Thesis Rules

Introduction

The Council of the Institute, at its discretion, may allow an applicant for corporate membership (Fellow, Member and Associate Member) to demonstrate his/her knowledge of quarrying principles and practice by submitting a thesis as an alternative to passing the Professional Examination of the Institute.

Rules

The thesis route to corporate membership is only available to an Affiliate of the Institute aged 38 years or over and with 10 years’ experience in the quarrying industry, including five years in a position of managerial charge in the industry.

1. Subject

Applicants should select a subject in which they have particular personal knowledge and experience and the thesis should demonstrate a significant understanding of the subject addressed.

2. Pre-preparation approval

Before preparing a thesis, the applicant must obtain approval for his/her choice of subject by forwarding the proposed title and synopsis to the Technical Director of the Institute for critical appraisal by the Membership Panel. The completed thesis should be received at the Institute within 12 months of the above approval being granted.

3. Format

The style of the thesis should be such as to reveal a clear appreciation of the underlying principles involved and should embody a critique of the chosen subject, demonstrating that appropriate consideration has been taken of financial, health/safety, and environmental factors.

The thesis should total between 3,000 and 6,000 words, that is 12 to 24 pages of a double-spaced typewritten or word-processed document printed on single sides of A4 size paper.

4. Presentation

Formatting is to include a left hand margin of no less than 25mm.

• Page (i) Title, author’s name, job title, employer, location; date.
• Page (ii) Statement regarding originality of work; signature of author; signature of employer (or if self-employed, signature and professional standing of a referee).
• Page (iii) Executive summary - maximum one page of A4.
• Page (iv) Contents; lists of figures, tables, appendices (as appropriate) - referenced by page numbers.
• Page 1+ Body of thesis; conclusions; references (name, date, title source).

The left-hand edge of each copy should be mechanically bound (eg wire spiral or plastic loops). Thermal binding is not suitable for work of this nature.

5. Assessment

Four copies are to be submitted to the Technical Director of the Institute. The Membership Panel of the Institute may request revision or clarification of the thesis, prior to making a recommendation to Council. The applicant may be asked by the adjudicators to attend an oral examination on the subject matter of the thesis.

The decision of the Institute shall be final.

6. Ownership of the thesis

The thesis will become the property of the Institute and will be treated as confidential unless the applicant indicates otherwise. However, successful applicants will be encouraged to use their thesis as the basis of a paper to the Institute, eg branch technical presentation, publication in Quarry Management magazine, etc.