Examination process

During the examination process:

the candidate and supervisor/s must avoid any communication with the examiners except where an oral presentation is involved
all contact between the examiners and the University is managed by the SGR Examinations Office from when the examiners are approved to the release of the examination result. This excludes any administrative arrangements needed for examiners to attend a presentation or exhibition of the candidate’s research.

For detailed information, refer to clauses (36) to (46) of the HDR Submission and Examination Procedure.

Examiners will assess the submission according to the RMIT examination criteria.

The SGR Examinations Office provides examiners with a copy of the relevant RMIT guidelines for examiners. These documents outline the criteria a PhD or Masters submission is marked against, and the recommendations available to the examiners.

Doctoral Degrees

In accordance with the Australian Qualifications Framework, for the award of a doctoral degree the candidate must demonstrate:

i. a substantial, original and significant contribution to the knowledge or understanding in the field of study;

ii. an expert understanding of theoretical knowledge and the ability to reflect critically on relevant theory and practice;

iii. intellectual independence in evaluating existing knowledge and ideas, and planning and undertaking systematic investigation to generate original knowledge;

iv. technical and creative skills, including use of relevant research principles and methods, applicable to the field of study or learning;

v. communication skills to explain and critique their field of research, including the ability to present a sustained argument;

vi. an ethical approach and a high level of research integrity.

Master by Research Degrees

In accordance with the Australian Qualifications Framework, for the award of a Masters by research the candidate must demonstrate:

i. a comprehensive understanding of theoretical knowledge and critical reflection on theory and its application;

ii. an ability to investigate, analyse and synthesise complex information, problems, concepts and theory and to apply established theories to different bodies of knowledge or practice;

iii. an ability to generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts at an abstract level;

iv. the skills to design, use and evaluate research and research methods appropriately;

v. the communication and technical skills to present a coherent and sustained argument that makes a contribution to knowledge;

vi. an ethical approach and a high level of research integrity.

Masters by Research candidates who commenced their enrolment from January 2016 will receive a grade for their submission.

Grades are useful to Masters by Research candidates if they apply to a PhD program, especially if they apply for a scholarship. Candidates will receive a grade within the following range:

High Distinction (80-100%)
Distinction (70-79%)
Credit (60-69%)
Pass (50-59%)
Fail (<50%).

Grades are recommended by the examiners. The individual grade awarded by each examiner will not be disclosed to the candidate. The candidate receives a final grade, derived from a final assessment of the grade in adherence with the process outlined in the Masters by Research Grading Schedule.

Examiners individually and independently:

assess all components of the submission for examination
prepare a brief assessment report for your guidance
make one of the following recommendations to the Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research Training and Development, SGR.

Recommendation	Description
R1 - Passed	The candidate should be awarded the degree with no requirements for amendments other than corrections of an editorial nature. Amendments are to be made within four weeks of classification and certified by an RMIT academic delegate.
R2 - Passed subject to minor amendments	The candidate should be awarded the degree subject to minor amendments. Recommended amendments may include re-writing of small sections of text. Amendments are to be made within six weeks of classification and certified by an RMIT academic delegate.
R3 - Passed subject to major amendments	The candidate should be awarded the degree subject to major amendments. Recommended amendments may involve substantial re-writing of parts of the thesis. Amendments are to be made within six months of classification and certified by an RMIT academic delegate.
R4 - Revise and resubmit	The candidate should not yet be awarded the degree. Substantial revisions and a re-examination (by two approved external examiners) are required before a pass can be considered. Resubmission for re-examination to take place within 12 months of initial classification.
R5 - Failed	The research does not meet the criteria for the degree as specified by the University and a significant amount of additional research work and/or major substantive revision will not raise it to an acceptable standard.

Upon receipt of all required examiners reports, they are considered by the Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research Training and Development, SGR as per the HDR Submission and Examination Procedure and Schedule One.

The examinations team is not able to provide any information about the content or recommendations of the reports until an examination classification has been made by the Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research Training and Development.

After your submission has been examined and classified, you will receive an examination outcome notification email from the SGR Examinations Office, which will include:

the examination outcome
information on preparing to lodge your final archival submission via Enrolment Online, or what is required of you in the event of a re-examination
a due date to either lodge your archival submission, or to resubmit for re-examination.

You will then be able to obtain a copy of your examiner reports from your Senior Supervisor (or Head of School/HDR Coordinator).

The examination classification can include a request from examiner(s) for amendments to be made to the thesis or dissertation. The classification schedule and timeline for these amendments is shown below.

Classification	Timeline for any amendments
C1 - Passed	Amendments are to be undertaken within 4 weeks of the notification being sent to the candidate. The Senior/Joint Senior Supervisor/s and Dean/Head of School or their delegate is required to approve the amendments and final archival. A list of the amendments/points of defence is lodged with the final version of the thesis or dissertation via Enrolment Online.
C2 - Passed subject to minor amendments	Amendments are to be undertaken within 6 weeks of the notification being sent to the candidate. The Senior/Joint Senior Supervisor/s and Dean/Head of School or their delegate is required to approve the amendments and final archival. A list of the amendments/points of defence is lodged with the final version of the thesis or dissertation via Enrolment Online.
C3 - Passed subject to major amendments	Amendments are to be undertaken within 6 months of the notification being sent to the candidate. The Senior/Joint Senior Supervisor/s and Dean/Head of School or their delegate is required to approve the amendments and final archival. A list of the amendments/points of defence is lodged with the final version of the thesis or dissertation via Enrolment Online.
C4 - Revise and resubmit	The revisions are to be undertaken within 12 months from the notification being sent to the candidate. The Senior/Joint Senior Supervisor/s and Dean/Head of School or their delegate is required to approve the revised submission and response to examiners. The revised submission and the list of amendments/response to examiners document is to be submitted via Enrolment Online. This will then be sent out for a re-examination on a pass/fail basis by two external examiners.
C5 - Failed	No amendments allowed. The candidate will not be awarded the degree for which they were enrolled.

For further detail on examination outcomes, refer to clauses (53) to (64) of the HDR Submission and Examination Procedure.

The following schedule outlines the steps the majority of candidates experience when they receive an outcome of C1 Passed or C2 Passed subject to minor amendments or C3 Passed subject to major amendments.

The candidate submits for examination via the Candidate Centre
The SGR Examinations Office disseminates the submission to examiners
The examiners complete a written report and make a recommendation
Upon the receipt of all examiner reports, they are sent to the Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research Training and Development, SGR or delegate for classification
The candidate is notified by the SGR Examinations Office of the examination outcome
The candidate makes any necessary changes and lodges their archival thesis or dissertation and response document via the Candidate Centre
The Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research Training and Development, SGR reviews the candidate’s record for the purpose of completion of program
The candidate is notified by the SGR Examinations Office of course completion.

In general, it takes approximately three to four months from the date your examination commences to the date you receive an examination classification, but delays can occur for various reasons:

An examination cannot commence if your Recommended Panel of Examiners (RPOE) have not been approved. Your RPOE form should be completed by your Senior Supervisor at least two months in advance of your intended submission date and submitted to the SGR Examinations Office. An examination cannot commence until approved examiners are appointed
Examiners may take longer than requested to submit their report for a range of professional or personal reasons. In these instances, the SGR Examinations Office will make regular contact with the examiner to uphold a revised timeframe. You will be contacted as soon as your examiner reports have been received and an examination outcome has been determined.

Where there are diverging recommendations between the first two examiners, for example one examiner recommends R2 - Passed Subject to Minor Amendments and the other examiner recommends R4 - Revise and Resubmit, the SGR Examinations team will send your submission to a third examiner for their recommendation.

You will not be notified of this until you receive your outcome.

Your senior supervisor is responsible for nominating a third examiner.

The third examiner will receive the exact same documents as the initial two examiners and will not be informed that they are a third examiner or what the previous the examiners have recommended.

Your final classification will be derived from the aligning two reports. For example, if the following recommendations are received: Examiner 1 = R2 Passed subject to minor amendments, Examiner 2 = R4 Revise and Resubmit and Examiner 3 = R3 Passed subject to major amendments, the ADVC, RT&D will then review the reports and classify either a C2 Passed subject to minor amendments or C3 Passed subject to major amendments.

Examination process