A detailed explanation of the examination process can be found on the Newcastle University student website. However, we’ll summarise the most important information on this page.
What happens after I submit my thesis?
The submission process is discussed here. Once you’ve submitted your thesis and the examiners have been nominated, your status will officially be changed to “under examination”.
All MD and PhD are expected to complete a viva examination which usually consists of two parts. For MPhil students, the viva examination is optional at the discretion of the examiners.
Public seminar
First, the student is asked to present their work during a seminar (≈30 minutes). Usually this seminar is public and will be advertised within the ICM. However sometimes there may be reasons that allow a student to present to a selected audience or only the examiners. This is most typically for reasons of confidentiality, but occasionally there are other extenuating circumstances.
In a public seminar, the student can choose whether the audience will be permitted to ask questions. The examiners will be present at the seminar, but are not permitted to ask questions until the oral examination.
Oral examination
The oral examination takes place after the seminar, in a private session with the student, the examination panel and in some circumstances and internal chair. An oral exam will take typically 2 to 4 hours,