Public defence

Due to the Covid19 situation the public defence will usually be digital in Zoom Webinar.

The public defence is an academic discussion between the opponents and the doctoral candidate. The defence itself is open to the public. Normally, close relatives, fellow students, colleagues and faculty members from the department are present. It is customary for the candidate and the opponents to dress formally.

For detailed information, please see Procedures for the public defence.

After the defence, the evaluation committee must sign a statement confirming whether the candidate has successfully passed the defence. The statement will be written by the committee leader and must be signed by all three members of the committee.

If you have questions concerning your duties as a committee member, please consult the leader of the evaluation committee.

Date of defence

The date for the public defence is decided by the evaluation committee in consultation with the candidate. The department, in cooperation with the committee leader, will find the time and venue for the public defence.

The committee leader will inform the opponents and candidate about the time and venue for the public defence.

Procedures for the public defence

The two external members of the assessment committee act as opponents during the public defence. The opponents hold equal rank during the public defence.

The chair of the public defence opens the disputation.

The PhD candidate

The PhD candidate presents their scientific work, both objectives and findings/resultsbefore the scientific discussion starts. The presentation should last approximately 30-40 minutes.

The opponents

Two members of the assessment committee act as opponents. The distribution of the tasks between the opponents is agreed in advance and communicated to the chair of the public defence.

The opponent who speaks first gives a short summary (5-15 minutes) in which the PhD candidate's scientific work is placed in an international context. He/she then proceeds to examine the PhD candidate.

Afterwards, the other opponent examines the PhD candidate.

The chair of the public defence then takes questions from the auditorium. Other persons present who wish to comment ex auditorio must notify the defence chair during the disputation within the time frame determined by the chair.

After the defence has been completed, the assessment committee holds a short meeting. The defence chairthen shares the assessment committee's assessment of the public defence.

The thesis must be available to the audience at the public defence.