A. Student Responsibilities

1. Scheduling. In consultation with the supervisor, the MPhil student must propose a date for the thesis examination before a Thesis Examination Committee (TEC). The date must meet the following requirements:
   1. By the proposed examination date, the student will have completed all coursework requirements for the degree.
   2. The online proforma indicating the proposed examination date as described below must be submitted at least six weeks in advance. Inadequate notice served for taking the thesis examination will result in postponement of the thesis examination.
   3. The examination should not be scheduled on a Sunday or public holiday in order to encourage the participation of members of the University community.
   4. Avoid scheduling a thesis examination toward the end of a term, in order to allow sufficient time for revisions and other post-examination arrangements to avoid unnecessary delay in graduation.
2. Form submission. The student must submit an online proforma via the Thesis Examination System of the Student Information System (SIS), accessible via Student Intranet. These are the requirements:
   1. The proforma must be submitted to supervisor(s) and Department for approval no less than six weeks before the proposed examination date.
   2. HKUST Fok Ying Tung Graduate School (FYTGS) will review the information provided in the proforma to ensure that the arrangements of the thesis examination conform to the University guidelines. If deviations are identified, postponement or withdrawal of the thesis examination (regardless of whether the student has duly submitted the thesis or not) will be requested/required until the clearance of FYTGS has been sought.
3. Thesis Submission. Students are required to submit the thesis copies to the iThenticate platform for originality check. The iThenticate report together with sufficient hard or electronic thesis copies ready for examination purpose should be submitted to the Department no less than four weeks before the thesis examination. Students failing to deliver these copies before the submission deadline may be required to postpone the thesis examination.

B. Supervisor Responsibilities

1. Patent Protection. If the contents of the thesis involve commercially sensitive information, the thesis supervisor(s) is/are advised to approach the Office of Knowledge Transfer well in advance to discuss the possibility of obtaining patent protection before the Department announces the thesis examination to the public.
2. Originality Check. As students are required to submit the thesis copies to the iThenticate platform for originality check, supervisors should advise students on whether it is appropriate to exclude bibliography and works cited including students' own previously published papers from the checking.

C. Department Responsibilities

1. Thesis examination committee (TEC). The Department is responsible for identifying examiners to serve on the examination committee following the “Guidelines on MPhil Thesis Examination Committees”, for checking the availability of examiners, and making appointments with them. Liaison with examiners to make arrangements for the thesis examination should not be done by the candidate being examined.
2. TEC confirmation. Upon approval of the TEC membership, an email notification will be issued normally no less than four weeks before the examination date.
3. Receipt of thesis copies. The Department should confirm and record the actual date of receipt of the thesis copies in the Thesis Examination System.
4. Thesis distribution. The Department should immediately distribute the thesis copies and the iThenticate report to the following and record the actual dispatch date in the Thesis Examination System:
   1. Chairperson and members of the MPhil TEC, such that members are given sufficient time to review the thesis.
   2. A thesis copy will be made available at the Department for perusal by faculty, students, other University members, and members of the public.
5. Announcements
   1. After receipt of the thesis copies has been entered in the Thesis Examination System, announcements will be automatically posted on the Thesis Defense Calendar. Other forms of posting, such as emails and/or posters, should also be made as appropriate.
   2. At least one working day before the thesis examination is held, the Department is required to ensure that an email reminder is sent to members of the MPhil TEC, specifying the date, time and venue of the thesis examination.

D. Safety Assessment

Upon receiving the proforma via the Thesis Examination System, the Health, Safety and Environment Office (HSEO) will conduct risk assessment. HSEO will notify the student if a safety check is required.

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E. Changes to Approved Proforma

After the proforma has been approved, any changes initiated by the Department, student’s supervisor, or student must be approved by FYTGS before the changes can be effected.

​F. Further Enquiries

All enquiries regarding the arrangements for scheduling MPhil thesis examinations, should be submitted to the Department.