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PGR External Examiner Guidelines

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External Examiners
Fees & Expenses

The Examinations Office is responsible for the processing of forms relating to fees and expenses incurred by External Examiners.

The process for payment of Fees and Expenses to Postgraduate Research External Examiner's is as follows.

  • When you have completed your examining and submitted your report, please complete the claim forms to capture the viva details and determine rate of pay and a Request for Payment form to capture the Examiner's payment details to enable the Fee and Expenses payment to be processed. A copy of this form can be accessed here
  • You should then submit your completed forms to extexamexpenses@qub.ac.uk If you have any questions with regards to the payment process please contact extexamexpenses@qub.ac.uk

The FAQs below will go into the payment process in more detail, including the rates and expense allowances.

For any questions on the payment process please contact the email address above. 

For further information on the External Examiner role please see the code of conduct here. The PGR External Examiner payment guidelines can be found here

Frequently Asked Questions for PGR External Examiners

  • How will I receive the Students Thesis?

    The Thesis team within Student Registry receive the Students Theses submissions via email. Once the Nomination of Examiners is approved and completed and all additional paperwork has been signed off the Thesis will be sent out. 

    The Thesis team send the Paperwork (letter of instruction, viva report forms, etc.) to the Internal Examiner, External Examiner and Chair as Word documents*, with a soft copy of the Students Thesis.

    External Examiners Expenses will be cc'd into this email via extexamexpenses@qub.ac.uk and will contact the External Examiner directly with documentation to be completed for Fee and Expenses payment. 

  • When do I complete my External Examiner report?

    You will complete the External Examiner Viva report after reading the Students Thesis. On the basis of your initial reading you will assign an outcome (Corrections after three months, corrections after six months, award degree, or revise and resubmit). 

  • Who makes the arrangements for the Viva Examination?

    The Supervisor and Internal Examiner will liaise with all parties to agree a suitable date for the Viva Examination this is usually at least eight weeks after Thesis submission to allow enough time for the Internal and External Examiners to read the material. 

  • What happens after the Viva Examination?

    After the Viva Examination both Examiners will complete a Joint Examiner report outlining the final decision and any further changes that the Student needs to make.

    The Internal Examiner will gather together the Internal, External and Joint Examiner Reports and submit them to the PGR contact in your School office. The Joint examiner report needs to be signed by the Head of School before all of the reports are sent on to the Thesis Team in Student Registry.

    Once Student Registry receives a copy of the examiner reports, the Joint Examiner report is signed off by the Head of Student Registry. Student Registry will then generate an outcome letter which confirms the outcome of the viva and is also signed by the Head of Student Registry. A PDF of the examiner reports will be sent to Students' QUB email address.

  • Where do I obtain a PGR claim form from?

    External Examiners Expenses team will contact the External Examiner directly with the PGR External Examiner claim form  which includes details on the Viva to calculate the rate of pay a copy of this form can be accessed here

    A further request for payment form will also be sent out to gather External Examiner payment details to process the payment. A copy of this form can be accessed here.  

  • How and when am I paid?

    Payment is paid via a Bank transfer to the bank account details provided in the Request for Payment form.  

    The Examinations Office or School PGR contact will contact you to confirm the Bank details provided are correct. 

    Payment of PGR fees and expenses is normally at the end of the following month of receipt of the claim form and appropriate receipts. Fees and expenses will only be processed if the examiner’s report has been received by the Thesis Department and after Examiners Details are cross referenced with the Nomination of Examiners.

  • What happens if I don't have a UK Bank account?

    You will be able to input your Swift and IBAN number in the new request for payment form that will be sent in the email. 

  • When and Where do I send my claim form to?

    PGR claim forms should be submitted no later than eight weeks after the date of the Viva.

    PGR External Examiner claim forms will be submitted online via email, which will be processed by the Examinations office to  extexamexpenses@qub.ac.uk

  • What is the rate of pay for PGR External Examiner fees?

    Fees are determined by the Degree examined and are set out below:

    • Master Degree by Research (MPhil): £110
    • Doctor of Philosophy & Doctor of Medicine: £155
    • Additional £30 attendance fee

Frequently Asked Questions PGR External Examiner Expenses

  • What Expenses are covered by the Examinations Office?
    1. Travel (return flights, boat, train, taxis and bus) – £250 for all travel for one external examiner visit. If total travel exceeds £250 a journal voucher will be issued to the School to cover the excess.
    2. Expenses will be reimbursed for attendance at a Viva Examination only.
    3. Hotel – maximum of £100 per night for a maximum of two nights
    4. Mileage – 40p per mile for first 100 miles. 25p per mile thereafter
    5. Subsistence – up to £15 for Lunch including coffee/tea/soft drinks and up to £25 for dinner including coffee/tea/soft drinks. No alcohol will be reimbursed.
  • How to arrange travel/hotel

    We do not reimburse any other external institutions or companies who have paid for the examiner’s travel/accommodation on their behalf.

    School:-
    When the School is arranging the flight/boat and hotel for the examiner, these must be booked through Selective Travel only. We no longer accept bookings made directly with hotels. When confirming a quote with Selective for the examiner, please copy in extexamexpenses@qub.ac.uk  detailing the purpose for the examiner’s visit and we will arrange for the payment with Selective.

  • How do Schools Claim back expenses from the Examinations Office

    In the event that the School has covered expenses on behalf of the examiner. Those expenses can be claimed back by journal voucher.

    The School may send a brief summary, receipts and project code/account number to extexamexpenses@qub.ac.uk  and a journal voucher will be submitted on behalf of the School.

    Alternatively, if the School submits a journal voucher directly onto P2P, please ensure that a brief summary for the expenses is included, along with the corresponding receipts.

    Please note the following: 

    • When claiming back for taxis or other travel, please check with the External Examiner Expenses Office if the £250 travel budget has already been reached. Any travel in excess of this budget will be covered by the School.
    • When claiming back for lunch/dinner, please be aware that the amount paid for the examiner only should be claimed. If the lunch is less than £15 or the dinner less than £25, the lesser amount should be claimed and not the full amount of £15 or £25. For example: lunch attended by 5 people including the examiner, lunch bill paid was £45 total. Amount then to be claimed by journal voucher is £45 divided by 5 people = £9
  • How does an External Examiner claim for Expenses

    External Examiners claim for expenses in the PGR External Examiner claim form which can be accessed here.

  • Where do External Examiners send Expenses receipts?

    Expenses receipts should be sent as a PDF with the Expenses claim form and Request for Payment form. 

Need more information?

Please do not hesitate to contact us or consult the Academic Affairs website for further general information regarding External Examiners.

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