University Regulations

Online Regulations

The following regulations apply to students commencing study within the 2013 academic year (January 2013-December 2013). For previously published regulations, refer to the Calendar archive (Academic Quality Assurance Unit website).

L. Theses

Notes:
1.
These regulations apply to all theses. They might also apply to postgraduate dissertations, projects, and other original work if the regulations for the degree or diploma specify that the work is subject to the conditions laid down in General Course and Examination Regulations Section L, and shall be submitted in accordance with those regulations.
2.
Unless otherwise specified in these regulations, 'relevant Dean' means the relevant Faculty Dean in the case of Master's theses and the Dean of Postgraduate Research in the case of PhD or DMA theses. HOD/HOS means the Head of Department or School, and the HOD/HOS may delegate to a programme director or other suitable person. Where a thesis student is enrolled in a research centre, HOD/HOS means the Director of the Centre.
3.
For regulations specific to individual degrees, see the relevant Master's Degree Regulations, the PhD Regulations and Guidelines and the DMA Regulations and Guidelines. Students and staff are also referred to the Postgraduate Studies website, where policies and guidelines relating to thesis work are available.
4.
Any departure from the following regulations requires the approval of the Dean of Postgraduate Research acting on behalf of the Academic Board.

Supervision

1.
(a)
All theses shall be supervised by more than one supervisor.
(b)
One supervisor shall be designated the Senior Supervisor and shall be responsible for ensuring administrative and regulatory requirements are met.
(c)
The Senior Supervisor will normally be a member of the continuing academic staff of the University and shall be appointed by the relevant Dean on behalf of the Academic Board, after considering the recommendation of the HOD/HOS (see Note 2. above).
(d)
Any other supervisors shall be appointed by the HOD/HOS in consultation with the candidate and the Senior Supervisor. Such supervisors need not be members of the student's school/department and need not be members of the continuing academic staff.
(e)
Other supervisors may be designated as co-supervisors, associate supervisors or members of a supervision committee, as appropriate.
(f)
The names of the supervisors and their affiliation to the University if they are not continuing academic staff shall be recorded on the Research Proposal in 2 below.
(g)
The relevant Dean may, after consultation with the HOD/HOS, replace a Senior Supervisor, and the HOD/HOS may replace any other supervisor if there is good reason to do so.

Registration

2.
All students undertaking research towards a thesis shall submit for registration a Research Proposal to the relevant Dean no later than:
(a)
two months from the date of enrolment for the thesis work for full-time Master's students;
(b)
four months from the date of enrolment for the thesis work for part-time Master's students;
(c)
four months from the date of enrolment for the thesis work for full-time Master's students enrolled concurrently for thesis and course work;
(d)
six months from the date of enrolment for doctoral students;

unless the relevant degree regulations specify otherwise.

3.
Every PhD Research Proposal shall be accompanied by the 'PhD Registration (Research Proposal)' form which includes a standardised agreement signed by the student, the Senior Supervisor, and the HOD/HOS, and which sets out expectations regarding supervision, resource availability, and feedback.
4.
Theses shall be written in English or te Reo Māori.

Note: The stipulation that a thesis will be written in English or Māori does not preclude significant portions of illustrative or analytic material being written in a language other than English or te Reo Māori where this is appropriate. Students intending to submit and defend their thesis in te Reo Māori must seek permission at the time of registration. A recommendation will be made by the Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Māori) or nominee on the candidate's fluency and literacy in te Reo Māori in the thesis subject and the likelihood of being able to find appropriately qualified examiners for the thesis.

Progress Reports

5.
All students undertaking research towards a thesis shall submit progress reports to the relevant Dean. The progress reports will be accompanied by the standard form on which the Senior Supervisor comments on progress. Master's students will complete a progress report every six months; the first report being due six months after the date of registration of the Research Proposal. Doctoral students will complete a progress report every six months; the first report being due six months after the date of registration of the Research Proposal.

Submission

6.
(a)
At the time of the initial submission to the Postgraduate Office for examination, a thesis should normally be in electronic form. The candidate shall submit a PDF of a thesis embodying the results of the research and the “Use of Thesis” Form, which can be found on the Postgraduate Studies website.

Note: A student may request to submit a hard-copy of the thesis for examination rather than a .pdf version if the format of the thesis requires such.

If submitted in print form, a thesis should be soft (not ring) bound. If submitted in print form, two copies of a Master’s thesis and two copies of a Doctoral thesis are submitted for examination.

Examination

7.
Oral examinations for PhD candidates will normally be conducted in English or te Reo Māori. The work shall be examined by such persons as are appointed by the Council on the recommendation of the Dean of Postgraduate Research, after consultation with the HOD/HOS. The HOD/HOS must consult with the supervisors.
8.
(a)
For Master's students there shall be two examiners:
i.
one examiner must be external to the University;
ii.
one examiner will normally be a continuing staff member of the University but not a member of the supervisory team.
(b)
For PhD students there shall be two external examiners. At least one of these shall normally be from overseas. No member of the supervisory team may be an examiner.
9.
The student has the right to make a case to the Dean of Postgraduate Research that a nominated person not be an examiner.
10.
When the work is forwarded for examination, it shall be accompanied by a certificate from the Senior Supervisor stating that the work embodies the results of research carried out by the candidate under the direct supervision of the supervisors; and stating what part the supervisors played in the conduct of the research and the preparation of the work.
11.
The examiners of any thesis shall each submit independent reports to the Postgraduate Office. After both PhD examiner reports have been received, copies shall be given to the candidate's Senior Supervisor, who has the right to make a written report to the Dean of Postgraduate Research on any aspect of the examiner's reports.
12.
In the event of any disagreement between examiners, after the Department has taken all reasonable steps to achieve consensus, the Dean of Postgraduate Research may appoint an adjudicator, in which case the result shall be determined by the adjudicator. This regulation is subject to any other regulations providing for the resolution of disagreements.

After Examination

13.
After a candidate has been approved for the award of the appropriate degree, he or she shall deliver to the University Library Collections an electronic copy (as a PDF file) of the final version of the thesis, to be uploaded to the library website. A candidate may also deposit a hard-bound copy of the thesis if he or she so wishes.