Thesis and examination
Throughout your research candidature, you will work toward producing your final thesis.
As you approach the completion of your Higher Degree by Research (HDR) studies, one of the most significant milestones is the submission and examination of your thesis. This process begins with notifying the University of your intention to submit by completing a 'Notice of Intent to Submit' (NOI).
Once you have submitted your NOI, the timeline for submitting your thesis becomes clearer. The submission process includes a series of steps to ensure your thesis meets all University requirements, and it sets the stage for the examination process that will ultimately determine the outcome of your degree.
Approximately four months before your required thesis submission date, we will email you prompting you to complete a ‘Notice of Intent to Submit’ (NOI) through the Research Education Candidature System (RECS), which will inform us of details including:
You must complete your NOI at least three months before you submit your thesis. This will set in motion the examination process for your thesis.
You can make changes to your completed NOI right up until you submit your thesis.
Your NOI includes an opportunity to nominate any person(s) you consider appropriate to be invited to examine your thesis and any you would prefer not to be invited.
Your NOI includes an opportunity to request one of the following three modes of examination, subject to the approval of your faculty or school and your lead supervisor.
Discuss your options with your lead supervisor before submitting your NOI.
This mode of examination allows you to discuss your thesis directly with your examiners, who are experts in your field and have carefully read your thesis.
Your written thesis is first sent to your two external examiners. They are given four weeks to review it and provide an interim report. When they are received, you and your supervisor are notified through RECS.
You do not receive a copy of the interim reports at this point, but your supervisor is prompted to arrange a meeting with you to discuss their contents and help you prepare for your oral examination. This meeting should occur at least two days before your scheduled oral examination.
Some faculties require you to deliver a public presentation before your oral examination; your supervisor will advise whether this applies to you.
Your oral examination will be a private session that involves only you, your two examiners, and the Chair of Examination as convenor. During this session, your examiners may ask you to clarify specific points in your thesis or discuss your research more broadly.
At the end of the session, you will leave the room, and your examiners and the Chair of Examination will discuss the outcome. If they reach a consensus, you may be invited back into the room and informed of the outcome immediately. If not, they will be given further time to consider the outcome, and you will be informed later.
In this mode, your written thesis is sent to your two external examiners, who are given six weeks to review it and provide an extensive report. When these are received, your lead supervisor and the Chair of Examination review them before informing you of the outcome. You will receive a copy of the reports once an outcome has been reached.
This mode is available only to students in the School of Art, Communication and English within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
In this mode, your written thesis component (your ‘exegesis’) is first sent to your two external examiners, who are given four weeks to review it and provide an interim report. When these are received, you will be prompted through RECS to arrange a meeting with your lead supervisor to discuss their contents (you will not receive a copy of the reports at this stage) and prepare for your exhibition and oral examination.
While your examiners are reviewing your exegesis, you will work with the Chair of Examination and relevant support staff to arrange a date and the logistics of your exhibition. On the day of the exhibition, you can walk your examiners and the Chair of Examination through your work.
Your oral examination will be a private session that involves only you, your two examiners, and the Chair of Examination as convenor. During this session, your examiners may ask you to clarify specific points presented within your exegesis and creative work or engage in broader discussion about your research.
At the end of the session, you will leave the room, and your examiners and the Chair of Examination will discuss the outcome. If they reach a consensus, you may be invited back into the room and informed of the outcome immediately. If not, they will be given further time to submit more detailed reports, and you will be informed through RECS of the outcome in the weeks following your exhibition (this process can take more than a month).
Your NOI includes an opportunity to nominate any person(s) you consider appropriate to be invited to examine your thesis and any you would prefer not to be invited. However, the final decision rests with the supervisory team member overseeing your examination.
Once you have completed your NOI, your supervisor will be asked to nominate a minimum of two suitable external examiners for your thesis. They must be of international standing in your thesis topic and must not have any conflict of interest. Your supervisor will also organise any additional examination requirements (such as if your thesis includes a creative work or is in a language other than English).
Each nominated examiner must then be reviewed and approved by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Researcher Training) before being formally invited to the role of examiner. If any of them declines, your supervisor may need to nominate replacements.
You will not be informed of the identities of your (invited or appointed) examiners during the examination process. If they agree, their names will be disclosed to you at the end of the examination process. Examiners are not permitted to communicate with students during the examination process. If any contact between a student (or someone acting on behalf of the student) and examiner(s) occurs, this constitutes a breach under the Thesis and Examination of Higher Degrees by Research Policy (pdf, 140KB) and will result in discontinuation of the examination process and selection of new examiners, as well as potential disciplinary action.
Ensure it meets all requirements and you have completed your NOI. You must also be currently enrolled and not suspended or withdrawn.
You may submit your thesis any time between your earliest submission date and 11:59 pm on your required submission date (see tables below).
These dates are calculated from the start date of your HDR candidature minus any periods of approved suspension taken.
To check your personal earliest and required submission dates, log in to RECS and go to ‘My project’, then ‘Project dates’.
If you are an international student and you submit your thesis for examination before or on the census date for a particular research period, you will not have to pay tuition fees for that research period. If you submit your thesis after the census date for a particular research period, you will have to pay tuition fees for that research period.
|
Master’s by research |
PhD |
Earliest submission date |
Full time: 4 research periods (1 year) Part time: 8 research periods (2 years) |
Full time: 12 research periods (3 years) Part time: 24 research periods (6 years) |
Required submission date |
Full time: 7 research periods (1.75 years) Part time: 14 research periods (3.5 years) |
Full time: 14 research periods (3.5 years) Part time: 28 research periods (7 years) |
If you have completed your HDR studies in a combination of full-time and part-time modes, different timeframes apply, as outlined in the University of Sydney (Higher Degree by Research) Rule.
|
Master’s by research |
PhD |
Earliest submission date |
Full time: 4 research periods (1 year) Part time: 8 research periods (2 years) |
Full time: 12 research periods (3 years) Part time: 24 research periods (6 years) |
Required submission date |
Full time: 8 research periods (2 years) Part time: 16 research periods (4 years) |
Full time: 16 research periods (4 years) Part time: 32 research periods (8 years) |
If you have completed your HDR studies in a combination of full-time and part-time modes, different timeframes apply, as outlined in the University of Sydney (Higher Degree by Research) Rule.
You are welcome to submit your thesis before your required submission date; however, if you wish to submit your thesis before your earliest submission date, you must request approval through RECS. Go to ‘My project’, then ‘Candidature maintenance’, then ‘Start a new request’, select ‘Early submission’ and follow the prompts.
If you are concerned you will not be able to submit your thesis by your required submission date, discuss your options with your lead supervisor as early as possible. Depending on your circumstances, these may include changing from full-time to part-time study or temporarily suspending your studies.
Extensions of candidature are only granted under exceptional circumstances. Requests are considered on a case-by-case basis and must include a detailed plan of how the additional time requested will be used.
If you are an international student you must also upload a completed Student Declaration, which must include your reason for requesting an extension, as well as your details and signature.
In RECS, go to ‘My project’, then ‘Candidature maintenance’, then ‘Start a new request’, select ‘Extension’ and follow the prompts.
While your request is being processed, do not assume it will be approved. Continue to work towards your required submission date until you receive the outcome of your request.
If you are granted an extension and given a new thesis submission date, if you subsequently apply to change from full-time to part-time study, your required submission date will not be moved for a second time.
If your required submission date has passed and you have not submitted your thesis, you must submit a request for an extension as soon as possible.
If you do not, your faculty or school may require you to ‘show good cause’ for your failure to submit a thesis. You will not be able to submit your thesis after your required submission date unless your extension request is approved.
To submit your thesis, log in to RECS, go to ‘My project’, then ‘Examinations’, then ‘Thesis submission’ and follow the prompts.
Once you have submitted your thesis, it is not possible to withdraw it for revision, except under the provisions of the Thesis and Examination of Higher Degree by Research Policy (pdf, 392KB. You can make any required corrections at the end of the examination process.
All such corrections will then be checked by your supervisor and the Chair of Examination before you lodge your thesis with the University Library.
When you submit your thesis your lead supervisor will endorse it, it will be passed through the University’s plagiarism-detection software, and it will be sent to your examiners for examination.
If your supervisor chooses not to endorse your thesis for examination, you can appeal to the Associate Dean (Research Education) through RECS to have it examined.
The examination process is confidential, and each person involved can only access the information required for their role. During the examination process your examiners are not informed of each other’s identities, and you are not informed of their identities.
If you notified us in your NOI of any specific confidentiality requirements, your examiners may be required to sign a confidentiality agreement. Confidentiality agreements are usually only required where a thesis includes confidential or restricted information, such as commercial-in-confidence material or content subject to privacy legislation. All examiners are advised of the strict confidentiality of the examination process.
This process should not be confused with restricting access to a thesis in the University Library, which may be arranged after the examination process, when you lodge your thesis with the University Library.
The examination process should be completed within three to six months of your submission date. When the process is complete you will be advised of the outcome. If there are any substantial delays in reaching an outcome you will be advised.
You can view the progress of your examination at any time through RECS. Go to ‘My project’, then ‘Examinations’, and click on the icon of a mortarboard (graduation hat).
If you require a letter for employment or visa purposes indicating that you are currently under examination, contact the Higher Degree by Research Administration Centre (HDRAC).
Each of your examiners will provide us with a detailed report and a recommendation with respect to the award of your degree, resulting in one of the outcomes below.
The possible award outcomes are:
If your outcome is one of the above, you will be advised, sent copies of your examiners’ reports and given a deadline (generally three months) by which to make any required corrections to your thesis before lodging it with the University Library. For corrections that are very minor in nature, you may be given less than three months.
The possible non-award outcomes are:
If one or both of your examiners recommends a non-award outcome, the Chair of Examination will consider their reports in consultation with your supervisor and will make a recommendation of award to the HDR Examinations Subcommittee (HDRESC). (In the case of some master’s degrees by research, this consideration occurs within the faculty or school, not with HDRESC.)
HDRESC will review the examiner reports and the submissions by the Chair of Examination and your supervisor, and form a recommendation of award.
If HDRESC is unable to reach a recommendation (e.g. if your examiners’ recommendations vary significantly), it may appoint an ‘Examiner as Assessor’. This is someone with an international reputation in their field and a high level of experience as an examiner. This person will first be sent a copy of your thesis to review and provide an independent report. They will then be sent (de-identified) copies of your examiners’ reports to review. They will then provide a report on both your thesis and your examiners’ reports, along with their own award recommendation. HDRESC will review these and arrive at a final outcome.
If HDRESC forms a recommendation of ‘non-award’ (see above outcomes) as per the Thesis and Examination of Higher Degrees by Research Procedures 2020 section 14(9), you will be notified and will be able to access de-identified copies of the examiner reports as well as the Chair of Examination’s recommendation and any written supervisors’ reports.
You will also be given the option of submitting comments appealing HDRESC’s recommendation. You will have two weeks to indicate whether you wish to submit such comments. We recommend that you liaise with SUPRA and/or your supervisors in preparing any comments you intend to submit. Any comments you submit will be sent to HDRESC to review in making their final decision of award.
If you choose not to submit comments, the recommendation of non-award will be formalised as ‘accepted’.
Once a non-award outcome has been finalised
Appeals
Under the Student Academic Appeals Rule you have the right to appeal an academic decision. We recommend that you meet with a SUPRA representative and/or with your supervisory team to prepare your appeal before submitting it.
After the examination process, including the making of any required corrections to your thesis, the final version of your thesis will be approved, and you will be prompted through RECS to lodge a copy of your thesis with the University Library.
If any documents are required to be lodged in addition to your final thesis you will be sent an email specifying this. You must do this to be eligible for the award of your HDR degree.
Once you have lodged your thesis with the University Library, no further corrections can be made. Check the Library's thesis submission requirements.
During the lodgement process, you will have an opportunity to indicate if you wish to request that access to all or part of your thesis be restricted for a certain period, for example, because it includes:
Depending on the reason for your request, you might require approval from the faculty/school or the University. For guidance, speak to your lead supervisor or contact the Higher Degree by Research Administration Centre (HDRAC).
If you are lodging your thesis while waiting for papers to be published, you should request that your thesis only be made available locally (to users with a valid UniKey) rather than publicly, until you advise the Library that publication has occurred.
In other cases you might wish to request an embargo, which suspends uploading of your thesis to the University Library repository for a specified period.
All requests to restrict access are considered on a case-by-case basis and require supporting documentation, such as:
Confidential material may be stored in an appendix separate from your main thesis document, with access to this appendix restricted for a specified period while your thesis remains available for public reference.
The University Library provides information on the legal implications of copyright as it applies to your research and thesis.
The University’s Commercialisation Office manages intellectual property at the University and can provide you with information and advice relevant to your work.