UQ system of PhD orals slashes time taken to receive degrees

A PhD oral examination system at the University of Queensland slashes the time from thesis submission to finalisation of the result from up to 12 months to around three.

According to the University's Dean of Postgraduate Students, Associate Professor Alan Lawson, the University was one of the first in Australia to introduce the system in the early 1990s in response to student demand.

"Students increasingly want to know whether they have received their PhDs so they can apply for particular jobs or receive promotion in their existing positions," he said.

In 1998, a record 315 University of Queensland PhDs were awarded with 35 of these awarded through the oral examination system.

The oral examination process still requires students to submit a written thesis for marking by examiners. Examiners must return their written report within seven weeks.

Students then orally present their findings to a seminar of their peers and other interested people. After this, they are questioned for up to three hours by three people - a University examiner, an external examiner and an independent mediator.

Parties agree on a set of items for the student to complete such as minor amendments and the degree is awarded.

Within the University, the Chemical Engineering Department has been an enthusiastic exponent of PhD orals led by the then head of Department and now Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Paul Greenfield.

Chemical Engineering Department head Associate Professor Victor Rudolph said more than half of all PhDs within his Department were now completed by oral examination.

Oral examination was especially favoured by overseas students who could find out whether they had their higher degrees before returning to their home countries where they needed their doctorates to find work or receive promotion, he said.

In 1998, of the 25 PhDs awarded within the Chemical Engineering Department, 19 were completed by oral examination. The Department recently celebrated a record 36 PhDs awarded or submitted for examination in 1998.

For more information, contact Dr Lawson (telephone 07 3365 3477) or Dr Rudolph (telephone 07 3365 3616).