Corrections and Resubmission

Information on completing your corrections or resubmission.

Corrections

What is the deadline for completing your corrections?

Your corrections period begins from the date that you are notified of your viva result by the College Postgraduate Research Student Office. The deadline for your corrections depends on the recommendation that was made by your examiners and approved by the College Postgraduate Exams committee (see Exam Board and Outcome stage).

You need to have submitted your corrections by the end of your corrections period. Please note the deadline for submitting your corrections is not the deadline for having your corrections confirmed, or the deadline for submission of your final thesis, only for submission of the revised thesis.

Who checks and confirms your thesis corrections?

It is your Internal Examiner who checks and confirms your thesis corrections, although the External Examiner may also have requested to approve these. In certain circumstances, the Exams Committee may request confirmation from both or all examiners – this will be made clear when you are informed of your viva results.

How do you submit corrections?

Students should submit one word version of the thesis with all track changes highlighted and one final PDF version, as well as a covering memorandum for the Examiners detailing all changes made. All points raised in the earlier joint report must be addressed in full. Please use the link here:

It is recommended that students make all plagiarism checks and discuss the submission with the Supervisory team before submission for the best possible outcome. The PGR Student Office will then forward the revised thesis directly to the Internal Examiner, and External Examiner if relevant. The Examiners will be asked to make a decision within 4 weeks. It may be possible to get this decision earlier, although in some cases it might be longer than 4 weeks depending on Examiner availability and the number of corrections. 

Can you get Council Tax exemption during your corrections period?

Once your writing up period is complete, Council Tax exemption is not automatic: Council Tax Exemption Letter | The University of Edinburgh

If you wish to acquire a Council Tax Exemption letter, you will need to contact your School Postgraduate Office to request this.

Minor corrections or Additional work

For each year of your corrections period, you will need to pay a matriculation fee - see further details on Minor and Major correction fees from the Student Fee Policy:

 Minor and major corrections | The University of Edinburgh

Resubmission

Minor and major corrections | The University of Edinburgh

Find out more about fees with the University's Student Recruitment and Admissions services.

If you are resubmitting, will you have the same examiners?

In most cases, your examiners will be the same as for your original submission. If they have changed you will be notified

What results might you get from your resubmission?

The following outcomes are available for PhD thesis resubmissions.

(a) Award PhD/Doctorate. The thesis satisfies the requirements for the award of the doctoral degree as laid down in the University’s Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study (see www.drps.ed.ac.uk/) as appropriate and the degree should be awarded. No further changes can be made to the thesis after examination; or

(b) Minor Corrections Needed. The thesis satisfies the requirements for the award of the degree except that editorial corrections are required or stated minor weaknesses, as identified by the examiners, must be remedied. In the opinion of the examiners, the student will be able to remedy these without further supervision and without undertaking any further original research. The corrections to the thesis must be completed within three months and are subject to certification by the Internal Examiner(s), and by the External Examiner (where the examiner so requests), before the degree is awarded; or

(f) Award MPhil. The thesis is substantially deficient in one or more of the requirements for the doctoral degree and cannot be revised to satisfy these requirements; but the thesis satisfies the requirements for the degree of MPhil; or

(g) Award MPhil following Minor Corrections. The thesis is substantially deficient in one or more of the requirements for the doctoral degree and cannot be revised to satisfy these requirements. However, the thesis satisfies the requirements for the degree of MPhil except for stated minor corrections in the thesis. The student should be invited to carry out the specified minor corrections as indicated by the examiners. The corrections to the thesis must be completed within three months and are subject to certification by the Internal Examiner(s), and by the External Examiner (where the examiner so requests), before the degree is awarded; or

(i) Award MSc by Research. The thesis is substantially deficient in respect of all or any of the requirements for the degree and cannot be revised to satisfy these requirements or the requirements of the MPhil. However, the work is of sufficient quality to merit the award of MSc by Research; or

(j) Fail. The thesis is substantially deficient in respect of all or any of the requirements for the degree and cannot be revised to satisfy these or any other research degree requirements.