Submitting my thesis
Prerequisites for submission
- Before you submit your thesis, it's important that you discuss your submission with your supervisors.
- Your estimated submission date, or your thesis submission date, must not exceed your maximum submission date, i.e. your expected thesis submission date as listed on the Graduate Research Details page of my.unimelb.
- If you have an active stipend, payments will end on confirmation of your thesis submission, as outlined in the Graduate Research Scholarship Terms and Conditions.
- You may want to consider the impact on any future potential to develop intellectual property (IP) that you have created or co-created – refer to the Before you submit your thesis IP Guide.
- You must present your research findings at a completion seminar prior to submission and meet the eligibility requirements to submit.
- If your thesis comprises multiple components (including multimedia files), email the Graduate Research Examinations Office to arrange a secure University Graduate Research SharePoint link for uploading.
- Additional preparation may be required for examination of creative works. As graduate researchers submitting creative works in the form of a performance, an exhibition, an e-portfolio, or a website have an obligation to avoid identifying their examiners, the Creative Works: Examiner Confidentiality Declaration form should be completed and submitted to the Graduate Research Examinations Office by email when submitting your thesis to TES.
- When submitting your thesis for examination, you must provide an iThenticate similarity report of your full thesis. Your principal supervisor and Chair of Examiners (CoE) will review this report to assess the readiness of your thesis for examination. You are encouraged to share the iThenticate report with your supervisor before you submit your thesis. You and your supervisor may provide a declaration explaining any legitimate text matches to your CoE.
- You are required to create an ORCID and provide it when submitting your thesis.
- You must be admitted to the relevant graduate research degree to submit your thesis. If your candidature is suspended, cancelled or terminated and you wish to submit, you must first apply for reinstatement and readmission.
- Download the Graduate Research Thesis Submission Checklist to assist you in preparing your thesis for examination.
For details see the Graduate Research Training Policy.
Completion seminar
You must present your research findings at a public completion seminar in the six months prior to submission. If you originally presented a completion seminar more than six months prior to submission, another completion seminar must be held.
At least 10 working days before the date of your seminar, please submit a Completion Seminar Form. The form will ask you for an abstract of your thesis research of no more than 100 words. This abstract will be used to facilitate publicity of your seminar.
The completion seminar is an important milestone of your candidature. During the seminar you should present the objectives, methods, findings and significance of your research.
This is your opportunity to receive constructive feedback from an expert audience prior to submission and it provides you with further experience in developing your arguments effectively. It confirms that you understand your research, and illustrates that you have the necessary skills in oral presentations and other research attributes expected of graduate researchers at the University.
Detailed information on completion seminar requirements is available in the Graduate Research Training Policy.
How to submit
Your thesis should be submitted electronically via the University's Thesis Examination System.
- Prior to submission, or prior to your performance or exhibition of a creative component of your thesis, register your intention to submit by logging into the Thesis Examination System (TES). About 2 months prior to your submission is the ideal time for this. Your estimated submission date, or your thesis submission date, must not exceed your maximum submission date, i.e. your expected thesis submission date as listed on the Graduate Research Details page of my.unimelb. Registering your intention to submit begins the process of the selection of examiners. You will need to provide a brief (80-word) overview of your research question, methods and results which will be sent to potential examiners. If you are submitting a thesis with creative work, include the weighting of the proportion of written dissertation and creative component/s. You are encouraged to create and enter an ORCID.
- Log into TES to submit your thesis. The thesis version you submit should be the version reviewed by your supervisor. You will be asked to:
- Confirm that the thesis is your work
- Confirm that you have presented a completion seminar
- If your thesis contains publications, upload a completed Declaration for publication incorporated in a thesis form.
- Provide appropriate Field of Research codes for your research. The Field of Research is recorded on your enrolment record and will display as discipline/s on academic transcripts and the AHEGS issued by the University once you graduate. An AHEGS is issued in addition to the testamur and academic transcript.
- Select the type of public access to your final thesis in the University's digital repository, Minerva Access
- Upload your iThenticate similarity report. You may also choose to provide an accompanying declaration/explanation with your report.
- Certify that your thesis conforms with relevant policies and procedures, including Graduate Research Training Policy, Preparation of Graduate Research Theses Rules and Management of Research Data and Records Policy
- Upload your thesis as a single file (please ensure there are no commas and hashtags in the file name)
After you have submitted your thesis, notifications will be sent to your principal supervisor and Chair of Examiners to confirm that the thesis is ready for examination.
Once you have completed your examination and received a pass you must login to Thesis Examination System and submit your final thesis including the redacted thesis (if final is restricted) and the supporting files (if included). You must enter your ORCID. If you do not have an ORCID then create one and enter it in Thesis Examination System.
More information
Once you submit and your thesis is under examination, you remain a member of the University’s graduate research community. If your student card has expired, you can obtain a new student card from Stop 1 .
You can continue using University-wide facilities and services, such as counselling, careers, library and student services. Check with your local graduate research administrator to find out what faculty /department-based privileges are available to you.
Celebrating your submission
We know that submitting your thesis is a big achievement and we'd love to celebrate this with you at Stop1.
You can pre-book your thesis celebration and gift collection by:
- Logging into the Stop 1 booking system:
https://students.unimelb.edu.au/myuniapps/student-services-appointments
- Booking an appointment using the ‘Documents, Student cards and Thesis Celebration (Parkville)’ booking type.
- Following the instructions in the booking confirmation email before arriving on campus.
Alternatively, you can also access the digital celebration frame and submit a photo to thesis-submission@unimelb.edu.au if you cannot attend campus.
Thesis submission gallery
Congratulations to the 900+ graduate researchers who submit their thesis each year! The University is proud of your achievements! The photos of those who have chosen to provide one to celebrate their thesis submission are available to view via the links below.
Extension forms
Once your thesis is under examination, if you require further time to submit revisions or your final thesis, please submit the appropriate form below to the Graduate Research Examinations Office by email.
- Application for an Extension to Submit Final Thesis
- Application for an Extension to Submit a Revised Thesis for Second Examination