Submission and Examination Process

Submitting your thesis is the final stage before examination. Research students must follow the University guidelines on the submission of MA by Research/MPhil/PhD theses. These guidelines also provide guidance on the presentation of your thesis, as well as how and where it should be submitted. Students studying on a ‘by Practice’ basis should also follow the guidelines on format of submission provided below.  

Variations to Submission Requirements

This document specifies requirements for the form and size of dissertations/theses for programmes in Creative Writing/Film by Practice/Performance Practice. It is recognised however, that there are likely to be candidates putting forward proposals for the production of an artefact outside of the parameters specified. Where this is the case proposals should be put forward as early as possible, preferably prior to application. The College of Humanities welcomes such proposals and will give due consideration to the viability of accepting a submission in an alternative format. You will not be able to submit a thesis or dissertation in a format other than those specified without approval – this should not be viewed as a formality, and approval must be sought in all cases of submission in an alternative format. 

The College Director of Postgraduate Research will consider such requests in accordance with the relevant procedures. This will mean that they take account of: 

  • the scope and content of the proposal;
  • the ability of the candidate to complete the proposed work within the period of registration for the programme in question;
  • whether the College is able to appoint an appropriate supervisory team to support the proposal;
  • consideration of the appointment of a Board of Examiners;
  • in what format the submission to the examiners will take place, and in what format a final submission to ORE will be made. 

Dissertations or theses will not be accepted for examination outside of the submission requirements specified, except where specific approval has been given for a variation to submission and this approval has also been appended to the submission.

Research Council Funded Students

Please be aware that if you have been in receipt of a Research Council studentship to fund your PhD you must ensure that you have acknowledged the support you have received in your thesis.

In the UK system there are normally two examiners – one from within your own University (the ‘internal’ examiner) and one from outside (the ‘external’ examiner), although in some instances three examiners will be appointed, two of which will be ‘external’. It is up to your supervisor to nominate suitable examiners for approval by the College Director of Postgraduate Research. Your supervisors will discuss possible examiners with you, and should then complete the appropriate nomination form on MyPGR. Examiners must be nominated at least three months before your expected submission date. 

Your supervisors cannot act as internal examiners, but one supervisor may be present at your viva as an observer only; if you wish to invite a supervisor to attend this should be indicated on the submission form. The internal examiner should be someone in or close to your field of study; however they do not necessarily have to be in the same subject area or College of the University. The external examiner should be from a reputable research-led University and should normally hold the academic rank of Senior Lecturer (UK) or above. 

The College of Humanities promotes the appointing of a Non-Examining Independent Chair (NEIC) as good practice for all viva examinations. NEICs are normally appointed when any member of the examination team is examining a PGR thesis for the first time, or for the first time at the University of Exeter, or if the thesis being examined has been submitted in an alternative format. 

The NEIC’s role is, however, distinct to that of the Board of Examiners and they are not a member of the Board. The NEIC does not take any part in the assessment of the quality of the thesis, and therefore should not therefore have read the thesis.  The NEIC does not need to be a subject expert, nor even a member of the discipline of the student.

For further information on the nomination of Boards of Examiners please see  Submission and Examination Process in the College of Humanities’ PGR Student Handbook. 

As with other PGR programmes, a Board of Examiners will be appointed to undertake the examination of your thesis/dissertation. For ‘by practice’ programmes, your supervisory team will need to be mindful that:

  • A Non-Examining Independent Chair (NEIC) must always be appointed.
  • Due to the specialist nature of much practice-led research, additional consideration should be given to the identification of examiners at an early stage to ensure that appropriate examiners can be identified.
  • Examiners may need to be appointed at an earlier stage than normal, if they will need to be present for live events prior to the final submission of the thesis/dissertation.
  • Consideration should be given to the information that examiners need about the way in which submission will take place.
  • For Performance Practice work the Board of Examiners is usually appointed when the first performance is going to be shown.
  • For a PhD the Board of Examiners usually witnesses two out of three performances. The Board of Examiners do not have any direct contact with the student prior to the viva.
  • The Board of Examiners do not begin the process of formal examination until the final submission of the dissertation/thesis, with the inclusion of documentary (filmed) evidence of the performances.

Performance Practice

  • For Performance Practice work the Board of Examiners is usually appointed when the first performance is going to be shown.
  • For a PhD the Board of Examiners usually witnesses two out of three performances. The Board of Examiners do not have any direct contact with the student prior to the viva.
  • The Board of Examiners do not begin the process of formal examination until the final submission of the dissertation/thesis, with the inclusion of documentary (filmed) evidence of the performances.

Once examiners have been appointed and the thesis submitted neither you nor your supervisors should have direct contact with the examiners, except to arrange the formalities of examination. It is the responsibility of the internal examiner to liaise with the external examiner and with you, the student, when arranging the date and time of the examination of the thesis. 

Your examiners will read the thesis, provide preliminary reports on it and then meet with you for an oral examination – this is known as a ‘viva voce’ or, more commonly, a ’viva’. 

In the College of Humanities a viva examination for MPhil and MA by Research degrees is not always necessary, and may be waived if the examiners agree that the result is either a straight pass or pass with minor corrections.   

A viva must be held, however, if it is judged to be necessary by one or more of the examiners; or if there is substantial disagreement between the examiners; or if the examiners are not inclined to recommend the award of the degree for which the work was submitted (aside, if necessary, from minor corrections); or if the student wishes a viva examination to be held.   

The University has a Handbook for Examination of Postgraduate Research programmes which should be consulted for full details. It is important that you prepare for the viva and your supervisors will be able to help you with this preparation. The University’s Researcher Development Team run an excellent session ‘Preparing for Your Viva’ which is available as both a face-to-face session and as an online module which can be accessed on the Exeter Learning Environment (ELE), and we strongly recommend that you attend this session ahead of your viva. A good guide is also provided by Rowena Murray, called ‘How to Survive Your Viva’ (OUP-Magraw Hill, 2003).

On the basis of reading your thesis and the oral examination, the examiners will produce a joint report with a recommended outcome. 

At the first examination of a PhD this can be:

  • the award of the degree,
  • the award of the degree subject to minor or major amendments being made to the thesis,
  • a requirement to revise and resubmit the thesis within a stated period. 

Upon resubmission, the possible outcomes are the award of the PhD (possibly subject to minor or major amendments), the award of an MPhil (possibly subject to minor amendments), or outright failure. 

In the case of an MPhil, the examiners may recommend to:

  • award the degree,
  • award the degree subject to minor or major amendments
  • require revision and resubmission within a stated period. 

Upon resubmission, the possible outcomes are the award of the MPhil (possibly subject to minor or major amendments) or outright failure. 

In the case of an MA by Research, the examiners may recommend to:

  • award the degree,
  • award the degree subject to minor or major amendments;
  • require revision and resubmission within a stated period. 

On resubmission, the possible outcomes are award of the MA by Research (possibly subject to minor or major amendments) or outright failure.