Deakin's higher degree by research (HDR) requirements sit in two places. The preparation and submission of examination copies page holds the formatting rules you will use every day, and the HDR Assessment procedure in the policy library holds the rules that govern the process around your thesis. This guide works through both in the order they will matter to you.
The word limit is tighter than it looks
| Degree | Maximum length |
|---|---|
| Masters thesis | 50,000 words |
| Doctoral thesis | 100,000 words |
Read the inclusion rule carefully, because Deakin's is not the common one. The limit includes the title page, contents page, abstract, bibliography, figures and tables, appendices and any notes.
Most universities exclude the bibliography and appendices. Deakin does not. A thesis with a 4,000 word reference list and 8,000 words of appendices has 12,000 fewer words available for argument than a candidate at a university with the usual exclusions. Work backwards from the total when you plan chapter budgets, and revisit the sum once you know how large your appendices will be.
Your title has a ten word limit
This is the single most quoted Deakin rule, and it is real: ten words, with acronyms and abbreviations avoided.
Ten words is short. "An exploration of the factors influencing medication adherence among older adults in regional Victorian community health settings" is nineteen. Start drafting alternatives early, and test them on someone outside your field. A tight title is good discipline anyway, since it forces you to name the contribution rather than describe the study.
Formatting the examination copy
| Element | Requirement |
|---|---|
| File | One single PDF, no larger than 100 MB |
| Title page | Page one of the thesis, unnumbered, layout unchanged |
| Binding-side margin | Not less than 20 mm on the left |
| Tables, diagrams, figures | Inserted in the text as close as convenient to the first reference, with suitable captions |
| Similarity report | iThenticate report, matching the thesis, dated the same day |
Deakin recommends converting to PDF on a university computer by printing to Adobe PDF directly from Word, and checking that figures, tables and the contents page have survived the conversion intact. That advice exists because conversions routinely shift figure placement and break contents links, and an examiner sees the PDF, not your Word file.
Deakin does not publish a required font or line spacing for the examination copy in its candidate-facing formatting guidance. Where that is the case, follow your discipline's conventions and your supervisors' advice, and stay internally consistent. A legible serif or sans-serif face at 11 or 12 point with 1.5 spacing will not cause you problems.
The preliminary pages have fixed positions
Deakin is prescriptive about order, and several of these pages are unnumbered:
- Title page — page one, not numbered, layout unchanged
- Candidate declaration page — signed electronically, or printed, signed and scanned
- RTP or funding acknowledgement form — page three, not numbered, if you hold any Research Training Program scholarship
- Acknowledgement page — optional, page four, not numbered
- List of publications — optional, page five, not numbered
Where your thesis includes multi-authored publications, you insert an authorship statement for each one. One form per publication. Each statement has to describe clearly what you contributed and what every other author contributed, and it must be signed by all authors.
Chase those signatures early. Co-authors move institutions, change email addresses and go on leave, and a missing signature can hold up a submission that is otherwise finished.
Choosing a thesis structure
Deakin's thesis structure options page is deliberately permissive: a thesis can be structured in a number of ways, and the right style is the one appropriate to your discipline.
Traditional. The familiar sequence of introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion and conclusion.
Publication-based. Publications can form the basis of your chapters. Where they do, it is normal to list all the publications that emerged from the project at the front of the thesis. You can also structure the whole thesis as a collection of publications.
Practice-based. Where the contribution to knowledge is demonstrated through practical artefacts relevant to the discipline, known as non-traditional research outputs: performance, artwork, creative writing, prototypes, models or digital media. Creative work is judged by appropriate examiners, and a written exegesis must also be submitted for examination. The creative work alone is not the thesis.
Whichever you choose, choose it early and with your supervisors. Publication-based theses in particular require co-author agreement and authorship statements that are much easier to organise while everyone is still actively collaborating.
If you are working out how the argument should hold together across chapters before you commit to a structure, that is worth thinking about properly rather than defaulting. Our thesis writing support is built around that stage of the work.
Editing and proofreading
Deakin's position, set out in the HDR Assessment procedure, is that professional editing services may only be used in accordance with the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) guidelines, and that such assistance must be acknowledged in the thesis.
The IPEd guidelines for editing research theses draw the line at language and presentation. An editor may work on spelling, punctuation, grammar, consistency and formatting, and may point out patterns of structural weakness. An editor may not rewrite your argument, restructure your chapters or generate content. Read the guidelines before you engage anyone, so you can brief them accurately and so the acknowledgement you write is truthful.
Notice of Intention to Submit
This is the step that sets your whole timeline.
- Lodge the Notice of Intention to Submit (NoIS) between 8 and 12 weeks before your intended submission date.
- If your examination is practice-based and requires a presentation at a venue, lodge it at least 12 weeks in advance.
The NoIS triggers examiner nomination and appointment. Lodging it late does not usually stop you submitting, but it does push your examination start date back, and if you are working to a scholarship end date or a visa expiry that matters.
Examiners
Your principal supervisor nominates at least three examiners. The Pro Vice-Chancellor appoints at least two independent and appropriately qualified examiners from those nominations.
For doctoral degrees, at least two examiners must reside outside Australia, though this can be waived with written justification. That requirement is worth knowing about, because it can lengthen examination timelines across time zones and academic calendars that do not match Australia's.
Submission and what happens next
You submit the thesis for examination through HDR examinations, with the iThenticate report uploaded at the same time.
Deakin's examination FAQs set realistic expectations. Examiners are asked to complete the examination and report within six weeks of being notified. Not all examiners start at the same time and not all finish at the same time. Where everyone meets the timetable and nothing goes wrong, the whole process takes around three months from submission to notification of the outcome. Longer is common enough that you should not plan around three months as a guarantee.
The final outcome is determined by the Thesis Examination Committee, not by the examiners directly. Examiners recommend; the committee decides.
There is no viva at Deakin
Oral examination is not a requirement of thesis examination at Deakin, and none are conducted. The single exception is a joint degree or cotutelle program where the partner university requires one.
This changes how you should write. Where a viva exists, a candidate can explain a thin passage in person. At Deakin the thesis has to do all of the explaining on its own. Assume every justification, every methodological choice and every limitation has to be argued on the page.
The four outcomes
| Outcome | What it means | Time allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome 1 | Pass with only minor typographical corrections | 10 working days |
| Outcome 2 | Pass subject to content or structural amendments | Maximum 4 months |
| Outcome 3 | Not passed; one re-examination permitted | Normally within 12 months for doctoral degrees, 6 months for masters by research |
| Outcome 4 | Not passed, with no resubmission | Not applicable |
Ten working days for Outcome 1 is short. If you receive it, clear your diary. Four months for Outcome 2 sounds generous but often is not, particularly where amendments touch analysis rather than prose.
Lodging the library copy
Passing the examination is not the last step. Before your degree can be awarded, you lodge a library copy: a clean electronic copy of the final version of the thesis.
- A single, unsecured PDF, preferably PDF/A, no larger than 100 MB.
- A completed and signed Digital Copyright and Access Form, uploaded as a PDF alongside the thesis through HDR examinations.
Deakin's default is open access. You can make the entire thesis available through Deakin Research Online, or limit online access to the citation, abstract and metadata only. An embargo or restricted access is possible where you provide justification. If you opt for limited online access, the Library still makes individual digital copies available for consultation, loan and limited copying under the Copyright Act 1968.
Once the thesis has passed, the Research Examinations team supplies the Library with the digital copy and the copyright form, the Library redacts signatures, and the thesis appears in the repository.
Think about access before you submit, not when the form appears. If you plan to publish a monograph from the thesis, or the work contains commercially sensitive or third-party copyright material, that is the moment to raise an embargo with your supervisors.
Pre-submission checklist
- Total length is within 100,000 words (doctoral) or 50,000 (masters), including title page, contents, abstract, bibliography, figures, tables, appendices and notes.
- Thesis title is ten words or fewer, with no acronyms or abbreviations.
- Title page is page one, unnumbered, with its layout unchanged and nothing added.
- Candidate declaration page is signed.
- RTP or funding acknowledgement form inserted as page three if I hold a scholarship.
- An authorship statement is inserted for every multi-authored publication, signed by all authors.
- Binding-side margin is at least 20 mm.
- Tables, diagrams and figures sit near their first mention and carry suitable captions.
- Thesis is a single PDF under 100 MB, checked after conversion for broken figures and contents links.
- iThenticate report generated the same day, matching the submitted document.
- Professional editing, if used, followed the IPEd guidelines and is acknowledged.
- Ethics approvals recorded as required for my project.
- Notice of Intention to Submit lodged 8 to 12 weeks ahead, or 12 weeks for a practice-based examination at a venue.
- Access and embargo decision discussed with supervisors ahead of the Digital Copyright and Access Form.
Gaps worth knowing about
No prescribed referencing style. Deakin does not name one for HDR theses. Your discipline and your supervisors decide, and consistency in the current edition of your chosen style is what matters.
No published font or line spacing rule in the candidate-facing formatting guidance. Follow discipline convention and stay consistent.
No published inclusion rule for the ten word title count regarding subtitles or words after a colon. If your working title uses a colon, ask Research Examinations how they count it rather than guessing.
Ethics requirements are not covered in the thesis formatting pages. Human and animal ethics at Deakin are handled through the University's research ethics processes and the relevant committee, and approval must be in place before data collection. Talk to your supervisor and your faculty's ethics contact early, and record approval numbers as you receive them.
The short version
Deakin's process is administratively tidy and its deadlines are firm. The three things to put in your calendar are the Notice of Intention to Submit window at 8 to 12 weeks out, the same-day iThenticate report on submission day, and the ten working days you will have if you are lucky enough to receive Outcome 1.
The three things to build into your writing from the start are the inclusive word limit, the ten word title, and the fact that there is no viva to rescue an underexplained argument. Get those right and the formatting page is a checklist rather than a crisis.
