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Graduate Studies

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Information for Staff

In this section, academic staff members will find helpful guidelines and information for Course Directors / Course Co-Ordinators, Supervisors and Directors of Teaching & Learning (Postgraduate). 

Graduate Studies Committee Meetings

Graduate Studies Committee Meetings are chaired by the Dean of Graduate Studies and take place every month during the academic year. Please visit the Graduate Studies page for more details.

Appointing Examiners

In this section academic staff members will find guidelines, information and the required forms for appointing External Examiners for both research and taught courses, and internal examiners for research courses.

The University Council approved Trinity's Policy on External Examiners at its meeting on the 4th April 2018. The policy, which can be downloaded below, outlines the role and responsibilities, criteria for selection, appointment and payment of External Examiners. An overview of the process can be found in the External Examiner Process Map.

Nominations – Research Courses

When Academic Registry receives a candidate’s soft bound thesis submission, they will notify the Director of Teaching and Learning (PG) in the relevant school of the requirement to nominate examiners and a Nomination Form is forwarded to the School for completion.  The Dean of Graduate Studies reviews each nomination, appoints the examiners and the thesis is then dispatched.

The nominated examiners submit independent Pre-Viva Reports, 7 days before the viva, and then submit a joint Post-Viva Report within 24 hours.

Examiners are asked to return their independent reports and results recommendation forms post viva directly to the Dean of Graduate Studies for consideration, and a result is then issued to the candidate. 

External examiner payments and expenses are decoupled from the receipt of examination reports and are dealt with by the administrative staff within the School. For information about the payment of external examiners please visit the Trinity Teaching and Learning's External Examiners page.  

Nominations - Taught Courses

Heads of School in consultation with Course Co-Ordinators and Directors of Teaching and Learning (Postgraduate) submit nominations for external examiners to the Dean of Graduate Studies for approval on behalf of Council.

On the basis of approved nominations, Trinity Teaching and Learning maintains a consolidated list of external examiners appointed to examine postgraduate taught courses.

This register is presented to the University Council for noting annually and the names of new appointees should be presented on this list in the academic year preceding the first year of their appointment.

Heads of Schools should note that the term of appointment of external examiners is three years. Requests to extend the term of any external examiner should be made to the Dean of Graduate Studies and will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances. Download the nomination form for an External Examiner below.

For information about the payment of external examiners please visit the Trinity Teaching and Learning's External Examiners page.

Covid-19 Guidelines for Academic Staff

The guidelines below outline the recommended approaches to adapting our teaching for learning online.

Graduate Student Supervision

The Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies provides advice,  guidelines and workshops on best practises for effective supervision of research and taught Masters students.  The current Regulations for Eligibility to Supervise Research Students are available in the Calendar Part III. Any proposed changes in supervision must be notified to, and approved by the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies. Contact us with any questions on your eligibility to supervise and for advice on supervision issues.

Copies of the required forms and our Supervision Guidelines are available to download below. Please read the following carefully and ensure you complete the correct form:

To access information about the Research Supervisor Development Programme please go to the Supervisor Development page.

Thesis Submission Regulations

The normal deadline for thesis submission is the last day of August for September registrants (30th September including Dean's Grace), and the last day of February for March registrants (31st March including Dean's Grace). Consult the Calendar Part III for regulations on theses submission.

Please contact gsothese@tcd.ie with any queries relating to Thesis Submissions.

Thesis Submission Process

thesis submission Trinity College Dublin

Calendar Part III

The University of Dublin Calendar is produced annually in three parts.

Part I contains details about important dates, general information about the University, staff details and information on recent publications by academic staff and students under their supervision.

Part II contains information on undergraduate studies including course regulations. 

Part III contains information on graduate studies and higher degrees including individual course regulations.

All graduate students agree as part of their annual registration to familiarise themselves with, and be bound by the regulations within the Calendar and both staff and students are strongly advised to familiarise themselves with the regulations (course and general) relating to their area of study. Where there is a discrepancy between the regulations in the Calendar and those in School or Course Handbooks, the Calendar regulations will prevail. 

Staff in the The Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies and Trinity Teaching and Learning collate proposed changes to the Calendar Part III annually for approval by the Graduate Studies Committee and then by University Council. 

Further Resources

If you have any questions please contact the Administrative Officer in Graduate Studies or check for answers on our FAQ page.