thesis extension uq

Thesis coursework information

• Current students

Many students from the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, both undergraduate and postgraduate, will undertake an individual capstone thesis course in the final year of their program (degree).

The following pages will help you navigate the thesis process.

• Choosing your thesis topic
• Enrol in your thesis
• Assessment items
• Formatting your thesis
• Submitting your thesis
• Workplace health and safety

Useful resources

1. choosing your thesis topic, thesis project information session.

The School will hold an information session covering many common question for students starting their Thesis Project course.

The upcoming information sessions are as follows:

Semester 2, 2024

Semester 1, 2025

Project offerings

There are two types of project on offer:  specialised  thesis projects are offered by individual academics (and often align with that academic’s research expertise and interests), and are conducted under the supervision of that individual. They are usually only suitable for a small number of students (i.e. one or two). In contrast,  super  thesis projects are broad thesis topics aligned to the School’s research areas. It is possible for many students to undertake the same super thesis project at the same time, and these topics are supervised by an academic team. Regardless of the type of project selected, all thesis projects are individual, and the assessment items are the same.

Each semester, topics (both  specialised  and  super ) are advertised on the Faculty's  Project Database  (remember to ensure the correct semester of commencement has been selected, i.e. Semester 1 2024, and filter by 'EECS'). You can search on a number of parameters to help you discover topics that interest you. Feel free to approach potential supervisors to ask more about their projects or to suggest topics of you own. 

Note that some project courses are only available by permission or under special circumstances. See the thesis course listing for details.

Explore the School by research area , School research staff by research group , or visit Contact to search by staff member. 

Project allocation

Once students have reviewed the thesis project topics on offer (either at the information session, or via the project database), they need to consult directly with their prospective supervisors. It is highly recommended that students consult with a variety of prospective supervisors as early as possible as there is always high demand for projects and supervisors. Students are responsible for following up with a prospective supervisor if they have not had a response after 5 business days. When contacting prospective supervisors, please include the information as per this  template (DOCX, 14.3 KB) .

Project allocations are made directly by supervisors once a successful consultation with a student has taken place – a supervisor makes an allocation by assigning a student to a project in the project database. Students should check their allocation in the Project Database and contact EECS Thesis Enquiries ( [email protected] ) if their supervisor has not allocated them into the database by the end of Week 2.

• Academic advice
• Guidelines and policies for students
• Postgraduate research students
• Student Consultative Committee
• Thesis assessment items
• EECS Learning Centre
• Course profiles
• Project database

Thesis with publications

Process overview.

As part of the thesis, a candidate may submit published work that contributes directly to their arguments and supports their findings.

The minimum requirements for including publications in a thesis are:

• The work must have been carried out since the commencement of the candidature.
• The work must have been submitted for publication, accepted for publication, or published during the period of candidature.
• The scope and quality of the published work must be commensurate with the contribution of knowledge expected of a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) or Master of Philosophy (MPhil) candidate.

Formatting and structural requirements

The thesis must meet the following requirements:

• The thesis must contain an introduction that contextualises the research in relation to the present state of knowledge in the field.
• Thesis chapters must be in a logical and cogent sequence leading to an argument that supports the main findings of the thesis.
• There must be an independent and original general discussion included that is entirely the work of the candidate and that integrates the most significant findings of the thesis.
• Clear statements of the candidate’s contribution to each paper must be provided in the preliminary pages of the thesis.
• Works submitted for publication must be clearly distinguished from work which has already been published or accepted for publication.
• Published works which are included in the thesis should not be submitted in the journal's published format, but rather in the format of the final author-submitted manuscript. This requirement is in place to maintain consistent formatting throughout the thesis.

Although they have gone through peer review, published works which appear in the thesis are  not exempt  from the revisions which examiners may request.

Learn more in the Thesis Preparation Guide for candidates.

• Thesis review milestone
• Higher Degree by Research

Your Thesis Review should take place 10-12 months (PhD) or 5-6 months (MPhil) after the Mid-Candidature Review (or the part-time equivalents). It should be approximately three months before the expected submission date of your thesis.

If there are valid reasons why this will not be possible then the Postgraduate Coordinator should be consulted and an application made to the Graduate School to extend the milestone due date.

Thesis Submission

Your Thesis Submission should take place within 3 months of your Thesis Review.

If there are valid research reasons why more time is required, you will need to apply to the Graduate School (via your myUQ portal) for an extension. You are allowed a maximum of 3 extensions across your candidature.

Please note that an extension will only be granted for research reasons out of your control. If your delay is due to health or personal reasons, you will need to apply for an interruption to candidature (official leave).

• Read School of Chemical Engineering HDR Milestone Guidelines (PDF, 350.9 KB) for detail
• Download the Milestone 3 form (DOCX, 35.8 KB) prior to your confirmation.

See UQ Graduate School website for additional information.

• Confirmation milestone
• Mid-candidature review

Undergraduate engineering theses submissions

Thesis topic selection, assessment and submission.

Details for thesis project selection, assessment and submission can be found on your School's website:

• School of Chemical Engineering
• School of Civil Engineering
• School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
• School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering

Students must refer to the relevant Course Profile for information about undertaking and submitting their thesis. Students enrolled in their thesis coures should login to  https://www.sinet.uq.edu.au  to access the complete course profile.

EAIT Project Database

EAIT Project Database .

Honours procedures

Students are required to complete 16 units, comprising coursework (8 units) and thesis (8 units). Refer to the Course Profile for assessment details and procedures in individual courses.

Thesis marks are awarded by two examiners, and then averaged to arrive at one mark out of 100. In cases where there is a discrepancy of 8 marks or more, a third examiner will see the other two reports, but not the marks awarded. The third examiner’s decision will be final.

All marks will be finally determined and confirmed by the Honours Examiners’ Meeting for each discipline (usually held at the end of each semester). The decision of the meeting is collegiate and final. 

Applying for an extension

Extension applications must be received by the due date.

Details of the extension application procedure on are available on the application for extension form . 

Grades for each Honours course are based on the following percentages:

2015 onwards

At the completion of the program, a weighted GPA for the whole program will be generated. The Class of Honours is based on this weighted GPA. Classes of Honours are awarded as follows:

At the completion of the program, a weighted percentage for the whole program will be generated. The Class of Honours is based on this weighted percentage. Classes of Honours are awarded as follows:

Communication of results

Honours grades and classes are determined, and confirmed, at the Honours Examiners' Meeting. Decisions of the meeting are final. Students receive advice regarding their class of Honours after this meeting. Students are emailed thesis reports, which are usually anonymous, and asked to collect from the School office the thesis copies that they lodged for examination purposes. Students will be asked to correct the thesis according to the examiners' comments before submitting a final copy to the School for its thesis library.

The School formally notifies the Faculty of Honours results. The Faculty updates student academic records and enables graduation.

Further enquiries

Please refer to section  2.4 Honours degrees  of the  General Award Rules .

UQ Career Development Scholarship* Guidelines

Current UQ Graduate School administered scholarships provide a 3.5-year stipend (living allowance), subject to satisfactory progress towards thesis completion. This period has been considered sufficient to include any additional coursework that is required to prepare students to undertake their research studies.

The recent  ACOLA review  of research training in Australia emphasised the importance of producing graduate researchers equipped with broad skills and abilities for a variety of careers and recognised the value of industry placements. The report recommended that every HDR candidate who wishes to undertake a placement should be encouraged to do so.

The UQ Career Development Framework (CDF) provides development opportunities for students and extended experience opportunities (including industry placements) consistent with the Commonwealth’s industry engagement agenda. To facilitate PhD candidate career development and engagement with the CDF, UQ is offering the Career Development Scholarship  (CDS) – an optional, additional stipend extension of up to 6-months, to enable the completion of activities that build the transferable and professional skills of PhD candidates.

It follows that this stipend (living allowance) extension should be dependent on the fulfilment of broader career development activities and that undertaking a UQ Graduate School administered placement be an essential component of the activities undertaken.

The CDS, therefore, supports PhD candidates who have engaged in the UQ Graduate School Career Development Framework in a significant and sustained manner throughout candidature. It is expected that a candidate undertaking this Career Development Scholarship will complete all requirements of the PhD within 4 years, including undertaking an oral examination of their thesis. This means the thesis should be uploaded at least 3 months prior to the 4 year mark.  This scholarship is available to any student who commenced prior to January 2022 and meets the critieria. 

*Applies to UQ scholarships only (see  http://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/4.80.01-uq-and-rtp-research-scholarships )

If you commenced your program after January 2022, please refer to the placements information regarding other funding opportunities avaliable 

Guide to activities required for Career Development Scholarship (CDS) eligibility

This scholarship (CDS) is  only available to students who commenced prior to January 2022 and meet the critieria outlined below. The intention of the scholarship is to help you to prioritise your career development, while managing progress towards completion of your PhD. To obtain this extension you must meet eligibility criteria related to your candidature, your scholarship, and demonstrate continued and sustained engagement in career development activities throughout your candidature. To meet this last criteria, you will need to accrue 30 points of Career Development Framework (CDF) experiences and sessions, which must include a 15-point Placement Activity (which must be approved prior to submission of your CDS application) and at least 5 points of CDF sessions (from the list of 1-point eligible CDF Sessions below).

Below you will find a comprehensive list on what constitutes a Placement, Experience, and Session. You need 30 points to be eligible for the CDS comprised of 1 x 15 point placement and 15 points of other activities listed below. 

~ Denotes activities that may not be recorded by the Graduate School, and as such, evidence of their completion must be attached to your application. 

All CDS applications must have at least one 15-point placement activity from the options listed below.

15-point Placement

• Graduate School administered placement   (domestic or international). The placement must be pre-approved by the Graduate School and be at least 30 days.
• Australian Postgraduate Research (APR) Interns (previously called AMSI Internship)~
• CSIRO On Accelerate program~
• Ventures iLab Accelerator~
• Sport Accelerate Program~

All CDS applications must have 15 points from the options listed below.

10-point Experiences

• Ventures Validate  ~
• Start-up AdVentures (UQ Idea Hub mobility program)~

5-point Experiences

• CSIRO On Prime program~
• Graduate Teaching Assistant program~
• Graduate Digital Research Fellowship~
• International research experience of at least 2 weeks (distinct from candidate's thesis research)~
• Three Minute Thesis (Faculty final or further)~
• UQ Idea Hub program~
• Wonder of Science program~
• Ventures Activate ~
• Idea Hub Social Enterprise ~
• Ventures Virtual Hackathon ~
• Ventures Curiosity PhD ~

1-point eligible CDF Sessions

You can access the list of events you have attended through StudentHub . Please follow these instructions .

The Graduate School has been using StudentHub to track event attendance since June 2017. If you believe you attended CDF events prior to this date, please email us at [email protected] , and we will access the information from our archives.

Automatically eligible 

• UQ ARC Training Centre scholarships with 12 month placements and Global Change Scholars who complete the full program 
• Career Development Framework Sessions are only eligible for consideration when focused on transferable or professional skills. 
• Applicants cannot count 5-point Experiences, 1-point eligible CDF Sessions more than once.
• Only a maximum of 5 points of future CDF enrolments (courses not yet undetaken) can be considered.

How to apply

The Career Development Scholarship (Stipend)  applies to UQ Graduate School administered PhD (living allowance) scholarships only. Please read the UQ and RTP Research Scholarships policy and procedures for important additional information regarding the specific candidature, scholarship, and career engagement requirements for this scholarship variation.

To apply for CDS, you will need to:

• meet the candidature, scholarship, and career development eligibility requirements outlined here and in the UQ and RTP Research Scholarships policy and procedures, and
• complete and submit the application form describing your completed and proposed career development activities during the remainder of your program and provide a plan setting out your proposed schedule of activities over the stipend extension period.
• Applications must be submitted no later than 4 weeks prior to the expiry of your current scholarship.

• Starting at UQ
• Programs and Courses

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement can be used by higher degree by research (HDR) students who need to demonstrate that:

• your thesis has been submitted and you’re currently waiting for results, or
• you’re required to make changes to your thesis

This statement can be used to prove your current status to professional bodies, associations and government agencies (e.g. Department of Home Affairs). 

There are 2 types of thesis statements available:

A thesis submission statement includes:

• your program name
• thesis submission date
• the date your results are expected

A thesis corrections statement includes:

• the date your thesis examination results were received
• the date by which you’re required to complete any amendments to your thesis

For further information about thesis statements and other certified documents see  my.UQ .

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• How do I submit my Higher Degree by Research thesis?
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• Can I request that the full text of my Higher Degree by Research (HDR), Undergraduate, Honours, Masters (by coursework) or Professional Doctorate thesis be made available open access via UQ eSpace?
• I am interested in completing a thesis as part of my School of Economics postgraduate coursework masters degree. What do I need to do?

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• How to format and submit a thesis
• Current students
• How to enrol in your thesis or final year project

Submitting a thesis in a course administered by the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering? Follow these instructions.

Have a question? Get in touch with the student administration team [email protected] .

Unless approved otherwise by the Course Coordinator, your thesis must be typed and formatted to print on A4 paper, using a font size of 12 points for the main text. It is strongly recommended that you use a standard font: Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman.

Margins are to be: top 20mm, bottom 20mm, left-hand side 20mm, and right-hand side 20mm.

Headers and footers are to be within these margins.

Title page and submission letter

Your thesis must include the required front matter (i.e. the title page and a submission letter).

Download the relevant front matter for your thesis using one of the links below. 

1. Non-confidential thesis front matter

Complete the details required (title, author etc) in the Title Page and Submission Letter.  

Download non-confidential submission template (DOCX, 42.6 KB)

2. Confidential thesis front matter

If your thesis is to be confidential, complete the details required (title, author etc) in the Title Page and Submission Letter. 

Please also provide, or ask your industry supervisor to provide, a copy of the confidentiality agreement (including the number of years for which the thesis is not to be made available for distribution) which you have signed. 

Further instructions on preparing an agreement for confidential theses can be found on the thesis enrolment page .

Download confidential submission template (DOCX, 48.4 KB)

Thesis submission

Refer to the Electronic Course Profile for submission instructions.

Search my.UQ to find your course profile

• OHS and risk management for thesis students
• Past thesis

Additional resources

• EAIT Project Database

• Information for current Honours students

Honours Thesis Assessment Policy

1.  Deadline

1.1 The deadline for submission of thesis will be 4pm on the last day of undergraduate teaching of the semester in which the thesis is due to be completed. Extensions may be granted only on medical or compassionate grounds when documentation is provided. Any extension may result in graduation being delayed.

2.  Marking Procedures

2.1 Each Honours thesis will be marked by two examiners according to the approved criteria. One of these examiners will normally be an internal examiner, the second may be an internal or an external examiner (an external examiner being external to the School or to the University). Theses should be submitted to the Honours coordinator via the School office.

2.2 The marking process is confidential. The names of examiners will not be divulged to students, although examiners may stipulate that their name can be released to students along with their final report once the examination process has been completed.

2.3 Once the two examiners’ reports have been received with their corresponding grades and weighted percentage scores, the Honours coordinator will instigate the process required to arrive at the final mark.

2.3.1 If the two examiners award the thesis the same grade, the program coordinator in consultation with colleagues (and where possible the examiner(s) and advisor(s)) will approve this grade as the final grade and an average of the two weighted percentage scores given will be calculated.

2.3.2 If the two examiners award the thesis two different grades one mark apart from each other (e.g. a 6 and a 7), the program coordinator in consultation with colleagues (and where possible the examiner(s) and advisor(s)) will decide which grade to award to the thesis. In general, it would be normal for the grade given to correspond to the grade arrived at by the calculation of the average of the weighted percentage marks given (e.g. one examiner gives a score of 88 and a grade of 7, the other a grade of 79 and a grade of 6, so the average percentage is 83.5 and therefore the final grade a 6). HOWEVER, it will be possible for the thesis to be awarded either the higher or lower of the two grades even if this does not accord with the above method if, after a meeting of the program coordinator, the two examiners and the advisor and during which all reports are carefully considered, it is decided that there are valid reasons why this grade is more appropriate (in which case a new percentage will need to be provided also).

2.3.3 If the two examiners award the thesis two different grades two marks apart from each other (e.g. a 5 and a 7), the program coordinator in consultation with colleagues (and where possible the examiner(s) and advisor(s)) will decide the final grade to be awarded to the thesis. In general, it would be normal for the final grade given to be the grade in between the two grades suggested by the examiners (e.g. a 5 and a 7 would give a final grade of 6) but a different final grade may be arrived at if the average of the weighted percentage scores indicates a different result to this OR if, after a meeting of the program coordinator, the two examiners and the advisor and during which all reports are carefully considered, it is decided to award the thesis with the higher or lower of the two grades (in which case a new percentage will need to be provided also).

2.3.4 If the two examiners award the thesis with two different grades three marks apart from each other (e.g. a 4 and a 7), the thesis will be marked by a third examiner. Once this third mark has been received, the three reports and corresponding grades and weighted percentages will be circulated to all three examiners and the advisor by the Honours coordinator. The Honours coordinator will then schedule a meeting to take place between the three examiners (if an examiner from outside the University has been used, he or she should be represented by a proxy – who could be the Honours coordinator), the Honours coordinator, the program coordinator and other members of the program as deemed appropriate by the program coordinator in order to arrive at the final mark to be awarded. In general, it would be expected that the third examiner’s grade would be closer to one of the original two grades than the other; this third grade, then, will then often prove crucial for the decision regarding the final grade and weighted percentage. However, this final decision is the sole decision of the three examiners and must be arrived at after the careful consideration of all of the reports. Comments from the advisor and others present at the meeting should only be taken into consideration for the award of the final mark if they contribute new material information not taken into account by the examiners in their deliberations

2.4 Once a final grade and weighted percentage have been awarded, the Honours coordinator will submit the final grade and percentage via Si-net.

Marking Criteria

An Honours thesis is a substantial project which should demonstrate understanding of research processes and scholarly conventions. In scope, the thesis does not necessarily make a new contribution, but should be an independent and valuable contribution to the field of study.

Documents for Current Honours Students

• Honours assessment sheet, thesis requirements, marking criteria & grade descriptors - general (PDF, 111KB)
• Honours assessment sheet, thesis requirements, marking criteria & grade descriptors - translation (PDF, 78KB)

Checklist for Submission of Honours Dissertations

Your thesis must include certain information and content to be considered for marking.  There is a degree of choice about the order for certain entries, but generally speaking the following is a checklist (italicised items are optional) and standard guide for submission.  Check with your supervisor if you are unsure about anything .

• Title Page with all the necessary information (see below)
• Table of Contents
• Statement of Sources (see wording below)
• Acknowledgements (if any)
• List of Illustrations (if any)
• List of Tables (if any)
• Abbreviations (if any)
• Abstract (see below)
• Introduction (minimum 12 point font)
• Chapters  (minimum 12 point font)
• Conclusion (minimum 12 point font)
• Appendix (if any, see below)
• List of Works Consulted

Standard Guide:

Word Length: Your thesis should be:

• 15,000-20,000 words (English)
• 12,000-16,000 words (Spanish/French/German/Indonesian)
• 10,000-17,000 words (Korean)
• 20,000-32,500 characters (Chinese)
• 30,000-40,000 characters (Japanese)

Quotes and back matter (e.g., bibliography and appendices) are extra to this word limit. For all Languages other than English, a case can be made for the thesis to be written in English if there are compelling reasons for doing so.  In this case, the word limit for an English language thesis will apply.

Title Page:   Your title page should contain the following information:

• [Title of thesis]
• [Your Name]
• This statement: "A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours in [Subject Area]"
• Supervised by [Supervisor's Title and Name]
• University of Queensland, [Year]
• ©2015 [Author] Not to be reproduced in any way except for the purposes of research or study as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968

Table of Contents: Your table of contents should list everything contained within your submission, and the relevant page numbers for each should also be included.

Statement of Sources: "The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief original, except as acknowledged in the text, and has not been submitted either in whole or in part, for a degree at this or any other university." [Student to sign and print name]

Abstract: Include a 300 word abstract.

Appendices: If you have appendices (supporting materials, interview transcripts, diagrams, etc), title your appendices and provide them in the same order as listed on your contents page.

Submission:

Students should submit an ELECTRONIC copy to the Honours coordinator via email and blackboard Turnitin.

An electronic copy of the thesis should be emailed to the Honours coordinator and uploaded to a designated Turnitin folder on Blackboard before the deadline. It must be submitted as a single file in either Word or PDF format. 

Deadline: The submission deadline is 4pm on the last Friday of teaching (week 13) of the semester in which the thesis is due to be submitted.

• Find theses for your research

Find UQ theses

Online uq theses via uq espace, print copies of uq theses, uq schools' theses, ordering copies of uq theses (for non-uq clients).

• Australian theses
• International theses
• Further help

UQ Library holds Higher Degree by Research theses and some Honours and Coursework master's theses. 

Print or online UQ theses

• Go to the Advanced search of Library Search
• Enter your search keywords in the search box
• Use the drop-down option to choose UQ School, Centre or Institute  and add the name of the School
• Under Content type select Theses
• Click Search to see the results
• Under Refine my results you can sort the results further by relevance or date.

UQ eSpace is the institutional repository for UQ research publications, including UQ Higher Degree by Research theses

Find online versions of UQ theses :

• Go to  UQ eSpace
• Enter your search keywords or title
• At Work type choose Thesis
• Scroll down to click Search

A UQ staff or student log in may be required to view the full text of online theses. Some theses may be unavailable due to embargoes.

To request access to a print copy of a UQ thesis:

UQ students and staff and Alumni Library members: 

• Make sure you have logged in 
• Click on the  Available at link in the result in Library Search

• Complete the form details. 

• Click on the  Place a Request  button

Many theses are kept within collections in University of Queensland schools.

This is often the only way to obtain honours theses and coursework master's theses.

Please contact the appropriate school .

If you are NOT a UQ student, UQ staff member or Alumni member of the UQ Library you can:

• order copies of UQ Theses
• place requests through your own educational institution or local library.
• order copies online via the National Library of Australia's  Copies Direct service.
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• Last Updated: May 30, 2024 3:19 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.uq.edu.au/how-to-find/theses

UQ PhD Industry Placement Scholarship

About this scholarship.

This is awarded in recognition of the time commitment required to undertake a placement as part of your candidature.

If you meet the criteria, this scholarship will provide you with:

• A 3 month extension of to your Thesis Submission Date (up to 3.75 years FTE)
• A 3 month extension of tuition fee offset scholarship
• A 3 month extension of your living stipend

Read the Placement Scholarship FAQs

Eligibility

You're eligible if you:

• are a PhD candidate
• are receiving a UQ funded living stipend
• have successfully completed a Graduate School coordinated PhD Industry Placement of at least 60 working days*
• worked with the Graduate School to plan and registered your intent to undertake a HDR Placement by submitting and having your project brief approved via myUQ within 18 months of commencement.

*Some students on UQ living stipends who also hold an industry top-up scholarship may be eligible—contact us to discuss. If you have a 4-year industry funded living stipend you will not be eligible for the placement scholarship, but you should be eligible for an extension to your living stipend from your industry partner.

How to apply

Undertake an eligible UQ PhD Industry Placement as part of the Graduate School Industry Placement Program .

This scholarship cannot be used in conjunction with with other living stipend scholarship extensions.

Graduate School