Creative work examinations

The award of a research degree may be based on a creative work, such as a play, a book, a musical piece, a performance of music or dance, a work of art or collection of artworks, etc. The creative work will be judged by appropriate examiners and a written exegesis must also be submitted for examination.

Nomination of examiners

There is a set of criteria that must be adhered to when your supervisor nominates the examiners. Normally at least two nominees must be from outside Australia. For examinations that include an exhibition or performance, this criterion is not required - all four nominated examiners may be from Australia.

Examiners attending a performance or exhibition

The faculty will make arrangements and cover costs for the examiners to attend your performance or exhibition. This may include flights, accommodation and transportation to the location. If a guide is required to escort the examiners to the performance, someone from your school will be allocated to meet them.

Students and supervisors are not permitted to have any contact with the examiners before, during, or after the exhibition or performance under any circumstances.

The exegesis

The exegesis must be submitted within three months either side of the exhibition or performance. If your performance will take place before you have submitted your notice of intent to submit your thesis, your supervisor will need to provide details of the examiners in advance. This will allow the HDR adviser time to formally invite the examiners to examine the creative work and exegesis and begin arrangements for their attendance.

Costs incurred

Deakin Research, the Faculty of Arts and Education and the School of Communication and Creative Arts will reimburse some of the expenses you incurred in setting up for your performance. This may include the hire of a hall or gallery, purchase of props, hiring of dancers or musicians etc. Costs will be reimbursed up to a maximum of $3000 on the production of original paid receipts. These need to be provided to the HDR adviser.

Additional materials

If your examination submission includes a CD, DVD or you complete your performance prior to submission of your exegesis, we recommend that you make a copy of the performance and provide three copies to the HDR adviser. They will send a copy to each examiner for review during the examination process.

Another option is to upload the material to dropbox or a website and provide a link to the HDR adviser to send to the examiners.

Supporting and promotional materials

Some students prepare a flyer for their performance or exhibition. This can be a useful method of promotion and usually includes the title, location and dates. This can also be a handy document to provide to the examiners.

If your exegesis has not been submitted before the examination event, we strongly encourage you to prepare and provide briefing materials for the examiners.

On occasion some examiners have requested a student biography. It may be useful to prepare one of these in case one is requested.