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.

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.

Access to thesis after examination

The question of restricting public access to a thesis that has satisfied the requirements for the degree is separate from the issue of the confidential treatment of theses during examination. It is a fundamental principle that the output of a higher degree by research should be in the public domain, however an automatic embargo of one year from the date of the award of the degree will be applied to all theses submitted to the Griffith University Library except when the automatic embargo is waived by the candidate.

Following the expiration of the embargo period, it is the University's expectation that most theses accepted for the award of a higher degree by research will be immediately available for consultation by staff, candidates and other bona fide inquirers. Any arrangement that may inhibit this expectation must not be entered into without the agreement of the University. By lodging a thesis in Griffith University Library, a candidate consents to its eventual free access for private study and research.

At submission, a candidate may apply to the Dean, Griffith Graduate Research School to further restrict access to the thesis for a limited time after the examination is completed or after the embargo period. The grounds on which restricted access may be granted typically are:

• The thesis contains material that must be kept confidential due to legal, cultural, ethical or national security reasons;
• The candidate is planning to publish their work in a format which requires some restriction on the availability of the thesis; and/or
• The candidate is involved in a formal agreement that requires that commercially or otherwise sensitive material will not be publicly disclosed. This includes patents and research produced under a funded contract.

The maximum duration granted for an embargo will be no longer than two years (including the one year automatic embargo). Requests to restrict access to a thesis on a long-term basis will be approved only in exceptional circumstances. Authors who wish to extend the period of restriction beyond that approved should make application to the Dean, Griffith Graduate Research School, before its expiration. 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.