Thesis Requirements in India, China, and Southeast Asia

Asian systems differ from each other more than from the West. An Indian student faces a national rule on similarity percentages. A student in China may see the thesis go to anonymous reviewers before the defense can be requested. A student in Singapore or Malaysia follows a viva closer to the British model.

This guide gives one verified example from each, drawn from published regulations and university pages. They are examples. Your own university and your national regulator set the rules that bind you, so confirm each point with your graduate office.

India: the similarity rule

India's University Grants Commission published regulations on academic integrity in 2018. They set penalty levels for theses and dissertations based on the similarity found by software.

Up to 10%: minor similarity, no penalty.
Above 10% and up to 40%: the student submits a revised script within a period not exceeding six months.
Above 40% and up to 60%: the student is barred from submitting a revised script for one year.
Above 60%: registration for the program is cancelled.

A repeat offence moves the penalty up one level. Institutions must check each thesis before it is submitted. The percentage depends on how the report is configured, so ask your library whether quotations and references are excluded before you read the number. A low percentage does not prove the writing is original, and a high one can come from properly cited material. Paraphrase from understanding and cite every source, as our APA guide explains. Indian doctorates also end with a viva voce examination, and our viva guide covers how to prepare.

China: anonymous review and format checks

Chinese universities often review a thesis in writing before the defense. At Shanghai Jiao Tong University's school of electronic information and electrical engineering, a published procedure for master's theses describes a double-blind review before the defense, with three experts in the field reviewing each thesis, scored on topic selection, literature review, basic knowledge, research ability and innovation, and writing quality. Research ability and innovation carries half the marks. At China Pharmaceutical University, a graduate school notice requires doctoral candidates to pass anonymous review before they can apply for the defense, and the thesis must carry neither the student's nor the supervisor's name.

Format is checked as well. The University of International Business and Economics publishes a format check against its own writing standards and the Chinese national (GB/T) standards, with an acceptance threshold of fewer than three errors per 10,000 words, and requires the final check after the defense and before the final version goes in. The national standard for references is GB/T 7714, so a Chinese-language thesis will not follow APA or Harvard.

These are examples from three institutions, and each school sets its own scoring and thresholds.

Singapore: the oral examination

The National University of Singapore's Integrative Sciences and Engineering Programme publishes its PhD examination rules. Internal examiners are NUS staff, and an external examiner may be nominated only with strong justification, which is the reverse of the UK habit. Examiners have about seven weeks to report. The oral examination is held about three to four months after submission, and the candidate must attend in person. Video conference is not permitted. The examiners' recommendation goes to the Board of Graduate Studies, which decides on the award. Other faculties and universities in Singapore set their own rules.

Malaysia: the viva

At Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, a published guide for viva chairmen shows the format. A chairman moderates, and internal and external examiners question the candidate. The supervisors do not speak unless the chairman allows them to clarify a point. The candidate presents for no longer than 20 minutes. Two rounds of questions follow, the first on general understanding and the second chapter by chapter. The examiners deliberate while the candidate waits outside, and the chairman announces the result and any amendments.

What carries across

In every one of these systems, the thesis is judged against the same questions. Does the method answer the question? Do the findings follow from the data? Is the contribution clear? Our guides to Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 apply wherever you write. Our ethics guide covers the committee names in other countries, and our pre-submission checklist covers the final checks.

If English is your second language and your thesis is written in it, a second reader for clarity and consistency helps before the review or similarity check. Our editing and formatting service works to your university's own template.