Appointment of Examiners
When you are in an advanced stage of writing your thesis, you will need to apply to the for the appointment of your examiners. You must do this well in advance of your estimated completion date.
About two months before you are due to submit your thesis for examination please complete the form here.
More info here: Degree Committee for Clinical Medicine and Veterinary Medicine - Home (sharepoint.com)
The Degree Committee will then set in motion the process of appointment by asking your Head of Department to make nominations in consultation with your supervisor.
This is particularly important for students expecting to submit their thesis during the long vacation. A thesis submitted after the last Degree Committee meeting in Easter term (mid-July) will remain on a shelf in the Degree Committee Office until November if examiners have not been appointed!
The other reason for applying early for examiners is that the Degree Committee must approve the title of your thesis. If you write your thesis without getting prior approval for your title, you risk having the Committee refuse to accept your title (which you may have already incorporated into your thesis).
Format of Thesis
The thesis must be:
Any photographs or other illustrations should be scanned or printed into the text. Originals, not photocopies may be used, in which case these must be secured permanently inside the thesis (not by use of adhesive tape).
Submitting your thesis for examination
The first submission of your thesis must be fully prepared and carefully checked.
Examiners are not expected to edit work. They will deal with errors of fact and typographical errors that affect the meaning, as well as larger, structural issues. The extent to which the text has or has not been properly prepared may influence their recommendation concerning the award of the degree.
How do I submit my thesis?
You must submit an electronic copy of your thesis for examination, and any required accompanying documents, to your Degree Committee by your submission deadline (which can be found under 'Thesis Submission details' on the Academic tile in your CamSIS self-service). You are required to submit your thesis for examination by your deadline even if the date falls over a weekend or holiday period.
Your Degree Committee should provide you with guidance for electronic submission; please contact them directly if you require any assistance.
The thesis you submit to your Degree Committee will be the thesis submitted for examination. It is not possible to 'retract submission' or to send a revised copy directly to your examiners. Therefore you should carefully check the files you upload when submitting your thesis.
Postgraduate students must keep a minimum number of terms of research before they can submit (for example, 9 for the full-time PhD or 15 for the part-time PhD or EdD) unless they have been granted an allowance or exemption of terms. If you attempt to submit too early and have not applied for an allowance or exemption of terms your submission will not be accepted.
What is needed?
You must include the following within your thesis:
1. A title page displaying:
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the full title of the thesis,
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your full name (as it appears on your passport),
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your college,
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the date of your submission (month and year)
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and a declaration stating: "This thesis is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy/Master of Science/Master of Letters (as appropriate)."
Please note that the University logo should not be used as your thesis is your work and not the work of the University. If you wish to use a logo on your title page, you are advised to ask your College about the use of their logo.
2. A declaration in the preface stating:
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This thesis is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the preface and specified in the text.
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It is not substantially the same as any work that has already been submitted before for any degree or other qualification except as declared in the preface and specified in the text.
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It does not exceed the prescribed word limit for the [insert relevant] Degree Committee. (For more information on the word limits for the respective Degree Committees see Word Limits and Requirements of your Degree Committee)
3. An abstract/summary of your thesis
You must also submit the following documents (not included inside the thesis):
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One declaration form
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Optional: Research Impact Statement
In recognition that COVID-19 may have impacted on your research, you are invited to submit a Research Impact Statement with your thesis. The purpose of the statement is for you to describe any restrictions or difficulties experienced in undertaking your research as a result of COVID-19 and to provide details of any alternative arrangements made to complete the work for your thesis. Further details can be found in the guidance for students and the form can be downloaded here.
How do I include additional materials?
Students other than those in the Faculty of Music must seek permission through their CamSIS Self Service page if they wish to submit additional materials alongside their thesis (e.g. videos, computer programmes, etc). This process should be initiated prior to the thesis submission. If a thesis is submitted with additional materials and without permission to include these materials, it will be held by the Degree Committee until approval is confirmed. If you are granted permission to submit additional materials, these will also need to be uploaded to the University repository and appended to your hardbound thesis when you submit your final thesis, post examination.
Students in the Faculty of Music can submit musical scores and audio or video recordings of compositions without needing to apply to include additional materials.
Submitting the Hard Bound Thesis
Please see detailed guidance here
Printing/Binding Services:
There are a number of bookbinders available; two Cambridge Bookbinders are:
Further information and guidance about printing and soft binding your dissertation can be found on the website of the Graduate Union.
NB The rules governing the final examination of PhD students form part of University Statutes, and these examinations are administered by the Board of Graduate Studies and the joint degree committee of Faculties of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. See http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/students/studentregistry/exams/submission/phd/index.html for details.