Final Thesis, Conferral & Graduation

Final Thesis Submission

Prior to the candidate submitting the final thesis to the Graduate Research School.  The candidate will need to send the thesis and following items to the Principal Supervisor and Chair of Examiners for assessment and approval.

• PDF version of the final thesis - All dates should remain the same as the original thesis submission.
• You may choose to send an additional thesis PDF file with your highlights/mark-ups to assist the Principal Supervisor and Chair of Examiners to assess the changes made - be sure to name this file as "Mark-up" and/or "Highlight"
• Final Thesis Submission Form
• Thesis Amendments Template (List of amendments/changes)

The Principal Supervisor & Chair of Examiners is responsible for reviewing the thesis revision and determining if the HDR candidate has satisfactorily completed the required changes/amendments according to the Graduate Research Committee (GRC) examination outcome and the examiners reports.

If the Principal Supervisor or Chair of Examiners deems that the any of the above conditions have not been satisfactory met, the Principal Supervisor/Chair of Examiners will provide the HDR Candidate feedback.

Once the Principal Supervisor and the Chair of Examiners confirms that all conditions are satisfactory met then they will confirm by sign off the Final Thesis Submission form.

It is the candidate responsibility to submit the final thesis to the Graduate Research School for processing, please provided the following documents to grs-exam@une.edu.au in a single email.

• PDF version of the final thesis - All dates should remain the same as the original thesis submission.
• Final Thesis Submission Form (approved by candidate, Principal Supervisor and Chair of Examiners)

All relevant forms must be approved by the Principal Supervisor and the Chair of Examiners prior to sending to the Graduate Research School. Unsigned or unapproved forms will not be processed.

Final Thesis Submission Process

The Graduate Research School will process your submission and send you confirmation of the final submission. If there are any missing items or additional requirements, the candidate will be advised via email.

After the Graduate Research School receives all required materials, the candidates' name will be placed on the potential HDR Graduands list for verification of outstanding obligations (fees, library items, laptop and equipment returns).

Once cleared by the other departments, the candidates' name advances to the HDR Graduands List to go to the Graduate Research Committee for endorsement, and then to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research (DVCR) for final approval.

For Graduate Research Committee (GRC) Meeting Dates and Agenda Deadlines please visit the Examination and Outcomes webpage.

Degree conferral occurs only after DVCR signature and final approval is received.  An official notification is sent to the candidates' UNE email which includes a completion letter.

The candidates thesis will be deposited into the University Library Repository and will be subject to any restriction or embargo which may have been placed on it.

Graduation Eligibility Requirements

Outstanding Fees

All outstanding fees must be paid in full to be eligible for degree conferral as per the Graduation Rule, including fees owed by any external party (e.g., sponsor) on the candidate's behalf.

Please Note: Fees may include, but are not limited to - Students Services and Amenities Fee, Tuition, Overseas Health Cover, University Accommodation etc

If the candidate has concerns about potential encumbrances or outstanding fees, please contact Student Accounts and Finance Account Receivable team via the AskUNE portal.

Failure to pay will result in withdrawal from UNE and potential escalation to NSW Revenue.

Equipment Return requirements

To be eligible to graduate, all university equipment must be returned prior to conferral. Failure to return all equipment may delay degree conferral.

• Laptop Return: Book an appointment with the TDS team via phone 02 6773 5000 or email servicedesk@une.edu.au. Direct any questions about laptop return to TDS.
• School Equipment Return: For office keys and other departmental items, contact your principal supervisor or the HDR Coordinator for return instructions.

Graduation, Transcripts and Graduation Ceremony

After receiving formal notification from the Graduate Research School (GRS) with the conferral details, the Graduation Team becomes your main contact for all graduation matters, transcripts, and ceremony information.

The Graduation Team will reach out within a few weeks (after receiving the conferral email and completion letter from the Graduate Research School) regarding graduation documents and ceremony information.

Further information on graduation can be found on UNE's Your Graduation Ceremony webpage.

The Graduation Team can be contacted through AskUNE.

Official Graduation Documents

Following DVCR approval, the Graduation Team will prepare your:

• Transcript
• Testamur
• Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS)

These documents are prepared digitally via My eQuals (preparation can take up to three weeks). For more information about digital formats, visit the My eQuals Information page.

To order a hard copy Academic Transcript, you will need to complete the Academic Record Purchase form.

Graduation Ceremony Invitation Deadlines

To receive an invitation to a particular Graduation Ceremony you must already be conferred/graduated from your degree prior to the Graduation Teams cut off dates.

For HDR candidates this means that the candidate must be on the Graduation List sent to the Graduate Research Committee (GRC) for endorsement two (2) months prior to the Graduation Ceremony Dates.  To ensure that the candidate is approved and conferred by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Research (DVCR) before the Graduation Teams cut-off dates.

The last date to submit the PDF final thesis and completely sign off Final Thesis Submission form for processing is in the table below.  Any final thesis submission received after this date will be processed for next months' Graduation List and will not receive a Graduation Ceremony Invitation for this ceremony.

All requested items and all eligibility requirements must be met by the date provided in the table below for the candidates name to be added to the Graduation List to be sent to the Graduate Research Committee (GRC) for endorsement. All outstanding fees, forms, equipment return and any other required items must be received by this deadline to be eligible for graduation.

If unsure whether you have outstanding items, contact the Graduate Research School for clarification.

For specific information about UNE's graduation ceremony dates, please refer to the Graduation Dates section of the website.