The student needs to complete an intention to submit form at least one month PRIOR to the date that they intend to submit their thesis.  Departments send this form to the Graduate School. The nominated examiners must then be approved by the Office of Postgraduate Studies.

After their approval the Graduate School contacts the External Examiner for his/her formal written acceptance to act as an examiner. Without receipt of this agreement the thesis cannot be sent to the examiners.

Students complete the submission documents which are submitted to their department along with the two copies of the thesis and an electronic version of the thesis . The department then forwards the thesis to the Registry. Please note that the thesis cannot be dispatched to the examiners without the student being clear of any debts to the University. Fee checks will be completed by the Graduate School and require no action on the part of the Student; unless they have an outstanding balance to pay.

Staff Candidates, who were exempt from tuition fees, must pay a submission fee of (currently)  £205 MPhil/£248/PhD  before their thesis can be examined.  Submission fees can be paid by cheque, in person to the finance office or by telephone (tel: 01970 622040)  with a bank or credit card.  Please provide your student number along with your payment.  If payment is made to the Cashier please ask for confirmation of the payment to be sent to the Academic Registry. If your department is arranging for payment on your behalf through a departmental code please contact us (tel: 01970 622272/email:pgsstaff@aber.ac.uk) for further instructions.

All students who are re-submitting their thesis must pay the fee as outlined in their result letter.

NO. All copies of theses must be sent via the Graduate School. Please inform the Graduate School of instances where this request has been made.

Arrangements for the Viva Voce are made by your department.  Please liaise with the Postgraduate Co-ordinator in your department for your viva date. You will receive written confirmation from the Graduate School once your thesis has been sent to the examiners and your viva should normally be held within 12 weeks of the Examiners receiving your thesis. However, on occasion this may not be possible due to scheduling conflicts.  Your department should always keep you informed of any delays in organising your viva.

*NEW*: Following the viva voce you will receive a copy of the 'Interim Confirmation of Result 'form. This should confirm to all parties details of the result and will provide information on any administrative processes that must be followed.

Successful subject to Minor corrections or Amendments:

The Chair of your viva is responsible for ensuring that you receive written and clear feedback of any minor corrections ( 4 week deadline)  or corrections and  amendments ( 6 month deadline) that have been requested by the examination board.  This information should be given to you on the day of the viva or very soon thereafter.  You should also receive written confirmation of the date that these corrections are due. It should be made to clear to you to whom you are to submit any corrections  and by what means.

The Examiner’s Report is sent to the Graduate School confirming your result.  You will receive a copy of the joint report along with your official result letter from the Academic Registry.

Your supervisor can advise you about your corrections during the correction period prior to you submitting them to the examiners.  When you are satisfied that all the required corrections have been made, the thesis should be submitted  once to the examiners.  Once submitted the thesis may not be referred back to the candidate for further amendment or improvement.

Please note that regardless of the method by which the corrections were sent to the Examiners for checking (electronic or hard copy)  if the corrections are considered not to have been completed to the satisfaction of the examiners the thesis will be deemed to have been unsuccessful with no opportunity to re-submit.

The University recognises that many research students are no longer based in Aberystwyth.  Corrections may be sent to the examiners electronically under the following conditions:

That the corrections are submitted once, and once only to the examiners

The electronic version has been saved as a read only , password protected or locked for editing setting for example in   Word “Protect Document” setting.

Once the required corrections or amendments have been completed and approved the student needs to provide two permanently bound copies of their thesis to their department.

The Spine should bear the year in which you submitted irrespective of when your corrections were completed. For example, if you submitted in September 2012 but your viva was not held until 2013 the Spine should still bear the 2012 date. Fully Re-submitted theses should bear the date of re-submission.

You are required to submit an electronic copy of your final version of your thesis to your department along with the hard copies. This copy will be deposited into the Aberystwyth Research Portal and also in electronic resources listing the title, bibliography and abstract. In addition, in certain circumstances students may choose OPT OUT to prevent electronic dissemination of their thesis on the Aberystwyth Research Portal. In this instance the electronic copy will be held on file but only the title, bibliography and abstract will be made available.For further information forms and procedures please contact Information Services  ( tel. 01970 622396 / email: is@aber.ac.uk).

Your official Result letter will be sent by the Academic Registry once your department has confirmed in writing to the Graduate School  that the final bound version of your thesis has been deposited into the libraries.

The Chair of your viva is responsible for ensuring that you receive written and clear feedback on your viva and the points that have been addressed prior to resubmission.  This information should be given to you on the day of the viva or very soon thereafter. Both copies of your thesis should also be returned to you.

 

Once the Graduate School has received the Official Report from your department we will write to you confirming your result.

 

The Academic Registry will write to you with your official results letter. The letter will confirm your latest resubmission date and the required re-submission fee. At this time you will also receive a copy of the Joint Report of the examiners.  Your student record will be updated to reflect your re-submission deadline.

 

It is important to keep in contact with your supervisor and your department to ensure that you make all the modifications to the thesis with are required by your examiners.  You should also ensure that your supervisor has the opportunity to see the fully-revised thesis and to give you comments on it before it is re-submitted.

 

When you resubmit your thesis you will need to complete another intention to submit form  and the same submission documents as you did for your first submission.

 

The same administrative procedures apply to resubmission as to the first submission, including completion of an intention to submit form and the dispatch of theses by the Graduate School.

 

The decision to waive a viva can only be made once the re-submitted thesis has been reviewed by the examiners, who are satisfied that the required changes have been made. If this is not so, then the viva may only be waived in exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the Head of the Graduate School.  

 You have 20 days from the date of your official result letter to appeal the decision of the Examination Board.  Please read the following web pages for the Grounds and Procedures of Appeals:  http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/regulations/appeals/pg-appeals/

The deadline for students who wish to attend the formal graduation ceremony is the end of the first week of June.  Students must have fully completed their Examination process including completion of all corrections and submitting of the final bound versions of their work to their department to be eligible to attend the ceremony.

If you have indicated that you wish to attend the graduation ceremony our staff will contact your by email in early April 2015. If you have an active Aberystwyth Student email please check this account first. If your student account is now closed you should check your alternate email address.

If you are currently in the process of completing your corrections and are likely to be completed the examination process by early June  it is recommended that you register for Graduation  pending your formal result.

Should you not receive  the email  message please contact gaostaff@aber.ac.uk at the earliest opportunity.

Yes. Please contact the Graduation Office  gaostaff@aber.ac.uk  for details.   Please note that your Official Certificate will not be issued until you have actually attended the ceremony.

Alternately you may choose not to attend the ceremony and graduate in Absentia.

If you choose not to attend the graduation ceremony, your Certificate will be dispatched by the Graduation Office 6-8 weeks following the official result letter from the Academic Registry. Your result letter will indicate the postal address where your certificate will be posted . It is essential that you inform the Graduation Office gaostaff@aber.ac.uk  of any changes to your address

The Academic Registry can produce, on headed paper bearing the University stamp, confirmation that you have qualified for your degree and that your Official Certificate is pending. To request a letter please contact aocstaff@aber.ac.uk Tel: 01970 622022. Students must have fully completed their examination process including completion of all corrections and submitting of the final bound versions of their work to their department for the Academic Registry to provide this confirmation. Please allow 3-5 working days for preparation of the letter.

Please keep in touch with the University by informing us of any changes to your address by email to: pgsstaff@aber.ac.uk or by writing to the Academic Registry, Cledwyn Building, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3DD

Useful contacts :

Diane Jones via pgsstaff@aber.ac.uk  or 01970 622272

Finance Office: Cash Office, Student Welcome Centre, Penglais, Aberystwyth, SY23 3FB  fees@aber.ac.uk tel: 01970 622040

Graduation Office: gaostaff@aber.ac.uk

Aberystwyth University Academic Rules and Regulations Web Pages   

http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/regulations/