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Appointment of Examiners Application & Thesis Submission

A DPhil student is permitted to submit a thesis for examination once they have passed Confirmation, provided this is no less than three months since your Confirmation has been approved.  An MSc student may submit a thesis for examination once they have transferred from Probationer Research Student to full DPhil status. 

You can find your expected completion date on your University Card, Enrolment Certificate, and your student record which you can access via Student Self-Service. This date is your maximum submission date, plus a further six months. The additional six months is given to allow adequate time for your viva voce examination and, if requested by the examiners, to submit any minor corrections required. During this period you will be classed as 'under examination' until you are granted leave to supplicate. The additional six months is not extra time for you to complete your research, you must submit by your maximum submission date. 

Appointment of Examiners Application Process (GSO.3)

Please follow the steps below:

  • Before starting the process for the Appointment of Examiners (GSO.3), please read the Note of Guidance for Research Examinations (GSO.20a).
  • Complete your GSO.3 application online, via student self-service. You should try to submit your application at least six weeks in advance of the date you intend to submit your thesis. This is particularly important if you are intending to request an early examination. Further information and guidance on the Appointment of Examiners Application procedure can be found on the Graduate School Canvas Site.
  • GSO.3 COI Document: Your supervisor will be required to complete the GSO.3 Conflict of Interest Document and upload it (in PDF format) to your GSO.3 application. This additional form is required by MSD, and will allow the DGS and MSD Board to see that the proposed internal and external examiners have been appropriately considered both in terms of conflicts of interest and experience. A link to this form is embedded in the GSO.3 application for supervisors to download and it is also available on Canvas.

Although it is possible for you to submit your GSO.3 application at the same time as submitting your thesis, we strongly recommend that you submit the GSO.3 in advance, to allow time for the Research Degrees Team to carry out the administration around contacting examiners before sharing your thesis with them.

Thesis Submission 

You will need to submit your thesis for examination via the 'My Research Degrees' tab in Student Self Service. 

Your thesis must be submitted before midnight on your maximum submission date. We strongly advise that you submit your thesis during office hours, Monday - Friday, in case you need to report IT issues to the Research Degrees Team. 

There is no longer a requirement to submit a hardbound copy of your DPhil thesis to the Exam Schools in order to graduate. However, to graduate at a degree ceremony you will still need to submit an electronic copy to the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA), a minimum of five working days prior to your graduation date. 

Full information regarding thesis submission can be found on the Graduate School Canvas Site. 

Please note: 

  • You must not submit copies of your thesis directly to your examiners as this could result in your examinations being declared void and you could be referred to the University Proctors. 
  • Theses must be submitted in English unless, for exceptional reasons, the Medical Sciences Board determines otherwise in the term in which you were first admitted as a Probationer Research Student. 
  • If you have reached your maximum submission date and failed to submit, your status will lapse and you will be unable to apply for examiners again, unless you are reinstated. 

Lapsing and reinstatement

Your student status will lapse and your name will be removed from the graduate register if you have not submitted your thesis by your maximum submission date. This means that you would need to apply for reinstatement in order to complete your degree. Reinstatement is not automatically granted, but must be approved by the Medical Sciences Board. A fee is payable for reinstatement. You can find further information on the University's webpage: Changes in student status | University of Oxford.

 Extensions

If you will not be in a position to submit your thesis by your maximum submission date, you will need to consider submission an Extension of Time Application (GSO.15). The GSO.15 application can be found under the 'My Student Record' section of Student Self-Service. 

GSO.15 applications need to be supported by your supervisor, college and DGS and will also require approval from the Medical Sciences Graduate School Committee. In making the decision the Committee will need to see evidence of work that you have completed to date, the work which remains outstanding and a clear timeline for the completion of your thesis. No more than three terms of extension will be granted at one time, though standard practice is to grant an extension for one term only, so that your progress can be kept under close review. 

Please note that if you extend and enter your fifth year (13th term enrolled as a student), you will become liable to the University's continuation charge.

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