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FAQS

Student FAQs

When should I submit my RD1 - examination entry form

The RD1 form should be submitted four months before you intend to submit your thesis to the Research Degrees Examinations team (RDET)

As of 11th April 2022, the way you submit your RD1 form has changed, see below for steps and guidance

  • Your RD1 submission is now undertaken using Student Records

  • The four months commences when the online form reaches the RDET

Where should I submit my RD1 - examination entry form to

You should complete your RD1 online now via Student Records

When you submit the form it will be sent to your supervisor, who must complete their section and provide examiner nominations, once your supervisor submit's the form it will be recieved by the Research Degrees Examinations team, this is when the four months commences.

Am I bound by the expected date of submission given on my
RD1 - examination entry form

No - this is just a guide, however please keep the Research Degrees team updated

Under no circumstances should you exceed your registration period and if you are unsure about this date, you must check with your relevant Faculty Office.

How do I apply for an extension on my thesis submission

Your supervisor will need to complete an exemption form, which will need to be approved. The PGR exemption process is managed by the Centre for Doctoral Studies and can be found here. The process can be found under the PGR Exemption Requests tab and details the full instructions including the downloadable Exemption Form.

What happens if I miss my submission deadline

All students should submit by their registration deadline, in cases where you have missed your deadline, your supervisor will need to complete an exemption form to permit you to exceed your deadline.

The PGR exemption process is managed by the Centre for Doctoral Studies and can be found here. The process can be found under the PGR Exemption Requests tab and details the full instructions including the downloadable Exemption Form.

Who nominates my examiners

Your supervisor will nominate two examiners and provide their full details on the RD1 - examination entry form.

When will I hear if my examiners have been approved?

Once you have submitted your RD1 - examination entry form, it can take up to two months to process the form and receive all the approvals.

Once your examiners have been approved and appointed, they will be sent a confirmation of approval email which the student and supervisor are copied into.

If any further information is needed, we will contact you or your supervisor.

Can I inform my viva examiners that I have a disability?

You can request this by sending an email to disability@kcl.ac.uk requesting a “disability note for examiners”. The Disability Support Team will contact you to arrange a discussion about what should be included in the disability note for examiners.

Can I request reasonable adjustments in a viva examination?

You can request this by sending an email to disability@kcl.ac.uk requesting a “disability note for examiners”. The Disability Support Team will contact you to arrange a discussion about what should be included in the disability note for examiners.


I have a query about referencing

You should speak to your supervisor to ascertain what sort of referencing style is used within your Faculty. The library also provide guidance on referencing

For more information on referencing, please click the link below:

I am unclear about how to present and bind my thesis

See instructions on Format of thesis and Binding

Where do I find information about a Thesis Incorporating Publications

Guidelines on a Thesis Incorporating Publications

Can you recommend a binder?

We cannot recommend a particular binder, however we do have a list which can be found here:

Can I spiral bind my thesis

Yes - you may spiral bind the copy for your examiners

See information on binding below:

Where can I spiral bind my thesis

The library no longer offer binding services, therefore spiral binding will need to be done at a binding company.

See information on binding below:

Where do I submit my thesis for the examiners

All students are required to email a PDF version of their thesis to researchdegrees@kcl.ac.uk for their examiners and soft bound copies only if the examiners request them.

Please see Stage 4 in our stage by stage guide for more information on thesis submission

What happens if my deadline falls during the weekend or during
office closure

All students are required to email the PDF version of their thesis to researchdegrees@kcl.ac.uk no later than their registration deadline, regardless of whether the deadline falls during the weekend or office closure.

Soft bound copies

If examiners require soft bound copies then these should be submitted on the same day as your deadline if it falls during the working week. For deadlines during the weekend and office closure the soft bound copies should be submitted by the next working day.

My thesis is too large to send via email, how do I submit it

Students can either compress their thesis before emailing providing it does not alter the formating or alternatively use OneDrive, SharePoint or another file transfer service to send large documents to the Research Degrees Examinations team

I have submitted my thesis but have not yet received an email to say
it has been dispatched.

Theses can only be dispatched once the examiners have been approved and appointed. When examiners have been approved a confirmation of approval email will be sent to them with the student and supervisor copied into the email.

If you have not received the dispatch email confirming dispatch of your thesis to the examiners within two weeks of your thesis submission then please contact researchdegrees@kcl.ac.uk 

I am resubmitting my thesis for re-examination following a
period of 12/18 months amendments, which forms should I complete

A new RD1 - examination entry form should be completed and submitted two months prior to resubmitting your thesis for re-examination.

A new RD2 form should be submitted to the Research Degrees team when resubmitting your thesis

For further information on re-examination see below:

How and when do I request a restriction of access to my thesis

Students should apply for a restriction of access only once they have been examined and awarded. The application can also be completed when submitting your final e-thesis to the library.

Please note: a copy of the form is emailed to the library when you submit it.

Please see below for information on the restriction of acess and for the online form:

Who dispatches the thesis

Please note that only the Research Degrees team are permitted to dispatch the thesis to the examiners.

Under no circumstances should the student or supervisor send the examiners a PDF or soft bound copy of their thesis.

Please note: failure to comply with the above could invalidate the examination.

Who organises the Oral Examination

When the Research Degrees team send the dispatch email to your examiners both the student and supervisor are copied into the email. Following this email your supervisor will need to arrange the Oral Examination. The Research Degrees Examination Office are not involved in the organsiation of the Oral Examination and unfortunately we cannot answer queries about it. 

Please note: the oral examination should not be organised before the dispatch of the thesis

Please note: the Research Degrees team do not organise the examination, however please do inform us of when it is taking place by emailing researchdegrees@kcl.ac.uk.

This is useful as we can send a reminder to your examiners if we do not receive the full set of completed reports within three weeks of your Oral Examination date.

When will my Oral Examination be organised

Your Oral Examination should be organised by your supervisor within 3 months of your thesis being dispatched to the examiners.

Where will my oral examination be held

Oral examinations are to be held in London as per the academic regulations. Your supervisor will need to agree a time and date with your examiners and inform you of where it will be.

If your supervisor thinks there is any chance the Oral Examination will need to be held outside of London, or not on a King's campus, please contact researchdegrees@kcl.ac.uk  immediately so we can pass the request to the Research Degrees Examination Board (RDEB) Chair.

Can I contact my examiners before the Oral Examination

Under no circumstances should a student contact the examiners prior to the oral examination, any correspondence should go through your supervisor or the Research Degrees Team.

Please note: failure to comply with the above could invalidate your examination.

Can I contact my examiners before my re-examination

Under no circumstances should a student contact the examiners prior to the oral examination, any correspondence should go through your supervisor or the Research Degrees Team.

Please note: failure to comply with the above could invalidate your examination.

When will I receive my Oral Examination reports?

Examiners are required to submit the reports within three weeks of the oral examination taking place. However there are a number of processes that follow this and we recomend you familiarise yourself with our stage by stage guide (link below) for a thorough overview of the research degrees examination process.

Please see further information under stage 7 on the Information for Students webpages:

Who do I send to my amendments to

When you receive your Outcome email from the Research Degrees team, it will outline how long you have and who you need to send your amendments to.

  • For minor amendments (1 or 3 months), the amendments will need to be sent to either one or both examiners;
  • For major amendments (6 months), the amendments will need to be sent to either one or both examiners;
  • For a re-examination (12/18 months), you will need to resubmit your thesis to the Research Degrees team.

All of this will be detailed in your Outcome Letter, sent via email to you, your Supervisor and examiners.

Can I send my amendments directly to whoever is checking them
  • For minor (1 or 3 months) or major (6 months) amendments: students are permitted to send their amendments directly to the person responsible for checking them;
  • It is useful if you copy researchdegrees@kcl.ac.uk in to your submission email so we can make a note on your student record;
  • For a re-examination (12/18 months), students are not permitted to send their thesis to the examiners and it must be sent by the Research Degrees team only.
How do I get an extension for my amendments

Minor, Major or Re-Examination amendments

If you are experiencing any issues with submitting your amendments to your examiner(s) within the specified time period please talk to your supervisor and discuss the best options. Please do not contact your examiner(s) directly to request an extension. King's College offer the option to apply to the Centre for Doctoral Studies (CDS) for an exemption to the time period given. 

The request process can be found on the Centre for Doctoral Studies here under the Supervisor Documents and Regulations page. Please go to the final tab, PGR Exemption Requests, where the process is clearly laid out and the Exemption Form can be downloaded.

Please note: that any extension period will always start from the date of your original deadline

 

What happens after my amendments have been approved

Amendments must be approved by who ever is responsible for checking them. The person(s) responsible for checking them should email researchdegrees@kcl.ac.uk to confirm approval.

Following this your award will be ratified by the Research Degrees Examination Board at the end of the month.

Please note: the deadline for the approval of amendments is the 24th of each month.

My examiners have advised that my corrections are acceptable, but I
have not received a formal notification

Your examiners need to email researchdegrees@kcl.ac.uk to confirm approval of corrections, without the confirmation email the Research Degrees Examination Board cannot approve your award.

Once the email is received your award will be put forward to the Chair of the Research Degrees Examination Board at the end of the month for approval.

Students are then normally notified of their outcome via email during the first two weeks of the month following approval by the Chair of the Research Degrees Examination Board

When will I receive a letter confirming my final outcome

Following the approval of your outcome by the Chair of the Research Degrees Examination Board at the end of each month, you will be emailed your final outcome normally during the first two weeks of the month. For students who have been awarded the email will also contain an outcome letter attached.

Where can I get a confirmation of award letter from

The Research Degrees team only produce and email a Research Degrees -Award Letter when a student has been awarded, this letter is slightly different to the Confirmation of Award letter produced by Student Services, if you require a physical copy of an award letter then please contact student services at the below link:

Where do I submit my final e-thesis

Once your degree has been awarded you are required to only submit your final e-thesis to the library submit.

Please note students are no longer required to submit a final hard bound copy to the library

Please see Stage 9 on the Information for Students web page 

When will I receive my certificate?

Please see Stage 10 on the Information for Students web page:

Do I get a transcript for my Research Degree

No - As Research Degrees are not modular a transcript cannot be produced

When can I attend graduation and how do I book tickets

Graduation ceremonies take place at various times in the year, however to be able to attend you should be awarded.

For futher information on graduation ceremonies please see below:

When can I use Dr

Once you have been awarded and have received your Research Degrees -Award Letter you may use the title of Dr.

I have a query about my fee status.

The Research Degrees team cannot answer any queries about fee status, please contact your department or Faculty office with any queries you may have.

I cannot access my student record

Please contact IT services on 8888@kcl.ac.uk with regards to any queries relating to access to your student record

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