RESEARCH DEGREE POLICY DOCUMENTS

Document 3 Research Degrees: Submission and

Presentation of Theses

This Policy Document should be read together with the instructions provided
in the Award Regulation ‘Rules for the Submission of Theses for Research
Degrees’.

The University’s Regulations regarding access to the thesis after it is

deposited in the University Library can be found in the Award Regulation
'Consultation and Borrowing of Theses'.

Introduction

You should seek advice from your supervisor(s) and your School / Institute on
the presentation of the thesis in a format appropriate to your academic
discipline. In addition to this advice, you must ensure that your thesis
conforms to the University’s requirements for presentation which are set out
below. If your thesis does not meet these requirements it may not be accepted
for examination.

The application of these Instructions is mandatory and applies to the following

research degrees:

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

• Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
• Master of Arts by Research (MA(R))
• Master of Science by Research (MSc(R))
• Master of Laws by Research (LLM(R))
• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (ClinPsyD)
• Doctorate in Educational Psychology (EdPsyD)
• Doctor of Philosophy by Publication (PhD)
• Doctor of Education (EdD)
• Master of Education (MEd)
• Doctor of Medicine (MD)
• Professional Doctorate (ProfD)

Postgraduate Research Service Page 1 of 8 RDPD 3, updated November 2022

1. Instructions for Submitting a Thesis for Assessment

1.1 Candidates should complete and submit the Approval of Thesis Title and
Appointment of Examiners form to the Postgraduate Research Service at least
three months before they intend to submit their thesis.

1.2 Candidates should initially submit their thesis for assessment in electronic format,
either via email or OneDrive, to their Graduate School team email address and
copied to [email protected].

An electronic copy of an abstract of the thesis and a completed and signed

Research Degree Entry Form should also be submitted, along with any other
statements or documentation specified in the 'Rules for the Submission of Theses
for Research Degrees'.

1.3 The examiners will be sent the thesis in electronic format as standard but will be
asked at appointment to notify the University if they would prefer to receive the
thesis in printed format. The candidate should bring a printed or electronic copy of
the thesis to the oral examination for reference during the discussions.

2. Final Submission of a Thesis

2.1 Where the examiners and the Head of School (or their nominee) agree that the
candidate be approved for the degree awarded, the candidate must submit an
electronic copy of the final work, either via email or OneDrive, to their Graduate
School team email address and copied to [email protected].

This should be submitted within four weeks of being notified by the

Postgraduate Research Service of the successful completion of the
examination process.

2.2 The University’s requirements for the final submission of the thesis are set out in
the ‘Rules for the Submission of Theses for Research Degrees’.

3. Instructions for Presenting a Thesis

3.1 The thesis shall bear the name of the candidate, the title of the thesis, the
name of the degree for which the thesis is submitted and the year of
submission. The year of submission should be the year the thesis was most
recently submitted for examination (which may be the date of resubmission).
The title page shall also include the following words:

"This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who
consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and
that use of any information derived therefrom must be in accordance with
current UK Copyright Law. In addition, any quotation or extract must include full
attribution.”

Postgraduate Research Service Page 2 of 8 RDPD 3, updated November 2022

3.2 Specified word-limits exist for theses. These are published in the University’s
Calendar, and candidates should consult this to ensure that their thesis is not too
long. Any queries regarding these word-limits should be referred to the
appropriate School or Institute in the first instance.

3.3 A candidate may (with the permission of the Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for UEA
Doctoral College) submit recorded material, such as audiotape, videotape, and
film, of not more than one hour's running length as supporting evidence. This
must be in addition to a written thesis and not a substitute for any part of it. The
examiners may require candidates to deposit copies of the recorded material
with the thesis in the Library and in the appropriate School or Institute. Work
submitted should be in a durable form suited to preservation over long periods.
The item should be provided, where applicable, with an appropriate container
approved by the Head of Academic Liaison, Library, bearing on its exterior the
name of the candidate, the title of the thesis, the name of the degree for which
the thesis is submitted and the date of submission.

3.4 In the case of the Professional Practice programme in the School of

Art, Media and American Studies, a substantial part of the thesis may
be curatorial, archival, educational or creative in content. This will be
represented in the thesis submission by a substantial dossier of
practical work presented in an appropriate, accessible and enduring
format.

3.5 A candidate may include supporting supplementary material within

their thesis submission for examination, for example copies of large
data sets or very high-definition image files. This should be used in
exceptional circumstances only, where it is considered that it may be
important for examiners to have access to supplementary data or
information. There is no requirement for the examiners to refer to this
supplementary material, although they may do so if they wish.
Supplementary material must be submitted at the same time as the
electronic version of the thesis.

3.6 Where the form of the submission makes it difficult to submit in purely
digital format, for example, where there are multiple objects that
cannot be digitised, advice should be sought from the Head of
Academic Liaison, Library.

3.7 All submitted theses must be prepared in accordance with the

following instructions. Supplementary advice on formatting can be
found on the University Library's E-thesis FAQ web page.

a) Format
• all copies shall be legible and the text of the thesis must be of
good print quality;
• the text and, wherever possible, all the material of the thesis,
including illustrations, shall be produced in A4-size in a format
that can be easily printed if necessary. If in exceptional
Postgraduate Research Service Page 3 of 8 RDPD 3, updated November 2022
 circumstances another format is required for the whole thesis, the
author shall seek permission to use a non-A4-size format from the
Postgraduate Research Service via the primary supervisor.

b) Typographic Design
• for ease of reading, the size of character used in the main text, should
be no less than 11pt;
• text should be set with even or proportionate spacing between words.
Word division at the ends of lines should be avoided if possible;
• one-and-a-half line spacing or equivalent shall be used. Double
spacing may be used if necessary, in the interests of legibility,
particularly if lines contain mathematical formula, diacritical marks or
strings of capital letters that may require additional space;
• it should be clear when a new paragraph is starting and where
matter in the text is being quoted.

c) Margins
• to allow for printing, where requested by the examiners, the margin on
the left-hand side of the page shall be not less than 40mm. Other
margins shall be not less than 15mm.

d) Headings
• headings shall be used to indicate the hierarchical structure of the
text. Each level within the hierarchy shall be distinguished from the
others by position or typography, or both;
• the space that precedes and follows a heading shall be not less than
the space between paragraphs.

e) Tables
• if there are relatively few tables, each shall appear as near as
possible to the first reference to it in the text. If there are frequent
references to tables, or if there are many tables, they may be
collected together at the end of the text, possibly as an appendix;
• each table shall, if possible, appear complete on one page. A table
shall be neither spaced out to fill the available space nor reduced to
fit a small space. Tables shall normally be in the same orientation as
the main text;
• each table shall have a number and title, which may appear above or
beneath the table, provided there is a consistent choice throughout
the thesis. The number shall precede the title. The title shall describe
the content of the table. If a table occupies more than one page, its
number shall be given on each page;
• the character size used in tables shall be large enough to allow the
table to be reproduced without risk to legibility. The presentation of a

Postgraduate Research Service Page 4 of 8 RDPD 3, updated November 2022

 series of tables shall be consistent in character size, use of space and
other typographic treatment.

f) Illustrations
• good quality, high resolution illustrations and diagrams should be
used;
• an illustration should normally appear near the first reference
made to it in the text. The desirability of grouping illustrations at
the end of the main body of the thesis should be considered if they
need to be compared with one another, are referred to frequently
in the text, or need to be separate because of their nature, e.g.
their size or method of production;
• every illustration, including appendices and additional material, shall
be included in the list of illustrations with page numbers or other
identification;
• each label within an illustration shall be either so positioned that the
part it applies to cannot be confused with any other or linked to the
part by a thin line. The lettering shall be large enough and clear
enough to remain legible if the illustration is reproduced. A legend
shall accompany each illustration.

g) Numbering
• arabic numerals, (i.e. 1, 2, 3) shall normally be used for numbering
all sequences within a thesis;
• page numbers shall be visibly clear of the text;
• the pages of the thesis shall be numbered in a single sequence
beginning with the title page, which shall be counted but not
numbered, and including pages that carry tables, illustrations,
appendices, etc. The use of blank pages shall be avoided if
possible;
• the components of material that cannot be included in the written
thesis, e.g. frames of a film, shall be numbered in a manner
appropriate to their form, e.g. 'microfiche frame D7';
• chapters shall be numbered from the start to the finish of the thesis.
Appendices shall be numbered in a separate sequence from that
used for chapters;
• illustrations shall be numbered consecutively in a single sequence,
generally without distinguishing between different kinds of illustration.
Tables within the text shall be numbered consecutively in a single
sequence, separate from illustrations.

h) Bibliographical References
• a bibliographical reference shall be given for every work,
published or unpublished, cited in the text;
Postgraduate Research Service Page 5 of 8 RDPD 3, updated November 2022
 • references may be identified by one of two methods, either:

1. by numbers typed as superscripts, or, if on the line, in

brackets, immediately following the relevant word or phrase in
the text; or,
2. by citing the author’s name and the date of publication in
brackets immediately following the relevant word or
phrase in the text.
• the bibliography, if present, shall list all sources referred to or
consulted in writing the thesis, but not necessarily all material
relevant to it. Entries in the bibliography shall be given either in
alphabetic order of originators' names or, if the bibliography is long,
according to a conventional bibliographical system. A consistent
form of presentation shall be used for all bibliographical references
throughout the thesis.

i) Sequence of Material
• material shall be arranged in the following sequence:
Title and subtitle. The title page shall give the following information
in the order listed:

1. the full title of the thesis and any subtitle;

2. the full name of the author, followed, if desired, by any
qualifications and distinctions;
3. the qualification for which the thesis is submitted;
4. the name of the University;
5. the name of the School or Institute in which the research
was conducted;
6. the month and year of submission (noting 3.1 above).
Abstract. The abstract shall follow the title page. It shall provide a
synopsis of the thesis, stating the nature and scope of work
undertaken and the contribution made to knowledge in the subject
treated. It shall appear on its own on a single page and shall not
exceed 300 words in length;
List of contents. It shall list in sequence, with page numbers, all
relevant sub-divisions of the thesis, including the titles of chapters,
sections and subsections; the list of references; the bibliography (if
any); the list of abbreviations and other functional parts of the whole
thesis; appendices (if any); and the index (if any);
List of tables, figures, illustrations, etc. (if any);
List of accompanying material (if any);
Preface (if any);
Acknowledgements (if any);
Text. This is the main body of your thesis, divided into chapters,
sections, etc.;
Postgraduate Research Service Page 6 of 8 RDPD 3, updated November 2022
 Appendices (if any). Appendices may consist of material of
considerable length or of lists, documents, commentaries,
tables or other evidence that, if included in the main text,
would interrupt its flow. The presentation of appendices,
including character size, shall be consistent with the style of
the main text;
Glossary. Terms that require explanation shall be defined in a
glossary, which shall include a key to any abbreviations used. For an
abbreviation not in common use, the term shall be given in full at the
first instance followed by the abbreviation in brackets;
List of references;
Bibliography (if any);
Index (if any).

j) Use of work, which has formed part of solely or jointly authored

publications, within a thesis submission
• a bibliographical reference shall be given for every work,
published or unpublished, cited in the text;
• The University strongly encourages research degree candidates
to submit their work for publication either before or after thesis
submission. Material that has already been published or
submitted for publication may be included in a thesis. However,
any such material should be edited and reformatted to ensure
integration with the hypotheses and central arguments of the
thesis and to ensure that it reads as a coherent whole. The
contributions of other authors must be fully acknowledged;
• If the thesis includes material that has previously appeared in
jointly-authored publications, candidates must ensure that the
following information is included in the statement accompanying
the thesis: full details of the jointly-authored publications in
which the material has appeared, details of which chapters
within the thesis have been based on work from the
publications, and details of which work is directly attributable to
the candidate and which to the other authors of the work. The
University reserves the right to contact the other author(s) to
verify the relative contributions. Candidates should include
solely or jointly authored publications as an appendix at the end
of the thesis;
• Where the candidate is the sole or a primary author on a
publication (or a manuscript being prepared for publication) the
work may be included in similar form within the thesis, subject
to compliance with the previous two paragraphs. The same is
true for text, tables or figures that are the candidate’s own work
that appear as sections of publications where the candidate is
not the primary author. Other text, tables or figures from joint
publications may be included in the candidate’s thesis or the
Postgraduate Research Service Page 7 of 8 RDPD 3, updated November 2022
 research that forms the basis of these publications may be
described within the thesis, provided the contributions of others
are fully acknowledged;
• The permission of all the copyright holders (including, if
relevant, fellow authors and publishers) to include the published
work should be sought before submitting the final copies of the
thesis. It is important to complete this prior to submission, as
the thesis will normally be made available open access in the
University’s repository. If it is not possible to achieve third party
copyright clearance, the e-thesis can either remain on closed
access (embargo) or the candidate can submit in addition an
edited version of the thesis with this material redacted. This can
be requested via the Research Degree Examinations –
Research Degree Entry Form. The edited e-thesis will be made
publicly available; the full version will not;
• Separate Regulations, published in the University’s Calendar,
apply to the submission of theses for the degree of PhD by
Publication, in which a collection of publications is accompanied
by a critical synthesis of the candidate’s contribution to
research. This format is not otherwise an acceptable form of
submission for a research degree thesis at the University.

Postgraduate Research Service Page 8 of 8 RDPD 3, updated November 2022