sample phd thesis examination report

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Investigating PhD thesis examination reports

2004, International Journal of Educational Research

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• Final Doctoral Exam

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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Main navigation

• Graduate Students
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• General requirements
• Preparation of a thesis
• Initial Thesis Submission
• Thesis examiners
• Evaluation of written thesis
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• Final Thesis Submission
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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 .

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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.

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PhD Exam and Thesis Info for Final Semester

Information for completing your degree can be found at completing your degree    (see also completing degree requirements in the graduate school handbook.), please also review on the graduate school's web site  final semester procedures, please contact the physics graduate studies office (prof. jon pelz, kris dunlap, crystal moloney) with any questions., timeline for finishing phd.

When       

Who and What to do

Before final semester

Student: Check your earned credit hours and verify that you will have 80 credit hours when you complete your final semester.  Discuss with Advisor when to schedule PhD exam. You must be enrolled for the term you will finish your degree.

Faculty Advisor: Discuss with student expectations for written thesis (eg., scope) and any possible ODS accommodations.

Before start of term and no later than 2nd Friday after a term starts  see graduation calendar:

Student: Submit " Application to Graduate" on gradforms.osu.edu

Faculty Advisor: Approve "Application to Graduate" form to approve student's intent to schedule oral exam and submit thesis before end of the term.

Graduate Studies Office: Review degree requirements and approve "Application to Graduate" form.

First Week of Term

Student: Set and confirm PhD Oral Exam date with advisor and your other 3 committee members.

Check Graduate School's Graduation Calendar for mid semester deadlines for scheduling defense to participate in graduation for the current term.

Student:   Please check the Graduate School's graduation calendar to know the defense due date for the current term if you are planning to participate in the current semester's graduation. For Autumn it is in the 14th week around November 22nd, just before Thanksgiving. Spring it is in the 14th week around mid-April. For Summer it is in the 11th week around mid-July.

When you schedule your defense AFTER the mid semester deadlines, you will automatically roll over to the End of Semester option for graduation processing during the NEXT term and your degree is conferred at next semester's graduation. 

At least 3 weeks before date of PhD Oral Exam

Student:  Schedule room in Physics Research Building and submit  “Application for Final Exam”  form on gradforms.osu.edu to officially register with the Graduate School to schedule the date of your PhD Oral Exam.

Send advisor and committee members your thesis draft.

Faculty Advisor and Committee members:  Approve  “Application for Final Exam”  form   via gradforms.osu.edu no later than 14 days before exam date.  Read thesis draft before date of examination.

No later than 14 days before PhD Oral Exam date

Student:  Monitor your approvals for your  “Application for Final Exam”  form on gradforms.osu.edu on the history tab. Status Pending means department approvals needed.  Pending-GS means all department approvals received and pending Graduate School approval. Pending GS will be the status on your form until a few days before your oral defense date.  Contact Kris Dunlap or Crystal Moloney for assistance in reserving a large conference room in Physics Research Building. The exam location will be needed to complete the  "Application for Final Exam"  form.

Faculty Advisor and Committee members: Approve “Application for Final Exam” form via gradforms.osu.edu no later than 14 days before exam date.

Student:  undergo dissertation format check by/at the Graduate School. See    https://gradsch.osu.edu/format-review-and-submission  for more information.  Starting November 2020, students will need to send an e-mail, including their full name and University ID number, to  [email protected]  to request the format check. The Graduate School will respond by sending the student a link via which they may upload their document for review.

Approximately 7 days before PhD Oral Exam date

Student: Per email from Graduate School Graduation Services office, deliver copy of dissertation to Graduate Faculty Representative.

Student: Check logistics of exam including room, projector, *zoom or other video application for any members participating remotely.  * (See PDF for using Zoom for oral defense.)

Day of PhD Oral Exam

Student:  Deliver your defense. (Total exam period including deliberation by committee is at most 2 hours.)

Faculty Advisor and Committee members:  Within 24 hours, record approval on gradforms.osu.edu "Report on Final Examination" form

Day After PhD Oral Exam

Before deadline to submit final dissertation (link to calendar TBD)

Student:  Create new registrion for  Ohio Link here .  You must use your name.#@buckeyemail.osu.edu as your email address as no other email will work.  After receiving a password via email, you can reset your password and log in to your account. 

Advisor : Review final written thesis and enter approval on  "Report on Written Report"  form on gradforms.osu.edu.

Deadline 8 AM for last business day of current semester graduation OR the End of Semester (EOS) option.  (see calendar above)

Student:   To upload your thesis on  OhioLink  according to the associated deadlines for current semester graduation or End of Semester (EOS) options, from their right menu select Electronic Thesis Dissertation Center (ETD) and you lang on their search page for dissertaions. At the top right of the page, click "Submit your Thesis or Dissertation" text and then "Go to ETD Submission Site" link on that page and that finally takes you to the login page.    Please note that multiple parts, such as the abstract, must be uploaded individually and checked for formatting. Also, you must enter your committee names, key words for search results, and select information about copyright and publication which will take 15-45 min if you check all your information.

After you complete you complete your Oral Exam and submit your final thesis, the Physics Graduate Studies Program Coordinator will submit your termination in Workday.  

Student:   After you complete your defense and your final written thesis submission the Physics Graduate Studies Program Coordinator will submit your termination in Workday. You will receive a full paycheck for December on 12/31, 1/2 a paycheck for May posted on May 31 if finish in the Spring, and 1/2 a paycheck for August if finish in Summer term.  No steps need to be taken by you other than ensuring your final payment is received.  

If transferring to Post Doc or Research Staff position at OSU, your transfer process must start 6 Weeks before the start of the next term.

International students on F1 visas should contact & check website for Office of International Affairs (OIA)  about filing for your OPT. OPT processing can take up to 3 months. 

• Guidelines for Written Thesis
• Guidelines for Oral Exam

Guidelines for written thesis:

        Formatting guidelines:  See  https://gradsch.osu.edu/format-review-and-submission for more information.  Starting November 2020, students will need to send an e-mail, including their full name and University ID number, to  [email protected]  to request the format check. The Graduate School will respond by sending the student a link via which they may upload their document for review.

        Thesis content/structure: Student should discuss scope of thesis in advance with advisor and possibly the advisory committee. Thesis is on your original work but the scope may reflect norms in the subfield of physics and/or special details for individual research groups. 

        3 weeks before Exam:  Send the draft of your written thesis to your advisor and committee.  This draft should include the entire chapters of your thesis but could be missing some final edits, formatting or final figures. 

        After Oral Exam:  Make revisions to written thesis as specified by committee and submit to advisor for final approval. 

        Upload final thesis to OhioLink:    See last the 2nd to last row in table above

Guidelines for oral exam (including the public portion vs. committee & student only):

          Logistics of exam:   Contact Kris Dunlap or Crystal Moloney for assistance in reserving a large conference room in the Physics Research Building. The exam location will be needed to complete the "Application for Final Exam" form. Room should include an accessible chalk or white board & you should plan to bring your own chalk or white board markers and eraser. Room should include accessible electrical outlets for laptop and projector.  If your research group does not have a projector, you can reserve one from the Physics Front Desk.  See below for Zoom or other video conference technology for exam. Plan for exam to last 2 hours and request to book your room for a 1/2 hour before your exam start time to allow for set up.

• If the written or oral exam must be postponed for any reason OR if there is a change of committee member due to an emergency,  the student MUST NOT start the exam until he/she/they has filed a  "Committee and Examination Petition" form  on  gradforms.osu.edu . BEFORE starting the oral exam . this form needs immediate online approval by the  Advisor and a member of the Physics Graduate Studies office before the form will reach the Graduate School for their final approval.  The   Graduate School’s Office of Graduation Services will update the  “Report on Final Examination” and the "Report on Final Document" forms in order to change out the faculty member's name to allow the exam to be valid. Please also contact the Physics Graduate Studies office to alert them of the issue so that they can facilitate the petition to notify the Graduate School that one is pending their immediate review .  Usually the exam can proceed within 5 to 10 minutes of the notification to the Graduate School so the delay is usually minimal.

           Public part of the exam:   The public portion shall be at most 45 minutes, during which the candidate makes an oral presentation, typically using slides shared from his/her computer. Per Physics custom, questions by the committee during the presentation are allowed, and questions by guests are allowed at the discretion of the committee.  At the end of the presentation or by the 45-minute mark, whichever is earlier, all guests will be dismissed and the closed portion of the exam will continue.

          Closed part of the exam:   Committee members are each guaranteed roughly 15 minutes for questions during the private portion, but they can defer some of their time to other committee members. Per Physics custom, any committee member can follow up on questions initiated by another member.  

          Zoom based exam:  See current Graduate School guidelines for details of how video conferencing is allowed. The following amendments of the above guidelines apply for Zoom exams.

• Committee members should identify and iterate logistical questions or special issues by email and/or zoom in advance of the exam.
• Exam should be completed in two hours unless there are technical problems (e.g., zoom or internet goes out for one or more committee members for a few minutes), in which case it can be extended within reason (up to 30-45 minutes).
• The exam shall be conducted by CarmenZoom. The committee chair (usually the main advisor) is responsible for setting up and hosting the zoom meeting. The time allocated should begin at least 15 minutes before the start of the exam and allow 3 hours in total duration in case of delays. (The start may be 30 minutes before the exam because scheduledmeeting start times for CarmenZoom are spaced at 30-minute intervals unless adjusted by hand.)
• The candidate should connect to the zoom meeting and try out screen sharing at least 15 minutes before the start of the exam. The committee should join 5-10 minutes in advance to allow for introductions and to try out zoom logistics.  
• For the public portion a zoom link will be sent in advance to invited guests (the link should not be generally broadcast).  At the end of the presentation or by the 45-minute mark, whichever is earlier, all guests will be dismissed (the host must ensure they have exited) and the closed portion of the exam will continue.
• A whiteboard can be shared on zoom (it is an option when you share your screen and works with a mouse or your finder on a touchpad) if needed to answer questions. Another solution that allows the candidate to write answers is to connect to the zoom meeting independently with a cellphone using the Zoom app and propping the phone so the camera shows a piece of paper for writing equations or drawing pictures. Whatever solution is used, it should be tested in advance of the defense.
• During the committee deliberation the candidate must exit from the exam or be sent to a Zoom breakout room but should remain in contact by email or messaging so he/she can rejoin the exam at short notice.