INTRODUCTION Established in 1985, the Institute of Postgraduate Studies (IPS) is the graduate centre for Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Our vision is to spearhead USM to become a world-class university by embarking on research programmes via strategic planning and implementation of its R & D mechanism. Supported by a pool of qualified academic staff, excellent infrastructure and facilities, USM is poised to hone your skills in research work.