Chapter 7: Thesis and examination matters

7.6 Submission of theses

7.6.1 Submission

Four bound copies of the thesis must be submitted to the Monash Research Graduate School. The school is located on the ground floor of building 3D, Clayton campus, and is open between 10 am to 5 pm on Monday to Thursday and between 10.30 am to 5 pm on Friday.

See also 7.6.4 Submission of eThesis

The thesis copies should be accompanied by: the supervisor’s statement, in which the supervisor certifies that the thesis is ready for examination; the Library Release/Thesis Contributor Agreement form   completed by the candidate and countersigned by the Head of Department, authorising the release of an electronic copy of the thesis to the library for lodging within the Monash University ARROW Repository upon completion of the examination; and the eThesis Clearance form.

Those research candidates who are exempt from submitting an electronic copy of their thesis should also complete the Library Release/Thesis Contributor Agreement form.

When the thesis is submitted, the candidate is issued with a form recording the date of submission and other particulars.

Where candidature has lapsed within the last three years, a request to submit under lapsed candidature is required.

7.6.2 Certification of thesis

A ‘Statement by supervisor upon submission of thesis’ form must be signed by the supervisor, certifying that the research and writing embodied in the thesis are that of the candidate, except where otherwise acknowledged in the thesis, that the thesis is properly presented, does not exceed the maximum word length and is worthy of examination, and in the case of a doctoral thesis demonstrates the capacity of the candidate to carry out independent research.

The supervisor is also required to provide a brief (40 - 50 word) summary of the thesis. This synopsis then appears in the graduation program. It should contain a description of the research and its results, emphasising the practical value and/or significance of the work where appropriate. The language used needs to be simple and direct so the graduation audience may appreciate the type of research that has been conducted and why it is important.

Note: 'Caretaker' supervisor: a person nominated to oversee the examination process in the absence of a supervisor must be an accredited supervisor (see chapter 5).

7.6.2.1 Statement regarding research undertaken in relation to employment which may overlap with candidature.

If there is difficulty in separating paid work undertaken for a group or collaborative project from the work which may contribute, even indirectly, to the candidate's own work for the doctorate, there must be a statement in the thesis which explains:

• the relationship between the thesis as a finished and authored work and the research context (team/collaborative project) in which the research may have been undertaken, and
• the levels of indebtedness to the background research, including if necessary some description of the work undertaken in parallel to the thesis.

7.6.3 Lodgement of thesis within the Library

The copies of the thesis after examination are distributed as follows:

• copy to the University library
• copy to the candidate
• copy to the academic unit, and
• copy to the supervisor.

Within the Library Release/Thesis Contributor Agreement form, candidates may choose to prevent access all together through an embargo. Anyone seeking access to obtain or use an embargoed thesis has to seek permission directly from the candidate in order to gain access.

Where the author applies an embargo on access to the thesis, this restriction will routinely be lifted three years after the date of lodgement in the library, without notification. However, an application may be made for consideration by the Research Graduate School Committee through the Examinations unit for approval to extend the embargo period.

7.6.4 eThesis

7.6.4.1 Submission requirement

All doctoral candidates enrolled from 1 July 2005 are required to submit an electronic copy of their thesis after examination. Subsequent to the receipt of examiners’ reports and any necessary amendments, candidates must lodge an eThesis before submitting any amended thesis copies to MRGS. The eThesis will be deposited into the Monash University ARROW Repository. Candidates submitting an eThesis may choose to publish through the Monash University ARROW Repository.

Please note that candidates enrolled in the PhD (Visual Arts), PhD (Creative Writing), PhD (Music Composition), PhD (Theatre Performance) are required to submit an electronic copy of the thesis exegesis. Such candidates may choose to submit an electronic copy of the portfolio component of their thesis. Candidates completing a PhD under a cotutelle arrangement, Staff PhD, MD (unsupervised) and MPhil degrees are exempt from submitting an eThesis.

Monash University encourages all candidates to publish their thesis in the Monash University ARROW Repository so that the worldwide research community will have access to the full text of theses.

Alternatively, authors may also nominate restricted access. In this accordance, the digital thesis will be available on request but the eThesis will not be published online. The worldwide research community will only have access to the bibliographical details, title and abstract of the thesis.

Authors of theses will add a copyright notice to the front of their manuscript, acknowledging that they have made all reasonable efforts to secure copyright permissions for third-party content included in the thesis and have not knowingly added copyright content to their work without the owner’s permission.

Candidates are required to add two copyright notices to the front of the thesis (eThesis) prior to lodgement. These notices can appear in the preliminary pages prior to the contents pages and abstract. The first notice aims to protect the thesis from unauthorised use. The second notice is for the purposes of the publication of the eThesis.

Notice 1

Under the Copyright Act 1968, this thesis must be used only under the normal conditions of scholarly fair dealing. In particular no results or conclusions should be extracted from it, nor should it be copied or closely paraphrased in whole or in part without the written consent of the author. Proper written acknowledgement should be made for any assistance obtained from this thesis.

Notice 2

I certify that I have made all reasonable efforts to secure copyright permissions for third-party content included in this thesis and have not knowingly added copyright content to my work without the owner's permission.

7.6.4.2 Copyright issues

Candidates choosing to publish their eThesis online are also required to provide information on copyright material (figures, diagrams, photographs etc) and confidential and/or sensitive material in their thesis.

Candidates should refer to the advice in Chapter 6 of this Handbook: ‘6.2.1.2 Using the copyright of others in the thesis / third party copyright ’.

Upon submission of the thesis for examination candidates are required to sign a Library Release/Thesis Contributor Agreement form. For candidates choosing to publish their eThesis online, this form serves as the publishing agreement between the candidate and the University. The candidate provides certain warranties for the University, indicating that:

• they have the full power and right to grant Monash the right to publish the thesis; and
• they have made all reasonable efforts to secure permissions from copyright owners for the online publication of whatever significant third-party material may be included within the thesis.

The Library Release/Thesis Contributor Agreement form is to be accompanied by an eThesis Clearance form. This form must provide a list of all significant third party content and indicate any confidential and/or culturally sensitive material within the thesis.

For more detailed information candidates are referred to the information sheets provided by MRGS (‘Copyright’ and ‘Seeking permission’) and to the advice provided at http://www.copyright.monash.edu.au/students/research-student.html