PhD Degree: Dissertation and Creative Works

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy signifies a substantial piece of original research which has been conducted and reported by the holder under proper academic supervision and in a research environment for a prescribed period. In the creative arts discipline, a PhD thesis may take the form of performance and/or corpus of creative work plus a dissertation which addresses, elucidates and contextualises the work. The creative work and dissertation will be examined as an integrated whole. All candidates for a PhD will be examined on the basis of a thesis. Candidates submitting theses in the creative arts may prepare a thesis which consists of creative work plus dissertation. as creative work. The length of the dissertation will also depend on what proportion of the thesis it constitutes, but will normally be at least 40,000 words. For the PhD (composition), the folio will constitute 90-120 minutes of music and is weighted at 70%. The accompanying dissertation will be 20-25,000 words and weighted at 30%. The word limit is exclusive of words in tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices. Appendices must be limited to supporting material genuinely subsidiary to the main argument of the thesis.

Format of the thesis

In the case of creative arts disciplines the thesis may take the form of creative work plus dissertation. The creative work may take the form of performance, exhibition, writing (poetry, fiction, script or other written literary forms), design, film, video, multimedia, CD, DVD or other new media technologies and modes of presentation. Where appropriate to the study, the creative work must be comprehensively documented. Either the documentation or the creative work or both must be submitted with the dissertation. The dissertation and the creative work should be considered as complementary, mutually reinforcing parts of a single project. The candidate may argue, however, that the relationship between the two parts contributes to the originality and creativity of the whole. The dissertation should not simply describe the creative work and how it was undertaken. While it will often include information on the materials and methodology used and elucidate the creative work and place it in an artistic, intellectual and/or cultural context, the dissertation must answer to the requirement of every PhD research thesis that it makes an original contribution to knowledge. The format of the creative work component of the thesis will be agreed between the candidate and supervisor, and be approved by the head of department at confirmation. The format of the dissertation component will normally meet the guidelines for a written thesis set out above. Where the creative work component involves performance (dance, drama, music), a good quality recording of the performance must be included as part of the thesis, or in the case of Music composition, to the folio. Where the creative work component involves exhibited visual art works, good quality photographic reproductions of the work must be included as an appendix to the dissertation. Candidates who have submitted a thesis consisting of creative work, where the creative work is not bound together with the dissertation (e.g. exhibition, performance, poetry, screenplay, novel), shall state: Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (by creative work and dissertation).

Probationary status and confirmation of candidature

For confirmation of candidature, each candidate is required to verbally defend a written report to the Confirmation Committee. Guidelines for the format of the report are included in the Confirmation Report Form and may vary according to discipline. During the defence, the Confirmation Committee will assess the feasibility and resource requirements of the proposed project and offer suggestions towards its successful completion. In the case of creative arts disciplines deciding on an integrated format appropriate for a thesis of this nature will require discussion with the candidate and careful supervision. Normally the creative work component will not constitute more than 50% of the thesis. After the confirmation process, the Confirmation Committee will inform the Research Higher Degrees Committee of the form and presentation of the thesis.

Preparation of a thesis
Candidates are strongly advised to discuss with their supervisors the style of writing to be used in the thesis before writing begins. The thesis should include a general discussion of the results and findings, and of their significance in relation to the current state of knowledge in the field. At the stage of thesis preparation, the candidate should be able to express themselves with precision, clarity and conciseness. The candidates supervisor must be consulted on the general form and the content of the thesis up to the stage of the final draft. In the case of creative arts disciplines where the thesis may take the form of creative works and a dissertation, the candidate should specify the form and presentation of the thesis including the proportion to be presented as creative work and the proportion to be presented as a dissertation. The creative work and dissertation must be presented as an integrated, coherent whole.

Word limit
In the case of creative arts disciplines where the thesis may take the form of creative works and a dissertation, the integrated thesis should normally represent the equivalent of 80,000 words. The creative work component will be determined between the candidate and supervisor, be approved by the head of department and be relevant to the proportion of the thesis submitted

Candidates who have submitted a thesis consisting of creative work, where the creative work is bound together with the dissertation (e.g. poetry, screenplay, novel), shall state: Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (by creative work and dissertation).

Thesis submission
Three copies of the dissertation and creative work must be submitted. Four copies must be submitted where three examiners are required to travel to the site of a performance or exhibition, and candidates are required to submit an extended abstract of 1,000-3,000 words to the Chair of Examiners for forwarding to the examiners one week prior to the time of the viewing, unless the dissertation is submitted around the same time as the viewing.

Examination
In the case of creative arts disciplines where a thesis consists of creative works and a dissertation, and where the creative work component includes performance or exhibition of visual art works, examiners will normally travel to the site of the performance or exhibition. Either two or three examiners will be appointed and the Chair of Examiners will normally attend the performance. Each examiner will be given the candidates dissertation, bound in temporary binding, within six months from the time of the viewing. The creative work and dissertation must be examined as an integrated whole. Any additional documentation e.g. video of the performance, must be supplied to the examiners with the dissertation.

Standard of examination of creative work

In order to pass the examination, and thus qualify as part of the basis for the award of the PhD degree, the creative work must have the following attributes: it demonstrates a professional level of familiarity with and understanding of contemporary work in the field; it demonstrates a sufficiently comprehensive investigation of the artistic form and creative content; the methods and techniques applied in the execution of the work are appropriate to the subject matter and are original and/or aesthetically effective; the creative work is presented in a sufficiently professional manner; the creative work demonstrates a sufficiently high standard of literary, visual, digital, musical or performance literacy and quality; the research question/s has/have been identified and tested through the creative work; the documentation of the work (including catalogue/program material where appropriate) is sufficiently thorough and is of a standard that will ensure the work provides a reference for subsequent researchers; the creative work and the dissertation together constitute a substantive original contribution to knowledge in the subject-area with which it deals; there is an appropriate and substantiated interface between the creative work and the dissertation. Examiners are advised that they may ask for creative works to be represented or re-documented if they do not meet the above criteria.

Further information
All In Details in this series may be downloaded from: gradresearch.unimelb.edu.au/indetail.html#exams PhD Handbook available in full from: gradresearch.unimelb.edu.au/handbooks/index.html Thesis Writing Guide is available from the Graduate Student Association List of bookbinders is available from MSGR or GSA.

Melbourne School of Graduate Research Contacts

ph: (03) 8344 7410 email: msgr-exams@unimelb.edu.au
Authorised by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Graduate Research) of the Melbourne School of Graduate Research Published by the Melbourne School of Graduate Research Copyright, The University of Melbourne CRICOS CODE: 00116k The information in this publication was correct at the time of printing. The University reserves the right to make changes as appropriate. Last updated: 18 September 2012