A thesis is classified as a type of paper for enrolment purposes. A thesis code is equivalent to a paper code and shows that you are undertaking a long dissertation based on original research.
A thesis code is made up of:
- A four-letter subject code e.g. HIST for History
- A number to show the level of study e.g. 5 for master's or 9 for PhD
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Letters to show the period of enrolment within an academic year e.g.
- F = full-time, full-year
- H = part-time, full-year
- FH = full-time, part-year (first or second half of the year)
- HQ = part-time, part-year (first or second half of the year)
A few courses do not follow this standard pattern and may start with a different number (e.g. 8 instead of 5 for postgraduate Medicine courses) and/or use different letters (e.g. AF, AH, or AQ).
Enrolment periods for thesis codes are normally noted as 'T' periods (rather than FY, S1, S2). The T codes cover a longer period than the standard University of Otago semester:
- TY is full year (covering the period 1 January to 31 December)
- T1 is first half of the year (covering the period 1 January to 30 June)
- T2 is second half of the year (covering the period 1 July to 31 December)
If you enrol in a T1 period and continue thesis study in the second half of the year, you will need to request your thesis enrolment is updated via a change of course.
If you are unsure which thesis code you should be using, contact your supervisor or the divisional office.
Re-enrolling in a thesis code
If you wish to re-enrol using a thesis code which you have previously enrolled in, you will need to request Special Permission to have the thesis code added.