Faculty of Arts

It is expected that a graduate of the University of Melbourne will be able to engage in academic discourse in English. Therefore a research Masters thesis will normally be written in English. At the same time the Faculty seeks to encourage the acquisition of appropriate levels of linguistic and cultural competencies necessary for research of international distinction. Consequently, if a candidate wishes to write a thesis in another language, an application can be made to the Faculty's Research and Graduate Studies Committee at an early stage in the candidature. The Committee will consider such an application if the source material and readership are primarily in that language or the thesis is concerned with the study of language. Where permission is granted, a summary of the thesis (approximately 2,500 words) in English should be bound in the thesis.

Masters students should submit their three bound copies of the thesis to the Arts and Music Student Centre (Room 104, Old Arts Building). University of Melbourne Graduate Student Association provides a temporary binding service.

Masters students are required to submit an 80-word summary of the thesis (on an A4 page) to the Arts and Music Student Centre (Room 104, Old Arts Building) 6 weeks prior to the expected date of submission. The summary should include your name; student number; current address; thesis title; school; supervisor/s and must be accompanied by the Intention to Submit form (65kb pdf)

Your school will be sent a Nomination of Examiners form. The school will write to examiners inviting them to act as examiners of your thesis. The Chair of Examiners will also be nominated on this form. This is usually the Head of School or Postgraduate Coordinator unless they are the student's supervisor.

All theses must be submitted with a Research Masters Thesis Submission Form. This form will be sent to students before the expected completion date and is also available at the Arts and Music Student Centre (Room 104, Old Arts Building).

Theses will not be accepted for examination without this form. The form must be signed and completed by the student and the supervisor. Supervisors are required to sign this form to indicate that they have seen a copy of the candidate's final typed thesis and that to the best of their knowledge the form of presentation of the thesis complies with the University’s requirements. The final responsibility for making final corrections however rests with the candidate prior to the lodgment of the thesis.

The thesis submission form is a carbon copied document which also acts as a receipt of submission once signed by a staff member from the Arts and Music Student Centre (Room 104, Old Arts Building).

Provided a student's school and supervisor give their support, and provided that the student has met the condition of one year's full-time study (or equivalent part-time study), a student may then apply in writing to submit a thesis in advance of the 18-month full-time timeline. A student requesting early submission of the thesis for examination should request (in writing) permission to submit the thesis early. The request should include the proposed submission date and should include a supporting letter from the supervisor and Head of School. The request should be submitted to the Arts and Music Student Centre (Room 104, Old Arts Building), and will then be referred to the Associate Dean (Research and Research Training) for consideration.

Three copies of the Masters thesis must be submitted for examination to the Arts and Music Student Centre (Room 104, Old Arts Building) by the expected completion date. The thesis copies should be loosely bound – thermal or glue bound. Two copies are sent to the examiners and the third copy is retained for reference at the Arts and Music Student Centre.

The format required for a Masters Thesis submitted in the Arts Faculty complies with Statute 12.5 of the University's Standing Resolutions, as follows:

• The thesis should be on International Standard Paper Size A4 (measuring 297mm x 210mm).
• Pages should be numbered consecutively and clearly; interpolated sheets should be marked distinctly - eg. 99(a) or as the case may require.
• Folding diagrams or charts should be arranged so as to open out to the top and right.
• Margins must be 3cm. uniform on all sheets.
• The thesis should be typed in double or 1 1/2 line spacing.
• The thesis may be printed double-sided with a size 10 font (please check with your school on any other typographical or font settings and preferred bibliographical formatting).

The thesis must contain:

1. A title page including the full title of the thesis; full name and qualifications of the author; degree for which the thesis is submitted; name of the school and Faculty to which the thesis is submitted; name of the University; month and year the thesis was submitted for the degree; a statement of whether the thesis is submitted in total or partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree, as follows:
   
   • "Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts (by Thesis only)"; or
   • "Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts (by Advanced Seminar and Shorter Thesis)".
2. The title page must be followed by an abstract of 300-500 words in English.
3. The abstract must be followed by a declaration, signed by the student, as follows:

   "This is to certify that the thesis comprises only my original work except where indicated in the preface; due acknowledgment has been made in the text to all other material used; the thesis is 30,000 words in length (or 20,000-22,000 for Shorter Thesis), inclusive of footnotes, but exclusive of tables, maps, appendices and bibliography."

4. The remainder of the thesis should be formatted as follows: Acknowledgments; Table of Contents; List of Tables, figures and illustrations (not necessary if less than ten list items); Main text; Bibliography; Appendices.
5. The name of the author, the title (abbreviated if necessary), degree and the year of submission must be on the spine for the final bound copies only.

Two qualified external examiners will be appointed. You may name individuals who you do not wish to examine your thesis. Such requests should be submitted in writing and attached to your Masters Thesis Submission form; however, the identity of the examiners must remain confidential until notification of the final result, provided the examiners agree.

Examiner's reports are forwarded to the Chair of Examiners. When the final result is returned the candidate is notified in writing of the grade by the Arts and Music Student Centre. The candidate is asked to collect the temporary bound copies and or/make amendments and submit two final bound copies. This formally concludes the examination.

Candidates can expect the examination process to take between 3 to 6 months in the first instance, and longer if a rewrite and resubmit is required.

Enquiries about the progress of the examination should be directed to the the Arts and Music Student Centre (Room 104, Old Arts Building) on 8344 9080 and not to the candidate's school or supervisor. The Arts and Music Student Centre will advise candidates of any delay in the examination.

Conclusion of the Examination

Once the examination is complete, and, if the thesis has been passed at the required honours grade level and required amendments (if any) have been made, two copies of the thesis must be permanently bound. Candidates are allowed three months from the date of notification of their result to submit the bound copies of their thesis to the Arts and Music Student Centre (Room 104, Old Arts Building). Candidates will not receive their official results or be deemed eligible to graduate until the final bound copies are provided to the Arts and Music Student Centre and the required amendments (if any) have been approved by the Chair of Examiners.

Research Masters candidates should note that the Faculty of Arts require an average of H2B (70%) or above in order to qualify for the award.

Sometimes a Thesis Examination Committee will return a result of "Rewrite and Resubmit" to a candidate with the recommendation that the candidate undertake a revision of the thesis in accordance with the examination reports. Candidates are supervised during the period allowed for rewriting. The examination process for the rewritten thesis is the same as for the first examination. A candidate may decide not to take up the opportunity to resubmit and will be awarded an automatic fail result for the thesis (thereby failing to qualify for their Masters degree).

If a candidate decides to rewrite and resubmit their thesis they must make an appointment with the Arts and Music Student Centre (Room 104, Old Arts Building) to officially re-enrol and will be required to pay fees as applicable for the period concerned. Students required to rewrite and resubmit will be enrolled for 3 months full time or 6 months part time. A thesis which has been resubmitted for examination should not be graded or marked above the lowest mark for the H2A scale (75%).