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Confirmation of Status Application

DPhil students are required to complete Confirmation of Status by the end of their 9th enrolled term. 

MSc students are not required to Confirm their Status.

The purpose of Confirmation of Status is to determine whether or not you will be in a position to submit for examination in due course. 

Application Process (gso.14)

The GSO.14 application (Confirmation of Status) is an online form which can be accessed via Student Self Service.

Full details of the Confirmation of Status application processes for DPhil students can be found on the Graduate School Canvas site.

We strongly recommend that you submit your GSO.14 application around three to four weeks before your Transfer meeting to allow sufficient time for approvals.

Your application should be finalised, with all completed supporting documents uploaded, ready for release to assessors, at least two weeks before your Confirmation Meeting.

Please follow the steps below:

  • Discuss the meeting with your supervisor who should nominate two assessors and ensure that they are willing to act (please see information below regarding assessors). Allow plenty of time to organise assessors in advance of submitting the GSO.14.
  • Arrange a time with your assessors for your Confirmation meeting. Let the Graduate Studies Team know the date of your viva by email - graduate.studies@rdm.ox.ac.uk.
  • Complete your GSO.14 application online - your supervisor, college and DGS will be prompted to sign the relevant sections in that order. 
  • You must upload milestone documents to your application. You will need to supply: a full theses contents list, milestones of any remaining work to be undertaken including a sentence to justify the estimated time, and dates for the submission of draft chapters to the supervisor to comment on. 
  • Once milestone documents have been uploaded and the application has been signed by the DGS, the assessors will be given access and you will no longer be able to make any changes.
  • At your Confirmation meeting you will be expected to give a presentation of your research after which you will be interviewed by the assessors. 
  • The assessors will submit their report via the online system (eVision) for approval by the MSD Board. 
  • MSD will send out confirmation of the result to the student, supervisors, college and department.  

GSO Guidance for selection of assessors

  • Two assessors are required.
  • Neither assessor should have acted in a supervisory capacity to the student. This includes use of the student’s college advisor, DGS, or Graduate Advisor. 
  • Both assessors should be internal to Oxford, although an honorary contract (for NHS employees) would be sufficient. Likewise, a contract research (post-doctoral) staff member who is employed by Oxford University would be acceptable. 
  • It may be desirable for one of the assessors to be external to the student’s department, where this can be achieved. 
  • If you have had a Thesis Committee (TC), one member of the TC may act as an assessor provided their involvement remains purely advisory and does not move into the supervisory or collaborative realm.
  • At least one assessor must have supervised a student in Oxford to completion.


Confirmation assessors may subsequently be invited as degree examiners for the student, provided they have not given further help/assistance to the student between Transfer of Status & Confirmation of Status or between Confirmation of Status and final submission of the DPhil thesis. 

Deferral 

If you think you will need to defer your Confirmation meeting you can do so via the online self-service using the Deferral of Confirmation of Status Application (GSO.14b). This will allow you a further term, but will not affect your submission deadline. 

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