months before the expected date of submission of the thesis. This form asks for a brief outline of the thesis and Examiner’s short CV form showing the proposed examiners’ subject expertise and experience of research degrees, so that the URDS-C may judge the appropriateness of their being appointed. This form must be submitted to URDS-C via the RMA Student Section. The examination may not take place until the URDS-C’s approval of the examiners has been obtained. The Viva can be an especially challenging event in a student’s career and as they are approaching the examination, students may want to consider undergoing a mock Viva. This can be arranged by the supervisors if the student wishes to do so (please note that the examiners would not be involved in a mock examination). 2. The Thesis As a guide the standard length for the written part of a text based PhD thesis is 80, 000 words and the standard length for the written part of a text based MPhil thesis is 50, 000 words. The minimum length for the written part of a PhD thesis is as follows: Practice based thesis – 30, 000 words • • Text based thesis – 60, 000 words The maximum length for the written part of a PhD thesis is 100,000 words regardless of whether the research is practice or text based. The minimum length for the written part of an MPhil thesis is as follows: Practice based thesis – 15, 000 words • • Text based thesis – 40, 000 words The maximum length for the written part of an MPhil thesis is 60,000 words regardless of whether the research is practice or text based. For further regulations concerning the thesis, please refer to section B7: The Thesis. The written aspect of a thesis, including its appendices, footnotes and bibliographies, must be submitted in a particular format, and it is very important to become familiar with this format early in the period of study. The details of the layout of the written thesis are detailed below. There are several recognised systems for constructing tables of contents, references and bibliographies, and these are discussed in some of the publications listed in the RNUAL guide. There is no need for the final draft of the thesis to be bound according to the regulations for the completed version. However, it should be presented for examination in a suitable fashion, giving at least an indication of its appearance when finished. The student shall ensure that the thesis format of the submitted thesis is in accordance with the following requirements:
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