Thesis submission for examination

When do you need to submit your thesis?

You are expected to submit your thesis within the last two months of your maximum period. You must submit your thesis on or before your maximum end date.

If you wish to submit more than three months before your prescribed end date, you must confirm this with your supervisor, and have a Concession for your early submission approved by the College Exams Committee before submission. This will need strong support from your Supervisory team.

If you think you will need an extension to your maximum period of study, you will need to contact your supervisor to discuss arranging an Extension of Studies. Please submit a Concession for additional time to complete your studies as soon as possible, but at least 2 months before your max end date. If you submit a request later then you may not receive a decision before your original max end date.

If more than three months pass between submitting your Notice of Intention to Submit form (NITS) and your soft‐bound thesis, we may need to contact your examiners to confirm they are still available.

Is your maximum end date at the week-end or in a holiday?

If your maximum end date falls on a day when the College Postgraduate Research Student Office is closed, this is not a problem. You can submit your thesis on the first day that the office is open again and this will not be considered a late submission.

Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that your thesis arrives at the College by your submission deadline.

PLEASE NOTE WE PERMIT A MAXIMUM DISCRETIONARY 7 DAY PERIOD ONLY FOR SUBMISSION WITHOUT PENALTY - ANY LONGER PERIOD REQUIRES A FORMAL CONCESSION

Has your thesis title changed since you submitted your NITS?

The title on your NITS form must be your final thesis title.

If your title changes after you have submitted your NITS pack, you need to re‐submit these forms, ensuring they show the correct title.

Re-submit a Notice of Intention to Submit (NITS)

What do you need to submit your thesis?

Please note the submission is electronic only - a soft-bound copy of your thesis is not required.

The thesis file must contain

• an abstract
• and a lay summary.

Lay Summary in Theses guidance (131.81KB, PDF)

There is no requirement to include a separate signed declaration of own work. Completion of the online thesis submission process covers this requirement.

Have Covid-19 circumstances adversely affected your research?

PhD and MPhil students can make the Board of Examiners aware of the impact the pandemic has had on their research when they submit their thesis. 

This statement should not be included within the thesis, but provided as a separate document of no more than a single page at the point of thesis submission, via the online submission system.

If you have already submitted your thesis but you are still to have your viva, this can also be sent directly to cahss.pgrexams@ed.ac.uk .

This statement will be submitted to the Examiners following the receipt of the pre-viva Reports, but before the Viva.

Format

Detailed guidance on how to format your thesis can be found in the:

Thesis Format Guidance

Watch your word count.

Please note you will be asked to confirm your final word count on submission.

You may need a concession.

If the word count is above that permitted for your programme, a Concession for this additional wordcount must be approved before submission - otherwise the thesis may not be recorded and may be returned.

Strong Supervisor support for the additional word count will be required with the Concession request.

If the request is approved, Examiners must be notified of the additional work required prior to their appointment, or before the thesis is sent for examination.

Referencing

Please consult your Graduate School for advice regarding referencing regulations and practices.

Have you submitted the thesis through Turnitin?

Please note your thesis must be submitted through Turnitin before submission and all similarity reports should be discussed with your Academic Supervisory Team BEFORE submission for examination.

Please consult your Graduate School for details to proceed with this requirement.

Please note it can occasionally take several hours (or even a few days) for the Similarity Reports to be produced therefore you must take this into account in the submission deadlines.

Turnitin guidance

Proofreading

You are welcome to use a proof‐reader for your thesis.

However, please be advised that proof‐readers should only comment on grammar, vocabulary, and clarity of written English; they should not advise on the subject matter of your thesis or your argumentation.

Find skills training and links to study skills resources with the University's Institute for Academic Development

Copyright

As the author of your thesis, you hold copyright of all work submitted for assessment.

Prepare electronic files of your thesis.

Following this guidance will minimise any potential risk of having to re-do the process, and ensure your submission progresses smoothly.

Students should submit one Word version of the thesis and one PDF version

If required, the below listed common file formats are also permitted:

• Documents: MS Word (.docx) or Acrobat PDF (.pdf)
• Spreadsheets: MS Excel (.xlsx)
• Presentations: MS PowerPoint (.pptx)
• Images: .jpg or .tif
• Video: .mp4
• Audio: .wav or .mp3

You should avoid submitting files compressed in zip or other archive formats (such files are difficult to access on submission and single large files are more problematic to upload over slower, or inconsistent broadband connections).

Apply this file naming convention consistently.

When submitting more than one file, you should consider how you would wish the examiners to review the content.

In particular, you should give consideration to the file order which you expect examiners should read or review the content.

• Student number, for example, s1234567
• Order number, for example, 01, 02, 03 – 10, 11, 12
• Short descriptive name, for example, Abstract, Appendix 1

Full example filename: s1234567-01-Abstract.pdf

Prepare an index file with our template.

In addition to the naming convention above, you must upload an index file, based on the simple template below, setting out the file name and a brief description of the contents of the file.

Download our electronic file submission file index template.

Rename the index file in line with the guidance above. We suggest a format along the lines of: s1234567-00-Index.pdf

Populate the index document with details of all files you intend to submit electronically for the attention of your examiners.

Example content for the index document:

File index example

File name	File extension	Brief description of file
s1234567-00-file-index	docx	This serves as an index of all submitted files.
s1234567-01-abstract	docx	The abstract of my thesis
s1234567-02-thesis	docx	The main body of my thesis
s1234567-03-appendix 1	docx	Appendix 1: figures and tables
s1234567-04-image 1	jpg	Hi-resolution version of image 1: view of...
...

This file index document will be the first document you upload.

Upload electronic files of your thesis.

Do you use University systems with staff credentials?

READY FOR SUBMISSION 

Submit your thesis file(s) to the College Postgraduate Research Student Office (student login required)

What happens next?

Once we have received your thesis and your examiners have been nominated, the College Postgraduate Research Student Office will send your thesis out to your examiners for the first stage of the examination process.

Examination and viva