Humanities and Social Sciences, Health, Education, Business and Government
Email your thesis and the two completed forms below to FGR-exams@vuw.ac.nz by your registration end date. In your email include your name and student ID number.
Examinations
Find out how to submit your thesis or research portfolio for examination and what happens next.
Master’s-by-research students must submit their thesis or research portfolio for examination within twelve months of full-time registration (or equivalent).
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 via fgr-postgrads@vuw.ac.nz 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.
- 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 or research portfolio 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 apply for permission to extend your word count as you will need 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 permission to withhold access to your thesis or research portfolio. You may wish to do this if it contains sensitive material or material with potential commercial value. For more information, visit Thesis availability
- Ask your supervisor to fill in a "Supervisor’s Statement Master's Examination" form (find this below, in your relevant Faculty's section), which you’ll need to attach when you submit your thesis or research portfolio.
How to submit your Master’s thesis or research portfolio
Depending on your programme, there are slightly different processes. Scroll down to find your Faculty and the specific instructions for submission.
International Institute of Modern Letters
Email your thesis to your school’s Postgraduate Administrator and copy FGR-exams@vuw.ac.nz into your email.
Law
Email your thesis and the two completed forms below to FGR-exams@vuw.ac.nz and copy in law-postgraduate@vuw.ac.nz and your supervisor by your registration end date. In your email include your name and student ID number.
Architecture thesis students
Email your thesis and the two completed forms below to FGR-exams@vuw.ac.nz and copy in SoA-Masters@vuw.ac.nz and your supervisor by your registration end date. In your email include your name and student ID number.
Architecture research portfolio
Submit via Nuku, including the two completed documents below.
Design Innovation research portfolio students
Create a OneDrive folder (instructions below) and submit your thesis/portfolio and the three completed documents below, then share your folder with FGR-Exams@vuw.ac.nz
Science and Engineering
Email your thesis and the two completed forms below to your School’s Postgraduate Administrator and copy in FGR-exams@vuw.ac.nz
Some Schools have specific arrangements and email addresses for submission, so please check with your School before submitting.
Research Portfolio courses with presentations (viva/on-site examinations) as a part of the examination process
Master of Music Therapy, Master of Design Innovation, Master of Architecture(Prof), Master of Landscape Architecture, and Master of Interior Architecture students are expected to give a presentation as part of their viva/on-site examination. Details about this will be included in your course outline, and you should contact your School’s Postgraduate Administrator if you have any questions.