Soran University

Purpose

To organise and clarify the academic examination of Master's and doctoral students and ensure that all procedures are implemented formally, transparently, equitably and lawfully across all faculties and departments.

Policy Statement

Soran University is committed to conducting Master's and doctoral defences with transparency, fairness, equality and compliance with postgraduate standards. Students, supervisors and examiners shall carry out the process correctly and responsibly.

Summary, Ownership and Implementation

The policy explains formal dissertation/thesis submission and the stages of academic and language review, committee appointment, defence and marking.

Policy owner: Directorate of Postgraduate Studies. Review: Strategic Planning and Policy Office. Approval and implementation: Soran University Council.

Implementation operates at University level (Vice-President for Scientific Affairs, Directorate of Postgraduate Studies, academic department and faculty), at student level, and through the examining committee.

Relevant Parties and Responsibilities

University Presidency and Vice-President for Scientific Affairs: institutional oversight.
Faculties and academic departments: organise and maintain the integrity of the defence and record results and recommendations through the department representative.
Directorate of Postgraduate Studies: plagiarism and dissertation/thesis format review.
Quality Assurance and Programme Development: review compliance with Ministry decisions, instructions and applicable guidelines.
Supervisor: guide, monitor and support the student throughout the stages.
Student: prepare and submit the dissertation/thesis formally within the prescribed times and in accordance with University and Ministry policy.
Examining committee: assess, mark, review corrections, approve the dissertation/thesis after corrections where required, and recommend the qualification in its field.

Definitions

Department representative: An academic in the same or a closely related specialism, nominated by the Departmental Council to monitor the defence under the relevant instructions.
Plagiarism/textual similarity: Similarity or reuse of wording, text or ideas from other sources in a dissertation/thesis without appropriate source acknowledgement, determined through the University's checking system.
Round Table Report: A departmental academic assessment seminar held several months before the defence. The student presents progress, findings, research status and difficulties before final submission. The department representative and committee participate, offering recommendations. The department representative prepares minutes for the student's formal file.
Academic review: Evaluation of the research content, methodology and data by a specialist.
Language review: Checking and correcting writing, language and consistency of the text according to the language in which it is written.
Hard copy: Printed dissertation/thesis.
Soft copy: Electronic research file, such as PDF or Word.
Closed defence: An academic assessment meeting attended only by examiners, the student and authorised academic/administrative persons. External guests, relatives and the student's family shall not attend.
Defence file: The documents and prescribed forms prepared and recorded by the Directorate of Postgraduate Studies, including minutes, mark forms, academic and language reports and administrative orders.

Scope

The policy applies to all departments and postgraduate Master's and doctoral programmes. It regulates submission, review, examination and approval, including committee establishment, assessment, marking, corrections and final award steps. It defines the responsibilities of the Vice-President for Scientific Affairs, faculty dean, Departmental Council, Directorate of Postgraduate Studies, quality assurance, supervisor and student.

Part One: Submission of the Dissertation or Thesis

A student shall submit the dissertation/thesis by email to the academic department no more than three months and no fewer than two months before the end of the authorised study period. The supervisor shall provide written confirmation that it is ready for defence. The material shall proceed through review and plagiarism checking.
The student shall send the dissertation/thesis and supervisor's letter through the department's official email and SIS. The Head of Department shall forward them to [email protected] for initial review and verification that the file contains the required documents. The Directorate shall notify the department through SIS or official email of the review outcome and any deficiencies.
When all defence requirements have been confirmed, the Directorate shall review compliance with postgraduate instructions, including formatting and plagiarism requirements. The student may not submit independently for academic or language assessment without completing these procedures. Normally, these stages shall be completed within two months. Where problems are identified, the Directorate shall notify the department through email and SIS. Corrections shall be made in accordance with Ministry instructions and the Directorate shall review the amended version again.
After preliminary corrections, the student shall resubmit through the department's email and SIS. Once the Directorate has confirmed resolution of the problems, it shall formally notify the department through SIS. The department shall send the work confidentially for academic and language evaluation. The doctoral academic assessor shall receive a hard copy and the language assessor a soft copy. For a Master's dissertation, both academic and language assessors shall receive hard copies, identical to the electronically checked version and bearing the Directorate's plagiarism-check confirmation.
After both reviews, the Head of Department shall send the original academic and language reports to the Directorate of Postgraduate Studies.

Part Two: Appointment of the Examining Committee

The department shall propose academics specialising in the dissertation/thesis field to the Departmental Council for approval.
Under Article 10, paragraph 2, subparagraph 3 of Law No. 10 of 2008 governing the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the Region, the Departmental Council shall appoint the committee and department representative from the same or a closely related specialism.
The department and dean shall act impartially and responsibly when requesting nominees from other universities, observing equality, fairness, transparency and specialist suitability.
The department shall submit nominees to the dean for approval. The dean may require amendments in consultation with the Head of Department. The dean's secretariat shall send a confidential letter to the University President's Office.
Following the President's approval, the dean's secretariat shall issue the administrative order appointing the committee and send copies to the Vice-President for Scientific Affairs and Directorate of Postgraduate Studies.
The President's Office shall forward a copy of the approval letter to the Directorate to prepare the student's defence file.
The Vice-President for Scientific Affairs and Directorate shall ensure conformity with Ministry requirements and review the appointment order.
Committee membership shall comply with Article 2 of Instructions No. 2 of 2021 issued by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
Faculty representation shall not exceed one member for a Master's defence or two for a doctoral defence. Members shall come from different universities, with two members from the student's University, excluding the supervisor.
Priority shall be given to the precise specialism. Where a suitable specialist is unavailable, a broader specialist may be appointed, provided the dissertation/thesis falls within the relevant department's general field. A precise specialist shall always be preferred when available.
Selection shall be transparent, fair and offer equal opportunities, based on academic standing. Eligible academics shall have opportunities to participate rather than restricting appointments to a small group. The University shall monitor the process and establish a mechanism to verify it.
Coordination with universities in the Kurdistan Region shall support academic participation under the applicable instructions.
Examiners shall know the language in which the dissertation/thesis is written, particularly in reading and speaking, for the purpose of examination.
The supervisor and student shall not nominate the Chair or members. They may only request exclusion of up to two academics at submission, giving confidential, academically justified reasons without naming a preferred replacement. The Departmental Council shall decide.
The Chair's academic rank shall be higher than or equal to the supervisor's.
Where two or more academics hold the same rank, priority shall be determined by promotion date: the more senior academic shall be invited first. The Chair need not be from Soran University.
The appointment order shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed to the student or supervisor.
After the order is issued, the Directorate shall prepare and send the complete defence file. It shall include defence minutes, marking records, academic and language reviews, committee appointment order, student's CV, pre-defence committee report, department representative's report and any other required forms, together with examiners' email addresses and telephone numbers.
The entire appointment process, from nomination through issue of the order, shall be confidential. The order shall be issued at least 20 days before a Master's defence and 25 days before a doctoral defence.
If a member cannot participate, a replacement administrative order shall be issued. Any change shall be made at least ten days after receipt of the approval letter; this period shall not count as an extension for the student.

Part Three: Student Contact with the Examining Committee

The department shall send the dissertation/thesis to the Chair and members by post, or electronically where an examiner is outside the Kurdistan Region. Students shall never send their work directly to examiners.
Students shall not attempt personal contact with examiners to seek assistance, leniency or influence over assessment. Breaches shall be addressed under the applicable legal procedures and investigation arrangements.

Part Four: Defence Arrangements

Notices advertising the defence shall be displayed only on the day of the defence and in coordination with the faculty's media office.
The defence is an academic evaluation determining graduation and the award of a qualification. It shall therefore be closed. Relatives, guests and the student's family may not attend but shall wait outside until the process concludes.
Ministry representatives, the University President, Vice-President for Scientific Affairs, dean, Head of Department, Directorate of Postgraduate Studies representative and department representative may attend to monitor correct conduct.

Part Five: Conduct and Assessment

The defence shall be conducted only in the language in which the dissertation/thesis is written. Both student and examiners shall comply.
At the outset, the Chair shall read the administrative appointment order.
The supervisor shall then read the student's CV in no more than five minutes.
The student shall present the Master's dissertation in 15 minutes or doctoral thesis in 20 minutes.
Each examiner shall have 45–60 minutes to discuss the work's requirements and recommendations and ask questions.
After each examiner has completed all questions and comments, the student shall have ten minutes to respond.
Master's students shall receive one 15-minute break; doctoral students may receive two breaks of ten minutes each.
After the examiners, the supervisor may speak for no more than 20 minutes on the committee's observations and questions.
Two marking forms shall be used. Fifty per cent shall relate to the general assessment of the written work, completed by examiners before the defence; fifty per cent shall relate to the presentation and responses on the day.
For the defence component, each examiner shall complete a confidential separate mark sheet without consulting other members. The department representative shall take it to a room outside the defence venue. At the end, that representative shall collect the marks and the Head of Department shall record them.
The department representative shall attend, monitor correct procedures and complete the report form prepared by the Directorate.
A dissertation/thesis requiring corrections shall not receive "Excellent". This grade is reserved for work that fully satisfies requirements and needs no corrections.
The student shall not obtain examiners' signatures on the defence minutes. The Chair, in coordination with the department representative, shall arrange signatures and send the record to the Directorate. After corrections have been approved and the Directorate's review completed, the signed approval sheet shall be given to the student for inclusion in the final dissertation/thesis.
The Chair shall announce the result. The department representative, acting as defence secretary, shall prepare the mark form and detailed report, signed by all examiners, on the Directorate's prescribed form. It shall record all problems and corrections and specify the correction period. The Directorate shall notify the department of the time allowed for completion of the examiners' requirements.

Conduct of Postgraduate Thesis Defences: Master's and Doctorate