Guidelines for internal examination (green reading)

Purpose of the internal examination

The primary purpose of the internal examination is to ensure the quality of the thesis before the public defence.

Appointment of internal examiners

The internal examination committee consists of two members of staff from the department who hold a doctoral degree. One member should be a professor (who acts as convenor) and the other an associate professor. Both internal examiners should also have participated in the manuscript conference.

The Director of Doctoral Studies appoints the members of the internal examination committee before the manuscript conference, after consultation with the supervisor(s) and the doctoral student.

Planning the revision process

At the end of the manuscript conference, the internal examiners, supervisors and doctoral student agree on a deadline and the process for the remaining work.

It is common for doctoral students to prepare a summary of the main revisions based on comments received during the manuscript conference. The internal examiners review this list and, if necessary, add, remove, or revise items before the revision work begins.

The doctoral student then revises the manuscript and submits it to the internal examiners within the agreed timeframe.

Assessment of the revised thesis

When the revised manuscript is available, the internal examination committee conducts an overall assessment of the thesis's academic quality to determine whether it is ready for public defence.

The supervisors and internal examiners should follow a schedule that gives the internal examiners enough time to review the manuscript and provide their recommendation, normally within two to three weeks of receiving it.

The two internal examiners should preferably agree on a recommendation.

Recommendation and further action

If the committee decides that the thesis is not yet ready for public defence, the internal examiners should provide a written statement specifying what the doctoral student needs to do before the manuscript can be approved.

If the internal examiners recommend that the thesis proceed to public defence, no written statement is required.

Disagreements

If the internal examiners make substantially different assessments, or if the internal examiners and supervisor(s) are unable to reach agreement despite all efforts, the matter shall be referred to the Board of Supervisors ("handledarkollegiet").