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Appointment of Examiners

The Research Advisory Committee, on the recommendation of the Dean of Faculty, shall appoint examiners (see guidelines). The Research Advisory Committee shall appoint:

• three examiners for a doctoral thesis, at least two of whom shall be external to the University;
• two examiners for a master thesis, at least one of whom shall be external to the University;
• three examiners for a research professional doctoral thesis or portfolio, at least two of whom shall be external to the University. One of these examiners may be an industry-based examiner.

A candidate's Principal Supervisor and Co-supervisors shall not be appointed as examiners of the candidate's thesis or portfolio. No examiner will be appointed who has an actual or perceived conflice of interest (see guidelines).

The name of the examiners shall be released to the candidate, after examination, together with the examiners'reports on the thesis or portfolio. Where an examiner fails to provide a report on a thesis or portfolio within two months of having received it, the Research Advisory Committee may appoint a replacement examiner. Examiners shall be of high academic standing in the field in which the candidate's research was conducted, and, for professional doctorate examiners, shall demonstrate knowledge of the professional area in which the thesis or portfolio is being examined. An industry-based examiner shall exhibit demonstrated excellence in the profession in which the candidate's research was conducted.

Supervisors are asked to recommend potential examiners. Before doing so they shall consult with the HDR candidate who may make suggestions and indicate preferences. However, HDR candidates should not be told the names of the nominated examiners. In making the recommendations, supervisors must justify the choice of the person as an examiner. This should be done in terms of the persons' position, research record etc. The recommendation is made initially to the research area coordinator/discipline head/professor and the Associate or Sub-Dean. If the research area coordinator/discipline head/professor and the Sub-Dean both agree that the examiners meet all requirements, they should be recommended to the Research Advisory Committee for appointment.