Oral Examination (Defense) (§16)

 

After the doctoral thesis has been accepted, the Dean will call for an oral examination. The doctoral candidate will arrange a location, date, and time with the members of the Doctoral Committee. At least 10 days in advance, the Dean will inform the teaching staff of the School, the Rector of the University, the Deans of the University, members of the Doctoral Committee, and members of the School Council as well as the doctoral candidate of the location, date, and time of the oral examination. Location, date, and time will also appear as a notice or on the website of the Dean's Office.

The oral examination takes the form of a defense, consisting of a presentation by the candidate on the topic of her or his doctoral thesis followed immediately afterwards by a discussion of both the presentation and the doctoral thesis. All members of the Doctoral Committee and the Doctoral Admissions Board are entitled to participate in the discussion; all other attendees of the oral examination are not entitled to voice their views or to address questions to the doctoral examinee. The presentation should be of at least 30 minutes' duration but not more than 45 minutes, and the subsequent discussion should take no longer than 60 minutes.

Members of the Doctoral Admissions Board are entitled to attend the oral examination as guests. Doctoral candidates who have already commenced work on their own doctoral thesis are also entitled to attend the examination unless the doctoral examinee has any objections to their attendance. Any other guests will only be allowed to attend by the Chairperson of the Doctoral Committee if the doctoral examinee gives her or his permission for their attendance.

Immediately pursuant to the oral examination, the Doctoral Committee will come to a decision in a non-public session about the outcome of the oral examination. If the oral examination (defense) is deemed successful, the doctoral candidate has passed the doctoral examination.