Melbourne School of Graduate Research

Examination

Nomination of examiners

The head of department in consultation with the candidate's supervisor/s and senior academic members of the department is responsible for the nomination of examiners.

The head of department is required to nominate two examiners, external to the University, together with a reserve name for use should a third or replacement examiner be required. In the case of creative arts disciplines where a thesis consists of creative works and a dissertation, and where the creative work component includes performance or exhibition of visual art works, three examiners may be nominated from within Australia, and at least one of the three examiners appointed, must be from interstate. Staff of the Outside Institutions list are not permitted to examine theses.

Names of nominated examiners must remain confidential and are not to be revealed to candidates under any circumstances. However, candidates should be asked to identify any person whom they would consider unsuitable to examine the thesis. Candidates who wish to name individuals whom they do not wish to act as their examiners should provide a written statement to the head of department at the time of submission of their 80-word summary.

The Chairperson of the RHD Committee approves the appointment of the nominated examiners.

The Chairperson of Examiners is responsible for taking into account the availability of examiners, scheduling of the candidate and supervisors, and selection and scheduling of the venue to ensure confidentiality is maintained. The Chairperson of Examiners may recommend that examiners attend the public performance or exhibition at different times to prevent their identification by the candidate. Where there is normally audience participation and interaction with the presenter during public performances or exhibitions, it is the responsibility of the Chairperson of Examiners to ensure that the candidate cannot inappropriately influence the examiners to affect assessment.

Chairperson of examiners

The head of department normally acts as Chairperson of Examiners, unless the head of department is the candidate's supervisor. The candidate's supervisor may not act as Chairperson of Examiners under any circumstances. If the Chairperson of Examiners is absent from the University for long enough to delay the progress of the examination, another Chairperson of Examiners is appointed from senior academic members of the department. The latter will remain as Chairperson of Examiners until the end of the examination. The Chairperson of Examiners makes recommendations to the RHD Committee based on the reports submitted by the two external examiners, but does not have a vote in deciding the outcome of the examination and does not submit a report on the thesis.

In the case of creative arts disciplines where a thesis consists of creative works and a dissertation, and where the creative work component includes performance or exhibition of visual art works, if one of the three examiners appointed is unable to attend the site of the performance or exhibition, the Chairperson of Examiners may decide the examination outcome where there are discrepancies between the other two examiners' reports.

Duration of examination

Examiners are asked to complete their report within a specified timeframe. The examination process, from submission of the thesis until candidates are contacted by the School of Graduate Research with a result or notification of a delay, will usually take a minimum of 4 months. While the thesis is under examination specific information pertaining to the examination cannot be disclosed. A result will be sent to the candidate once all reports have been received and considered by the Chairperson of Examiners. Results of examinations can sometimes be delayed, for instance where an examiner is not able to submit a report within the usual time-frame, when a replacement examiner becomes necessary, when examiners are required to consult or if a third examiner is appointed.

Examiner's report

Examiners are requested to submit a written report on the thesis and to award a result from the following scale from 1 to 5. The 5 recommendations available to examiners when submitting a first report are:

  1. Be awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy without further examination or amendment.
  2. Be awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy without further examination, subject to inserting in the thesis the minor corrections and/or additions as I have specified and which may be subsequently carried out to the satisfaction of the Chair of Examiners, without further reference to me.
  3. Be awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy subject to revising part or parts of the thesis to either
    (a) the Chairperson of Examiners, or
    (b) my satisfaction.
  4. Not yet be awarded the degree, but be permitted to resubmit the thesis in a revised form for re-examination. Areas requiring major amendment are identified in my attached report.
  5. Not be awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and not be permitted to submit for re-examination.

Note: oral examinations are not held except in unusual and exceptional circumstances.

In the case of Cotutelle arrangements a single examination process must be agreed to by both institutions.

A candidate, defending their thesis in the language of one country, should also provide an oral summary in the language of the other. Thus an Australian candidate defending a thesis in English, must be prepared to present an oral summary in French.

Amendments to a thesis

The majority of theses require some form of amendment before the degree is awarded. The School of Graduate Research informs candidates of the corrections required and supplies the candidate with copies of the examiners' reports, edited for confidentiality. Candidates are not permitted to make any changes to their thesis not specified by the examiners (or implied in their reports). Candidates are required to consult with their supervisor and the Chairperson of Examiners in this matter.

Theses requiring corrections must be submitted to the Chairperson of Examiners in the department within the time specified. Corrections and amendments to theses should be incorporated in the body of the text. If the student needs more time to finish the amendments, extensions of time may be sought by completing an Application for an Extension to Submit Amendments, Revisions or Clarifications or Application for an Extension to Resubmit signed by the candidate's supervisor and head of department, stating the grounds for the application and the period of time required. Forms are available from the School of Graduate Research.

Minor amendments

Minor amendments are required if either examiner selects recommendation two (outlined above). Candidates are usually given one month to complete minor amendments, unless otherwise advised by the Chairperson of Examiners. Two copies of the thesis, incorporating all amendments should be submitted to the Chairperson of Examiners for review. The Chairperson of Examiners will then send a recommendation to the School of Graduate Research confirming that the amendments have satisfied the examiners' requests.

Revisions

Revisions entail revising sections of the thesis to the approval of the examiner/s who specified recommendation three. An examiner may choose to delegate this task to the Chair of Examiners. Candidates are usually given two months to complete revisions. Two copies of the revised thesis and a list of the revisions made by the candidate should be submitted to the Chairperson of Examiners. The Chairperson of Examiners will then send a recommendation to the School of Graduate Research confirming the thesis is ready to be forwarded to the relevant examiner/s for review. The examiner/s assessing the revised thesis are asked to complete their report within 3 weeks.

Disagreement between examiners

Where there is insufficient agreement between the examiners' reports, and the Chairperson of Examiners and the Chair of the RHD Committee believe resolution is possible, the examiners may be invited to consult to achieve consensus. If the examiners are unable to agree, a third examiner will be appointed. The result of the examination shall then be in accordance with the majority recommendation of the examiners.

Resubmission

Where a result is deferred, candidates are usually given 12 months to revise and resubmit the thesis. At least three thermal bound copies of the revised thesis must be resubmitted for a second examination.

All candidates required to undertake a major revision are required to re-enrol for this period. In exceptional circumstances the Head of Department may make a case for this requirement to be waived. The Chair of the Research Higher Degrees Committee, is responsible for reviewing the circumstances of any requests for exemption to the rule and approving the waiver.

Candidates of a resubmitted thesis should respond to any concerns raised by the examiners and may also make other changes to improve the thesis. A revised and resubmitted thesis is not examined only in regard to the advice of the original examiners, but will be judged on its merits and must be re-examined in its entirety.

PhD candidates are allowed only one opportunity to make major revisions to their thesis. Therefore examiners of a revised and resubmitted thesis are required to record a final decision of pass, or pass with minor amendments, or fail. The Procedures for re-examination require a revised and resubmitted thesis to be normally resubmitted to the original examiners.

Notification of pass result

PhD candidates are considered eligible to pass once the School of Graduate Research has received:

Once these requirements have been fulfilled the candidate will receive a letter stating that they have successfully completed all the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The candidate also receives information about graduation and an application to graduate.

Confidentiality of names of examiners

Once the examination is complete, the School of Graduate Research may inform the candidate of the identities of those examiner/s who recommend the thesis be passed, if no objection has been made by the examiner/s, Chairperson of Examiners or Chairperson of the RHD Committee.

Library Release Authorisation and copyright of theses

Candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy are required to provide one copy of the thesis for the University of Melbourne Library after it has been passed by the examiners and corrections have been made. The department requires a further copy to be deposited in the departmental library.

Upon submission of the thesis candidates are asked to sign the following statement, which provides for persons wishing to read the University copy of the thesis, and use it for research or private study:

"I understand that my PhD thesis entitled (title) will be lodged in the University Libraries, will be made available (if applicable after the expiry of any period of approved restricted access) to any person entitled to use the libraries and may be photocopied or digitized by or on behalf of the Librarian for use for research or private study pursuant to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I agree that any persons to whom a copy is furnished under such conditions may, subject to acknowledging the sources of the quotation, quote extracts from the thesis in any paper or written work prepared by the user, but may not, without my permission publish in a paper or other written work extracts which in total would constitute an infringing copy for the purpose of the Copyright Act."

Restricted access to a thesis

The University is committed to the openness of research findings. It is important that, at an early stage of research, candidate and supervisor consider restrictions which may have been placed, for example, on the use of interviews or confidential material, and whether these may jeopardise subsequent publication or communication of research outcomes. Where necessary, ethics clearance should be obtained (refer Research Guidelines).

In almost all cases, the rights of the candidate over the intellectual property of their theses offer an adequate protection of their research in a context of open research and its dissemination except where obligations to third parties are in place (refer Research Guidelines).

In rare cases, the Academic Registrar may, after consultation with the President of the Board, direct that any thesis or work deposited be withheld from access to library users, or placed on restricted access, for a specific time. Application may be made to the School of Graduate Research in the first instance, for a PhD thesis to be placed on restricted access in the University of Melbourne Library and the relevant departmental library where:

  1. the thesis contains material which could have legal repercussions if published; or
  2. the thesis contains material for which the author intends to apply for patent protection or there are other possible commercial benefits which would be prejudiced were the thesis to be made public immediately after acceptance; or
  3. there are other exceptional circumstances and restricted access in whole or in part would not result in subverting the important academic principle of open access to research material.

Restricted access is normally approved for up to one year in the first instance. Restriction for further periods may be approved upon further application. A candidate requesting their thesis be placed on restricted access should complete an Application for Restricted Access form available from the School of Graduate Research. All applications must explain fully the reasons for which restricted access is requested, and include supporting comments and signatures from the applicant's supervisor/s and head of department.

The University's Research and Innovation Office should be consulted wherever any contract is signed which places restrictions on the candidate's or the University's rights to intellectual property, and a copy of the contract should be attached to the Application for Restricted Access form.

Candidates should consider carefully before applying for any period of confidentiality or restricted access whether this will unduly impair their ability to publish their research or make their work and achievements known to potential employers. These issues should be discussed with their supervisors.

The Chancellor's Prize

The RHD Committee awards the annual Chancellor's Prize for excellence in the PhD thesis. The award consists of an engraved medal for desk display. The School of Graduate Research annually seeks nominations from the Deans of Faculties. One from each of the following four faculty groupings is awarded:

  1. Humanities and Creative Arts (Faculties: Arts, Music, Victorian College of the Arts, Architecture, Building & Planning)
  2. Social Sciences (Faculties: Economics and Commerce, Law, Education, Melbourne Business School)
  3. Science and Engineering (Faculties: Science, Engineering, Institute of Land & Food Resources)
  4. Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (Faculties: Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences, Veterinary Science).

All candidates awarded the PhD degree in the previous year are eligible for nomination. When determining the excellence of a thesis and nominating a student for the Chancellor's Prize, departments are asked to consider:

Although it is expected that nominations would be for candidates whose thesis was passed without amendment, candidates passed with minor amendments, may also be nominated. In evaluating and justifying the nomination, departments are asked to consider the quality, not quantity of publications.

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