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Preparation for Submission of Thesis
The following pages provide details on the preparation and deposit of your thesis, at both initial submission stage and then for the final thesis post-examination. For more information on the expected format of thesis and referencing system in your subject area, please refer to your subject Handbook.
As you prepare for your initial submission, please look out for training opportunities through the Researcher Development Programme which will support you in preparing the e-version of your thesis.
The QAA has funded a Collaborative Enhancement Project led by University of South Wales, Coventry University, University of Huddersfield and Sheffield Hallam University to develop a series of videos and resources to help postgraduate researchers prepare for their viva examination. These resources are not institution-specific and they are free and open to postgraduate researchers from all institutions. They showcase other postgraduate researchers' real-life experiences and possible viva questions, and are designed to help you shape and develop your preparations, anticipate potential questions and test out possible answers.
The videos should be viewed when you are working towards your research degree viva examination.
You can watch them in any order but it will be more beneficial if you watch them in the weeks leading up to your viva rather than the day before as they could lead to further discussions with your supervisory team if you hear something that you had not thought about before.
Submission of Thesis for Examination
PhD Researchers will be required to electronically submit a PDF copy of the thesis for examination. This should be completed at least one month before the viva date.
If your examiners require a soft-bound copy of your thesis we will email you so that you can arrange for the thesis to be printed and delivered to the Doctoral College.
You should also submit your thesis through TurnitIn plagiarism detection software via Blackboard (under 'Courses' then 'PhD Researcher Turnitin'). Once you have the output report from TurnitIn, please upload both this and your PDF thesis into the 'Submissions and Examinations' tab on PhD Manager.
Submitting early?
The minimum period of registration for full-time researchers is two and a half years and for part-time researchers it is four years. If you plan to submit before your normal registration period is up (e.g. three years for full-time and six years for part-time), you may apply for early submission.
This requires your supervisory team to make a statement to the effect that your work, in their opinion, meets the levels of effort and contribution to knowledge expected of a PhD thesis. They may wish to include rationale as to why you have managed to submit earlier than the period stipulated.
This case will be reviewed by the Doctoral College and, if approved, your viva preparations will be progressed.
Approval of Amendments
If your viva outcome required submission of minor amendments to the satisfaction of the internal examiner, you should submit the revised version via PhD Manager to have the corrections formally approved. You may liaise with the internal examiner to determine whether tracked changes or another method of highlighting the amendments are helpful. Note that this workflow needs to be approved BEFORE submitting your final version of your thesis.
Once the Board of Examiners is satisfied that you have met the requirements of the award and any amendments have been approved by the Internal Examiner, you should submit, on PhD Manager, one final electronic version, in PDF format.
Final submission of theses
Deadlines for submission of final thesis and associated workflows will be displayed on the PhD Manager noticeboard as soon as they are available. Therefore, you should ensure that both you and your supervisors have completed all parts of the Deposit Samples workflow and that your supervisors have completed the Reassignment of Intellectual Property Rights Workflow . Please allow sufficient time for supervisors to complete this aspect of the submission.
You can view the progress of each by clicking into the sections on PhD Manager. Again, there are guides available in PhD Manager to help you through this process.
When uploading your final thesis please ensure it is labelled as YearSurnameInitialDegree, e.g. 2021BloggsJPhD.
Guidance
- Including copyright material in your thesis
- Restricting access to your thesis
- Notes of guidance on the presentation of theses
Researchers Pool
On submission of your thesis for examination, you will be eligible to sign up for the Researchers Pool, which the University will use to use to fill short-term Research Assistant positions. The purpose in establishing this pool is mainly to enhance the employability of PhD researchers who have recently been awarded a PhD or submitted their thesis for examination.
In this section
Restricting Access to your thesis
There may be a valid reason why you need to restrict access or put a hold on the publication of your thesis, either to both paper and electronic versions or just to the e-thesis.
Depositing the final electronic version of your thesis
Details on the final submission of your thesis on PhD Manager
Submitting work through Turnitin
At Ulster, Turnitin Originality Software is used for this purpose and PhD Researchers are assigned an area within Blackboard through which they can upload work for submission through the software.
Format of Thesis
Notes of Guidance for the Presentation of Theses for Research Degrees
