Current Students - Thesis Submission & Oral Exam| HKBU Graduate School

Thesis Submission & Oral Examination

If you have completed the coursework requirements and an approved programme of supervised research, and met all the conditions for graduation with submission of the form , you shall present a written thesis and satisfy your Board of Examiners in an oral examination. Please read the Guidelines on Preventing Prolonged Continuation of Study and follow the key timeline for thesis submission and oral examination.

The thesis submission procedures are summarised as follows:

Thesis Title Confirmation
You should submit a memo, with endorsement from your Principal Supervisor, to the Graduate School to confirm your thesis title at least two months before you submit your thesis. The format of the thesis shall follow the “Guidelines for the Format of Theses” in the Handbook for Research Postgraduate Students.
Board of Examiners
After your thesis title is approved, you should remind your Principal Supervisor to start forming a Board of Examiners for you by completing the form “Principal Supervisor’s Declaration and Appointment of Board of Examiners”. The form should be duly endorsed by your Department Head and Faculty/School Dean before submission to the Graduate School. Upon receipt of the form, the Graduate School will formally invite the External Examiners.
Submission of Thesis (for Examination) via BUniPort
(User Guide on Online Thesis Submission)
1. Before submitting your thesis for examination, please ensure that you have completed your approved programme of supervised research and fulfilled all the requirements (i.e. Section15 of the “Guidelines and Procedures for Research Postgraduate Students”).
2. You are advised to refer to the RPG thesis rubrics (specific rubrics for AF, ARTS, COMM, BIOL, COMP and PHYS) to refine and improve your thesis, and check with your Principal Supervisor if further clarification on the rubrics is needed. Please also consult your Principal Supervisor to see whether editing is needed to polish your thesis before submitting it.
3. For the purpose of safeguarding academic honesty and integrity, you are required to have your thesis scanned by the University’s designated anti-plagiarism software Turnitin. Please access the course “GS8008” in your HKBU Moodle account and upload your thesis to the online system. After completion of the scanning, please download the resulting similarity index report (view sample) and pass it to your Principal Supervisor for review and endorsement.
4. In case that you are going to include published/ unpublished work in part/ full in your theses, please follow the Guidelines for Incorporating Research Outcome in Students' Theses.
5. If your thesis involves research that needs ethical and safety approval, you should seek prior approval from the Research Ethics Committee.
6. To submit your thesis online, please upload the following in PDF format using the online form “Submission of Thesis (for Examination)”
  [location: BUniPort -> Studies -> My e-Application -> Online Form -> GTHUB - Submission of Thesis (for Examination)]:
  (a) your thesis,
  (b) a complete similarity index report, and
  (c) other supporting documents if needed (e.g. ethics approval).
7. Your thesis submitted via the online form will then be reviewed by your Principal Supervisor, your academic unit and the Graduate School, and if approved, will be sent to members of your Board of Examiners.
8. To check the approval status of your submitted thesis, please go to “My Online Form” on BUniPort.
Oral Examination
1. - A candidate for the degree of Master/Doctor of Philosophy will be examined in terms of his/her thesis submitted, by an oral examination, and in some instances, by means of a written examination. The Graduate School will appoint a Board of Examiners to conduct these examinations normally within three months from the candidate’s submission of the thesis.
    The focus of the examination is on:
    (a) the subject matter of the thesis, in particular the quality of research supporting it;
    (b) the field of study encompassed by the thesis;
    (c) the originality of the research;
    (d) the written and oral presentations of the research results and conclusions; and
    (e) the contribution of the research to the field of knowledge.
  - The possible examination results are:
    (a) award of a Master/PhD degree without any revisions
    (b) award of a Master/PhD degree subject to either of the following conditions
    - minor revisions
    - substantial revisions
    (c) re-examination
    (d) failure in the candidacy
  - Further details on examination arrangements are available in Section 14 of the “Guidelines and Procedures for Research Postgraduate Degrees” of the Student Handbook.
Submission of Revised Thesis (for Format Check) via BUniPort
(User Guide on Online Thesis Submission)
1. Minor Revisions
  If the Board of Examiners recommends that you make minor revisions to your thesis after the oral examination, you are required to submit the following in PDF format through the online form “Submission of Revised Thesis (for Format
  Check)” on BUniPort
  [Location: BUniPort -> Studies -> My e-Application -> Online Form -> GTHRV - Submission of Revised Thesis (for Format Check)]:
  (a) your revised thesis and
  (b) a memo from your Principal Supervisor, with approval from your Board of Examiners, confirming their acceptance of your revised thesis.
  If your submitted thesis is not in the prescribed format, you will be required to revise its format accordingly. A thesis acceptance page, together with suggestions on format revisions, will be provided to you by email.
2. Substantial Revisions
  If the Board of Examiners recommends that you make substantial revisions to your thesis after the oral examination, you are required to submit your revised thesis by using the online form “Submission of Thesis (for Examination)” again according to paragraph 3.5 above. Your revised thesis will be sent to the Board
  for re-assessment.
Submission of Final Thesis (for Graduation) via BUniPort
(User Guide on Online Thesis Submission)
1. After you revise the format of your thesis as required, you should submit the following in PDF format through the online form “Submission of Final Thesis (for Graduation)” on BUniPort
  [Location: BUniPort -> Studies -> My e-Application -> Online Form -> GTHFL - Submission of Thesis (for Graduation)]:
  (a) your final thesis with the Thesis Acceptance Page placed at the very beginning (in front of the title page),
  (b) the abstract of your thesis, and
  (c) justification, with endorsement by your Principal Supervisor, if an embargo for more than two years is requested.
2. Your final thesis submitted through this online form will be deposited in the Integrated Research Information Management System (IRIMS) and will be available for open access by the public unless otherwise requested and approved.
Schedule for Approval of Graduation
According to the General Regulations for the PhD/MPhil degree, students who have fulfilled the requirements of candidature, coursework and University-wide graduation requirements, submitted an acceptable thesis and satisfied their Board of Examiners shall be recommended, through the Research Postgraduate Studies Committee (RPSC) and Research Committee (RC), to the Senate for conferment of the PhD/MPhil degree. The schedule for approval of graduation is available here.
Access to Electronic Theses
The full text of theses, if available, can be accessed online by the public at the University’s Research Portal. Authorisation is given to the University for reproduction and distribution of theses, wholly or partially, in any format or by any means, for purposes of private study, educational use, scholarship or research, except for reproduction by individual users which will be governed by the existing Hong Kong Copyright Ordinance.

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