This policy is for PGRA, SCA and departments when considering the appointment of internal or external examiners for research degrees. This policy forms part of the University Policy on Research Degrees.
Principle for the appointment of examiners of research degrees: all examiners must be independent, impartial, have no known conflict of interest and be of suitable professional standing.
The Recommendation of Examiners form is generated and made accessible to the PGR’s department after the PGR has completed their Notification of Intention to Submit form prior to the submission of their thesis. Supervisors should contact their departmental Postgraduate Administrator regarding any queries/access issues with the form.
Departments should provide a CV for each external examiner nominated and provide a clear rationale for any exceptions to the norms set out below. It is recommended that any doubts about the perceived suitability of the external or internal examiner are referred to PGRA (pgr-administration@york.ac.uk) before the nomination form is completed.
Examiners are appointed by the SCA, acting on behalf of Senate, on the nomination of the relevant Graduate Chair. PGRA has delegated authority from the SCA to undertake examiner approval within certain set parameters (decisions are taken by the Student Administration Manager (PGRA) or their designated alternate or, if necessary, referred onwards to SCA).
We require external examiners to be of suitable professional standing - ie to have appropriate levels of academic expertise and experience, and the capacity to command authority and the respect of their colleagues in their particular field - and to behave with professional responsibility. There are many forms that professional standing may take and these may vary by discipline.
An external examiner will normally be a senior member (Professor/Reader or equivalent) of the academic staff of another higher education institution or reputable research establishment in the United Kingdom or overseas. In some disciplines the nominee might be a senior academic member of a relevant professional, statutory or regulatory body. Recently retired academics may be appointed as external examiners but they should be able to demonstrate that they are aware of recent developments in their area of expertise (if more than three years have elapsed since retirement, evidence of continuing research activity or advanced scholarship must be provided as part of the nomination process).
The Graduate Chair should provide a clear rationale for their choice of nominee, explaining their circumstances and how they meet the professionalism criterion, if:
Independence is normally established by the external examiner being a current academic employee, on a substantial contract, of another university and by their not having been a recent student, PGR or employee of the University of York (a minimum of five years should normally have elapsed since they were a student/PGR/employee at York). Those soon to be employees of the University of York should also be excluded. There must be no connection to the University of York that could suggest that they might feel compelled to make any particular decision.
Impartiality requires there to be no familial or personal relationship between the external examiner and anyone else involved in the process: PGR, supervisor, internal examiner, Graduate Chair (or whoever signs off the recommendation at departmental level) or anyone else involved in making a decision in the examination process.
It is a feature of academia that people are often required to make impartial academic judgments about someone with whom they have some level of professional relationship (eg when writing references, grading REF submissions, promotions panels etc.) so we should not assume that any existing professional relationship inhibits impartiality.
Some of the questions on the appointment of examiners form are there to ensure that there is no potential conflict of interest. The form asks the external to declare any potential conflicts of interest. For an external examiner, conflicts of interest arise when the examiner could have a personal 'stake' in the outcome. This could be, for example, through too strong a connection with the PGR, or the PGR’s work or with the work of the supervisor, internal examiner or other staff closely involved in the specific area of the PGRs of work.
The following are conflicts of interest and should be avoided at all costs:
The following might present conflict of interest and are to be avoided if possible:
The following examples would not constitute conflicts of interest:
The same external examiner may be appointed to examine no more than two PGR candidates in the same department in any 12-month period, and no more than four PGR candidates in the same department in any 36-month period.
An internal examiner will normally be a member of the University’s Academic, Research or Teaching staff, other than the candidate’s supervisor(s).
Retired members of the University’s Academic, Research or Teaching staff may be engaged to be internal examiners (at the external examiner rate) where this is academically justified (if more than three years have elapsed since retirement, evidence of continuing research activity or advanced scholarship must be provided as part of the nomination process) and where support can be provided to ensure that the examination is conducted in accordance with current University rules.
A current or former member of the PGR’s TAP (other than the supervisor(s)) or a PGR’s progression panel may be appointed as an internal examiner, providing that the conditions set out below are met.
Although a member of University staff, and likely appointed from within the PGR’s wider research grouping in the PGR’s department, the internal examiner must be able to make an independent academic judgement on the candidate’s thesis. If the nominated internal does not feel able to do so, for any reason, they must recuse themselves from the examination process.
The same principles of impartiality and conflicts of interest that apply to the appointment of external examiners also apply in relation to appointment of internal examiners. There should be no circumstances in which the internal examiner has a personal or professional interest in the outcome of the examination. Thus:
If an internal examiner is appointed who has not had previous experience of being a PGR examiner, then their department should allocate an experienced mentor (who is not the PGR's supervisor) to guide the internal through the process.
Inexperienced internal examiners should also, and additionally, be offered the opportunity for the oral examination to be overseen by an independent chair.
Policy sections
1. Introduction
2. The criteria for the award of PGR degrees
4. Selection, admission and induction of PGRs
5. Supervision
6. Responsibilities of PGRs and supervisors
8. Progress and review arrangements
9. Development of research and other skills
10. Evaluation of PGR programmes
11. Research integrity and ethics
12. Assessment
13. Dissemination of research results, intellectual property rights and responsibilities
14. PGR complaints and appeals
15. Research away from York (excluding PGRs on distance learning PGR programmes)
16. Arrangements for non-York PGRs
Appendices
- Appendix 1: Policy on the recording of second progress review meetings and oral examinations for research degrees
- Appendix 2: Policy on PhD/EngD and MPhil PGR progression
- Appendix 3: PGR Academic Misconduct policy
- Appendix 4: Paid parental leave policy
- Appendix 5: Policy framework for distance learning PGR programmes
- Appendix 6: Policy framework for collaborative off-site and collaborative split-site PGR programmes
- Appendix 7: Policy framework for integrated PhD programmes
- Appendix 8: Policy and process for the appointment of examiners for research degrees
- Appendix 9: Guidance for Examiners on Degree Outcomes
- Appendix 10: Policy on Transparency of Authorship in PGR Programmes
- Appendix 11: Policy on Granting PGR Programme Extensions in Exceptional Circumstances