PREPARATION, SUBMISSION AND EXAMINATION OF
THESES FOR A RESEARCH DEGREE
The full regulations for higher degrees are set out in the Quality Manual available on http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/current/regulations/
Content of Thesis
Your supervisor’s signature on the ‘Notification of Intention to Submit’ form acts as a confirmation that the thesis is the result of work done mainly while you have been registered as a candidate for the degree for which you are submitting at The University of
Nottingham.
A candidate is not precluded from incorporating in the thesis any part of work already submitted by them for a degree in this or any other university, provided that in the application to the University for admission to the course for the degree for which s/he is registered, or at an appropriate later date, they state a desire to do so, and in the thesis itself indicate the part of the work so incorporated. In any such case the candidate may be required to produce their previous work.
Presentation of Thesis
After the end of your period of registered study (for students on doctoral and MPhil degrees), you are allowed up to one year (for full-time students), or two years (for parttime students), in which to write up and present your thesis for examination unless you hold a scholarship of more than 3 years’ duration with terms and conditions requiring you to submit within four years of commencement of course. You will not be permitted to present a thesis after the conclusion of this period without receiving formal approval from the
University for an extension of time. Applications for extensions of time should be made through Student Administration, E Floor, Portland Building or Student Services Centre,
Sutton Bonington for students based on that campus, the Student Registry at UNMC or the
Graduate School at UNNC.
Graduation
If you propose to graduate at the July ceremonies, you must give formal notice of your intention to submit no later than 1 February. Although there are no formal submission deadlines for possible graduation, you should aim to submit your thesis for examination no later than 1 April. The equivalent dates for December graduation are 1 July and 1
September. The examination process is however dependent on the availability of the
Examiners, and no guarantee can be given that the necessary procedures will have been completed in time for a specific ceremony. The University does offer an Inter-Ceremony
Graduation procedure, held in March and October of each year, for candidates who have successfully completed the examination process by 20 February/September and prefer not to wait for the formal ceremonies. This option confers the degree upon you in your absence and the certificate is sent to you by post. You are not however entitled to attend a ceremony at a later date.
Restriction on publication
Any work submitted for the degree of MPhil or PhD (or other doctoral degrees) shall normally be free from any restriction on publication or consultation. Senate may, however, in special cases impose a restriction on publication or consultation of a thesis for period not exceeding two years from the date of the award of the degree, with the possibility of an extension of that restriction up to a maximum of five years. Any such restriction shall not affect the award of the degree. If you wish this condition to apply to your thesis, you will need to apply to Quality and Standards in Academic Services Division in advance of

examination.
Layout of Thesis
Softbound version for Examination
Theses should be presented on A4 paper, normally with 12 font typescript. There should be a margin of at least 1.5 inches, preferably 2 inches (5cm), on the left side of the page, both for typescript and diagrams, to allow for binding. Other margins should be of at least 1 inch
(2.5 cm).
Hardbound Version for Hallward Library
Theses should be presented on A4 paper, normally with 12 font typescript, and good quality printing to allow for reproduction. There should be a margin of at least 1.5 inches, preferably 2 inches (5cm), on the left side of the page, both for typescript and diagrams, to allow for binding. Other margins should be of at least 1 inch (2.5 cm). Candidates may have their hardbound copy/ies printed either single- or double-sided if they wish.
Guidelines for the submission of compositions for the degrees of AMusM and AMusD may be obtained from Student Administration. eTheses Archive
In addition to the hard-copy thesis submission, doctoral and MPhil candidates should submit a copy of their thesis in electronic format. The eTheses Archive is a digital library of research degree theses awarded by the University of Nottingham. This digital library provides a significant opportunity for better dissemination, giving much greater exposure to the research itself and raising the profile of the researcher. There is clear evidence that this immediacy of access dramatically increases the usage of current work by the international research community. You can register with the system and upload a copy of your thesis as a PDF document. Log on to the system (http://etheses.nottingham.ac.uk/) and follow the simple instructions in the deposit guide.
Submission
Candidates must submit to Student Administration two soft-bound copies of their thesis, eg spiral-bound or plastic binding. Theses presented in lever-arch or box-files will not be accepted.
After any amendments required by the examiners following the viva voce examination have been made and approved by the Internal Examiner (unless otherwise advised), two hardbound copies of the thesis (with the exception of candidates in the Faculties of Arts and
Schools in Social Sciences, who should submit one hard-bound copy) must be placed with
Student Administration. The final date for this to ensure eligibility for graduation in either
July or December can be obtained from Student Administration. Doctoral degree and MPhil candidates should be aware that no recommendation for the award of the degree will be put forward without receipt of the final hard-bound thesis and the following:
* 1 copy of a short abstract (not more than 300 words) (2 copies for students in Faculty of
Engineering)
* 1 copy of the title page (see page 3 for format) (2 copies for students in Faculty of
Engineering)
* These copies are in addition to those which you are required to bind into the thesis.

Final Submission
The first page of the thesis should be a title page, formatted containing details as shown below
THE GEOLOGY OF THE EAST MIDLANDS
(full name of student) JOANNE ROBINSON, BSc.
Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
(month & year of graduation) JULY 2009
The title page should be followed in this order:
The Abstract page *
The Acknowledgements page
The List of Contents
The Main Body of the Thesis
* If desired, a list of published papers can be included after the abstract page
Professional black buckram binding is required. The sheets should be whipstitched and bound with white end-papers and linen joints into a buckram cover.
The spine should be lettered in gold in such a way as to be readable when the volume is lying flat with the front cover uppermost. It should show the volume number (in the case of two or more volumes), the degree for which the thesis is submitted, the year of graduation and the name of the candidate, as follows:
VOL No. PhD 2009 JOANNE ROBINSON
The title of the thesis should be embossed in gold letters on the front cover in a position above the centre, as follows:
The Geology of the East Midlands
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NB Please allow adequate time for binding, probably a week to 10 days. However, it is worth checking with the binder beforehand what the delivery time will be. Warn your binder beforehand about any folded maps or special problems in the binding of your thesis.