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Graduate Centre

Policy on Oral Examination for Doctoral Candidates

Provision for oral examinations

Whilst the award of a Doctor of Philosophy degree at Murdoch University is not normally, except in cases of dispute resolution, subject to candidates successfully completing an oral examination on the substance of their thesis, candidates may request the inclusion of an oral examination on the basis that

1. an oral examination may clarify points of principle or of detail in the thesis;
2. the candidate may benefit from the advice of visiting examiners;
3. an oral examination may assist in assessing the contribution of the candidate to the content and presentation of the thesis;
4. examiners will be able to assess the comprehension of the candidate within the broader field of study.

An oral examination will not be available for revised theses, unless approved by the Research Degrees and Scholarships Committee on the grounds of dispute resolution.

Procedures for requesting an oral examination

• A request from a candidate for an oral examination should be made, in writing, to the Director of Postgraduate Research, after consultation with the Principal Supervisor. The request must be made at least 12 weeks prior to the date on which submission of the thesis is expected.
• Approval for an oral examination is subject to an interview between the candidate and the Director of Postgraduate Research as well as the approval of the Principal Supervisor and the Executive Dean. The purpose of the interview is to explain the process and purpose of the oral examination procedure to the student and to assess if it is the genuine desire of the student to complete an oral exam. The Director of Postgraduate Research will reject the application if there are grounds to believe that the student does not genuinely wish to undergo an oral examination.
• The request for an oral examination will not be approved if the Executive Dean of the Faculty does not confirm that the Faculty is prepared to bear all costs associated with the oral examination.
• Should the candidate fail to submit the thesis within 8 weeks of the date on which submission is expected, the basis for examination will revert to the written component only.

Procedures for setting up an oral examination

• The date for an oral examination shall be set for approximately 9 weeks after the sending of the thesis to examiners. Examiners will be told at the initial invitation to examine, that an oral examination has been included, at the request of the candidate.
• The Director of Postgraduate Research shall appoint a Convenor to oversee the oral examination to ensure that the process has been conducted impartially and with due diligence.
• A Convenor shall be appointed from a field related to the thesis topic to be examined, but shall not be directly involved with the student or supervisor.
• The Convenor shall not be a supervisor of the candidate nor shall the Convenor be appointed from the same discipline as the supervisor/s and/or the candidate.
• It is the responsibility of the Convenor to discuss the nature of the oral examination with the candidate. However, it is not the responsibility of the Convenor to prepare the candidate's defence.
• The Secretary of the Research Degrees and Scholarships Committee shall inform the Convenor once the thesis has been submitted and forwarded to examiners. The Convenor to be given access to a copy of the thesis, if required.
• The oral examination process shall be administered by the University Officer responsible for the examination of theses.
• The oral examination shall normally take place at Murdoch University.
• The oral examination may be conducted by means of personal interview, teleconference or videoconference, or a combination of these mediums.
• A minimum of two examiners shall be available to attend an oral examination for the examination to proceed, one of whom shall be an international examiner. Normal regulations for the appointment of examiners shall remain.
• The nominated examiners shall provide, at least two weeks prior to an oral examination, an interim recommendation on the award of degree.
• Examiners shall, irrespective of attendance, provide questions to be directed to the candidate at least three days prior to an oral examination being held.

Structure of the oral examination

• It is the responsibility of the Convenor to explain the examination proceedings to the examiners and the candidate. However, the Convenor shall not actively become involved in discussions except where necessary to manage the examination process.
• The examination shall be conducted in English.
• Those present at the examination shall comprise, a Convenor, the candidate and examiners (either physically or by remote communication). Candidates may request to have their Principal Supervisor in attendance.
• The oral examination shall take the form of a defence of the thesis and candidates undertaking an oral examination shall be expected to provide a clear and concise account of their research outcomes. The process, whilst maintaining a rigorous approach, shall the conducted in a constructive and helpful manner. It is expected that the examination process will take between one and two hours.
• The oral examination to be followed by a closed session, without the candidate, to determine a recommendation for the award of degree. The Convenor shall be present at the closed session.
   
  In cases where a nominated examiner has lodged a recommendation against award of degree, the closed session discussion must include input from that examiner. Should the dissenting examiner not be present at the oral examination, contact must be made by alternative means, such as teleconference.
   
• Immediately following the closed session, the candidate shall be informed, by the Convenor, of the recommendation of the examiners to the Research Degrees & Scholarships Committee. The award of degree is subject to confirmation by the Board of Research and Development and the ratification of Academic Council.

Recommendation from the Working Party

The working party on oral examinations recommends that

1. the above procedures shall be trialed in the School of Engineering (Rockingham), Division of Science & Engineering, before further consideration is given to wider implementation within the University. The trial shall run for a period of five years ( or a minimum of six students).
   
2. Once the trial has been run , it shall be evaluated. Ideally it could be evaluated by the School of Psychology, possibly in the form of a research project conducted by a Doctor of Psychology candidate.
   
3. All costs for the oral examination shall be born by the School or Faculty