SENATE REGULATIONS FOR THE PRESENTATION AND
SUBMISSION OF RESEARCH DEGREE THESES
PREAMBLE
These regulations shall apply to all theses submitted for the award of PhD, MD,
MCh, MPhil, MScD by Research and doctoral degrees by examination and thesis.
These regulations shall not apply to PhD by Published Works.
1
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
1.1
References in these regulations to 'a thesis' should also be taken to include
any non-standard forms of submission/assessment approved by the
Academic Standards and Quality Committee in respect of particular
candidatures.
1.2
Every candidate's research shall be completed by the presentation of a thesis
which embodies the methods and results of the research.
1.3
In respect of PhD and EngD, the thesis shall not normally exceed 80,000
words in length (excluding appendices and footnotes).
1.4
In respect of MD, the thesis shall not normally exceed 60,000 words in length
(excluding appendices and footnotes).
1.5
In respect of MPhil, MScD and MCh, the thesis shall not normally exceed
50,000 words in length (excluding appendices and footnotes).
1.6
In respect of Doctoral Degrees by Examination and Thesis (Professional
Doctorates), excluding the EngD, the thesis (which may be referred to
alternatively as a 'research portfolio') shall normally be between 35,000 and
50,000 in length (excluding appendices and footnotes), in accordance with
programme regulations.
2
PUBLICATION OF WORK PRIOR TO SUBMISSION AND ITS INCLUSION
IN A THESIS
2.1
A candidate is at liberty to publish the whole or part of the work produced
during his/her candidature prior to its submission as a whole, or part of a
thesis, provided that in the published work it is nowhere stated that it is in
consideration for a higher degree.
2.2
A series of academic papers, whether published or otherwise, is not
acceptable for submission as a thesis, with the exception of PhD by Published
Works.
2.3
Research work already published, or submitted for publication, may be
incorporated in a thesis. With the exception of Doctoral Degrees by
Examination and Thesis (see 2.4 below), papers themselves may not be
included in the body of a thesis but may be adapted to form an integral part of
a thesis and make a relevant contribution to a main theme. Publications
derived from the work described in a thesis may be appended as
supplementary material, not to be assessed, at the back of a thesis.
2.4
In respect of Doctoral Degrees by Examination and Thesis, the thesis, or
research portfolio, may include, as one element, one or more academic
papers, in accordance with programme regulations.
3
PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH DEGREE THESES FOR EXAMINATION
3.1
The thesis may be presented for examination in a temporary, but secure
binding with a glued spine, which is sufficiently robust to withstand transit to
and from the examiners. It should show on the spine the candidate's name
and the degree for which s/he is a candidate.
3.2
For the purpose of examination (including re-examination), a candidate shall
submit the items listed below to the Head of the School concerned, or his/her
designated nominee.
3.2.1 the required number of copies of the thesis. The thesis should be typed and
copies should be temporarily bound. For most candidates the required
number of copies will be two. A Head of School / Examining Board Convenor
may, however, appoint an additional, advisory examiner; in such cases, the
candidate will be required to submit an additional copy of the thesis. Each
copy must contain:
.1
a title page, which states:
-
the full title of the thesis
-
the degree award title for which the thesis is presented
-
the year of presentation (or re-presentation in the case of a thesis
that is to be re-examined)
-
the candidate's name;
.2
a summary not exceeding three hundred words;
.3
a statement signed by the candidate declaring that, except where
indicated by specific reference, the work submitted is the result of the
candidate’s own investigation and the views expressed are those of the
candidate;
.4
a statement signed by the candidate declaring that no portion of the
work presented has been submitted in substance for any other degree
or award at this or any other university or place of learning, nor is being
submitted concurrently in candidature for any degree or other award.
The preliminary pages of the thesis may also include a dedication,
acknowledgements, list of abbreviations and similar (these are not
compulsory);
.5
a list of contents, which includes the page number for each item listed.
3.2.2 an additional loose copy of the summary;
3.2.3 a completed 'Notice of Submission' form.
3.3
Where portions of investigation were conducted in collaboration with, or with
the assistance of, others, the extent and nature of these contributions should
be highlighted clearly in acknowledgements, as well as referenced within the
main body of the text.
3.4
All theses shall be presented in English or Welsh. Quotations and technical
terms, however, may be given in the language in which they were written.
3.5
Candidates must ensure that material authored by a third-party that has been
used in their thesis has been sufficiently acknowledged.
3.6
Bibliographic citations and references must be consistent throughout the
thesis.
3.7
A candidate may not amend, add to or delete from the thesis after it has been
submitted, unless this is required as a result of a decision of an Examining
Board.
4
FORMAT FOR THE PRESENTATION OF THESES
4.1
For the main text of the thesis, double or 1.5 spacing in a font type and size
which ensures readability must be used (for example 11 point in a font such
as Arial or Trebuchet, or 12 point in Times New Roman or Garamond).
4.2
Characters employed in all other texts (e.g. footnotes) must not be less than
10 point. Single spacing may be used for the summary, quotations, footnotes
and references.
4.3
The thesis may be single-sided or double-sided.
4.4
To aid readability, the margin at the binding edge of any page should be not
less than 40mm; other margins should be not less than 20mm.
4.5
Preliminary pages must be numbered in roman numerals. Thereafter page
numbering must consist of a single sequence of Arabic numerals throughout
the thesis.
4.6
A4 paper must be used and should be of good quality and sufficient opacity
for normal reading.
4.7
Drawings, figures, charts, etc. may be in black ink and/or in colour; in all
cases they must be clear and legible.
4.8
Diagrams, maps and similar documents, of a size unsuited to be bound within
the thesis, should be submitted in a portfolio of reasonable size and shall bear
the particulars stated to be necessary for the volume.
5
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
5.1
Candidates may submit non-text material, such as audio or video recordings,
with their thesis, if such material forms a useful addition to, or explanation of,
work contained in the written submission and if such material constitutes the
most appropriate method of presenting the information concerned. Any
material of this type shall be submitted in a format approved by the
candidate’s School for the purpose of the examination.
5.2
Special provision in respect of projects involving design
In the case of candidates for PhD and MPhil, where design is an integral part
of the research investigation and has given rise to material that cannot be
bound into the thesis, the submission shall include drawings, models or other
forms of presentation that result from the design. The design work(s) shall be
recorded for examination in an appropriate format determined by the relevant
School and form part of the final record.
6
SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE CREATIVE AND
PERFORMING ARTS
6.1
In the case of candidates for the degree of PhD or MPhil in Creative and
Critical Writing, the submission may take the following form: a major work or
portfolio of works of original writing, accompanied by a commentary (of
between 20,000 and 40,000 words for PhD; of between 10,000 and 20,000
words for MPhil) providing a critical analysis and placing the work in its
academic context.
6.2
In the case of candidates for the degree of PhD or MPhil in Music
Composition, the submission may take the following form: a major work or
portfolio of works of original composition, accompanied by a commentary (of
between 10,000 and 20,000 words for PhD; of between 5,000 and 10,000
words for MPhil) providing a critical analysis and placing the work in its
academic context.
6.3
In the case of candidates for the degree of PhD or MPhil in Music
Performance, the submission may take the following form: a public recital or
public lecture-recital of approximately ninety minutes' duration, together with
either a supporting thesis (of between 40,000 and 50,000 words for PhD; of
between 20,000 and 25,000 words for MPhil), or an appropriate scholarly
edition with analytical commentary. The public recital or public lecture-recital
shall be recorded in an appropriate format determined by the School of Music
for the record and form part of the final record.
7
POST-EXAMINATION: DEPOSIT OF SUCCESSFUL THESES IN THE
DIGITAL REPOSITORY
7.1
Once the Examining Board has made recommendation for an award, and has
approved the required corrections where applicable, the candidate will be
required to upload the final version of the thesis into the University's digital
repository before confirmation of the award. Candidates may prepare for their
own use hard, bound copies of the final version of the thesis.
7.2
Where the thesis contains material authored by a third-party for which there
are copyright restrictions, the candidate must ensure that the copyright
licence/permission extends to the preservation of the thesis and for making it
available to others for download. Alternatively, the candidate may make
available to others a redacted version of their thesis which excludes the thirdparty material.
7.3
The University Awards and Progress Committee will only consider
recommendations for an award following confirmation that the final version of
the thesis has been uploaded into the University’s digital repository (and see
9.3 below).
7.4
In exceptional circumstances, where copyright law requires the redaction of
significant parts of a thesis, the thesis may be held by the University in print
form and not stored in the digital repository.
8
POST-EXAMINATION: UNSUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES
8.1
All copies of a failed thesis submitted by the candidate shall be returned to the
candidate, once the process of examination (and the hearing of any
subsequent appeal) has been completed.
9
OWNERSHIP AND ACCESS
9.1
The final copy of the thesis, approved by the Examining Board and held in the
University's digital repository is the property of the University.
9.2
Candidates (other than those whose registration status was staff-candidature)
are not employed by the University and, as such, may own intellectual
property (IP) in work which they are solely responsible for producing. In some
circumstances, however, a student candidate will have assigned his or her
ownership interest in IP to the University or to a third party; this usually relates
to sponsorship arrangements which have required such assignment. In other
circumstances, the student's supervisor(s) or research group will have
contributed to the creation of IP: to maximise the prospect of successfully
commercialising the IP, the student may be encouraged to assign ownership
rights to the University on the same basis as academic staff.
9.3
An accepted principle of academic research at any level is that the research
methods and results should be open to scrutiny, discussion and debate.
Hence, a thesis accepted for a doctoral award or MPhil/MScD shall normally
be openly available and subject to no security or restriction of access. On
uploading the thesis to the digital repository, the candidate shall be required to
confirm either:
9.3.1 that the thesis may be made immediately available; or
9.3.2 that the thesis may be made available after expiry of an approved bar on
access (see below); in this case, the title and summary of the thesis shall
normally be freely available.
9.4
Bar on Access
Notwithstanding 9.3 above, a request may be submitted to the Chair of the
Academic Standards and Quality Committee to place a bar on access to a
candidate's work for a specified period of time.
9.4.1 Cases will be considered where, for example, there are grounds for
commercial or public sensitivity, individual confidentiality or security, or to
allow the author to prepare the work for publication.
9.4.2 The application must be made at the outset of the programme, or as soon
thereafter as is practicable. The application may be made by the supervisor or
made by the candidate with the support of the supervisor; all cases must be
endorsed by the Head of School or his/her nominee.
9.4.3 A bar on access is normally of no longer duration than two years. In
exceptional cases a bar on access may exceed two years, but shall not
exceed five years. A bar on access in order to allow the author to prepare the
work for publication is normally of no longer duration than one year.
9.4.4 Any approved bar on access will also apply to members of the University's
staff.
9.4.5 Where a bar on access has been approved, the summary and title of the
thesis shall normally be freely available.
9.4.6 Although the bar shall be regarded as operative as soon as the work is
submitted, the period approved shall be calculated from the date on which the
candidate is formally notified by the University that s/he has qualified for a
degree.