My Viva is towards the end of March so I should probably already know the answer to this but what is the difference between major and minor corrections?

I assume major corrections need to be checked by your external as well as internal examiner but I am unsure about what qualifies as minor or major...

Say if I had to move the ordering of chapters (which my supervisors can't even agree on) would that be major? Or more stylistic problems such as using the passive voice at points in the thesis, or grammatical errors are they minor?

I am already having viva nightmares so any advice gratefully received!

Jen :)

======= Date Modified 18 Jan 2012 13:35:17 =======
Hey

At my university............

a) Minor corrections.  This is the outcome that all PhD candidates want (or no corrections!)! If people receive this outcome than supervisors send out congratulatory emails to everyone and refer to the PhD candidate as 'Dr so and so'. Minor corrections refer to minor corrections- ie a few spelling and/or grammer mistakes, addition of a few articles and could be a few small structural changes. No real major structural changes and no further analysis. Candidates are given 3 months to make changes. Both the external and internal check that candidates have met every correction before awarding PhD.

b) Major corrections. This outcome involves the candidate to carry out more work, ie more analyses, more structural work, adding more studies. More substantial changes needed than minor corrections. Candidates are given 6 months to make changes. Both external and internal need to check changes before awarding PhD.

Deciding on awarding minors or majors depends on examiners opinions and in some cases, performance at viva. Both minor and major corrections are viewed as a 'PhD pass' and PhD awarded after some changes.

c) Revise and resubmit. This outcome involves substantial changes to a PhD thesis. Some view it as a fail, others view it as a second chance for a PhD award. Candidates are given up to a year to make changes. Both external and internal examiners check changes before awarding a PhD (or whether to award an MPhil! :S) . Sometimes candidates have to go through another viva once they've resubmitted their PhDs. My supervisor was awarded this outcome because they felt that given his full time job, he would not be able to make the changes in time so they awarded him with a revise and resubmit verdict.

This was my outcome. My corrections were more substantial than major corrections, but mostly involve rewriting and substantially reducing my thesis to under 100,000 words. I need to pay 200 pounds to resubmit my thesis for re-examination and I need to send my examiners a report of the changes I've made. I don't have to go through another viva voce. I was delighted with this outcome because I convinced myself I would leave the viva with an MPhil. Now feels like I'm living in hell with these corrections and thesis re-writes :-( so not a happy time for me right now!

d) MPhil outcome. This outcome filled me with sheer dread! Examiners award this outcome if they feel the work is not up to PhD standard and award candidates with a lower degree after some corrections. Definitely viewed as a PhD fail by my department!

e) Fail outcome. No degree awarded.

Thank you Pineapple, this is very useful! Good luck with completing your PhD :)

Thanks for the advice! I can't seem to find any guidelines at my university which isn't very helpful!

I hope all goes well for you. I can imagine it is a tough time, but imagine how good it will feel when it is all done (that's what everyone keeps telling me anyway! :p

Thanks again

Jen