Master's Thesis Examinations
Find out how to submit your thesis or research portfolio for examination and what happens next.
Submission due date
Your submission deadline is your last day of registration. You can find your registration details in your Student Record in Pūaha. Scroll down to the bottom of your Student Record to check the dates. If your last day of registration is not a business day (if it falls over a weekend or University holiday) then you have until 4pm the next working day to submit.
You must be registered for at least one month immediately before submitting your thesis or research portfolio. If you won’t be ready to submit by your registration end date, you must apply for an extension and pay additional fees. Contact the FGR Student Adviser team for help with your registration.
One month before submitting
- Notify your supervisor you intend to submit and ask how long they will need to review your final draft of your thesis/portfolio. This review period should usually be a maximum of two weeks.
- Complete a Notice of Intention to Submit form in Panoho. See this guide for more information.
- Review the Library’s thesis formatting guide and make any necessary formatting changes.
- Check your thesis or research portfolio length. The rules (see Master's Thesis Regulations 4.b) are that a 120-point thesis word limit is 40,000 words, including bibliography, footnotes or endnotes and essential appendices. The limit is 30,000 words for a 90 point thesis. Some programmes have lower word counts, so check with your school if you're unsure. If you are over the word count, you will need to complete a Permission to Exceed the Word Limit form in Panoho as this requires special permission from the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Research (Dean FGR). Don’t leave this to the last minute, as it will delay your examination and could result in you having to register and pay fees for an extra month if your request is declined and you need to edit your thesis.
- If necessary, apply for a Thesis Embargo in Panoho. You may wish to do this if it contains sensitive material or material with potential commercial value. For more information, visit Thesis availability
How to submit your Master’s thesis or research portfolio
Complete the Thesis Submission form in Panoho. You will need to upload a PDF of your thesis.
This flows to your supervisor for support, and you will be able to see when it’s completed. If you require evidence of our submission, you can download a confirmation of submission letter from Panoho.
If you have any questions, contact the FGR Exams Team.