Third & Fourth Year PhD Students

If you are not submitting your PhD thesis prior to October 31st, you MUST complete an Annual Review. Information on the Annual Review can be found on The Adelaide Graduate Centre website.

The School of Medicine encourages all students to submit their PhD by Publication. If you cannot complete your PhD by Publication, you can submit a Conventional PhD Thesis. You should discuss these options with your supervisor. More information can be found in the The Research Handbook 2012.

Three months prior to submitting your thesis for examination you MUST complete a  Notification of Intention to Submit form.

PhD Thesis by Publication

PhD by Publication is the preferred format in the School of Medicine.

A thesis submitted by publication should comprise of a portfolio of publications that have been published and/or submitted for publication and/or text in manuscripts that must be closely related in terms of subject matter. The must form a cohesive research narrative and not have been accepted for any other University award.

Publishing papers during your candidature is considered highly regarded and will benefit your future career in research. The decision to present your thesis by publication needs to be made early in your candidature so you can ensure that by the time you are ready to submit, you have already got papers lined up.

The suggested format for a thesis by publication is

• Title Page
  • Thesis title in full
  • Name of the student
  • Name of the School
  • Date when submitted for the degree
• Table of Contents
• An abstract (no more than 500 words)
• Student declaration (the specific wording can be found in the The Research Handbook 2012)
• Acknowledgment of any help given or work carried out by any other person or organisation
• Statments of the contributions of jointly authored papers (this is required for each paper and more information can be found in the The Research Handbook 2012)
• An introduction and overview (generally in the form of a literature review)
• The main body of work (i.e. your publications)
• General discussion to tie each paper together and the implications of your research in the wider field
• Bibliography & appendices

Conventional PhD Thesis

The suggested format for a conventional thesis is

• Title Page
  • Thesis title in full
  • Name of the student
  • Name of the School
  • Date when submitted for the degree
• Table of Contents
• An abstract (no more than 500 words)
• Student declaration (the specific wording can be found in the The Research Handbook 2012)
• Acknowledgment of any help given or work carried out by any other person or organisation
• If you have sought professional editorial assistance you must include the name and a brief description in the acknowledgements section.
• A comprehensive review of the literature
• Detailed methods and materials
• The research chapters, including any specific methods, results and discussion
• General discussion to tie each research chapter together and the implications of your research in the wider field
• Bibliography & appendices

For more detailed information please refer to the Specifications for Thesis available on The Adelaide Graduate Centre Website.

Exit Survey

All research students are required to complete the Exit Survey. When the Graduate Centre receives the completed Notification of Intention to Submit form, you will be sent a copy of the Exit Survey Information Sheet. The survey can be completed online and MUST be completed prior to submitting your thesis for examination.

 

Appointment of Examiners

Your supervisor will nominate three examiners for your thesis (2 plus a backup).You will not be advised on who your examiners are. You have the right to object to potential examiners. Details on how to do this can be found in the The Research Handbook 2012.

 

Submission

You must submit three bound copies of your thesis, together with an identical electronic copy in PDF format on a CD. The three copies can be either hard or soft bound. Please make sure that you have signed the declaration in your thesis.

 

You must also submit a completed Certification of Thesis for Examination form, signed by your Primary Supervisor and The Head of School.

Submission must be done before 4.30pm or it will not be accepted by the Adelaide Graduate Centre.

If your candidature has lapsed, been suspended or terminated, please read The Research Handbook 2012 for more information.

Notification of Outcome of Thesis

If you have not received notification of the outcome of your thesis examination three months after submitting your thesis, please contact The Adelaide Graduate Centre to enquire about the progress of the examination process.

 

Re-Submission

You have three months in which to make any amendments and re-submit your thesis. After you have made any amendments that are requested by your examiners, you need to submit a final hard bound copy of your thesis to the Adelaide Graduate Centre, along with an identical electronic copy as a PDF on the CD you are provided after your first submission. You must also complete the Confirmation of Amendments and ADTP form, signed by your Primary Supervisor and The Head of School. If you are required to make major amendments there are different requirements for re-submission. These are outlined in The Research Handbook 2012.

 

Calling yourself "Doctor"

While it is tempting to refer to yourself as "Doctor" as soon as you have submitted, you are not offcially given this title until your degree has been conferred. You will be provided information about your conferral via email, or you can contact The Adelaide Graduate Centre for more information. Conferrals are done three times per year; 1st March, 31st July and 31st December.

 

Once you have submitted your thesis, you need to apply to graduate through Access Adelaide. DO NOT wait until your have received notification of your examination outcome as this may result in you missing the closing date for graduation applications (which may be up to two months prior to the ceremony). Graduation ceremonies are held in April and September each year (offshore graduation ceremonies are held in March/April each year). More information on graduations is available here.