thesis examination report sample

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Investigating PhD thesis examination reports

2004, International Journal of Educational Research

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Main navigation

• Graduate Students
• Faculty & Staff
• General requirements
• Preparation of a thesis
• Initial Thesis Submission
• Thesis examiners
• Evaluation of written thesis
• Thesis examination failures
• Doctoral oral defence
• Final Thesis Submission
• Thesis Writing and Support Resources
• Letters of Completion/PGWP

Evaluation of a Written Thesis

Examiners are asked to evaluate the thesis in myThesis, according to the criteria in the respective thesis examiner report for a Master's or Doctoral thesis. For an example of the criteria, please see the forms: see: Master's Examiner report form ; Doctoral Examiner report form (note these forms are now integrated in myThesis).

Examiners provide an overall judgment of 'passed' or ‘not passed’, in addition to a written report. For Master's students, this evaluation determines whether or not the thesis is ready for final submission, even if minor changes are recommended. For Doctoral candidates, this evaluation determines whether or not the candidate is ready to proceed to the oral defence.

If the thesis meets the general criteria for the degree sought, as well as those listed on the examiner's report form it should be evaluated as 'Passed', even if some changes are recommended.

If the overall judgement is 'Passed', examiners are asked to provide:

• A report that includes any recommendations for minor revisions to the thesis (i.e., stylistic or editorial changes that can be completed in three weeks or less).
• For doctoral theses, External Examiners who will not be at the oral defence must also provide a list of questions to be asked of the candidate at the oral defence.

An evaluation of 'Not Passed' should be given if:

• the need for a new study, experimentation, or significant additional research or reformulation.
• the need to address major problems with the presentation of the work. Stylistic or editorial changes are not normally considered to be major revisions, but if the quality of the presentation is so poor that extensive rewriting is required, the thesis should not be passed.
• At least one of the Criteria for the Evaluation of the Thesis (see Master's Examiner report form ; Doctoral Examiner report form ) is judged as unsatisfactory.

Examiners are asked to identify required changes clearly in their reports. The supervisor or another designated person will ensure that the student corrects the thesis and that it appropriately reflects the examiners' suggestions for revisions prior to re-submission of the thesis.

The candidate will normally revise and re-submit the thesis for re-assessment, usually by the same examiner. If/when review of the revised thesis is required, the Thesis Unit will contact the initial examiner to determine their availability. In rare cases, a revised thesis may be sent to a new examiner if the first examiner is not available to re-examine the thesis. For more, please see Thesis examination failures.

If the revised thesis is again ‘not passed’, the student will be withdrawn from the University unless the decision is reversed through an appeal to the Hearing Committee (Bias, Error, or Misrepresentation ).

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, McGill University .

Department and University Information

Graduate and postdoctoral studies.

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Doctoral Exam Guide

External examiner's report.

The external examiner's report is submitted directly to the Doctoral Exams team at Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. In cases where the external examiner recommends that a candidate proceed to Oral Defence, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies will normally distribute copies of the report to the graduate program advisor and all members of the examination committee one week prior to the Defence date. The entire content of the report is confidential and must not be discussed with the candidate prior to the Final Oral Defence. The external examiner's recommendations must be taken into account by the examination committee when providing an assessment of the dissertation during the Final Oral Defence.

Note: a written report and questions for the defence are required from the external examiner regardless of whether they are planning to participate in the Oral Defence.

The external examiner is asked to assess whether the dissertation meets the criteria for a successful dissertation, with reference to the expectations regarding the scope and structure of a doctoral dissertation at UBC and using the criteria outlined in the following documents:

• For Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) examinations -  Instructions for Preparing the External Examiner's Report
• For Doctor of Education (EdD) examinations - Guidelines for the Examination of the Ed.D. Dissertation
• For Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Composition examinations - Instructions for the Preparation of the External Examiner's Report
• For Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Performance examinations - Instructions for the Preparation of the External Examiner's Report

The external examiner is also asked to make an overall recommendation regarding whether or not the dissertation as written is ready for defence. If the external examiner's report recommends major revisions to the dissertation before the candidate proceeds to Defence, the Dean or Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (usually after consulting with external examiner) will make the final decision about whether or not to proceed with the Final Oral Defence.

In order to allow time for the report to be distributed, the external examiner's report is due 10 days before the Defence. The Dean or Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies reserve the right to postpone the Final Oral Defence if the external examiner's report is late.

External Examiner Recommends Major Revisions to the Dissertation

In cases where the external examiner recommends major revisions to the dissertation before proceeding to the Oral Defence, candidates are normally granted exactly one opportunity for major revision and re-examination. External review of the revised dissertation normally involves both the original external examiner and a new additional external examiner (who is not informed of the previous external exam).

The research supervisor and candidate will be notified by email as early as possible if the external examiner recommends major revisions to the dissertation and if the Dean or Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies requires that the candidate address the report and make revisions to the dissertation before proceeding to the Final Oral Defence. A copy of the external examiner’s report will be provided at that time and should be used to guide the revisions. As part of the revision process, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies strongly recommends that the candidate compose a separate document, to be sent to the original external examiner only, outlining where and how the external examiner’s concerns have been addressed.

Once the revised dissertation has been approved by the supervisory committee, the candidate will be required to submit the dissertation and associated approval memos as outlined under Submitting for Examination . Candidates and research supervisors are asked to notify the Doctoral Exams office well in advance of the anticipated submission date so appropriate arrangements can be made with the external examiners.

If at least one of these two external examiners recommends that the examination should proceed, then the Final Oral Defence will take place.

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Master’s and Doctoral Theses and Reports

Thesis examinations for master’s and doctoral students are proceeding as normal, and we have not seen any interruptions in this process. We want to ensure you that your academic unit, SGS, and the examiners involved are all committed to a fair and timely review of your work. We also realize that, for many graduate students, covid-19 has require changes in research plans. You and your supervisor are invited to draft and submit a covid-19 impact statement along with your thesis , so your examiners are aware of significant changes that were required.

The information below is intended to help you draft and submit your thesis/report to fulfill your program requirements.

Before you submit:

Thesis and Report Guidelines (full document)

• Read this first: introduction to writing your thesis
• How to structure your thesis and which style to use
• How to format your thesis
• Order of thesis content
• Authorship and acknowledgements (including co-authorship )

Additional resources and tools you might need or use :

• samples of a Title Page , Table of Contents , List of Tables
• o nline tutorials for writing and editing from Memorial's Dr. Cecile Badenhorst
• an excellent article on "what examiners do" when assessing theses

Preparing for submission:

• Here are all the steps involved in a Master's Thesis Examination Procedures and a Doctoral Thesis Examination and Oral Defence Procedures . You should discuss specific timelines with your supervisors.
• Aim to submit your thesis for examination at least four months before the convocation you hope to atend. SGS does not accept any responsibility for completing the prescribed procedure in time for the nearest convocation date unless the thesis is submitted by the prescribed date.
• If you are expecting to graduate, then you must apply through Memorial Self-Service at least by the time of submission of the thesis/report. Please consult the University Diary for the precise deadline.

Submitting for examination:

• When you and your supervisor agree your thesis is ready to submit, ensure you send a word and a pdf version of the work to your graduate officer or academic unit head.
• All theses submitted to SGS by the academic unit must be accompanied by a Supervisory Approval Form and either an Appointment of Examiners Form Master's Degrees or an Appointment of Examiners Form Doctoral Degrees . Although it is expected that, on the successful completion of all academic requirements, the student will submit a thesis to the Dean for examination with the approval of the supervisor and Head, the absence of such approval cannot prevent submission.
• Information on the possible outcomes of a thesis examination, time limits for revisions, and re-examination procedures can be found in the University Calendar . Required revisions and corrections are made by you in consultation with the supervisory committee.  
• The thesis examination is an arm’s-length process, therefore, there must be no contact between you or your supervisor and the examiners while a thesis or report is under examination.
• You must maintain your graduate registration until all academic requirements for your degree including thesis corrections have been met.

Oral defence (doctoral students only):

• In addition to a written thesis deemed acceptable to the University, doctoral students must demonstrate their ability to defend their work in a public oral examination. For this reason, the final decision on whether a student will be recommended for the award of the degree is made at the conclusion of the oral examination.
• A formal oral defence will normally take place only with the recommendation of the majority of examiners.
• The written examiners’ reports are discussed at the pre-oral meeting. The pre-meeting will last roughly 30 minutes and include the Chair, internal and external examiners, as well as supervisor(s) and committee members. The Chair will go over the defence procedure, examiner recommendation options, as well as answer any questions or inquiries by the attendees.
• The subsequent examination is public and chaired by the Dean of Graduate Studies or delegate. In addition to the examining board, the supervisor(s) will participate in a non-voting capacity.
• All oral defences are conducted as eDefences. Requests to fly external examiners to Memorial University are decided on a case-by-case basis.
• Doctoral students should be prepared to give a 15-25 minute presentation outlining the major contributions made by the thesis. Following the student’s presentation, the Chair will direct at least two rounds of questions from the members of the examination board. After each round of questioning, the supervisor(s) will be asked if they want to contribute any questions/comments. The Chair will not permit questions or comments from anyone other than the members of the examining board and supervisor(s).
• The Chair must be satisfied that the doctoral student has been thoroughly examined.
• Doctoral students should be prepared to defend the contents of the thesis in its entirety. Questions relating to the detailed content of the thesis and/or the relation of the general body of knowledge of the discipline to the body of material presented in the thesis are permitted.
• There will not be any time limits regarding questioning (minimum or maximum).
• At the conclusion of the public portion of the examination, the members of the examination board hold an in camera meeting to evaluate the performance of the student. Only the voting members of the examining board may vote on the outcome of the thesis and oral defence.
• Details on the oral defence and possible outcomes can be found in the University Calendar .
• Students must maintain their graduate registration until all academic requirements for their degree including thesis corrections have been met.

Final submission:

• The final version of a thesis found acceptable with or without corrections shall be submitted to the University within six months of the date on which the thesis and examiners’ reports are returned to the student’s academic unit.
• For final submission, all graduate students are required to produce one electronic copy of their thesis to the Head of their academic unit.
• The final version of your thesis should be in PDF/A (or PDF/A-1a) format (needed for the long-term archiving of electronic theses) and use the following naming convention: lastname_firstname_middlename_finalsubmissionmonthandyear_degree.pdf (e.g., Smith_John_James_122013_PhD.pdf).
• Click here for instructions on how to convert files to PDF/A format. For further help, you may wish to contact Memorial’s Digital Media Centre .
• Upon approval by the Head of the academic unit, please send the electronic copy of your thesis, along with any associated supplementary files, and a metadata file detailing your thesis information to [email protected] . We will confirm by email once you have successfully submitted your thesis.
• All graduate students are required to consult with their supervisory committee and Head of their academic unit regarding any restrictions to publication of the thesis before final submission.
• If required, a completed should be uploaded along with the thesis as a supplementary file.
• In cases where file size exceeds 500MB files may be submitted on DVD or CD. The disc sleeve should note student name, student number, degree program, and the academic unit. A completed Thesis Deposit Form must be included with CD/DVD submissions.
• At the time of e-thesis submission, a completed Recommendation for the Award of a Graduate Degree form should be submitted to SGS by the Head of the academic unit.

Publication:

• Graduate student theses are stored and preserved electronically through Memorial University Libraries’ Research Repository . A graduate student’s thesis is deposited only after a degree is conferred at Convocation in May or October. Documents in the Research Repository are searchable by the general public directly or via search engines like Google.
• Memorial University also participates in the Theses Canada program . Library and Archives Canada routinely harvests graduate student theses for storage in a central, publically searchable database.
• Graduate students interested in obtaining personal bound copies of their final thesis may order directly from Lehmann Bookbinding .
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Guidelines on Conducting MPhil and PhD Thesis Examinations

A. introduction.

• The thesis examination is mandatory for those enrolled in research postgraduate programs. It is conducted by a Thesis Examination Committee (TEC).
• An MPhil TEC normally consists of at least three faculty members. One is the thesis supervisor; if there are two thesis supervisors, they will both be on the committee, which will then comprise four members. Of the other two members, one is appointed as Chairperson. All three (or four) are voting members.
• A PhD TEC normally consists of a Chairperson and at least five voting examiners. The examiners include the thesis supervisor(s), two faculty members from the candidate’s major Department, one faculty member from outside the Department, and one faculty external to the University who has expertise in the field being examined.

B. Protocol

• A thesis examination takes place in a single session, comprising four parts. The first two parts are open to all members of the University and to departmental guests. The third part is closed to all but the candidate and the TEC, and the fourth is a closed session of the TEC in the absence of the candidate.
• The first part is an oral presentation by the candidate, emphasizing the major elements of the research and the results obtained. The candidate is expected to apportion no more than 60 minutes for the presentation.
• The second part is an open questioning session, involving the TEC members, and others in attendance. During this part of the examination, all questions are addressed through the Chairperson, and any dialogue is limited to the candidate and the individual questioner.
• The third part is a closed session involving a less formal discussion between the candidate and the TEC. Other than the candidate and the TEC, other persons are not ordinarily allowed to attend this part. However, in exceptional circumstances, with the prior agreement of the candidate, the thesis supervisor and the TEC Chairperson, other persons may be allowed to attend as observers. It should be noted that observers are not permitted to participate in the examination or attempt to influence the examiners in their assessment of the thesis examination. At the end of this part of the examination, the candidate and any observers must leave the examination venue.
• The fourth and final part is a closed session involving only the TEC, who then assess the quality of the thesis, and the performance of the candidate during the examination. In arriving at a decision, the votes of members of the TEC carry equal weight.
• The TEC will convey the outcome of the thesis examination to the student immediately after the thesis examination. The outcome will be recorded in a proforma report, the “ Report on Thesis Examination Results for Research Postgraduate Degrees ”, as described below.

The examination result will be reported in a proforma entitled “ Report on Thesis Examination Results for Research Postgraduate Degrees ” and submitted by the TEC Chairperson.

• This Report comprises several parts, to be completed by the examiners. Some parts need to be completed before the examination.
• The TEC Chairperson shall collect Part 2 of the report from all the examiners and complete Part 3 and Part 4.1 of the report.
• The report must include all comments that the TEC or the Chairperson wishes to make on the conducting of the examination, the quality of the thesis, the contribution of the thesis to the field of study, the performance and competency of the candidate in the thesis examination, and any other remarks relating to the thesis and the examination.
• All TEC members must sign the report.
• The TEC Chairperson shall return the completed form to Department for further follow up, as described below.

The Chairperson is also required to submit an online “ Chairperson’s Report on Thesis Examination ” to the HKUST Fok Ying Tung Graduate School (FYTGS)  within one week from the date of the thesis examination, reporting any irregularities observed during the conduct of the thesis examination.

D. Outcomes

A thesis examination, whether MPhil or PhD, will have one of the following results:

• Passed subject to minor corrections;
• Passed subject to major corrections;
• Failed but may be resubmitted; or

The protocols for handling each outcome are described below.

• Procedure. The Chairperson will forward the completed “ Report on Thesis Examination Results for Research Postgraduate Degrees ”, together with the final thesis, to the head of the candidate’s Department. After signing the report, the Department Head/Program Director will forward it to the Dean or the Dean’s designee for endorsement. Finally, the Department will forward it to the Academic Registry for action and record.
• Thesis submission deadline. If a thesis has been graded “Passed”, the candidate must, within one week of the date of the thesis examination, submit an electronic copy of the final thesis, together with the electronic copy of the authorization page containing the student’s signature, and a signature page containing signatures of the thesis supervisor(s) and Department Head/Program Director, to the University’s Thesis Submission System.
• Procedure. In this case, the Chairperson should pass the entire set of documents to the thesis supervisor(s) who should keep the report until the candidate has submitted a revised thesis to his/her satisfaction before the deadline as described below. The full set of documents, with the final thesis, should then be forwarded to the Department Head/Program Director and the Dean or the Dean’s designee for endorsement before passing to the Academic Registry for action and record.

Thesis submission deadline. In this case, the final thesis and the iThenticate report must be submitted within three months from the date of the thesis examination, or a date specified by the TEC, whichever is earlier. The iThenticate report should be handed in to the supervisor(s), via the Department for review and endorsement.

• The thesis supervisor will record whether the corrections are satisfactory in the “ Report on Thesis Examination Results for Research Postgraduate Degrees ”.
• Upon approving the thesis, the supervisor will forward the signed report, together with the final thesis, to the Department to obtain signatures of Department Head/Program Director.
• Candidates should allow sufficient time for the above approval processes.
• Finally, the candidate must submit an electronic copy of the final thesis, with the electronic copy of the authorization page containing the student’s signature and the appropriate signatures of approval, to the University’s Thesis Submission System.
• Procedure. In this case, the Chairperson should pass the entire set of documents to the thesis supervisor(s) who should keep the report until the candidate has submitted a revised thesis approved by the TEC before the deadline as described below. The full set of documents, with the final thesis, should then be forwarded to the Department Head/Program Director and the Dean or the Dean’s designee for endorsement before passing to the Academic Registry for action and record.

Thesis submission deadline. In this case, the final thesis and the iThenticate report must be submitted within 12 months from the date of the thesis examination, or a date specified by the TEC, whichever is earlier. The iThenticate report should be handed in to the TEC via the Department for review and endorsement.

• The revised thesis requires the approval of the full TEC.
• The TEC may recommend that a re-examination be held before a final assessment is arrived at. If a re-examination is required, the TEC membership should be the same as that for the first examination, unless otherwise recommended by the Department or FYTGS. In this case, the protocol is repeated, as for the first examination.
• The TEC will need to indicate whether the major corrections are satisfactory by completing the “ Report on Thesis Examination Results for Research Postgraduate Degrees ”. If the members are satisfied with the revised thesis, the final thesis must be submitted, with the electronic copy of the authorization page containing the student’s signature and the appropriate signatures of approval, to the University’s Thesis Submission System.
• In this case, the Chairperson should forward the duly completed “ Report on Thesis Examination Results for Research Postgraduate Degrees ” to the head of the candidate’s Department. After signing the report, the Department Head/Program Director will forward it to the Dean or the Dean’s designee for endorsement.
• The TEC membership may or may not be the same as that for the first examination.
• Failure in the second attempt of thesis examination will result in the automatic withdrawal of the candidate from the program of study and termination of registration at the University.
• Timeline. At least six months should pass before the second thesis examination. The protocol is repeated, as for the first examination.

E. Submission of Final Thesis

Thesis copy. On successful completion of the thesis examination, and after any required corrections, a candidate must submit a copy of the thesis (either hard or electronic) to the Department.

For final theses which have been graded “Passed subject to minor corrections” or “Passed subject to major corrections”, students are required to submit the thesis for originality check via iThenticate. The iThenticate report should be handed in to their thesis supervisor(s), and the Thesis Examination Committee if applicable, for review and endorsement via their Department.

The Department will arrange for the appropriate signatures of approval to be obtained, and then return the signed copy to the candidate. The candidate will upload and submit the Signature Page and the Authorization Page as a PDF file and the final thesis as another PDF file to the University’s Thesis Submission System. The candidate does not need to replace the two unsigned pages in the thesis PDF with the scanned signature pages. The candidate will receive email acknowledgement of successful upload. The final thesis will be forwarded to the thesis supervisor(s) for approval via the Thesis Submission System. 

Note: Candidates should allow sufficient time for the thesis supervisor(s) to check and verify their final version of the thesis, and for the Department to obtain signatures of approval before the submission deadline.

• The “ Report on Thesis Examination Results for Research Postgraduate Degrees ” will be submitted by the Department to the Academic Registry.
• Other documents. Candidates are also required to submit other documents to the Department together with the final thesis. Details are available on the FYTGS website.
• Failure to meet submission deadline. If a candidate fails to submit the final thesis before his/her specific deadline, the candidate will be deemed to have failed to meet the thesis examination requirements of the University and to have failed the requirements of the degree program being pursued. If the candidate fails to meet the deadline in submitting the final thesis, and the delay is through no fault of the candidate, the candidate may appeal for an exception to the above rules in a written letter. The appeal must be supported by the thesis supervisor(s) and PG Coordinator of the Department, and endorsed by the relevant School. It should then be submitted to FYTGS for further arrangements.