The regulations in this section cover the awards and other outcomes approved by the Research Degrees Examination Board.
23.1. An awarded PGR student is entitled to attend a graduation ceremony. The degree certificate is released after the graduation ceremony, but certificate will be withheld until the student has deposited the definitive version of their dissertation with the library for public access.
23.2. An awarded PGR student is entitled to attend a graduation ceremony. The degree certificate is released after the graduation ceremony, but the certificate will be withheld until the student has completed their corrections satisfactorily and they have subsequently deposited the definitive version of their dissertation with the library for public access.
23.3. The PGR student must email their corrected dissertation to the internal examiner (or independent chair if they only have external examiners) within 28 days following the formal notification of their award by the Research Degrees Examination Board. It is permissible for the student to email their corrected dissertation before they have been notified of the award.
23.4. The internal examiner must review the corrected dissertation and must email the student and the Academic Quality and Policy Office (pgr-exams@bristol.ac.uk) to confirm when they are satisfied with the corrections.
23.5. The independent chair, an external examiner, or another University of Bristol academic nominated by the school must assess the corrections if there is no internal examiner. The independent chair must ensure that an email is sent to the student and the Academic Quality and Policy Office (pgr-exams@bristol.ac.uk) to confirm when the corrections have been completed satisfactorily.
23.6. PGR students with errors or omissions of substance cannot be awarded until they have satisfactorily corrected their dissertation.
23.7. The original examiners (and the independent chair if appointed) will be retained to assess the revised dissertation unless the Research Degrees Examination Board decides that new examiners and/or a new independent chair are required.
23.8. If there are only external examiners, the role of the internal examiner in relation to errors or omissions of substance will be performed by the independent chair.
23.9. The PGR student can contact the internal examiner once to discuss the revisions required by the examiners. If the student only has external examiners, the student can request clarification from the independent chair, who is permitted to contact the examiners once for this purpose. The student must seek further clarification and guidance form their supervisors.
23.10. Supervisors must provide continued support to students who are required to correct errors or omissions of substance.
23.11. The PGR student must email their revised dissertation to their internal examiner normally within six months after the formal notification of their outcome. The time permitted is the same for all students irrespective of whether they were previously full- or part-time.
23.12. The PGR student can in exceptional circumstances request an extension to the deadline from the Research Degrees Examination Board (via pgr-exams@bristol.ac.uk). In considering the request, the Research Degrees Examination Board must take into account the final completion limit for the student.
23.13. A PGR student who does not email their revised dissertation to their internal examiner by their deadline will be deemed to have withdrawn because they will have run out of time. Revised dissertations that are submitted late will not be accepted.
23.14. All examiners must review the corrected dissertation and assess whether the errors or omissions of substance listed in the joint final report have been addressed.
23.15. Examiners must only consider whether the errors or omissions of substance listed in the joint final report have been completed satisfactorily. Examiners must not raise new points at this stage unless the student has introduced a new problem in undertaking the corrections.
23.16. If the examiners are not satisfied with the revised dissertation, they can grant the student up to four additional weeks to make further, minor modifications to address the required corrections. This additional period will start when the examiners have sent their further comments to the student.
23.17. The internal examiner must email the student with the examiners’ further comments and the new deadline. The internal examiner must also inform the Academic Quality and Policy Office (pgr-exams@bristol.ac.uk) of the additional time given.
23.18. The internal examiner must email the Research Degrees Examination Board (via pgr-exams@bristol.ac.uk) to confirm that all examiners are satisfied with the revised dissertation.
23.19. The confirmation will usually be considered at the next scheduled meeting of the Research Degrees Examination Board. When the Board ratifies the confirmation from the examiners, the student will be awarded.
23.20. An awarded PGR student is entitled to attend a graduation ceremony. The degree certificate is released after the graduation ceremony, but the certificate will be withheld until the student has deposited the definitive version of their dissertation with the Library for public access.
23.21. PGR students required to resubmit cannot be awarded until they have successfully completed a second examination.
23.22. The original examiners (and the independent chair if appointed) will be retained to examine the resubmission unless the Research Degrees Examination Board decides that new examiners and/or a new independent chair are required.
23.23. The external examiner will be paid a fee for the second examination.
23.24. The PGR student can contact the internal examiner once to discuss the revisions required by the examiners. If the student only has external examiners, the student can request clarification from the independent chair, who is permitted to contact the examiners once for this purpose. The student must seek further clarification and guidance form their supervisors.
23.25. Supervisors must provide continued support to students who are required to resubmit.
23.26. The PGR student must resubmit their revised dissertation normally within twelve months of the notification of the outcome from the Research Degrees Examination Board. The time permitted is the same for all students irrespective of whether they were previously registered on a full- or part-time basis.
23.27. The PGR student can in exceptional circumstances request an extension to the set deadline by emailing the Research Degrees Examination Board (via pgr-exams@bristol.ac.uk). In considering the request, the Research Degrees Examination Board will take into account the final completion limit for the student.
23.28. The PGR student must resubmit by email on or before their deadline to the Academic Quality and Policy Office (pgr-exams@bristol.ac.uk) and by uploading to Turnitin so that a new plagiarism review can be undertaken. The student must also pay a resubmission fee when they resubmit.
23.29. A PGR student who does not resubmit their revised dissertation by their deadline will be deemed to have withdrawn because they will have run out of time. Dissertations that are resubmitted late will not be accepted for examination.
23.30. PGR Students and their supervisors must not send the resubmitted dissertation to examiners. Only the Academic Quality and Policy Office can circulate the dissertation or give consent for its circulation by another route.
23.31. The Academic Quality and Policy Office will circulate the resubmitted dissertation to approved examiners if the dissertation was submitted on time, if the resubmission fee has been paid and if the plagiarism review has been successfully completed.
23.32. An independent chair, if appointed, is not expected to read the resubmitted dissertation in preparation for the second examination, but they can request an electronic copy from the Academic Quality and Policy Office if this will assist them in undertaking their role.
23.33. The examiners must conduct a second examination, including completing new preliminary reports and a new joint final report. If an independent chair has been appointed, they must also complete a new independent chair report.
23.34. Examiners must only consider whether the required revisions listed in the joint final report have been addressed satisfactorily. Examiners must not raise new points at this stage unless the student has introduced a new problem in undertaking the revisions.
23.35. The second examination will usually include a new oral examination.
23.36. When the examiners have read the resubmitted dissertation, they can waive the need for a new oral examination if they agree that no purpose will be served by holding an oral examination and the revised work meets the criteria for award (either unconditionally or with minor errors). Where the examiners have waived the oral examination, they must provide an explanation in the joint final report.
23.37. The examiners can make any of the permitted recommendation options relevant for the degree being examined on the joint final report. As resubmission is only allowed once, the examiners cannot recommend a further resubmission.
23.38. Examination reports for a resubmission must be submitted to the Research Degrees Examination Board through the standard examination report route, as set out in the examination reports and guidance on corrections section.
23.39. If the Research Degrees Examination Board has decided that a PGR student has failed, the student will not receive a research degree award and is not permitted to resubmit.
