uct masters thesis guidelines

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After consultation with the supervisor, a candidate hoping to graduate in March / September 2024 is required to first submit an Intention to Submit 6 - 8 weeks before uploading the dissertation for examination via PeopleSoft to the Faculty Office.

STEP 1 - Create the intention to submit service request via PeopleSoft.

• Intention to Submit Form 
• COMPG01a - Dissertation Open Access Suppression  (if applicable) 

Please refer to the  Quick Reference Guide: Student Upload Intention to Submit.

Please check your PeopleSoft within a week to see if your service request was accepted or declined. If no action was taken, please contact the  Commerce   Faculty Office  via  email:  [email protected] .  

The guideline dates for submission of dissertations are:

• Intention: 30 June 2023
• Submission of dissertation: 25 August 2023
• Submission of dissertation: 12 February 2024
• Intention: 19 December 2023

Please read the notice about 2024 graduation

• Students who submit their corrections by  12:00 on 01 December 2023 and meet   the requirements for their qualification  may be able to attend a  graduation ceremony in March 2024.
• A letter of completion may be issued if required before the graduation ceremonies. Please get in touch with  [email protected] .

After consultation with the supervisor, a candidate hoping to graduate in March / September is required to submit via PeopleSoft to the Faculty Office:

STEP 2 - Create the upload thesis/dissertation service request via PeopleSoft .

• Plagiarism Declaration
• Declaration and Rebate Form
• Dissertation (you must include a signed declaration acknowledging that the dissertation is your own work)
• A copy of your unofficial transcript from PeopleSoft

Please refer to the  Quick Reference Guide: Student Upload Thesis/Dissertation for Examination .

Please check your PeopleSoft within a week to see if your service request was accepted or declined. If no action was taken, please contact the  Commerce  Faculty Office via email:  [email protected] .  

In order to qualify for your Masters degree and be able to attend graduation, you must meet all the requirements for your degree, these may include but are not limited to:

• Successfully completing your dissertation component
• Passing all necessary coursework
•  A copy of the finalised dissertation is uploaded on PeopleSoft –  Library Upload Guide.

What does ‘qualify’ mean?

A student qualifies when he or she has met the requirements for the degree/diploma which is ratified by the FEC and approved by SEC. Graduation may take place weeks or even months after this approval process.  A student may apply for a transcript which will show that the qualification has been completed and that graduation will take place on a date sometime in the future. 

What does ‘graduate’ mean?

A student graduates at a congregation of the University of Cape Town. That is, a graduation ceremony where the degree or diploma is conferred upon him/her. The graduation date appears on the certificate and transcript. Kindly note that the University of Cape Town does not undertake to reach a decision on the award of the degree by any specific date.  We will inform you once your examination process has been completed.

• Please note that if you intend submitting your Master's dissertation for examination between December and before the academic term commences the following year, you will not be required to register.
• If you submit your dissertation after the term commences you must re-register by the date set out on the registration programme. If you do not register and you submit your dissertation for examination, your dissertation will not be sent off for examination until you have re-registered.

A rebate on the annual academic fee for a masters’ dissertation is granted in the second or subsequent year in which the dissertation is being completed.

Refer to the  Fees Handbook  (No. 8.2) for the exact fees and deadline dates.  Kindly note that these are not Faculty deadline dates, but fee deadline dates.

Where a student is required to revise and resubmit a thesis or dissertation the appropriate academic fee will apply (refer to Fees Handbook, No. 8.3):

• Where a student is required to revise and resubmit a thesis or dissertation the academic fee will be charged per quarter (i.e. if the candidate must work for up to one quarter, the student will pay 25% of the full fee; for up to two quarters, he/she will pay 50% of the full fee and so on).
• Note: Full annual fees will be billed from the date on which the student is notified to revise and resubmit and any fee rebate will be processed on resubmission.

Should you be entitled to a rebate, this will only take effect once we know the outcome of your dissertation.

Please email the  Commerce Faculty HDC  with any queries. 

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Documents for doctoral students can be downloaded below:

General information:

• Overview of the Doctoral Degrees Board’s (DDB) documentation
• PhD degree general rules
• PhD students’ examination guide
• Procedures for the Doctoral Degrees Board (DDB)
• FAQ - Oral Examination Pilot

Intention to submit:

• Intention Service Request Checklist
• DDB08 – Thesis Open Access Suppression form (only applicable if you wish to suppress your thesis)
• DDB09 – Notice of intention to submit PhD thesis form (all faculties)
• DDB10 – PhD IP Assessment form (compulsory for the Science, Engineering & Built Environment and Health Sciences)
• DDB14 – Confidentiality on the nomination of examiners
• PeopleSoft reference guide – intention to submit
• FHS Ethics Checklist

Inclusion of publications:

• Guidelines for the Inclusion of Publications in a Doctoral Thesis

Once you have been granted permission to include publications, you are required to include the following declaration in your thesis.

• Declaration for inclusion of publications

Submission of thesis for examination:

• Thesis Service Request Checklist
• Revised Thesis Service Request Checklist
• DDB11 – Declaration and Submission form (All faculties)
• PeopleSoft reference guide – upload thesis for examination
• Turnitin Plagiarism Declaration
• Citation and Mini Citation
• Citation guideline
• Vula & Turnitin

Graduation library copy:

• Library Service Request Checklist
• PeopleSoft reference guide – upload library copy

Guidelines:

Doctoral students

• Open Access Policy
• PhD proposal guidelines
• Guidelines for PhD abstracts
• Inclusion of publications in your PhD thesis
• Points of interest when uploading your PhD thesis for examination
• Publications, copyright and your PhD thesis
• Avoiding plagiarism
• How to interpret a Turnitin originality report
• Turnitin for UCT Postgraduate Students

Supervisors and Doctoral students

• Guidelines for PhD candidates and supervisors
• Governance on the replacement of a supervisor

Supervisors

• Guidelines to Categories of Supervisor
• Guidelines for the Appointment of Supervisors of Doctoral Candidates
• Guidelines for the Appointment of Examiners for Doctoral Theses
• Guidelines for the Appointment of External Supervisors and External Co-supervisors for Doctoral Degrees
• Guidelines for Examination of a PhD Thesis

Biological Sciences Library Guide: Theses & Dissertations

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A thesis is a detailed report documenting the research work completed by a student for completion of a higher degree.   The Libraries hold all UCT masters and doctoral theses. Honours theses are kept by the academic departments to which they were submitted. 

All UCT theses are available online through UCT's institutional repository, OpenUCT .

ETDs (Electronic theses and dissertations) 

Some South African universities make their theses available electronically–check our e-Theses Links page .

International theses

Check the lists of institutions on our ETD Links page — the thesis you need may be freely available on the web.

Interlibrary Loans

If a book is not available at UCT libraries, a copy can be requested via Interlibrary Loans from another library.

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The research proposal is a plan of action; it sets out the aims of your research project and how you intend to achieve these aims. A good research proposal provides a focus for your research activity and a benchmark against which you can make whatever adjustments become necessary.

Further guidelines on the preparation of a research proposal can be found in the following document:

• Research Proposal Guide

Framing a clear research question is a crucial part of developing your research proposal, and should be seen as emerging from a dialogue between a developing theoretical position and decisions you need to take about research design and subsequent data analysis. Guidelines for framing your research question can be found here .

Other useful documents to help you get started are:

• For master's degrees: Masters information
• For doctoral degrees: PhD information
• For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy: PHD rules

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Thesis/Dissertation/Mini-Dissertation Structure

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There is no standard format for the submission of a dissertation or thesis: formatting is at the candidate’s discretion, but using A4 paper is the expected norm. Reasonable width margins (2 – 2.5 cm) are desirable to ensure that binding does not impede reading of the text. However, candidates should consult their supervisor early on in the process. The contents must be printed in either double or one and a half spacing using a common font throughout. Printing on both sides of the page is allowed, but a reasonable weight paper must then be used. Although it is expected that the dissertation/thesis be written in English, it is possible with prior support of the supervisor and prior permission from the Doctoral Degrees Board, to submit a PhD in another language.

It is acceptable for a Masters dissertation or PhD thesis to include published papers , provided that:

• where published papers are included as separate chapters, the dissertation/thesis must nonetheless show acceptable academic style, constant formatting, scholarly content and coherence as a connected account with a satisfactory general introduction, statement of thesis and a final discussion chapter. The latter should not duplicate material that is already contained in the discussion sections of the various chapters/papers, but integrate the results from the various chapters and place them in a broader context;
• where multi-authored papers are included, the contribution of the candidate can be distinguished and is clearly stated

For Masters degrees a candidate must submit either three hard copies (degree by dissertation only) or TWO hard copies (degree by coursework plus dissertation) of the dissertation in temporary binding to the Postgraduate Officer in the Science Faculty Office . Once the dissertation has been finally accepted, one unbound hard copy and one electronic copy (in pdf format on a labelled, read-only CD packed in a hard "jewel" case) of the final, corrected dissertation must be lodged with the Faculty Office.

In the case of a PhD , the thesis may not exceed 80,000 words . If it is felt that it is essential to exceed this length, special permission must be obtained from the Dean. It is the expectation that Masters degrees should be substantially shorter than this with a maximum of 50,000 words allowed; on the order of 35,000 words (~100 pages) would be the expected norm.

There must be a title page on which should appear the thesis title, name of candidate (plus qualifications if you wish), name of Department, University and the month and year of submission. The following is the recommended wording used after the thesis title and name of the candidate: Dissertation (or Thesis) presented for the degree of Master of Science (or Doctor of Philosophy) in the Department of … University of Cape Town Month and Year

For a coursework Masters minor dissertation the wording should read "Dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of…".

Plagiarism Declaration

Following the title page there should be a page containing the following signed statement by the candidate: "I know the meaning of plagiarism and declare that all of the work in the dissertation (or thesis), save for that which is properly acknowledged, is my own‟.

Publication

When a candidate submits a thesis he/she shall be deemed to have granted the University free license to publish it in whole or part in any format the University deems fit.

Referencing

Forms of referencing must be standard for the discipline and must adhere to a recognised international convention, agreed to with the supervisor.

Due Dates and Process of Submission

At the conclusion of research, the candidate must submit a dissertation or thesis for examination. This normally occurs after receiving an indication from the supervisor that the product is in a form which is acceptable for submission. However, a candidate is not prevented from submitting without the supervisor’s approval.

If a candidate intends submitting a Masters dissertation for examination he/she must inform the Head of Department in writing, with a copy to the Dean, of such an intention two weeks in advance of planned submission date. The Head of Department, with input from the supervisor, will then nominate suitable examiners for approval by the Dean. If submitting a PhD thesis, the candidate must inform the Doctoral Degrees Board Officer (New Student Administration Building) in writing of such intention one month prior to planned submission.

The dates for submission of dissertations and theses are: First or Second week in February for persons hoping to graduate in September; First or Second week in August for persons hoping to graduate in March of the following year.

Please refer to the University Fees Booklet for submission dates with respect to fee rebates. Candidates who submit their thesis/dissertation before the beginning of the start of the first term are not required to register. If submitted after the start of the first term a candidate must register for that year, and a pro-rata fee will be charged, depending on the date of submission. Where a student who submitted prior to the start of term is required to revise and resubmit a dissertation/thesis, they must register and pay the academic fee for that year. Further information can be found at the UCT Student Handbook site .