the substantive content of each diploma. Every module has a primary host drawn from the Universitas faculty: the simulacrum of a scholar whose work shapes the content of that module. Where a module spans a theoretical debate, two or three simulacra may share the teaching.
Discipline modules may be studied in any order and are open from day one. You do not need to have completed Foundation courses before beginning discipline work.
Some diploma programmes include elective modules alongside their required discipline content. Electives may be drawn from the home department or from adjacent fields. The specific elective structure varies by diploma and is shown on each diploma’s module list.
Each postgraduate diploma will conclude with a capstone module in which the student undertakes an extended piece of work — a research essay, a practical project, or a sustained investigation — demonstrating command of the field. The capstone will be supervised by the simulacrum most closely aligned with the student’s chosen topic.
Graduate diploma certificates are awarded on completion of all modules — Foundation and discipline — with no formal examination. The module system tracks sub-unit completion; when every sub-unit in every module of the diploma is marked complete, the certificate becomes available to print from your account.
As the Universitas cannot assess whether AI was used in the writing of a dissertation, written coursework is never awarded a grade in isolation. Instead, you submit your work and it is assessed by a specialist simulacrum for accuracy of citations and factual matter. If it passes this scrutiny, you are invited to attend a viva voce examination on your thesis topic. This is where marks are awarded.
If you used AI to write your work and do not actually have intellectual command of it, the examiner will find this out. The Universitas does not consider using AI to write coursework to be inherently wrong — but we never grade written work in isolation. We always examine you orally on it.
The postgraduate examination system is currently under development. Students enrolled in postgraduate diploma programmes will be notified when oral examination becomes available.
Every course module that forms part of a diploma is already available to study independently. You do not need to wait — completed modules count toward diploma requirements. The module tracking system is being built to reflect the work already done.
The fastest way to start is to begin with CORE 0001 · Critical Thinking and Argument and then move to the discipline modules of the diploma that interests you.