Note: This paper should be read in conjunction with the Graduate Awards Rules.
I. PROCEDURE FOR SUBMISSION OF THESES 1. Notification of Submission
At least two months before a candidate expects to be ready to submit a thesis, he/she must notify the Director, Student and Academic Services (SAS) in writing of the intention to submit, stating the title of the thesis and the date on which it is expected to be submitted for examination. This is to enable examiners to be appointed in good time.
2. Timing of Submission
The duration of a full-time program for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy is normally a minimum of two and a maximum of four years, and for a part-time program, a minimum of four and a maximum of eight years.
A candidate wishing to submit before the minimum program duration has been reached, must make a case in writing to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) seeking approval. Once the minimum program duration has been reached, a thesis may be submitted at any time during the remainder of the program.
A candidate who will not be ready to submit a thesis by the maximum program end date must apply in writing on the SAS form for an extension of program. If an extension of program is sought and approved, the candidate will remain an enrolled student.
The request must indicate the reasons for the extension and provide an estimate of the time needed to complete the thesis. It must be endorsed by the supervisor, Head of Department/Centre/Unit and Prescribed Authority. An application for an extension of program must be lodged in advance of and no later than the program end date.
3. Supervisor's Comment
The policy of the University is that a thesis should be seen in final form by the supervisor(s) or Head of Department before its submission to examiners. However, a candidate may submit a thesis even if this is against the advice of the supervisor(s). The supervisor(s) will be asked to certify that if the thesis is based upon research carried out jointly with others, an adequate statement has been made by the candidate on the nature and extent of the candidate's contribution to the research; and that to the best of his/her knowledge the candidate has complied with the University's rules and regulations in relation to PhD courses and theses.
If a supervisor wishes he/she may also comment that in his/her view the thesis is not suitable for submission to the examiners; such comments are not sent to the examiners.
4. Arrangements for Submission
When the thesis is ready for submission, the candidate should make an appointment with the Higher Degrees Examinations Officer, Postgraduate Students Office, (extn: 52266). Four or five copies of the thesis, bound in the manner indicated below (see Section III.5), must be submitted. This includes one copy for deposit in the University Library.
II. DEFINITION AND CONTENT OF THESES 1. Definition
The Graduate Awards Rules define a thesis as 'original written work', which may include 'video recordings, film or other works of visual or sonic arts submitted by a candidate for examination.' (p. 8)
2. Content
The Graduate Awards Rules require that a thesis shall be an 'original written work' which 'incorporates an account of research done during an academic program and its result', and, where the 'research is on more than one topic, demonstrates the relation between the topics'. (pp. 8, 26). A thesis must be a connected piece of writing. The thesis may incorporate material which has been or will be published; copies or reprints of papers may not be included as part(s) of the thesis but may be included in an appendix. In the case of a thesis (or parts of it) based on research carried out jointly with others, the Rules require that there be included in the thesis a statement which clearly indicates the nature and extent of the candidate's contribution to the research (p. 26, see III.2(ii) below).
3. Use of Confidential Material
In some instances it may be necessary to make use of confidential material in a thesis. If the supervisor(s) and the Head of department are agreed that this is necessary, the candidate must obtain from the Director, Student and Academic Services a copy of paper 3061B/1985 which sets out the procedure to be followed in such instances. Applications to prohibit or restrict access to a thesis or a part of a thesis, or to an appendix to the thesis must be lodged with the Director well in advance of the submission.
III. FORMAT AND PRODUCTION OF THESES 1. Length
One of the criteria by which a candidate for a PhD degree is judged is on his or her ability to select the most important evidence and other material needed to support the arguments advanced and to present the arguments and supporting material concisely.
A thesis should not exceed 100,000 words in length unless, as a result of a special application well in advance of the intended submission, approval has given for this limit to be exceeded. Supervisors are asked to emphasise very strongly to candidates that a thesis can and normally should be considerably shorter. (The number of words may be judged on a sample of at least 20 pages chosen at random). The limit is, however, exclusive of footnotes, tables, figures, maps and appendices, but appendices must be limited to material necessary in support of the main argument of the thesis.
A candidate whose thesis may be close to the maximum length allowable should submit with the thesis evidence that it is less than 100,000 words. This could take the form of a computer word count.
Alternatively, candidates could count the words on a representative sample of at least 20 pages of text, average it and multiply the average by the total number of pages of text.
2. Presentation
i. The first page of the thesis should give its title, the candidate's name in full and the month and year of its submission for examination. It must also include the following statement:-
A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University.
ii. The second page must contain a statement signed by the candidate, indicating the extent to which the thesis is his or her own original work and, in the case of investigations carried out jointly with others, which clearly indicates what contribution was made by the candidate (Sub-rule 2.50(2)).
iii. Acknowledgments - if any.
iv. Abstract - It is also a general requirement that a brief precis, or abstract, amounting to 250-500 words be bound in the thesis, but candidates should seek information about any other specific requirement of their School, Faculty or Centre from their supervisor(s) or head of department.
v. There should also be a table of contents at the beginning of the thesis and a bibliography of works to which reference has been made at the end.
Note: Advice on bibliographical standards is the responsibility of the supervisor(s) and should always conform to good publishing practice in the particular field.
3. Typing/Typesetting
Theses should be typed (or printed) on International Standards Organisation A4 size paper (297mm x 210mm) on one side only. The margins of this single sided original will be determined by whether subsequent copies are to be single or double sided (see below). A thesis including diagrams, tables, etc., which do not fit well on to A4 sized paper, may be on I.S.O. B4 size (353mm x 250mm). Standard size word processing paper (280mm x 210mm) may also be used for theses presentation.
If the thesis is typewritten, double spacing or one and a half spacing may be used; single spacing is not acceptable (apart from indented quotations, footnotes and bibliographies) except in special circumstances.
Computer typeset theses must use fonts that are easy to read, and no smaller than 11 points for text and 9 points for footnote text. Line spacing should be at least 2 points greater than text size. Candidates who envisage making significant use of mathematics in their theses should consider using the TeX typesetting program.
If in any doubt candidates should, before preparation of their theses, present a few sample pages to the Postgraduate Students Office to ensure that the typeface(s) and line spacing are acceptable.
To ensure readability after binding, margins should be no narrower than -
Single sided -
left hand: 4cm
top, right and bottom: 2cm
Double sided –
odd page - left hand: 4cm
top, right and bottom: 2cm
even page - right hand: 4cm
top, left and bottom: 2cm
Page numbers should be within the margins, as the print often tends to enlarge slightly when photocopied.
Note: Candidates are strongly advised to proof-read theses very carefully before submission as even minor errors may lead to delay in acceptance of the thesis and admission to the degree.
4. Reproduction
Theses may be printed in either single or double-sided form.
Copying by any method which produces good quality, permanent copies is permissible. To ensure that the print does not show through on microcopies paper with a minimum weight of 80gsm should be used.
The use of re-cycled paper for the thesis original is not recommended as it does not provide good copy and detracts from quality reproduction.
Paste-up work should be clearly photocopied prior to printing and the copy supplied in place of the original.
The University Printing Service (ext.52514) offers a printing service at a cost of approximately 5c per page. It endeavours to work to a 24 hour turnaround.
All copies, other than the Library copy, remain the candidate's own property. Unless the candidate has indicated otherwise, examiners will be asked to return the copy of the thesis sent to them for examination.
A department may reach agreement with a candidate for the deposit of a further copy of the thesis in the departmental library.
5. Binding
The copies of the thesis to be submitted to the Director, Student and Academic Services (see Section I.4) may be -
1. Four copies, (irrespective of whether two or three examiners are to be appointed) fully bound with stiff cloth covers and lettered on the spine in gold leaf with the title (shortened if necessary) being followed by the candidate's initials and surname and year. If possible, the lettering should be across the spine, but if it has to be placed lengthwise it should run from the top; or
2. Four/five copies in demountable binding, the choice of type and style of demountable binding being a matter for the candidate. If this option is chosen the candidate will however be required to submit a fully bound copy of the thesis (see above) for lodgment in the University Library (see Section X) on completion of the examination process. The spare copy will be returned upon submission of the hard copy.
6. Grant Toward Theses Production Costs
PhD students who have held ANU PhD Scholarships or Australian Postgraduate Awards are entitled to a grant of up to $840 towards thesis production costs provided reimbursement is sought within six months of submission of the thesis for examination or within two years of expiry of the scholarship/award. Reimbursement will be made on presentation of original receipts or accounts. The grant is not payable prior to submission of the thesis for examination.
IV. CIRCULATION OF UNEXAMINED THESES
It is not advisable to release any copies of a thesis outside the candidate's own department until the result of the examination is known; even with the best of theses there are often comments from examiners recommending corrections or revisions before acceptance and subsequent deposit in the University Library. If there are circumstances which make earlier release desirable, the advice of the Head of Department concerned should be obtained in advance, and any copies so released must have on, or attached permanently to, the title page a dated statement making it clear that the thesis has been submitted for the PhD degree of the University, but has not yet been examined.
A candidate retains the copyright of the thesis and may make such use of it as he or she wishes.
V. CONTACT WITH EXAMINERS
Direct contact between the candidate and examiners during the examination process (except if required by an oral examination) is prohibited under the Graduate Awards Rules, as is direct contact between the candidate’s supervisor and the examiners.
However, the Prescribed Authority may, at the request of an examiner, nominate a person other than the candidate’s supervisor to provide further information about the thesis or, in the case of joint work, the candidate’s contribution to the thesis.
VI. ORAL EXAMINATION
A candidate may be required to attend an oral examination on the thesis. University policy and procedure on the holding of oral examinations is set out in paper 1554A/1991.
An oral examination takes the form of a defence of the thesis, but it is suggested to the examiners that they need not be too restrictive in their questions and that they should be free to cover the general background of the subject in the light of the standard and scope expected.
A candidate should take to the oral examination a copy of the thesis paginated in the same way as the copies submitted for examination.
Travelling Expenses: An oral examination will be held in Canberra unless otherwise approved. The University will meet reasonable travel and accommodation expenses within Australia necessarily incurred by a candidate in attending an oral. The University will not meet the high cost of attending an oral examination incurred by a candidate who has chosen to leave Australia after submission; the scale of reimbursement will be considered in each case on its merits. Travel and accommodation expenses will not be paid to a candidate in the case of more than one oral examination, such as might occur following the submission of a revised thesis for re-examination.
VII. WRITTEN EXAMINATION
A candidate may be required to undertake a written examination in place of, or in addition to, an oral examination. The Director, Student and Academic Services will advise the candidate of arrangements for any written examination.
VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS OF EXAMINERS
Examiners are asked to make one of the following four recommendations after completing the examination (including any oral and/or written examination):
a) that the candidate be granted the award;
b) that the candidate be failed;
c) that the candidate be granted the award subject to corrections or revisions (if any), required by the examiners in the thesis to be made to the satisfaction of the Prescribed Authority in the copy intended for deposit with the University Library;
d) that the candidate be permitted to submit a revised thesis for re-examination.
Revision and resubmission of a thesis may occur once only. It is not open to examiners to recommend the award of another degree (e.g. the Master of Philosophy).
IX. ARRANGEMENTS REGARDING REVISION AND RESUBMISSION OF A THESIS
Examiners who recommend revision and resubmission of a thesis are asked to specify what is required of the candidate before re-examination, on the understanding that anonymous examiners' reports, in full or in part, will be made available to the candidate by the Director, Student and Academic Services.
The candidate is given a time-limit of one year in which to revise the thesis and submit it for re-examination. An extension of a maximum of one year may be granted. Only in very special circumstances outlined in Rule 5.2 may the two year period be further extended.
X. ACCESS TO EXAMINERS' REPORTS
Examiners are invited to provide reports on the basis of a written undertaking from the University that their reports will be treated on an "in confidence" basis. Other than as set out below access to such reports is therefore limited to the relevant Prescribed Authority, Head of Department, supervisor(s) and where appropriate, to committees considering the award of prizes for excellence in theses.
It is firm policy of the University not to grant direct access to examiners' reports. Once the outcome of the examination has been determined, anonymous reports may, however, in all cases be made available in full or in part after deletion of any section of a report an examiner has specified may not be made available to the candidate.
XI. DEPOSIT OF AND ACCESS TO THESES IN THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
One fully bound copy of the thesis, with accompanying maps and/or other separate material will be lodged in the University Library by the Director, Student and Academic Services.
Access to and distribution of ANU doctoral theses has been extended, with the candidate’s permission, to include paper, microform or digital copies, both in the University Library and outside on demand for private study and research. The candidate may request that his/her thesis be made available immediately it is lodged in the University Library or that it not be made available until 12 months after the date on which it was lodged in the University Library.
XII. RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
The Higher Degrees Examinations Officer (extn: 52266) is responsible for PhD examinations and should be the first point of contact on matters covered in this paper.
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