Masters Thesis Examination Policy

This policy is subject to, and should be read in conjunction with, the VUW Masters Regulations mandated by FGR.

Procedure

Update July 2020: Please refer to the FGR FAQ about deadlines https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/covid-19/students/covid-19-information-for-postgraduate-students

• Student hands in thesis, alongside the Supervisor Statement to the Faculty Thesis Advisor.
• The Thesis Advisor will then provide a confirmation that the thesis was accepted for examination and ask the student to complete the Statement of Authorship and confirm their mailing address.
• The physical copies and a receipt from the Faculty are taken to the Postgraduate Coordinator who will handle the examination process, unless the thesis is under embargo (in which case Faculty will handle it).
• The Postgraduate Coordinator (hereupon acting on behalf of the HoS) will consult with the supervisor to identify a set of possible examiners, both external and internal.
  • The supervisor(s) may first enquire of the possible examiners whether they would be willing to examine the thesis, but should make clear that the appointment of the examiner will be subject to approval by the Associate Dean (Postgraduate Research), hereupon acting on behalf of the FGR.
• The examiners request form (with courier addresses etc.) goes to the Associate Dean (Postgraduate Research) for approval.
• The thesis is then sent/given to the examiners who write independent reports, which are sent back to the Postgraduate Coordinator.
• When the examiners' reports have been received, the Postgraduate Coordinator passes copies of the reports to the supervisor(s) for comment. The supervisor(s) may, if he/she wishes, write a supervisor's report.
• The Postgraduate Coordinator circulates the examiners' reports and the supervisor's report (if the supervisor chooses to write one) to the examiners hoping that (via email discussion) then can arrive at a common grade, if necessary.
  • The Masters Thesis Policy is followed if further grade resolution is required and may involve a third "binding examiner" or other options.
• Once the grade is agreed upon, Postgraduate Coordinator prepares a memo, signed by HoS, and sends it to the Faculty Office.
• The thesis changes requested of the student by the examiners are typically minor and are signed off as per the VUW Masters Policy. In the case of ECS, the supervisor signs off on the changes.

Necessary Documents

ECS Supervisor Statement

ECS Examiner Approval Memo