1. A PhD student who wishes to appear before a thesis examination committee must indicate to his or her department/division at least six weeks before the thesis examination, and have delivered to his or her department/division seven thesis copies at least four weeks before the thesis examination. One of these copies will be put on display prior to the thesis examination for perusal by departmental/divisional faculty and students, other members of the University community, and members of the public. Inadequate notice served for taking the thesis examination may result in required postponement of the thesis examination.
2. No less than six weeks before the thesis examination, the student has to complete Part I of the proforma “Notice of Submission of Thesis for PhD Thesis Examination Arrangements”. The thesis supervisor should endorse Part II of the proforma and forward it to the head of department/division for a PhD thesis examination committee to be recommended.
3. After the head of the department/division has endorsed Part IV of the proforma regarding the proposed membership of the thesis examination committee, the proforma together with the curriculum vitae of the recommended External Examiner(s) should be sent to the PG Secretariat by FAX (Fax No. 2358-0194).
4. Upon receipt of the yet-to-be completed proforma, the PG Secretariat will check the proposed thesis examination committee membership to ensure that it complies with the
“Guidelines on the Appointment and Roles of Chairmen and
Examiners of PhD Thesis Examination Committees”. If the proposed membership is in line with the guidelines, a confirmation email will be sent to the department/division with the deadline of thesis submission specified. If deviations from University guidelines are identified, the student’s department/division will be requested to withhold the thesis examination until the clearance of the PG Secretariat has been sought.
5. Before endorsing Part III of the proforma, the PG Coordinator should ensure that the student has delivered seven copies of his or her thesis to the department/division READY FOR EXAMINATION PURPOSE at least four weeks before the thesis examination.
6. The student’s department/division is responsible for informing the PG Secretariat of the actual date of receiving sufficient thesis copies for examination purpose from the student. If the thesis copies are submitted to the department/division before the thesis submission deadline, the department/division should distribute the thesis copies to all Examiners immediately provided that the membership of the thesis examination committee has been approved by the PG Secretariat. If the student fails to meet the thesis submission deadline, he or she may be required to postpone the thesis examination.
7. On receiving the duly endorsed proforma, the Associate Vice-President for Academic Affairs (Postgraduate Studies
& Academic Research) (AVP-AA(PG)) will appoint a Chairman from among a pool of senior faculty nominated by the deans of schools, and issue appointment letters to the Chairman and Examiners of the thesis examination committee. The department/division head of the student will receive a memo issued by the AVP-AA(PG) advising him or her the thesis examination committee has been appointed. The memo is copied to the Associate Dean (PG Studies), the Chairman of the thesis examination committee,
the PG Coordinator of the department/division and the Examinations and Graduation Section of ARRO for information.
8. The Chairmen and Members of the PhD thesis examination committee are requested to refer to the “Guidelines on the Appointment and Roles of Chairmen and Examiners of PhD Thesis Examination Committees” and the “Guidelines on the Conduct of MPhil and PhD Thesis Examinations” enclosed with the appointment letter issued by the AVP-AA(PG) for details.
9. The student’s department/division is required to send an email reminder to the Chairman and Members of the PhD thesis examination committee ONE WORKING DAY before the thesis examination is held, specifying the date, time and venue of the thesis examination.
10. If changes are to be made after the proforma “Notice of Submission of Thesis for PhD Thesis Examination Arrangements” has been filed, , the student’s department/division is required to obtain the prior approval of the PG Secretariat by writing to [email protected] before the changes can be effected.
11. If the changes take place after the appointment letters have been issued, the department/division concerned is responsible for gaining the consensus of the full thesis examination committee in writing before the request is forwarded to the PG Secretariat for consideration.
12. In the event an Examiner declines AVP-AA(PG)’s invitation to serve on the thesis examination committee, the student’s department/division is responsible for nominating a replacement Examiner for the consideration of the PG Secretariat as soon as possible. Checking the availability of Examiners is the responsibility of the department/division. Liaison with Examiners to make
arrangements for the thesis examination should not be done by the candidate being examined. The PG Secretariat may request the thesis examination to be postponed if the replacement Examiner does not have sufficient time to review the student’s thesis prior to the thesis examination.
13. For enquiries regarding the arrangements for scheduling thesis examinations, please contact the PG Secretariat by email [email protected].