Top of page
Global Site Navigation

For Research Students - Research journey

Local Section Navigation
You are here: Main Content

Preparing for examination

Conditions relating to the assessment of theses and research projects are outlined in the Edith Cowan University Rules (Admission, Enrolment and Academic Progress).

Doctoral degree candidates commencing on or after 1 January 2018 are required to undertake an oral examination as part of their thesis examination. An oral examination is not compulsory for candidates commencing prior to 1 January 2018 however, in consultation with their supervisor/s, candidates may elect to undertake an oral examination. The oral examination will occur approximately 10 weeks following the submission of your initial thesis. For more information, visit After thesis submission/during assessment webpage.

You should take the following steps prior to submitting your thesis for examination.

Nomination of examiners

To avoid delays in the process, you and your supervisor should complete and submit a Nomination of Examiners form 3 months prior to submitting your thesis for examination. Please note the following:

  • The University requires you to have a minimum number of examiners for your thesis:
    • Masters by Research candidates require two examiners. Both must be external to the University.
    • Professional Doctorate and Doctor of Philosophy candidates commencing prior to 1 January 2018 and not undertaking an oral exam require three examiners. All examiners must be external to the University.
    • All Professional Doctorate and Doctor of Philosophy candidates that commenced after 1 January 2018, or those who opt into an oral examination, require two examiners. All examiners must be external to the University.
  • Your supervisor cannot be an examiner for your thesis.
  • Your examiners should be independent of you and your supervisor and have no conflict of interest in examining your thesis. For more information, download the Australian Council of Graduate Research (ACGR) Guidelines and also refer to ECU’s Conflict of Interest Policy.
  • Your supervisor should contact your proposed examiners prior to nomination to determine their availability. For doctoral candidates with an oral exam component, your supervisor should contact Panel Chairs to determine their availability.
  • The nomination of examination process also involves submitting a maximum 100-word summary (or abstract) of your research. This abstract will be included in the Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement and cannot be more than 100 words.
  • For more information on examiner selection criteria and approval process download the appropriate Nomination of Examiners form.

Submitting your Nomination of Examiners form

  • Once your Nomination of Examiners form has been approved by your School's Associate Dean (Research), send your completed form to grs@ecu.edu.au and integrity@ecu.edu.au
  • Your form will be reviewed by Graduate Research Services, and ECU Integrity will undertake an international compliance review before your form is sent to Research Assessments.
  • Once your Nomination of Examiners has been processed by Research Assessments, you will receive an email to your ECU student email account containing a link to a SharePoint folder which you will require to submit your thesis.

Formatting and submitting your thesis

Once you’ve finalised the writing of your thesis you’ll need to ensure that the formatting complies with ECU requirements, see the Thesis formatting for examination webpage for more information. When your thesis is ready for examination, please visit the Thesis submission webpage.

Skip to top of page