6-12 months

Plan & Present findings

• Start planning for submission
• During semester before submission, candidate and supervisor organise a public presentation of research findings at the School and subsequently submit the presentation to a peer reviewed conference.

10 weeks

Arrange examiners

• Candidate writes a 100 word summary of the thesis in consultation with supervisor (to assist with selection of examiners;copy to Admin Research Student Coordinator).
• Candidate gives the Chair of Examiners a written list of persons whom they do not want as examiners (copy to Admin).
• Supervisor talks with the School Research Committee about potential examiners (normally one international examiner and one from interstate). See notes on the Nomination of Examiners for a Research Master.
• Supervisor informally asks potential examiners if they can examine the thesis and on time.
• Supervisor completes Nomination of Examiners Form and sends it to the Chair of Examiners for approval (copy to Admin).
• Chair of Examiners sends formal letters to examiners (typed by Admin).
• Administration to enter examiners in Merlin.

6 weeks

Confirm submission date

• Supervisor and candidate meet to check that the thesis will be completed on time.
• If it seems that the thesis will be late, the student may request an extension of candidature. The Application for Extension to Candidature and/or Scholarship form to be completed by the student and supervisor and given to Admin for Head of School approval and processing in Merlin.

• Candidate submits three thermally-bound copies of the thesis to the Chair of Examiners with the completed Submission of Master by Research Thesis form.
• Candidates are strongly advised to retain another hard copy of the thesis for their own use during the examination process.
• Chair of Examiners retains one copy of thesis and forwards the other copies of the thesis and the "Submission of Master (by Research)" form to Administration. The form is placed in the student's file.
• Administration posts a copy of the thesis, covering letter and accompanying forms to the examiners (copies of letters to student file).
• Administration changes the student to “registered” mode on Merlin.

Chair of Examiners forwards examiners' reports to Administration for student file / copies to supervisor.

Chair sends the edited examiners reports (with comments and amendments required but not examiner name or marks) to the candidate. Candidates are required to consult with their supervisor and the Chairperson of Examiners regarding this matter. Extensions of time may be sought by completing an "Application for an Extension to Submit Amendments, Revisions or Clarifications" or "Application for an Extension to Re-submit".

Examination results

1. The amended thesis is submitted to the Chair of Examiners and if satisfactory, the thesis is passed. The method of submission of amendments should first be discussed with the supervisor and/or Chair of Examiners.

2a. The amended thesis is submitted to the Chair of Examiners and if satisfactory, the amendments are resubmitted to the examiners with a letter from Chair of Examiners to confirm that the thesis is ready for review. The method of submission of amendments should first be discussed with the supervisor and/or Chair of Examiners. A copy of the letter is to be kept on the student’s file.

2b. If the examiners are unable to agree, a third examiner will be appointed by the Research Committee of the School of Physiotherapy.

3. Where a result is deferred, the candidate is usually given a specified period of time to re-write the thesis. In this case, the three bound copies of the re-written thesis must be submitted for a second examination. In this situation candidates are required to re-enrol.

Candidate provides two permanently bound copies of the thesis to Administration, one (on acid-free paper) for the University Library and one for the School Library. Normally, supervisors also each receive a bound copy.

Thesis to be accompanied by a signed Libary submission form (explained in the PhD Handbook section on "Confidentiality and copyright of theses").

In rare cases the Academic Registrar may direct that any thesis or work deposited be withheld from access to library users, or placed on restricted access, for a specific time (see the PhD handbook section "Restricted access to a thesis"). Written applications for restricted access must explain the reasons fully, specify for how long the restriction is sought, and include supporting comments and signatures from the applicant's supervisor(s) and Head of Department.

Chair of Examiners will notify Administration of the result and a pass letter is sent to the candidate. The candidate also receives copies of the examiners reports.

Administration staff enter the result on Merlin and codes the student as “Complete” in Merlin.

You are encouraged to publish your thesis electonically to bring it to the attention of the international research community. Options include

University of Melbourne ePrints Repository
- a free service with wide international links.

Australian Digital Theses (ADT)
- distributed database of digital versions of theses produced at cooperating institutions in Australia.

UMI Dissertation Services
- publishes theses and sells copies in electronic, microform and print formats.

The Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Graduation Ceremony is usually held on the first Saturday in December. The School prefers that its students graduate at this ceremony but there are other ceremonies throughout the year.

Information about graduations (including other dates) is available from the Student Information System at https://sis.unimelb.edu.au/section-1.html#s3