Conclusion of examination process

Final requirements prior to conferral

Once the Dean, GGRS confirms the examination outcome that the degree can be awarded without revision or further examination, the Thesis Examinations Office will request submission of final requirements from the candidate. The final requirements will consist of the following:

Submit a final copy

• A final copy of a candidate’s thesis which is subsequently forwarded to the Library for their collection. If a candidate has an approved period of restricted access, all copies would be retained securely by the Library until this period had expired
• Where a thesis includes copyright material, including third party copyright material (for example, diagrams, charts, table, images, computer programs and musical notation where copyright is owned by someone else), the candidate must obtain written permission from the publisher to allow images in the digital copy to be available on the web, or ensure that the material is removed from the final copy of the thesis where permission has not been obtained.
• Before submitting your thesis for publication through Griffith’s institutional repository, please ensure that any sensitive content, including personally identifiable information, commercial-in-confidence data, or culturally sensitive information, is redacted..

Submit a shortened thesis title

• Doctoral candidates will also be asked to provide a shortened version of their thesis title to be read out at the next graduation ceremony. The shortened title is required to be "meaningful and accessible to the audience." This should NOT be a five word summary, but a shortened version of the title that the audience can understand.

In addition to the above items, candidates will need to refer to the relevant outcome email from the Thesis Examinations Office and ensure that any other requirements have been satisfied.

Award (Conferral) of degree and graduation

When the final requirements been submitted, the Dean, GGRS will confer the award of a candidate’s degree. The Thesis Examinations office will formally advise the candidate that their degree has been conferred as at the date signed by the Dean, Griffith Graduate Research School. At this time the identities of the examining panel will be revealed to the candidate, except where anonymity has been requested by a member of the examining panel. The Graduations Office is then forwarded a copy of the approval to award a candidate’s degree and they will contact the candidate concerning graduation arrangements approximately one month prior to each scheduled ceremony. If you have any questions concerning graduation matters, please email replytograduations@griffith.edu.au or you may like to visit their website.

What is a confidentiality agreement?

A confidentiality agreement is a legal deed whereby the examiners are required to abide by conditions concerning the disclosure of research. Please note that all theses under examination will be treated in confidence for the duration of the examination. However, there are theses for which greater level of legal protection may be warranted.

What is an embargo?

In accepting an offer of admission into an HDR program, you granted the University a non-exclusive, royalty free, world-wide and irrevocable license to use and reproduce the thesis for non-commercial educational, teaching and research purposes, including making the thesis permanently available to the public in the Griffith Research Online research repository.

Most theses are publicly available after completing any final preparations and other requirements following a successful examination, unless there are specific grounds not to do so, in which case you may wish to apply for an embargo. An embargo provides for a specific period during which the thesis is held in a secure platform before being released via the university’s institutional repository. All published theses receive a DOI, generated at the time the thesis is made public.

What circumstances warrant a confidentiality agreement and/or embargo?

Requests for a confidentiality agreement and/or an embargo may be considered on the following grounds and where evidence is provided:

- The thesis or creative work and exegesis contains material that:

-  is commercial-in-confidence,

-  is subject to a patent application,

-  must be kept confidential due to legal, cultural, ethical or security reasons

-  is subject to a contract or agreement that restricts the availability of the thesis for a specific period (embargo only).

-  contains an article or book chapter where the publisher requires an embargo on publication within a thesis that has not yet expired OR is subject to a demonstrable plan to publish with a publisher whose pre-publication policy requires some restriction on the availability of the thesis for a specific period (publication plan or confirmation and evidence of your publisher’s sharing or re-use policy will be required as supporting documentation) (embargo only).

How do I request a confidentiality agreement to cover my examination or an embargo on the publication of my thesis in Griffith Research Online?

You can request a confidentiality agreement or embargo when you submit your thesis using the Thesis Submission Approval form. This form includes a section for you to provide your justification for this request, including attaching evidence in support of your justification. Your request will be considered by the Dean GGRS.

As part of a request for embargo, you will need to specify the duration of embargo that you are applying for. The following timeframes will normally apply, based on the circumstances that warrant the embargo:

Grounds for Applying for an Embargo

The candidate has signed a publishing agreement or is planning to publish their work with a publisher who requires that the thesis has not been made publicly available.

• Maximum Duration    - 2 years (Option for a one year embargo extension or period determined by the Dean on approval of the extension

The candidate is involved in a formal agreement that requires that commercially or otherwise sensitive material will not be publicly disclosed, for example patents and research produced under a funded contract.

• Maximum Duration-  Duration as per agreement or up to 2 years (Option for a one year embargo extension )

The research contains material that must be kept confidential due to legal, cultural, ethical or security reasons.

• Maximum  Duration- Duration dictated by external context and stipulated time frame. In exceptional circumstances, the embargo may be made permanent

My thesis is currently under embargo – can I apply for an extension to the embargo duration?

Following the expiration of the embargo period, it is the University's expectation that most theses will be immediately available for consultation by staff, candidates and other bona fide inquirers. However, if the grounds for embargo still apply, you may request

if the grounds still apply you may request an extension to = the embargo period (providing evidence to support his request, to thesisexams @griffith.edu.au for the Dean, Griffith Graduate Research School’s consideration, with due regard to the normal timeframes for embargo set out above and in the HDR Examination Procedure. Any request for extension must be made at least two months prior to the expiry of the current period of embargo.

During the period of approved restricted access, permission to consult a restricted thesis will rest with the Dean, Griffith Graduate Research School, who will where possible, consult with the author.

Your thesis in the University Library

After your thesis has been lodged with the library, no changes can be made. On this basis, please ensure that you have check your thesis carefully for spelling, formatting or any other errors.

Conferral or award and use of title

Once the Dean, Griffith Graduate Research School is satisfied that the requirements for the degree have been met, the degree will be awarded. Candidates are advised and doctoral graduates may use the honorific 'Dr'.

The Graduations Office will contact candidates in order to ascertain whether they wish to attend the next graduation ceremony, or graduate in absentia.