My supervisor has informed me that for my forthcoming viva I will have a second external examiner, as well as an internal and himself. This is very unusual in my university. In fact, the examiner's office has never heard of it. I have thrawled through all university conventions and have found no allowance for this. This is my 7th year- I started immediately after my degree- and he just told me about this in the past three months.

I have been fuming about this ever since while I tidied up my thesis, but because of its unusual aspect I have been ashamed to tell anybody. I thought my anger would subside, but rather I feel increasingly discriminated against- I had very serious illness during the PhD (hence the delay) but this additional external examiner only emerged immediately following a governing council meeting granting me an extension into this 7th year, where my supervisor informed that council of my illness as justification for the extension. Mentioning my illness was done without my permission and as far as I am concerned was a fundamental breach of trust or, at best, a gross misjudgment on his part. I am particularly aggrieved that I have not been given a reason for this change: I have simply been informed of it, and told that he didn't envisage any problems. I am not in a position to say anything to him as he is still reading the final draft of my thesis and I do not want to say anything that will discriminate further against me. I have put my heart and soul into this. I am proud of what I have added, I believe in it, and I will be happy to defend it. However, as a matter of principle I feel that the bar has been raised for me because of something that was beyond my control and that symbolically alone I am being discriminated against before I even enter the viva: 4 examiners at that table will approach my work with greater hostility than the conventional 3.

Has this happened to anybody else? Do I have any rights given my situation? What would you do?

Hi Aodhan,
Very unusual situation indeed. However, if you are a member of staff in the university, it is the norm to have 2 internal and 2 external examiners. Your supervisor must not be one of them. Get confirmation from the Research Degrees Office and advice from the students advisor in the Student's Union.
Pulling a bunny out of the hat at the last minute is not acceptable. They owe you a written explanation. If you are not happy with their explanation, seek recourse with the university complaints officer and make sure your Vice Chancellor knows about this funny business. These rogue academics tend to back down when you stand up to them. Good luck and keep us posted.

Hi,

There is no excuse for breaching your confidentiality.

But I do know of two cases where extra examiners (internal and external) were used. It was not anything to do with the student, but to do with the 1st examiner being inexperienced, and needing to be observed by an experienced examiner. It may not be anything to do with you.

Hi Aodhán,

First, having a second external examiner is not uncommon. While it's not the norm, it does happen frequently, and it normally occurs when there are aspects of the thesis that the first external does not feel the know enough about to examine you on. Thus, a third examiner crops up a lot when a thesis is interdisciplinary or very complex. You're not having the bar raised because you have more than two examiners, and there is absolutely no reason why you should feel ashamed of this. Since you are obviously upset about this issue, you should email your supervisor and ask him why a second external has been appointed, and what aspect of your work requires another external.

Second, are you at a UK university? Because the unusual element of your circumstances (at least in my experience) is the fact your supervisor is an examiner. Normally, a supervisor cannot examine the student, and at the most, may only sit in on the viva (but keep quiet). In fact, most people will not have their supervisor present as it removes the appearance that the student is an 'independent researcher' and actually makes the student feel more uncomfortable.

Finally, with respect to your illness, the disclosure of this may have been necessary to ensure you got your extension. It is quite possible the supervisor was only acting in your best interests. Also, if you have submitted evidence of your illness on previously occasions, then this would be in your personal file, and they would be privy to this anyway. However, if you have told your supervisor to keep such issue quiet and confidential, well then he has breached your confidentiality.

My only advice to you, would be to ask supervisor why you have a 3rd examiner, and which parts of your thesis is this necessary for. If you word an email diplomatically, I can't see any reason why this would upset your supervisor.

Hi Aodhán,

First, having a second external examiner is not uncommon. While it's not the norm, it does happen frequently, and it normally occurs when there are aspects of the thesis that the first external does not feel the know enough about to examine you on. Thus, a third examiner crops up a lot when a thesis is interdisciplinary or very complex. You're not having the bar raised because you have more than two examiners, and there is absolutely no reason why you should feel ashamed of this. Since you are obviously upset about this issue, you should email your supervisor and ask him why a second external has been appointed, and what aspect of your work requires another external.

Second, are you at a UK university? Because the unusual element of your circumstances (at least in my experience) is the fact your supervisor is an examiner. Normally, a supervisor cannot examine the student, and at the most, may only sit in on the viva (but keep quiet). In fact, most people will not have their supervisor present as it removes the appearance that the student is an 'independent researcher' and actually makes the student feel more uncomfortable.

Finally, with respect to your illness, the disclosure of this may have been necessary to ensure you got your extension. It is quite possible the supervisor was only acting in your best interests. Also, if you have submitted evidence of your illness on previously occasions, then this would be in your personal file, and they would be privy to this anyway. However, if you have told your supervisor to keep such issue quiet and confidential, well then he has breached your confidentiality.

My only advice to you, would be to ask supervisor why you have a 3rd examiner, and which parts of your thesis is this necessary for. If you word an email diplomatically, I can't see any reason why this would upset your supervisor.

Excuse duplicated post - editing 'save' button doesn't seem to be working.