Receiving an invitation to act as an External Examiner

Prior to each Final Oral Examination (FOE), the candidate’s thesis must be appraised by an examiner that is external to the University of Toronto. The candidate’s graduate department will contact you if they would like to nominate you to act as the External Examiner. If you are willing to be nominated, they will submit your name for approval by the School of Graduate Studies (SGS).

The SGS Guidelines for the Final Oral Examinations (Section 1.3) describe an External Examiner as a scholar at the rank of Associate or Full Professor or equivalent who:

If you are willing to be nominated, you will be asked to reply to the candidate’s graduate administrator with your full CV or equivalent website link so that they can proceed with your nomination. You will also be asked to complete the External Examiner Attestation Form. This form will help SGS confirm that you meet the arm’s length requirement for an External Examiner.

The thesis appraisal

Once SGS has approved your nomination to act as External Examiner, the candidate’s graduate administrator will send you a copy of the candidate’s thesis for your appraisal.

They should send the thesis to you at least 6 weeks prior to the exam date. The candidate and members of the Examination Committee are entitled to see the appraisal 2 weeks before the examination takes place. Once the candidate receives your appraisal, they will have time to prepare a considered response.

The candidate has been instructed not to communicate with the External Examiner until the examination is underway. It is of the utmost importance, therefore, that your appraisal be received by the candidate’s graduate administrator at least two weeks before the examination date. It is essential that we receive your appraisal in a timely fashion; otherwise the examination will be cancelled. If it appears that this deadline will not be met, please contact the candidate’s graduate administrator immediately.

The appraisal must end with an explicit recommendation that the thesis either be accepted or not accepted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctoral degree.

Thesis appraisals usually consist of an analytical and constructively critical commentary on the thesis, together with an assessment of the importance of the work in relation to its field. A synopsis is not necessary, since all examiners will have read the thesis, but if one is included, it should be very brief.

Appraisals are typically one and a half to two pages long, single-spaced; many appraisers attach a list of minor errors.

The appraisal should be sent to the Candidate’s graduate administrator via your official institutional email address.

Arrangements and compensation for the External Examiner (Appraiser)

All arrangements with external appraisers, including travel and accommodation arrangements, are the responsibility of the graduate unit.