Thesis examination

Once a notification of your intention to submit has been received, your Department nominates examiners and submits the recommendation to the Standing Committee on Assessment (SCA) for approval. Your supervisor(s) will have been consulted on who will be suitable examiners and you should be asked to confirm that there are no known conflicts of interest with the selected examiners. There will be at least two, and not more than three, examiners, including at least one external examiner from another university.

Following the submission of your thesis for examination, PhD, EngD and MPhil candidates (and Masters by Research candidates depending on the programme and/or at the discretion of the examiners) will be required to take part in an oral examination known as a viva. The purpose of this oral examination is to allow your examiners to explore your work and satisfy themselves that: 

• • • the work is of appropriate quality;

    • you are well acquainted with your subject matter; 

    • you have applied appropriate research methods;

    • the work is your own, or if a collaborative piece, that your contribution is adequate. 

The oral examination also allows you to respond to any shortcomings identified by the examiners. Your oral examination will take place within three months of submitting your thesis.

Oral examinations for all research degrees will be recorded. These recordings are used only in the event of an appeal based on the conduct of the examination, or when an additional examiner has been subsequently appointed to resolve a dispute. Recordings will be destroyed one year after the result of the examination has been confirmed, or one year after appeal proceedings have been concluded.

Your department will contact you to arrange a suitable date and time for your viva.

If you are a disabled PGR, you may need to request reasonable adjustments to the examination process. Please see information on disability support in the support and wellbeing section.