PGR Examination

This page has information on thesis submission, the viva voce and what happens after the viva.

Thesis submission

Appointment of Examiners

As you get closer to the submission of your finished thesis, your Supervisor will discuss with you the appointment of your ExaminersLink opens in a new window.

Two Examiners will be appointed, one an Internal Examiner who is usually a member of staff in the Warwick History Department, and an External Examiner, who will be based at another institution. The Internal Examiner may have been involved in your progress during your studies, for example they may have been one of the Assessors for your Upgrade in Year 1, but the External Examiner will not normally have had any involvement in your work previously.

The nomination of your Examiners is ultimately the responsibility of your Supervisor, who makes the recommendation. The form is then checked by the History Director of PG Research before submission to the Doctoral College for consideration. It is the University Doctoral College, not the Department that ultimately appoints your Examiners.

Ideally the Doctoral College should receive your completed Nomination of Examiners Form at least one month before you intend to submit.

Students should complete Part 1 of the form and then forward to supervisor(s) for completion of Part 2. To allow for time for supervisors and the History Director of Postgraduate Research to sign the form, students should aim to complete part one of the form two months before intended submission.

If you are not able to submit the completed Nomination of Examiners Form one month before thesis submission, you can still submit your thesis but there may be a delay in the thesis being dispatched to your examiners.

Students and supervisors will be contacted once the Examiners have been approved.

Regulations

All of the regulations governing the preparation, submission, and examining of your thesis (for MA by Research, MPhil and PhD) can be found on the Doctoral College pages:

Guide to Examinations for Higher Degrees by Research

The Doctoral College FAQ page

answers questions covering the entire submission process:

Examination FAQs

Once ready to submit, an electronic version of your thesis, together with completed Thesis Submission Declaration Form(Form 3) should be submitted to the Doctoral College via the online form.

Students should follow guidelines for presentation and referencing for details of how to avoid plagiarism and further advice on formal requirements, style and proofreading.

The Viva Voce

All candidates for doctoral degrees and for the degree of MPhil are required to attend an oral examination (Viva Voce) after the first submission of the thesis. In the case of MA by Research degrees, an oral examination shall be held where one or both examiners considers this to be necessary to the examination process, at the discretion of the examiners.

FAQs

When will the viva take place?

Examiners are asked to examine the thesis within a maximum of four months from the date on which they receive it (three months for Master鈥檚 by Research) as Examiners need sufficient time to read and assess what you have written.

Your internal examiner or examination advisor will contact you directly to organise the date, time and location of the viva interview.

Can I do my viva online?

Vivas may be held fully online, in person or with one or more parties joining remotely. It is not necessary to receive approval from the Doctoral College prior to making arrangements for the video conference, although you will be asked to confirm by email that you are happy to proceed in this way.

Full guidance on the process is provided by the Doctoral College:

Viva by video conference

How long will the viva take? Why is the viva important?

The viva can make a difference - most examiners will say their judgment of a thesis has been altered by the performance of the candidate at a viva. In addition, this is the final stage of your thesis, and to finish with a confident exposition of your material will be an important experience for presenting your research in the future.

How should I prepare?

To prepare for your viva, review your thesis thoroughly, read it again, consider the key points you want to make at the viva itself. Reflect on what the examiners are looking for - this will probably be: a clear research question(s); an appropriate methodology, reflections on methodology, conclusions based on data and sources, implications for theory and practice and for you to show awareness of where your work fits into the 鈥榝ield鈥�.

You can request a mock viva to be conducted by your supervisor(s) if you think that would be useful.

You might like to use some of these questions to help in the rehearsal:

In one sentence, what is your thesis?
How did your research emerge?
What was the motivation for your research?
What is your contribution to research in your subject area?
Why is the problem you have tackled worth researching?
What would you do it differently if you could do your thesis again?
What have you learnt from your research experience?
What are the strongest/weakest points of your thesis?
Why have you tackled problem x that way?
What are the alternatives ways of approaching your research question?
What is the evidence to support assertion xx?
How have you tackled issues of reliability and validity?
How could you improve your work?
Has your view of your research topic changed during the course of the research?
What are the most recent major developments in your areas?
Who are the most important contributors in your field, how does your thesis support or counter their work?
How would you describe your methodology and why did you decide to use this?

How should I defend my thesis?

The examiners are looking for you to defend your thesis. This means being assertive and standing by your main argument, backed up with appropriate evidence, without appearing defensive or aggressive. It means arguing for your thesis but being open, for example, accepting there are aspects of the research that you could have done differently and being aware of any weaknesses. You are in a much stronger position if you can accept there are weaknesses, and say what you would do about them, rather than pretend they do not exist!

What are the possible outcomes?

The regulations state:

鈥淭o satisfy the requirement of the degree of PhD, a thesis shall constitute a substantial original contribution to knowledge, which is, in principle, worthy of publication. The thesis shall be clearly and concisely written and well argued and shall show satisfactory knowledge of both primary and secondary sources. In addition, it shall contain a full bibliography and, where appropriate, a description of methods and techniques used in the research.鈥�

Here, a key criterion is whether part of the thesis is publishable 鈥� obviously, you are in a much stronger position if you have been able to publish some of your work before but, if not, be prepared to explain where you would publish it and why you think it is publishable. Using these criteria the examiners will agree on an outcome as per Section 38.11 of the University Regulations. The most common outcomes are listed below:

Award of the doctorate
To make minor corrections - these really are minor corrections, typically typographical errors or some very limited rewriting. These will be explained to you and you should address them within a month. Usually, this involves the removal of typographical errors and perhaps the re-writing of very limited sections of the thesis. If you are an MA by Research candidate, the internal examiner will email you a list of required corrections.
Major corrections - You will be sent notes for guidance prepared by the examiners on the revisions you are required to undertake, which will need to be completed within 12 months or such shorter period as recommended by the examiners. Please not that this outcome should not be construed in any way as 'failure' but rather as an opportunity to present your research in the best possible way and in line with the examiners' recommendations
Resubmission of the thesis - Here you will be sent notes for guidance prepared by the examiners on the revisions you are required to undertake. A time limit will be set for the resubmission. You can only resubmit your thesis once and you may or may not have a second viva examination. There will be a resubmission feeLink opens in a new window payable when students resubmit.
Award of an MPhil
Resubmission for MPhil
No degree awarded

Further details on outcomes are available in section 13 of the Doctoral College Guide to examinations for higher degrees by researchLink opens in a new window

Many theses require resubmission and while this may be disappointing after all the work you have put in, you will have a clear set of guidelines to which to work and the support of your supervisor. It may be even more disappointing to be awarded an MPhil or asked to resubmit for an MPhil, but this is still a good degree and recognised as such.

Reasonable Adjustments

If you have reasonable adjustments in place, the department will contact you about these in advance of your viva. The department will then ensure that your examiners have received these details so that the viva is conducted appropriately.

Relevant reasonable adjustments could include rest breaks or the way that questions are asked.

If you feel that you would benefit from reasonable adjustments, please contact Disability Services to get these put in place.

Student Advice

Some of our former students made short videos about their experiences of having a viva. Watching these may help you prepare for your own viva.

Approaching the Viva

The Purpose of the Viva

Examiners guidance

During the Viva

Lessons for the Viva

After the Viva

What happens after the viva is complete, from corrections to conferral and life beyond graduation.

Final submission

You may have been asked by the examiners for minor or major corrections. A corrected version of your thesis should be sent to the internal examiner within the time allowed, with changes marked in some way that is clear and easy to follow. The internal examiner will need to confirm to the Doctoral College that the changes are satisfactory.

Once you have confirmation that corrections are approved by the examiners, copies of the final thesis need to be deposited into the Library and the electronic repository (declaration forms required)Link opens in a new window. The corrected copy should be submitted to the Doctoral College Office for forwarding to the library. You are able to restrict access to your thesis if you wish.

You will be invited to the next graduation ceremony for the formal award of your research degree. You may wish to consider publication of part or all of your thesis.

Final thesis submission form

For minor/major corrections, your revised thesis should be submitted directly to your examiners.

Please see the final thesis submission form for details of final submission guidelines.

The Library Declaration and Deposit Agreement form states that "If your thesis contains material protected by third party copyright, you should consult with your department, and if appropriate, deposit an abridged hard and/or digital copy thesis."

The Library Copyright Advisors have advised that in such circumstances any images should be redacted for the e-submission. If further advice is required, please contact:lib.copyright@warwick.ac.uk.

Conferral and graduation

Once the Doctoral College has received the electronic copy of your thesis, and all of the internal paperwork in respect of your examination has been concluded, your name will be placed on a pass list for the conferral of your award by the Senate. Formal notification of your award to your University email address and any other email address held on your student record shortly after your award has been conferred. You will not receive a conferral email nor be eligible to attend a Degree Congregation if you have any study-related debts to the University.

You will also be invited to attend the next Degree Congregation. Congregations are held in mid-July and late January each year and you may receive your degree in person or in absentia. You cannot receive your degree certificate until the degree has been conferred formally at a Congregation whether you decide to be present in person or not.

ePortfolio Maintenance

Shortly after graduation, PhD student's ePortfolio listings will be moved from the Current History PhD Student directory to the Former History PhD Student Directory.

As students will lose University IT account accessLink opens in a new window approximately 8 weeks after award conferral, final submission is a good point to review the information on your ePortfolio page and make updates as necessary.

The ePortfolio page and listing in the directory is publicly accessible and will remain so indefinitely, so if at any point in the future you would like to update or delete the your ePortfolio page, or your listing in the Former PhD Students directory, please contactpghistoryoffice@warwick.ac.uk.

Next steps

There are plenty of ways to stay connected to Warwick after you graduate...

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Warwick History Post-Doc Club

The Warwick History 鈥楶ost-Doc鈥� club is an informal social/discussion group of former Warwick History Research Students, meeting periodically online and in-person to maintain contact and encourage mutual support for ongoing research and careers. This group is open to all, including those not pursuing post-doc projects or academic careers.

Postdoctoral Opportunities

Please see the Post-doc Opportunities page for further details.