Hello;

I am in a very strange situation. I submitted my PhD and the concensus of the examiners was "the thesis be accepted and the degree be awarded after amendments have been made". The external and International examiners didn't have any comments. The internal had 5 pages of comments...mostly petty and mostly opinion based. One of his demands is the removal of the central case study which is what the thesis is about. Removing the case study would make the thesis unreadable. The exam coordinator is worthless and every time explain the rationale he agrees with me but says that is what the internal examiner wants for the thesis to pass. I am retired and disabled so I have nothing but time. What are my options? I want to withdraw the submission and submit to a different university. I am late 50s and dont see any utility in moving forward to viva given the ongoing issues with the internal examiner. Any thoughts or recommendations on the best way fwd?

Generally I would say just do what the examiners ask for, even if you don't agree with their opinion, because that's what will get you your PhD. Unless you think this examiner is so unreasonable that he will look for any excuse not to pass you - but even then, you would not be helping your case in any future appeal by refusing to do the corrections asked for. What do your supervisors think?

I'm slightly confused by what you say about moving forward to viva - does this mean you haven't had your viva yet? I'm guessing this isn't the UK system then, where you wouldn't normally get your examiners' reports until after the viva. If you say what country you're in, maybe someone can advise on transferring to another university, as I don't think you can do that in the UK (you could potentially start over at a new university, but that doesn't seem a good option when you're only a few corrections away from passing).

Thanks...I am in New Zealand. The orals haven't been scheduled yet. Unfortunately, the change the internal wants, the removal of the case study, is the crux of the thesis. Removing the case study destroys the thesis. I dont think the internal examiner understands this. Thanks for the advice.

If you feel that the internal examiner is being totally unreasonable then it is better to try a different university. But before doing so I think it is better to try to convince him once again. If nothing works it is better to move on to another university.

Hi Flyingmonkey, does your internal want the total removal of the entire case study-and all references to it? Or are they just after a reduction in the information of the case in the thesis? As in, much information thinned out and summarised but it is still referenced in the main body (With perhaps other parts moved to appendices or perhaps published separately)?

I am not quite about it.