Nomination of examiners
Information on the nomination of examiners process.
Once you have submitted your Notice of Intention to Submit forms, the official Nomination of Examiners process can begin.
Notice of Intention to Submit Forms
Following submission of your Notice of Intention to Submit forms, the College Office will send an email to the Informatics Graduate School (IGS) asking them to begin the Nomination of Examiners process. The IGS will then contact your Principal Supervisor asking them to nominate suitable Examiners to examine your dissertation. Nominations are subject to the approval of both the Director of IGS and the College of Science and Engineering College Office. This process can take one or two months.
Usually two examiners are appointed for each candidate; one internal examiner and one external examiner. If you have been or are currently a member of staff at the University during the time of your Research degree you may have to have one internal examiner and two external examiners; you should discuss this with your supervisor.
Students may volunteer names of possible Examiners, and should inform the Principal Supervisor of any problems that might arise should a particular examiner be appointed. However, students have no right to play any part in the final choice, and therefore no right to veto any particular appointment. The University of Edinburgh places great emphasis on maintaining the academic integrity of the examination procedures. For this reason:
- External Examiners should be of recognised eminence in the subject matter of the thesis
- all Examiners are expected to provide an impartial assessment of the submitted work
- anyone who has been a member of staff, held an honorary or part-time appointment or been a student of the University at any time during the previous four years may not act as an External Examiner
- anyone directly involved in the candidate’s work towards the thesis may not be an Examiner (e.g. anyone who has been a supervisor to the student during their research programme)
- potential professional or personal conflicts of interest should be considered
- two External Examiners should be appointed if the student has been, or is currently, employed by the University
Other regulations or restrictions may also apply and guidance should be sought from the Graduate School Office if the appointment of any examiner is likely to give rise to any issues affecting the examination process.