I can't understand how you can say that you think standards aren't slipping yet admit there's a range of standards deemed passable dependent on the examiners! A thesis should be of the highest standard in every respect and I suppose that is the point I'm trying to make. It should be the culmination of your knowledge and skills across every area including basic spelling and grammar. These type of mistakes are not acceptable at any stage of your career both before and after your PhD so why should they be allowed to be overlooked during?

Having said that I don't really know what the answer is. Maybe the answer is to have more examiners or allow more people to pass comment? Or possibly give specific roles/checklists to the internal and external examiner to ensure nothing is overlooked?

Yea I think you're right about the gradations and the difference in examiners but I suppose what I mean is that there should be some standard rules with regards to what examiners should be looking at. So as well as content, things such as spelling, grammar and the quality of figures are taken into consideration; as is done in all other exams.

I was doing a different subject to my friend so couldn't begin to comment on the actual ideas and content but to me a document with spelling errors and bad figures is just shody!

A thesis should represent the pinnacle of academic achievement and should not contain the same sort of basic mistakes you've been penalised for since primary school.

A friend of mine passed his PhD viva yesterday forthwith with no corrections. I flicked through his thesis before he handed it in and it was full of spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and one figure failed to format properly and was therefore incomprehensible. How did he pass without ANY corrections??

This would not be acceptable in primary school essay let alone for a doctorate thesis? And my supervisor sure didn't let me get away with any tiny errors like that.

I feel that passing a PhD is becoming more about who your supervisors are chummy with and the power they have in their field. Is anyone else feeling a bit like the standards are slipping? It infuriates me to think that for work of such different quality we all get the same result.

I feel like the academics responsible for this and the department involved should be shamed into taking more care over marking. Does anyone think it's worth talking to someone at my uni or let it go?!

Any opinions very welcome.

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering whether anyone out there has taken part in a Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) Fellowship scheme or similar if not UK based. Or if anyone has dnow science advisory work. I am interested in applying but wanted a bit more info so if anyone can help please let me know!

Thanks x

Hi everyone,
could anyone please offer me advise about getting a direction/focus for my project. I am in my second year and feel I need to set out a plan with milestones and a timeframe but don't seem to have a specific aim for my project.
Is this completely down to me or should my supervisor be helping me with this? I have no idea where to start with it, please help!
Thanks x