School of Graduate Studies / Thesis
Thesis Guidelines
Requirements for preparing a traditional master’s thesis: supervision, proposal, ethics, structure, formatting and academic integrity.
1Introduction and Scope
Writing a thesis is the defining milestone of a research-based master’s degree. It is where a graduate student shows that they can frame a significant question, investigate it with sound methods, and communicate the results in a form that meets international scholarly standards. These guidelines explain every stage of that journey at the University of Hargeisa (UoH), from the approved proposal to the deposit of the final thesis in the University repository.
The guidelines apply to all master’s students registered with the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) whose programme includes a thesis, and to their supervisors, examiners, Heads of Department and Faculty/College Deans.
Key definitions
| Term | Meaning in these guidelines |
|---|---|
| Thesis | The written record of independent research submitted for a master’s degree. Some programmes use the word “dissertation”; the same rules apply. |
| Principal Supervisor | The academic staff member with primary responsibility for guiding the student’s research. |
| Co-supervisor | An optional second supervisor who brings complementary expertise (for example, in methods or a specialised field). |
| Examiner | A qualified academic, independent of the supervision, appointed by SGS to assess the thesis. |
| Oral defence (viva voce) | The examination in which the candidate presents and defends the thesis before an examination panel. |
| Graduate Studies Board | The body that oversees graduate programmes on behalf of Senate and approves examination results. |
These guidelines should be read together with the University’s academic regulations for graduate programmes and any additional requirements set by the student’s Faculty or College. Where there is a conflict, the University’s approved regulations prevail. Should the University introduce doctoral programmes in future, separate doctoral thesis guidelines will be issued.
2General Requirements
What a master’s thesis must demonstrate
- A critical understanding of the relevant literature and theory, and the ability to identify a clear research gap.
- The ability to select and justify appropriate research methods and apply them to a defined problem.
- Competent collection, analysis and interpretation of data or sources.
- Conclusions and recommendations that follow from the evidence and are relevant to practice or policy, including in the Somaliland context where appropriate.
- Clear, well-structured academic writing and correct referencing.
Language
Theses are written in English. A thesis may be written in Somali or Arabic only where the programme has prior approval from the Graduate Studies Board; in that case an additional abstract in English is mandatory.
Length
A master’s thesis is normally 15,000–25,000 words, and may not exceed 30,000 words. Length is measured on the main text (Chapter 1 to the final chapter) and excludes preliminary pages, references and appendices. Quality, not length, is assessed; examiners may penalise padding.
Registration and time limits
- A student must be registered and in good financial standing throughout the thesis stage, including the examination period, and at the time of final submission.
- The thesis must be submitted within the maximum period of the programme, normally four years from first registration.
- An extension may be requested once, for good cause, using the Extension Request form (SGS/TH‑13), supported by the supervisor and Director of SGS.
Originality and prior work
The thesis must be the student’s own work. Material previously submitted for another degree, at UoH or elsewhere, may not be submitted again. Work the student has already published from the thesis research may be incorporated into the relevant chapters, but it must be rewritten to fit the monograph, cited, and declared in the Declaration of Originality.
3Supervision
Good supervision is a shared responsibility. Both the student and the supervisor should agree expectations at the first meeting and record them in the Supervision Agreement section of the Supervisor Appointment form (SGS/TH‑01).
Appointment of supervisors
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Supervisory team | One Principal Supervisor; a co-supervisor may be added where the topic needs complementary expertise. |
| Qualification of Principal Supervisor | Normally a doctorate. A staff member with a master’s degree and substantial research and supervision experience may be approved by SGS. |
| Supervision load | A supervisor should normally not supervise more than eight master’s theses at the same time. |
| When appointed | No later than approval of the research proposal. |
| Approved by | Director of School of Graduate Studies. |
Responsibilities of the supervisor
- Guide the student in defining the topic, preparing the proposal and planning a realistic timetable.
- Meet the student regularly — normally at least once a month (in person or online) — and keep the Supervision Meeting Log (SGS/TH‑03).
- Return written feedback on drafts within three weeks of receipt.
- Advise on research ethics, data management and academic integrity.
- Advise when the thesis is ready to submit and sign the Supervisor’s Consent to Submit (SGS/TH‑06).
Responsibilities of the student
- Take ownership of the research and of the thesis timetable.
- Attend agreed meetings prepared, submit drafts on time and act on feedback.
- Keep accurate records of data, sources and research decisions.
- Obtain ethics clearance before collecting data involving human participants.
- Inform the supervisor and SGS promptly of any problem that may delay progress.
Change of supervisor
Either party may request a change of supervisor through the Director of SGS. SGS will try to resolve difficulties informally first. Any change is recorded on a new SGS/TH‑01 form and must not disadvantage the student.
4The Research Proposal
No thesis research may begin until the research proposal has been approved. The proposal is the plan of the thesis; a strong proposal makes the thesis faster to write.
Contents of the proposal
- Title page (see Appendix A, adapted with “Research Proposal”).
- Background and statement of the problem.
- Research objectives and research questions or hypotheses.
- Significance and scope of the study.
- Preliminary review of the literature and theoretical/conceptual framework.
- Research design and methodology: approach, population and sampling, data collection instruments, data analysis, validity and reliability.
- Ethical considerations.
- Work plan (timeline) and, where relevant, budget.
- References.
Suggested length: 3,000–5,000 words.
Proposal defence and approval
- The proposal is presented to a departmental review panel of at least two academic staff in addition to the supervisor.
- The panel may approve, approve with amendments, or require resubmission. The outcome is recorded on the Proposal Approval form (SGS/TH‑02) and filed with SGS.
- Any major change to the topic or methodology after approval requires a new SGS/TH‑02.
5Research Ethics
All research involving human participants, personal data, animals or sensitive institutional data requires ethics clearance before data collection begins. The student applies using the Ethics Clearance form (SGS/TH‑04), endorsed by the supervisor, for review by the University’s research ethics committee.
- Participants must give informed, voluntary consent; consent forms and information sheets should be in a language participants understand (normally Somali and/or English).
- Confidentiality and anonymity must be protected in the thesis and in stored data.
- Permission letters from organisations where data are collected (e.g., ministries, banks, schools, hospitals) must be obtained and kept on file.
- Data must be stored securely for at least five years after graduation.
- Data collected without required clearance may not be used in the thesis.
6Structure of the Thesis
A traditional thesis has three parts: preliminary pages, main body and end matter. Components must appear in the order shown. Items marked “Required” must be included in every thesis.
A. Preliminary pages (numbered i, ii, iii …)
| # | Component | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Title page | Required | Uses the SGS template in Appendix A. Counted as page i but the number is not shown. |
| 2 | Declaration of originality | Required | Signed by the candidate (Appendix B). Includes the AI-use statement. |
| 3 | Approval page | Required | Signed by supervisor(s), examiners, the Faculty/College Dean and the Director of SGS after a successful examination (Appendix C). Leave unsigned for the examination copy. |
| 4 | Copyright page | Required | © [Full name], [Year]. All rights reserved. |
| 5 | Dedication | Optional | One short paragraph. |
| 6 | Acknowledgements | Required | Must acknowledge any assistance received, including editorial help, statistical advice and funding. |
| 7 | Abstract | Required | Single page; max. 300 words; 4–6 keywords. See Section 7. |
| 8 | Table of contents | Required | Up to third-level headings, with page numbers. |
| 9 | List of tables | If applicable | |
| 10 | List of figures | If applicable | |
| 11 | List of abbreviations and acronyms | If applicable | Alphabetical. |
B. Main body (numbered 1, 2, 3 …)
The typical chapter structure for an empirical thesis is shown below. Disciplines with different conventions (e.g., law, humanities, theoretical or design-based work) may organise chapters thematically with the supervisor’s approval, provided the same elements are covered.
| Chapter | Purpose and typical contents |
|---|---|
| 1. Introduction | Background; statement of the problem; objectives; research questions/hypotheses; significance; scope and delimitations; definition of key terms; organisation of the thesis. |
| 2. Literature Review | Critical review of theory and empirical studies; theoretical and/or conceptual framework; identification of the research gap the study fills. |
| 3. Research Methodology | Philosophy and design; study area and population; sampling; instruments; validity and reliability; data collection procedures; data analysis methods; ethical considerations. |
| 4. Results / Findings | Presentation and analysis of data, organised by objective or research question, using tables and figures where helpful. |
| 5. Discussion | Interpretation of findings in light of the literature and framework; explanation of agreements and differences with previous studies. |
| 6. Conclusions and Recommendations | Summary of findings by objective; conclusions; contribution of the study; recommendations for policy and practice; limitations; suggestions for further research. |
C. End matter
| Component | Notes |
|---|---|
| References | All and only the works cited in the text, in one consistent style (see Section 8). |
| Appendices | Labelled Appendix A, B, C …: research instruments, consent forms, ethics approval and permission letters, supplementary tables, code. Appendices are part of the examined thesis. |
7Writing the Abstract
The abstract is the most-read part of the thesis and is published in the University repository. It must stand alone, without citations, tables, figures or abbreviations that are not explained, and must not exceed 300 words.
- Purpose — the problem and objective of the study.
- Method — design, data and sample, and analysis.
- Findings — the main results, stated concretely.
- Conclusion and contribution — what the results mean and for whom.
- Keywords — four to six terms on a separate line.
A thesis written in Somali or Arabic (where approved) must include an English abstract; students may also add an optional Somali abstract to any thesis.
8Formatting and Presentation
Consistent formatting makes a thesis easier to examine and is part of its assessment. The SGS Word template applies all of the settings below.
| Element | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Paper | A4 (210 × 297 mm), printed on one side only for bound copies. |
| Margins | Left 3.5 cm (to allow for binding); top, bottom and right 2.5 cm. |
| Font | Times New Roman 12 pt for body text (or another standard serif font approved by the supervisor). Footnotes, table text and captions may be 10–11 pt. |
| Line spacing | 1.5 lines for body text. Single spacing for block quotations (40+ words), tables, figure captions, footnotes and the reference list (with a blank line between entries). |
| Alignment | Fully justified or left-aligned, applied consistently. Paragraphs indented 1.27 cm or separated by one blank line — not both. |
| Headings | Numbered decimally up to three levels: Chapter 1 / 1.1 / 1.1.1. Chapter titles in bold capitals, centred, starting on a new page. |
| Pagination | Preliminary pages in lower-case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii); main body and end matter in Arabic numerals starting at 1 on the first page of Chapter 1. Numbers centred at the bottom of the page. |
| Tables | Numbered by chapter (Table 4.2), with the title above the table and the source below. |
| Figures | Numbered by chapter (Figure 2.1), with the caption below the figure and the source noted. Must be legible in black-and-white print. |
| Equations | Numbered at the right margin by chapter: (3.1). |
| Numbers | Words for one to nine, numerals for 10 and above, except for measurements, statistics, percentages and currency. |
Referencing
The default referencing style is APA, 7th edition. A Faculty/College may prescribe another recognised style for its discipline (for example, OSCOLA or Bluebook for law, or IEEE for engineering and computing). Whatever style is used must be applied consistently throughout. The use of reference management software (e.g., Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote) is strongly encouraged.
Language and editing
The thesis must be written in clear, grammatically correct academic English. Students may engage a professional editor for proof-reading (spelling, grammar, punctuation and consistency) but not to rewrite content, restructure arguments or add material. Any editing assistance must be acknowledged.
9Academic Integrity, Plagiarism and Use of Generative AI
Academic integrity is fundamental to the value of a UoH degree. Plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, ghost-writing, purchasing of theses and undisclosed reuse of earlier work are serious academic misconduct and will be handled under the University’s disciplinary regulations. A degree obtained through misconduct may be revoked.
Similarity check
- Every thesis is checked with the University’s text-matching software before examination. The supervisor submits the final draft and attaches the similarity report to the submission.
- Acceptable thresholds (excluding the reference list and properly quoted material): overall similarity not more than 20%, and not more than 5% from any single source.
- A thesis above these thresholds is returned to the student for revision. A high score is a prompt for review, not automatic proof of plagiarism; SGS will consider the nature of the matched text.
Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)
Generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot) can support research when used transparently and responsibly. The student remains fully responsible for every word, figure, citation and claim in the thesis.
| Generally acceptable (with disclosure) | Not acceptable |
|---|---|
| Checking grammar, spelling and clarity of the student’s own text | Generating substantive text, arguments, analysis or conclusions presented as the student’s own |
| Brainstorming, summarising readings for personal study, or exploring search terms | Fabricating or “filling in” data, quotations or references |
| Help with debugging or writing code for analysis, verified by the student | Listing an AI tool as an author or co-author |
| Translation support for the student’s own drafts, checked by the student | Uploading confidential or identifiable participant data to public AI tools |
- Every thesis includes an AI-use statement in the Declaration of Originality: either that no generative AI was used, or which tools were used, for what purpose and at which stages.
- The supervisor must agree in advance to any use of AI beyond language checking.
- Supervisors and examiners must not upload a student’s unpublished thesis to public AI tools, which would breach confidentiality.
School of Graduate Studies / Thesis
Thesis Guidelines
Requirements for preparing a traditional master’s thesis: supervision, proposal, ethics, structure, formatting and academic integrity.
1Introduction and Scope
Writing a thesis is the defining milestone of a research-based master’s degree. It is where a graduate student shows that they can frame a significant question, investigate it with sound methods, and communicate the results in a form that meets international scholarly standards. These guidelines explain every stage of that journey at the University of Hargeisa (UoH), from the approved proposal to the deposit of the final thesis in the University repository.
The guidelines apply to all master’s students registered with the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) whose programme includes a thesis, and to their supervisors, examiners, Heads of Department and Faculty/College Deans.
Key definitions
| Term | Meaning in these guidelines |
|---|---|
| Thesis | The written record of independent research submitted for a master’s degree. Some programmes use the word “dissertation”; the same rules apply. |
| Principal Supervisor | The academic staff member with primary responsibility for guiding the student’s research. |
| Co-supervisor | An optional second supervisor who brings complementary expertise (for example, in methods or a specialised field). |
| Examiner | A qualified academic, independent of the supervision, appointed by SGS to assess the thesis. |
| Oral defence (viva voce) | The examination in which the candidate presents and defends the thesis before an examination panel. |
| Graduate Studies Board | The body that oversees graduate programmes on behalf of Senate and approves examination results. |
These guidelines should be read together with the University’s academic regulations for graduate programmes and any additional requirements set by the student’s Faculty or College. Where there is a conflict, the University’s approved regulations prevail. Should the University introduce doctoral programmes in future, separate doctoral thesis guidelines will be issued.
2General Requirements
What a master’s thesis must demonstrate
- A critical understanding of the relevant literature and theory, and the ability to identify a clear research gap.
- The ability to select and justify appropriate research methods and apply them to a defined problem.
- Competent collection, analysis and interpretation of data or sources.
- Conclusions and recommendations that follow from the evidence and are relevant to practice or policy, including in the Somaliland context where appropriate.
- Clear, well-structured academic writing and correct referencing.
Language
Theses are written in English. A thesis may be written in Somali or Arabic only where the programme has prior approval from the Graduate Studies Board; in that case an additional abstract in English is mandatory.
Length
A master’s thesis is normally 15,000–25,000 words, and may not exceed 30,000 words. Length is measured on the main text (Chapter 1 to the final chapter) and excludes preliminary pages, references and appendices. Quality, not length, is assessed; examiners may penalise padding.
Registration and time limits
- A student must be registered and in good financial standing throughout the thesis stage, including the examination period, and at the time of final submission.
- The thesis must be submitted within the maximum period of the programme, normally four years from first registration.
- An extension may be requested once, for good cause, using the Extension Request form (SGS/TH‑13), supported by the supervisor and Director of SGS.
Originality and prior work
The thesis must be the student’s own work. Material previously submitted for another degree, at UoH or elsewhere, may not be submitted again. Work the student has already published from the thesis research may be incorporated into the relevant chapters, but it must be rewritten to fit the monograph, cited, and declared in the Declaration of Originality.
3Supervision
Good supervision is a shared responsibility. Both the student and the supervisor should agree expectations at the first meeting and record them in the Supervision Agreement section of the Supervisor Appointment form (SGS/TH‑01).
Appointment of supervisors
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Supervisory team | One Principal Supervisor; a co-supervisor may be added where the topic needs complementary expertise. |
| Qualification of Principal Supervisor | Normally a doctorate. A staff member with a master’s degree and substantial research and supervision experience may be approved by SGS. |
| Supervision load | A supervisor should normally not supervise more than eight master’s theses at the same time. |
| When appointed | No later than approval of the research proposal. |
| Approved by | Director of School of Graduate Studies. |
Responsibilities of the supervisor
- Guide the student in defining the topic, preparing the proposal and planning a realistic timetable.
- Meet the student regularly — normally at least once a month (in person or online) — and keep the Supervision Meeting Log (SGS/TH‑03).
- Return written feedback on drafts within three weeks of receipt.
- Advise on research ethics, data management and academic integrity.
- Advise when the thesis is ready to submit and sign the Supervisor’s Consent to Submit (SGS/TH‑06).
Responsibilities of the student
- Take ownership of the research and of the thesis timetable.
- Attend agreed meetings prepared, submit drafts on time and act on feedback.
- Keep accurate records of data, sources and research decisions.
- Obtain ethics clearance before collecting data involving human participants.
- Inform the supervisor and SGS promptly of any problem that may delay progress.
Change of supervisor
Either party may request a change of supervisor through the Director of SGS. SGS will try to resolve difficulties informally first. Any change is recorded on a new SGS/TH‑01 form and must not disadvantage the student.
4The Research Proposal
No thesis research may begin until the research proposal has been approved. The proposal is the plan of the thesis; a strong proposal makes the thesis faster to write.
Contents of the proposal
- Title page (see Appendix A, adapted with “Research Proposal”).
- Background and statement of the problem.
- Research objectives and research questions or hypotheses.
- Significance and scope of the study.
- Preliminary review of the literature and theoretical/conceptual framework.
- Research design and methodology: approach, population and sampling, data collection instruments, data analysis, validity and reliability.
- Ethical considerations.
- Work plan (timeline) and, where relevant, budget.
- References.
Suggested length: 3,000–5,000 words.
Proposal defence and approval
- The proposal is presented to a departmental review panel of at least two academic staff in addition to the supervisor.
- The panel may approve, approve with amendments, or require resubmission. The outcome is recorded on the Proposal Approval form (SGS/TH‑02) and filed with SGS.
- Any major change to the topic or methodology after approval requires a new SGS/TH‑02.
5Research Ethics
All research involving human participants, personal data, animals or sensitive institutional data requires ethics clearance before data collection begins. The student applies using the Ethics Clearance form (SGS/TH‑04), endorsed by the supervisor, for review by the University’s research ethics committee.
- Participants must give informed, voluntary consent; consent forms and information sheets should be in a language participants understand (normally Somali and/or English).
- Confidentiality and anonymity must be protected in the thesis and in stored data.
- Permission letters from organisations where data are collected (e.g., ministries, banks, schools, hospitals) must be obtained and kept on file.
- Data must be stored securely for at least five years after graduation.
- Data collected without required clearance may not be used in the thesis.
6Structure of the Thesis
A traditional thesis has three parts: preliminary pages, main body and end matter. Components must appear in the order shown. Items marked “Required” must be included in every thesis.
A. Preliminary pages (numbered i, ii, iii …)
| # | Component | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Title page | Required | Uses the SGS template in Appendix A. Counted as page i but the number is not shown. |
| 2 | Declaration of originality | Required | Signed by the candidate (Appendix B). Includes the AI-use statement. |
| 3 | Approval page | Required | Signed by supervisor(s), examiners, the Faculty/College Dean and the Director of SGS after a successful examination (Appendix C). Leave unsigned for the examination copy. |
| 4 | Copyright page | Required | © [Full name], [Year]. All rights reserved. |
| 5 | Dedication | Optional | One short paragraph. |
| 6 | Acknowledgements | Required | Must acknowledge any assistance received, including editorial help, statistical advice and funding. |
| 7 | Abstract | Required | Single page; max. 300 words; 4–6 keywords. See Section 7. |
| 8 | Table of contents | Required | Up to third-level headings, with page numbers. |
| 9 | List of tables | If applicable | |
| 10 | List of figures | If applicable | |
| 11 | List of abbreviations and acronyms | If applicable | Alphabetical. |
B. Main body (numbered 1, 2, 3 …)
The typical chapter structure for an empirical thesis is shown below. Disciplines with different conventions (e.g., law, humanities, theoretical or design-based work) may organise chapters thematically with the supervisor’s approval, provided the same elements are covered.
| Chapter | Purpose and typical contents |
|---|---|
| 1. Introduction | Background; statement of the problem; objectives; research questions/hypotheses; significance; scope and delimitations; definition of key terms; organisation of the thesis. |
| 2. Literature Review | Critical review of theory and empirical studies; theoretical and/or conceptual framework; identification of the research gap the study fills. |
| 3. Research Methodology | Philosophy and design; study area and population; sampling; instruments; validity and reliability; data collection procedures; data analysis methods; ethical considerations. |
| 4. Results / Findings | Presentation and analysis of data, organised by objective or research question, using tables and figures where helpful. |
| 5. Discussion | Interpretation of findings in light of the literature and framework; explanation of agreements and differences with previous studies. |
| 6. Conclusions and Recommendations | Summary of findings by objective; conclusions; contribution of the study; recommendations for policy and practice; limitations; suggestions for further research. |
C. End matter
| Component | Notes |
|---|---|
| References | All and only the works cited in the text, in one consistent style (see Section 8). |
| Appendices | Labelled Appendix A, B, C …: research instruments, consent forms, ethics approval and permission letters, supplementary tables, code. Appendices are part of the examined thesis. |
7Writing the Abstract
The abstract is the most-read part of the thesis and is published in the University repository. It must stand alone, without citations, tables, figures or abbreviations that are not explained, and must not exceed 300 words.
- Purpose — the problem and objective of the study.
- Method — design, data and sample, and analysis.
- Findings — the main results, stated concretely.
- Conclusion and contribution — what the results mean and for whom.
- Keywords — four to six terms on a separate line.
A thesis written in Somali or Arabic (where approved) must include an English abstract; students may also add an optional Somali abstract to any thesis.
8Formatting and Presentation
Consistent formatting makes a thesis easier to examine and is part of its assessment. The SGS Word template applies all of the settings below.
| Element | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Paper | A4 (210 × 297 mm), printed on one side only for bound copies. |
| Margins | Left 3.5 cm (to allow for binding); top, bottom and right 2.5 cm. |
| Font | Times New Roman 12 pt for body text (or another standard serif font approved by the supervisor). Footnotes, table text and captions may be 10–11 pt. |
| Line spacing | 1.5 lines for body text. Single spacing for block quotations (40+ words), tables, figure captions, footnotes and the reference list (with a blank line between entries). |
| Alignment | Fully justified or left-aligned, applied consistently. Paragraphs indented 1.27 cm or separated by one blank line — not both. |
| Headings | Numbered decimally up to three levels: Chapter 1 / 1.1 / 1.1.1. Chapter titles in bold capitals, centred, starting on a new page. |
| Pagination | Preliminary pages in lower-case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii); main body and end matter in Arabic numerals starting at 1 on the first page of Chapter 1. Numbers centred at the bottom of the page. |
| Tables | Numbered by chapter (Table 4.2), with the title above the table and the source below. |
| Figures | Numbered by chapter (Figure 2.1), with the caption below the figure and the source noted. Must be legible in black-and-white print. |
| Equations | Numbered at the right margin by chapter: (3.1). |
| Numbers | Words for one to nine, numerals for 10 and above, except for measurements, statistics, percentages and currency. |
Referencing
The default referencing style is APA, 7th edition. A Faculty/College may prescribe another recognised style for its discipline (for example, OSCOLA or Bluebook for law, or IEEE for engineering and computing). Whatever style is used must be applied consistently throughout. The use of reference management software (e.g., Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote) is strongly encouraged.
Language and editing
The thesis must be written in clear, grammatically correct academic English. Students may engage a professional editor for proof-reading (spelling, grammar, punctuation and consistency) but not to rewrite content, restructure arguments or add material. Any editing assistance must be acknowledged.
9Academic Integrity, Plagiarism and Use of Generative AI
Academic integrity is fundamental to the value of a UoH degree. Plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, ghost-writing, purchasing of theses and undisclosed reuse of earlier work are serious academic misconduct and will be handled under the University’s disciplinary regulations. A degree obtained through misconduct may be revoked.
Similarity check
- Every thesis is checked with the University’s text-matching software before examination. The supervisor submits the final draft and attaches the similarity report to the submission.
- Acceptable thresholds (excluding the reference list and properly quoted material): overall similarity not more than 20%, and not more than 5% from any single source.
- A thesis above these thresholds is returned to the student for revision. A high score is a prompt for review, not automatic proof of plagiarism; SGS will consider the nature of the matched text.
Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)
Generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot) can support research when used transparently and responsibly. The student remains fully responsible for every word, figure, citation and claim in the thesis.
| Generally acceptable (with disclosure) | Not acceptable |
|---|---|
| Checking grammar, spelling and clarity of the student’s own text | Generating substantive text, arguments, analysis or conclusions presented as the student’s own |
| Brainstorming, summarising readings for personal study, or exploring search terms | Fabricating or “filling in” data, quotations or references |
| Help with debugging or writing code for analysis, verified by the student | Listing an AI tool as an author or co-author |
| Translation support for the student’s own drafts, checked by the student | Uploading confidential or identifiable participant data to public AI tools |
- Every thesis includes an AI-use statement in the Declaration of Originality: either that no generative AI was used, or which tools were used, for what purpose and at which stages.
- The supervisor must agree in advance to any use of AI beyond language checking.
- Supervisors and examiners must not upload a student’s unpublished thesis to public AI tools, which would breach confidentiality.