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The Thesis Defense

Thesis Defense Authorization

• You must declare your willingness to organize your thesis on ADUM at least 10 weeks before the Thesis defense.
• At least 8 weeks before the Thesis defense, the complete file must be sent to the Doctoral School .

The Thesis Jury

• The composition of the jury is examined by the Director of the Doctoral School who verifies its conformity.
• The manuscript is then sent to the rapporteurs. The 2 pre-reports must be submitted on ADUM 4 weeks at the latest before the Thesis defense.

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The next thesis defenses, regulatory texts.

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How to prepare an excellent thesis defense

What is a thesis defense?

How long is a thesis defense, what happens at a thesis defense, your presentation, questions from the committee, 6 tips to help you prepare for your thesis defense, 1. anticipate questions and prepare for them, 2. dress for success, 3. ask for help, as needed, 4. have a backup plan, 5. prepare for the possibility that you might not know an answer, 6. de-stress before, during, and after, frequently asked questions about preparing an excellent thesis defense, related articles.

If you're about to complete, or have ever completed a graduate degree, you have most likely come across the term "thesis defense." In many countries, to finish a graduate degree, you have to write a thesis .

A thesis is a large paper, or multi-chapter work, based on a topic relating to your field of study.

Once you hand in your thesis, you will be assigned a date to defend your work. Your thesis defense meeting usually consists of you and a committee of two or more professors working in your program. It may also include other people, like professionals from other colleges or those who are working in your field.

During your thesis defense, you will be asked questions about your work. The main purpose of your thesis defense is for the committee to make sure that you actually understand your field and focus area.

The questions are usually open-ended and require the student to think critically about their work. By the time of your thesis defense, your paper has already been evaluated. The questions asked are not designed so that you actually have to aggressively "defend" your work; often, your thesis defense is more of a formality required so that you can get your degree.

• Check with your department about requirements and timing.
• Re-read your thesis.
• Anticipate questions and prepare for them.
• Create a back-up plan to deal with technology hiccups.
• Plan de-stressing activities both before, and after, your defense.

How long your oral thesis defense is depends largely on the institution and requirements of your degree. It is best to consult your department or institution about this. In general, a thesis defense may take only 20 minutes, but it may also take two hours or more. The length also depends on how much time is allocated to the presentation and questioning part.

Tip: Check with your department or institution as soon as possible to determine the approved length for a thesis defense.

First of all, be aware that a thesis defense varies from country to country. This is just a general overview, but a thesis defense can take many different formats. Some are closed, others are public defenses. Some take place with two committee members, some with more examiners.

The same goes for the length of your thesis defense, as mentioned above. The most important first step for you is to clarify with your department what the structure of your thesis defense will look like. In general, your thesis defense will include:

• your presentation of around 20-30 minutes
• questions from the committee
• questions from the audience (if the defense is public and the department allows it)

You might have to give a presentation, often with Powerpoint, Google slides, or Keynote slides. Make sure to prepare an appropriate amount of slides. A general rule is to use about 10 slides for a 20-minute presentation.

But that also depends on your specific topic and the way you present. The good news is that there will be plenty of time ahead of your thesis defense to prepare your slides and practice your presentation alone and in front of friends or family.

Tip: Practice delivering your thesis presentation in front of family, friends, or colleagues.

You can prepare your slides by using information from your thesis' first chapter (the overview of your thesis) as a framework or outline. Substantive information in your thesis should correspond with your slides.

Make sure your slides are of good quality— both in terms of the integrity of the information and the appearance. If you need more help with how to prepare your presentation slides, both the ASQ Higher Education Brief and James Hayton have good guidelines on the topic.

The committee will ask questions about your work after you finish your presentation. The questions will most likely be about the core content of your thesis, such as what you learned from the study you conducted. They may also ask you to summarize certain findings and to discuss how your work will contribute to the existing body of knowledge.

Tip: Read your entire thesis in preparation of the questions, so you have a refreshed perspective on your work.

While you are preparing, you can create a list of possible questions and try to answer them. You can foresee many of the questions you will get by simply spending some time rereading your thesis.

Here are a few tips on how to prepare for your thesis defense:

You can absolutely prepare for most of the questions you will be asked. Read through your thesis and while you're reading it, create a list of possible questions. In addition, since you will know who will be on the committee, look at the academic expertise of the committee members. In what areas would they most likely be focused?

If possible, sit at other thesis defenses with these committee members to get a feel for how they ask and what they ask. As a graduate student, you should generally be adept at anticipating test questions, so use this advantage to gather as much information as possible before your thesis defense meeting.

Your thesis defense is a formal event, often the entire department or university is invited to participate. It signals a critical rite of passage for graduate students and faculty who have supported them throughout a long and challenging process.

While most universities don't have specific rules on how to dress for that event, do regard it with dignity and respect. This one might be a no-brainer, but know that you should dress as if you were on a job interview or delivering a paper at a conference.

It might help you deal with your stress before your thesis defense to entrust someone with the smaller but important responsibilities of your defense well ahead of schedule. This trusted person could be responsible for:

• preparing the room of the day of defense
• setting up equipment for the presentation
• preparing and distributing handouts

Technology is unpredictable. Life is too. There are no guarantees that your Powerpoint presentation will work at all or look the way it is supposed to on the big screen. We've all been there. Make sure to have a plan B for these situations. Handouts can help when technology fails, and an additional clean shirt can save the day if you have a spill.

One of the scariest aspects of the defense is the possibility of being asked a question you can't answer. While you can prepare for some questions, you can never know exactly what the committee will ask.

There will always be gaps in your knowledge. But your thesis defense is not about being perfect and knowing everything, it's about how you deal with challenging situations. You are not expected to know everything.

James Hayton writes on his blog that examiners will sometimes even ask questions they don't know the answer to, out of curiosity, or because they want to see how you think. While it is ok sometimes to just say "I don't know", he advises to try something like "I don't know, but I would think [...] because of x and y, but you would need to do [...] in order to find out.” This shows that you have the ability to think as an academic.

You will be nervous. But your examiners will expect you to be nervous. Being well prepared can help minimize your stress, but do know that your examiners have seen this many times before and are willing to help, by repeating questions, for example. Dora Farkas at finishyourthesis.com notes that it’s a myth that thesis committees are out to get you.

Two common symptoms of being nervous are talking really fast and nervous laughs. Try to slow yourself down and take a deep breath. Remember what feels like hours to you are just a few seconds in real life.

• Try meditational breathing right before your defense.
• Get plenty of exercise and sleep in the weeks prior to your defense.
• Have your clothes or other items you need ready to go the night before.
• During your defense, allow yourself to process each question before answering.
• Go to dinner with friends and family, or to a fun activity like mini-golf, after your defense.

Allow yourself to process each question, respond to it, and stop talking once you have responded. While a smile can often help dissolve a difficult situation, remember that nervous laughs can be irritating for your audience.

We all make mistakes and your thesis defense will not be perfect. However, careful preparation, mindfulness, and confidence can help you feel less stressful both before, and during, your defense.

Finally, consider planning something fun that you can look forward to after your defense.

It is completely normal to be nervous. Being well prepared can help minimize your stress, but do know that your examiners have seen this many times before and are willing to help, by repeating questions for example if needed. Slow yourself down, and take a deep breath.

Your thesis defense is not about being perfect and knowing everything, it's about how you deal with challenging situations. James Hayton writes on his blog that it is ok sometimes to just say "I don't know", but he advises to try something like "I don't know, but I would think [...] because of x and y, you would need to do [...] in order to find out".

Your Powerpoint presentation can get stuck or not look the way it is supposed to do on the big screen. It can happen and your supervisors know it. In general, handouts can always save the day when technology fails.

• Dress for success.
• Ask for help setting up.
• Have a backup plan (in case technology fails you).
• Deal with your nerves.

Preparing For Your Dissertation Defense

13 Key Questions To Expect In The Viva Voce

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) & David Phair (PhD) . Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2021

Preparing for your dissertation or thesis defense (also called a “viva voce”) is a formidable task . All your hard work over the years leads you to this one point, and you’ll need to defend yourself against some of the most experienced researchers you’ve encountered so far.

It’s natural to feel a little nervous.

In this post, we’ll cover some of the most important questions you should be able to answer in your viva voce, whether it’s for a Masters or PhD degree. Naturally, they might not arise in exactly the same form (some may not come up at all), but if you can answer these questions well, it means you’re in a good position to tackle your oral defense.

Viva Voce Prep: 13 Essential Questions

• What is your study about and why did you choose to research this in particular?
• How did your research questions evolve during the research process?
• How did you decide on which sources to include in your literature review?
• How did you design your study and why did you take this approach?
• How generalisable and valid are the findings?
• What were the main shortcomings and limitations created by your research design?
• How did your findings relate to the existing literature?
• What were your key findings in relation to the research questions?
• Were there any findings that surprised you?
• What biases may exist in your research?
• How can your findings be put into practice?
• How has your research contributed to current thinking in the field?
• If you could redo your research, how would you alter your approach?

#1: What is your study about and why did you choose to research this in particular?

This question, a classic party starter, is pretty straightforward.

What the dissertation or thesis committee is assessing here is your ability to clearly articulate your research aims, objectives and research questions in a concise manner. Concise is the keyword here – you need to clearly explain your research topic without rambling on for a half-hour. Don’t feel the need to go into the weeds here – you’ll have many opportunities to unpack the details later on.

In the second half of the question, they’re looking for a brief explanation of the justification of your research. In other words, why was this particular set of research aims, objectives and questions worth addressing? To address this question well in your oral defense, you need to make it clear what gap existed within the research and why that gap was worth filling.

#2: How did your research questions evolve during the research process?

Good research generally follows a long and winding path . It’s seldom a straight line (unless you got really lucky). What they’re assessing here is your ability to follow that path and let the research process unfold.

Specifically, they’ll want to hear about the impact that the literature review process had on you in terms of shaping the research aims, objectives and research questions . For example, you may have started with a certain set of aims, but then as you immersed yourself in the literature, you may have changed direction. Similarly, your initial fieldwork findings may have turned out some unexpected data that drove you to adjust or expand on your initial research questions.

Long story short – a good defense involves clearly describing your research journey , including all the twists and turns. Adjusting your direction based on findings in the literature or the fieldwork shows that you’re responsive , which is essential for high-quality research.

#3: How did you decide on which sources to include in your literature review?

A comprehensive literature review is the foundation of any high-quality piece of research. With this question, your dissertation or thesis committee are trying to assess which quality criteria and approach you used to select the sources for your literature review.

Typically, good research draws on both the seminal work in the respective field and more recent sources . In other words, a combination of the older landmark studies and pivotal work, along with up-to-date sources that build on to those older studies. This combination ensures that the study has a rock-solid foundation but is not out of date.

So, make sure that your study draws on a mix of both the “classics” and new kids on the block, and take note of any major evolutions in the literature that you can use as an example when asked this question in your viva voce.

#4: How did you design your study and why did you take this approach?

This is a classic methodological question that you can almost certainly expect in some or other shape.

What they’re looking for here is a clear articulation of the research design and methodology, as well as a strong justification of each choice . So, you need to be able to walk through each methodological choice and clearly explain both what you did and why you did it. The why is particularly important – you need to be able to justify each choice you made by clearly linking your design back to your research aims, objectives and research questions, while also taking into account practical constraints.

To ensure you cover every base, check out our research methodology vlog post , as well as our post covering the Research Onion .

#5: How generalizable and valid are the findings?

This question is aimed at specifically digging into your understanding of the sample and how that relates to the population, as well as potential validity issues in your methodology.

To answer question this well, you’ll need to critically assess your sample and findings and consider if they truly apply to the entire population, as well as whether they assessed what they set out to. Note that there are two components here – generalizability and validity . Generalizability is about how well the sample represents the population. Validity is about how accurately you’ve measured what you intended to measure .

To ace this part of your dissertation defense, make sure that you’re very familiar with the concepts of generalizability , validity and reliability , and how these apply to your research. Remember, you don’t need to achieve perfection – you just need to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your research (and how the weaknesses could be improved upon).

Need a helping hand?

#6: What were the main shortcomings and limitations created by your research design?

This question picks up where the last one left off.

As I mentioned, it’s perfectly natural that your research will have shortcomings and limitations as a result of your chosen design and methodology. No piece of research is flawless. Therefore, a good dissertation defense is not about arguing that your work is perfect, but rather it’s about clearly articulating the strengths and weaknesses of your approach.

To address this question well, you need to think critically about all of the potential weaknesses your design may have, as well as potential responses to these (which could be adopted in future research) to ensure you’re well prepared for this question. For a list of common methodological limitations, check out our video about research limitations here .

#7: How did your findings relate to the existing literature?

This common dissertation defense question links directly to your discussion chapter , where you would have presented and discussed the findings in relation to your literature review.

What your dissertation or thesis committee is assessing here is your ability to compare your study’s findings to the findings of existing research . Specifically, you need to discuss which findings aligned with existing research and which findings did not. For those findings that contrasted against existing research, you should also explain what you believe to be the reasons for this.

As with many questions in a viva voce, it’s both the what and the why that matter here. So, you need to think deeply about what the underlying reasons may be for both the similarities and differences between your findings and those of similar studies.

#8: What were your key findings in relation to the research questions?

This question is similar to the last one in that it too focuses on your research findings. However, here the focus is specifically on the findings that directly relate to your research questions (as opposed to findings in general).

So, a good way to prepare for this question is to step back and revisit your research questions . Ask yourself the following:

• What exactly were you asking in those questions, and what did your research uncover concerning them?
• Which questions were well answered by your study and which ones were lacking?
• Why were they lacking and what more could be done to address this in future research?

Conquering this part dissertation defense requires that you focus squarely on the research questions. Your study will have provided many findings (hopefully!), and not all of these will link directly to the research questions. Therefore, you need to clear your mind of all of the fascinating side paths your study may have lead you down and regain a clear focus on the research questions .

#9: Were there any findings that surprised you?

This question is two-pronged.

First, you should discuss the surprising findings that were directly related to the original research questions . Going into your research, you likely had some expectations in terms of what you would find, so this is your opportunity to discuss the outcomes that emerged as contrary to what you initially expected. You’ll also want to think about what the reasons for these contrasts may be.

Second, you should discuss the findings that weren’t directly related to the research questions, but that emerged from the data set . You may have a few or you may have none – although generally there are a handful of interesting musings that you can glean from the data set. Again, make sure you can articulate why you find these interesting and what it means for future research in the area.

What the committee is looking for in this type of question is your ability to interpret the findings holistically and comprehensively , and to respond to unexpected data. So, take the time to zoom out and reflect on your findings thoroughly.

#10: What biases may exist in your research?

Biases… we all have them.

For this question, you’ll need to think about potential biases in your research , in the data itself but also in your interpretation of the data. With this question, your committee is assessing whether you have considered your own potential biases and the biases inherent in your analysis approach (i.e. your methodology). So, think carefully about these research biases and be ready to explain how these may exist in your study.

In an oral defense, this question is often followed up with a question on how the biases were mitigated or could be mitigated in future research. So, give some thought not just to what biases may exist, but also the mitigation measures (in your own study and for future research).

#11: How can your findings be put into practice?

Another classic question in the typical viva voce.

With this question, your committee is assessing your ability to bring your findings back down to earth and demonstrate their practical value and application. Importantly, this question is not about the contribution to academia or the overall field of research (we’ll get to that next) – it is specifically asking about how this newly created knowledge can be used in the real world.

Naturally, the actionability of your findings will vary depending on the nature of your research topic. Some studies will produce many action points and some won’t. If you’re researching marketing strategies within an industry, for example, you should be able to make some very specific recommendations for marketing practitioners in that industry.

To help you flesh out points for this question, look back at your original justification for the research (i.e. in your introduction and literature review chapters). What were the driving forces that led you to research your specific topic? That justification should help you identify ways in which your findings can be put into practice.

#12: How has your research contributed to current thinking in the field?

While the previous question was aimed at practical contribution, this question is aimed at theoretical contribution . In other words, what is the significance of your study within the current body of research? How does it fit into the existing research and what does it add to it?

This question is often asked by a field specialist and is used to assess whether you’re able to place your findings into the research field to critically convey what your research contributed. This argument needs to be well justified – in other words, you can’t just discuss what your research contributed, you need to also back each proposition up with a strong why .

To answer this question well, you need to humbly consider the quality and impact of your work and to be realistic in your response. You don’t want to come across as arrogant (“my work is groundbreaking”), nor do you want to undersell the impact of your work. So, it’s important to strike the right balance between realistic and pessimistic .

This question also opens the door to questions about potential future research . So, think about what future research opportunities your study has created and which of these you feel are of the highest priority.

#13: If you could redo your research, how would you alter your approach?

This question is often used to wrap up a viva voce as it brings the discussion full circle.

Here, your committee is again assessing your ability to clearly identify and articulate the limitations and shortcomings of your research, both in terms of research design and topic focus . Perhaps, in hindsight, it would have been better to use a different analysis method or data set. Perhaps the research questions should have leaned in a slightly different direction. And so on.

This question intends to assess whether you’re able to look at your work critically , assess where the weaknesses are and make recommendations for the future . This question often sets apart those who did the research purely because it was required, from those that genuinely engaged with their research. So, don’t hold back here – reflect on your entire research journey ask yourself how you’d do things differently if you were starting with a  blank canvas today.

Recap: The 13 Key Dissertation Defense Questions

To recap, here are the 13 questions you need to be ready for to ace your dissertation or thesis oral defense:

As I mentioned, this list of dissertation defense questions is certainly not exhaustive – don’t assume that we’ve covered every possible question here. However, these questions are quite likely to come up in some shape or form in a typical dissertation or thesis defense, whether it’s for a Master’s degree, PhD or any other research degree. So, you should take the time to make sure you can answer them well.

If you need assistance preparing for your dissertation defense or viva voce, get in touch with us to discuss 1-on-1 coaching. We can critically review your research and identify potential issues and responses, as well as undertake a mock oral defense to prepare you for the pressures and stresses on the day.

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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12 Comments

Very interesting

Interesting. I appreciate!

Really appreciating

My field is International Trade

Interesting

This is a full course on defence. I was fabulously enlightened and I gained enough confidence for my upcoming Masters Defence.

There are many lessons to learn and the simplicity in presentationmakes thee reader say “YesI can”

This is so helping… it has Enlightened me on how to answer specific questions. I pray to make it through for my upcoming defense

Lovely to hear that 🙂

Really educative and beneficial

Interesting. On-point and elaborate. And comforting too! Thanks.

Thank you very much for the enlightening me, be blessed

Thankyou so much. I am planning to defend my thesis soon and I found this very useful

Very interesting and useful to all masters and PhD students

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Forms (word doc):

• Request for a reviewer without HDR
• Confidentiality agreement by a jury member or participant of a thesis defense
• Jury proxi form
• Proposal for a PhD thesis prize/award

Information (pdf):

• Decree from May 25th, 2016
• Avis du Jury instructions
• Composition of the Reviewers and the Jury
• Difference between confidentiality and embargo
• Procedure for defence with broadcasting
• Graduate school board documents
• Presentations
• Practical documents
• Useful links
• Online forms

Procedure for the defence

Main steps of the defence:.

• The procedures must be initiated at least 10 weeks before the defence and will be carried out exclusively via the ADUM platform;
• Check on ADUM that the mandatory training hours are validated: "training in scientific ethics"; "thesis submission", and for contractual doctoral student with teaching assignment, pedagogical training;
• When received, if the reviewers reports are positive, the process of PhD defense managed by the University is launched;
• If the University authorises the defense, the PhD defense documents will be available in ADUM;
• The completed defence documents must be returned BY E-MAIL to the Graduate School (ED) secretariat ( [email protected] ) within 2 weeks after the defence;
• The proposal of the student for the PhD PRIZE/AWARD must be mentioned in the defence report;
• Possible corrections of the manuscript according to the recommendations of the thesis jury.

At least 10 weeks before the probable date of defence (and at least 8 weeks before):

Appointment of reviewers and jury.

Special case: in case of writing and/or defending in a non-French language, the cover page, the thesis title, the key words must be translated into French and the main part must be summarized in French with minimum 1700 prints.

Important: If the applicant cannot provide a first author publication, the PhD supervisor will have to justify the reason when submitting his opinion on the request for authorisation of defence via ADUM (use: "your possible observations").

Rules for the appointment of the Reviewers and the Jury:

Reference Université Côte d'Azur document (effective 1 January 2023)

• The Jury is composed of between 4 and 8 members with, if possible, a composition close to parity between men and women.
• At least half of the members of the jury must be French or foreign personalities from outside the Graduate School and the doctoral student's university , chosen for their scientific or professional competence in the field of research concerned.
• External members must belong to different laboratories and institutions.
• An external co-supervisor, because of his or her involvement in the thesis, is considered an internal member and does not participate in the decision if he or she is a member of the jury.
• And at least half of the members are of rank A (professors, research directors, professors from foreign institutions, etc.)
• The PhD supervisor (or at least one of the supervisors in the case of co-supervision) must participate in the jury. He/she is a member of the defence jury, counts among the local members and his/her name appears on the diploma. He/she attends the debates but does not take part in the final decision. He therefore signs the defence report, but not the defence statement (“Procès-verbal de soutenance”).
• The reviewers must be selected based on their qualifications. To avoid a conflict of interest, they may not have co-authored a publication with the PhD supervisor or the applicant, which would invalidate the jury.
• The two reviewers must be qualified to supervise research, with the HDR (Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches) diploma, or of equivalent rank. They must also be in practice. The two reviewers must be outside the Graduate School and the doctoral student's university (except in very exceptional cases , if the disciplinary field or the content of the work does not allow it). They may belong to foreign higher education or research institutions or other foreign organisations. The referees must belong to different laboratories and institutions. Members of the IFC cannot be thesis referees. In the case of work involving persons from the socio-economic world who do not belong to the academic world, a third reviewer, recognised for his or her competence in the field, may be appointed.

Special case: request for a reviewer without an HDR diploma Fill in the derogation request form and provide the requested documents. The application must be submitted to the Université Côte d'Azur Administrative Council for authorisation.

• A Professor Emeritus does not count as an active Professor; he/she cannot be a thesis director, nor the President of the Jury but may, on the basis of his/her HDR diploma, be referee. The number of emeritus professors does not exceed 25% of the members of the jury.
• An invited member is not officially part of a jury and therefore does not appear in any official document of the defense.

Important: The ED secretariat must be notified of changes in the jury composition. The absence of one or several jury members must be justified. Two cases: The Jury remains in conformity with the decree of May 25, 2016: in this case, it will be sufficient to modify the composition of the defense jury. The jury no longer complies with the decree of May 25, 2016 (for example, the number of members from outside the Graduate School and the doctoral student's university is less than half of the total number of members,...): in this case, the defense can only take place IF AND ONLY IF the compliance of the jury is restored, and this even if the absence of a member is only known on the day of the defence. If no solution is found, the defense must be postponed, or it will be cancelled.

Special cases:

• Confidential thesis - Embargo / Defence behind closed doors: In the case of a confidential thesis, indicate on ADUM "yes" in "Confidential thesis requested" and fill out the justification request. The confidentiality declared by the President of the University to respect the rights of the industrial property is distinct from the embargo on diffusion on the Internet which is the choise of the sole author. Difference between CONFIDENTIALITY and EMBARGO   According to the decree from May 25, 2016, the president of the University can in exceptional cases decide against a public thesis defense and allow a defense behind closed doors if the thesis project is proven of a confidential nature.   Alternatively, a standard agreement of confidentiality ( Confidentiality agreement by a jury member or participant of a thesis defense ) can be used to guarantee the confidential nature of the results with respect to jury members (or reviewers) (to be returned to the ED secretariat: [email protected] at the latest after the defence together with the completed defence documents). In addition to this agreement, measures need to be taken to ensure the confidentiality at the start of any collaboration with any third party, public or private, who will become aware of the project and results during the PhD.
• Defense with videoconference: Decree from October 2020 Exceptional procedure for thesis or HDR defence - November 3, 2020   The members of the videoconference jury must be indicated on ADUM in the box provided for this purpose (videoconference request: indicate "yes"). They must fill in the: Jury proxy form for delegation of signature to the President (to be returned to the ED secretariat: [email protected] at the latest after the defence together with the completed defence documents). Recommendation: the president of the jury must be present at the thesis defence location.
• External members are considered to be members outside the institutions bound by the cotutelle agreement.
• At least 2 rapporteurs must be external to the institutions bound by the cotutelle agreement.
• The composition of the jury must be balanced between the partner institutions.
• A minimum of 50% of the members must be of rank A (professors, research directors, professors from foreign institutions, etc.)

At least 8 weeks (minimum on ADUM) before the probable date of defence:

Deposit of the manuscript on adum.

The doctoral student deposits the manuscript of his/her thesis on ADUM which will automatically be sent to the designated reviewers as well as to the University Library which checks the conformity of the electronic deposit. The reviewers then have 5 weeks to establish their report and deposit it on ADUM, at the latest 14 days before the date of the defense, under penalty of cancellation of the defence.

Few days before defence:

If the reviewer reports are positive and the electronic deposit is in conformity, the ED Director and the Presidency of the University decide on the authorization of defence.

The doctoral student will find in his (her) workspace on ADUM:

• the order of defense signed by the Presidency of the University
• the reports of the reviewers (a copy of each report is sent by e-mail to all the members of the jury)
• the "Procès-Verbal" of the defence
• the Defense Report
• the form « Avis du jury sur l'archivage et la diffusion de la thèse » (Opinion of the jury on the archiving and distribution of the thesis)

One week before the thesis defence, the applicant must email the announcement of the defence of thesis to the ED secretariat. The ED secretariat also needs to email to the applicant a form concerning his/her future after the PhD.

Defence, deliberation and the oath of scientific integrity:

The President of the jury (rank A or equivalent) is elected by the members of the jury before the defense.

At the end of the defence and in case of admission, the newly awarded PhD takes an oath, individually, committing himself to respect the principles and requirements of scientific integrity in his further professional career, whatever the sector or field of activity.

The doctoral oath relating to scientific integrity is as follows:

"In the presence of my peers. Having completed my doctorate in [xxx], and having thus practised, in my quest for knowledge, the exercise of demanding scientific research, cultivating intellectual rigour, ethical reflexivity and respect for the principles of scientific integrity, I undertake, insofar as it depends on me, in the continuation of my professional career, whatever the sector or field of activity, to maintain integrity in my relationship to knowledge, my methods and my results."

After the deliberation:

• the members of the jury sign the "Procès-Verbal" of the defence, except for the PhD supervisor(s) .
• the members of the jury write in French and sign the Defence Report as well as the PhD supervisor(s). It will be mentioned in the Defense Report if the thesis is proposed for the PhD PRIZE/AWARD , which rewards each year the best thesis of the Life and Health Sciences ED of the Université Côte d'Azur. In the positive case, the student is informed and must send by e-mail to the ED secretariat his thesis for its future evaluation by the members of the Doctoral School Council. Likewise, the reviewers must complete and return to the ED secretariat: [email protected] the thesis proposal form
• the President of the jury completes, signs and notes his name on the Avis du jury sur l'archivage et la diffusion de la thèse , see Avis du jury instructions .

Within two weeks after the defense, the President of the jury sends to the ED secretariat by e-mail to [email protected] :

• the "Procès-Verbal" of the defence (and possibly the proxies of the members in videoconference, confidentiality agreements ...)
• the form « Avis du jury sur l’archivage et la diffusion de la thèse »

Note: The statement of the jury regarding the archiving and the distribution of the thesis mentioned:

• the thesis manuscript can be archived and distributed without modifications or after minor corrections suggested by the jury, within three months after the defence date (after this period, the legal version is the registered version before the defense)
• the thesis manuscript can be archived and distributed after major corrections, within three months after the defence date

AFTER THE DEFENCE:

• After reception of the defense documents completed by the President of the jury, the ED secretariat can edit an Attestation de Réussite (certificate of success) , transmitted to the newly awarded PhD by e-mail.
• The ED secretariat also requests the edition of the PhD diploma, which the newly awarded PhD will be able to obtain from the Scolarité des Sciences, within three months after the defense. Contact: [email protected]

Textes de Référence : Arrêté du 25 mai 2016

Home > Academics > Master Programs > Master's Thesis

Master's Thesis

PSIA students have the option of undertaking a Master thesis, in lieu of an internship or a semester exchange at a partner university. Sciences Po Academic rules in Article 37 specify that Master curricula include “a semester of extramural activities” and “as applicable…a Master thesis.”

This is a selective track offered to PSIA students, who must apply for the opportunity. Only the strongest proposals are approved by PSIA's scientific community. Every year, this track produces highly relevant and successful research work. Since 2021, the best Master thesis defended at PSIA have been published online by Sciences Po digital library .

PSIA Master thesis’ Regulations

• Course consistency: undertaking a Master thesis is optional and the approval of the Academic Advisor is necessary.
• Individuality: The Master thesis is an individual research project, it cannot be done in a group ;
• Thesis Director: The research project is conducted under the direction of a faculty specialist in the same subject area. Please note that Sciences Po faculty will be preferred. The academic advisor approves the choice;
• Prerequisites: Students interested in pursuing a Master thesis must enrol in and validate two courses within the “Methods” concentration during the first year of their Master program;
• The Master thesis track is open only to students who must register for a third semester "hors les murs", as per the Sciences Po regulation. Students who are enrolled in a one-year Master program, as well as dual degree students who spend only their first year at PSIA, are waived from this obligation, and they are not eligible for the Master thesis track.
• The thesis defence will constitute both the validation of the Master thesis as well as the required Grand Oral.

The Master thesis Track is mainly directed at students with previous work experience presumably waiving the internship requirement, or students aiming for a PhD / academic career.

Master thesis Q&A

Proposal Documents (to be sent to the Academic Advisor)

• Curriculum Vitae
• Cover letter (students must indicate the two methods coruses they have taken at PSIA, or describe methods courses and any research internships undertaken prior to PSIA, attaching transcripts of any previous methodology coursework from another institution).
• Research proposal (5 pages, single-spaced, Times New Roman 12, not including bibliography). Students may want to include the following sections: literature review; research question; proposed research design; information about empirical data and/or modalities of fieldwork if relevant. See a template for your reference.
• Reference letter from the potential Thesis Director
• Transcript of the first semester at PSIA, and a list of courses they are enrolled in for the second semester.

When required, field research may be undertaken within the third semester.

Students producing a Master thesis may receive exemptions from The mandatory 14-week internship.

The Master thesis length is between 20,000 and 30,000 words, excluding appendices. Electronic versions of the thesis must be sent to the thesis' supervisor, the academic advisor, the third member of the jury and  [email protected] .

Format of Thesis : Overview

The defence jury is composed of three members approved by PSIA and must include:

• The Thesis Director
• An Expert in the field of research (professional or scholar)
• A faculty or administrative officer representative of the student’s Master (in charge of reporting)
• At least one member of the defence jury should be a university professor or researcher

Thesis Defence

It consists of two parts: a 10 minute presentation then a 20 minute discussion with the examiners

The validation of the Master thesis will bear 30 credits.

Master Thesis Calendar

• To be eligible to undertake a Master thesis during their third semester, students must take and validate two courses within the “Methods” concentration by the end of their first year – ideally one in semester 1 and one in semester 2. Students who wrote a thesis or long research essay (minimum 10,000 words) during their undergraduate studies may apply for a waiver of one of the two mandatory methods courses. 
• March 15, 2023: Submission of full written proposal to their Academic Advisor by 2 pm.
• Late April 2023: Confirmation if they have been accepted onto the Master thesis Track for the third semester by their Academic Advisor. In all cases, progression to the third semester is subject to successful completion of the first year.
• September-December 2022: Third semester (Off campus; 'hors les murs');
• January 31, 2023: Master thesis submission deadline: electronic version to be sent to [email protected] , academic advisor, thesis supervisor and third member of the jury.
• Mid-April – May 2023: Master thesis Defence

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• Doctoral Candidate

Find out all about the conditions and formalities of the thesis defence depending on the research team or laboratory you have joined. 

Published on 7/01/2020 - Updated on 15/05/2024

You are assigned to a laboratory affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine or the Faculty of Science

The manuscript.

Language of the manuscript

As the thesis leads to the award of a French national degree, it should generally be written and defended in French. However, it may be the case that, for scientific reasons, the subject matter requires the use of a language other than French. By decision of the Scientific Council of 4 March 2013, this is now decided by the directors of doctoral schools, who are competent to judge matters of scientific priority. As recommended by the Ministry, a lengthy written summary of the thesis in French will be required.

Writing the manuscript

To help you write your manuscript, Sorbonne University provides you with a guide for writing and presenting theses, as well as two style sheets, one of which concerns international co-supervision theses.

• Guide to writing and presenting theses
• Classic style sheet
• Style sheets: theses in international co-supervision

Communication courses are organised for the preparation of your manuscript but also for the defence. Find these courses in the training catalogue for doctoral candidates at Sorbonne University. 

Appointment of rapporteurs and the thesis jury

The President of Sorbonne University delegates the appointment of rapporteurs, the composition of the jury and the authorisation of the defence to the director of the doctoral school.

Appointment of rapporteurs

The President appoints two rapporteurs, authorised to direct research or belonging to one of the categories referred to in Article 17 of the Order of 25 May 2016 at the proposal of the director of the doctoral school and after consulting the thesis director.

• Rapporteurs must come from outside the doctoral school and the doctoral candidate's institution of enrolment.
• They have no involvement in the work of the doctoral candidate.
• They may come from foreign higher education or research institutions or other foreign bodies.
• The rapporteurs shall make their opinion known by means of written reports on the basis of which the President shall authorise the defence. These reports shall be made known to the jury and the candidate before the defence.
•  In the event of disagreement between the two rapporteurs, the President shall appoint a third rapporteur.

Appointment of the thesis jury

The thesis jury is appointed by the president after consulting the director of the doctoral school and the thesis director. There are between 4 and 8 jury members.

At least half of its members are French or foreign people, from outside the doctoral school and the candidate's enrolment establishment, chosen for their scientific competence, subject to provisions relating to the international co-supervision of the thesis. At least half of the jury must be made up of professors or similar personnel, or teachers of equivalent rank who do not report to the Ministry in charge of higher education. Its composition must allow a balanced representation of women and men. The thesis director is a member of the jury, but does not take part in the decision. The thesis jury must include, apart from the thesis director, a lecturer or researcher from Sorbonne University - i.e. attached to a research structure associated with Sorbonne University - holding accreditation to direct research or similar.

Request for defence

Two steps are necessary with two different structures: one with the doctoral school, the other with the reception office. 

At the doctoral school at least 8 weeks before the defence Candidates must contact the director of the doctoral school they belong to, following the procedures indicated on the doctoral school's website, and must submit the "Application for authorisation to present a defence" and "Authorisation to defend" forms, duly completed and signed by the thesis director.   When the jury is accepted by the doctoral school Candidates send the documents called "Letters accompanying the manuscript" and "Thesis reports" to their referees, with their manuscript specifying the name, e-mail address and physical address of the head of the doctoral school to which they should be returned. The reports and the defence authorisation form must be sent by the doctoral school to the reception office at least three weeks before the date scheduled for the defence. It is the candidate’s responsibility to find out whether the reception office has received their documents.

At the doctoral candidate s' reception office at least 4 weeks before the defence  Candidates must submit their defence file including their manuscript on CD-Rom and the documents necessary for the dissemination of their thesis.

For better follow-up We provide you with a small tool: the defence calendar (excel). Enter your defence date and you will be given the deadlines to be met!

Defence file

The defence file includes

The documents

It must be submitted to the doctoral candidates' reception office at least 4 weeks before the defence: make an appointment with the doctoral candidates' reception office. The thesis subject must have the same wording on all documents and copies.

The CD-ROM Several documents are to be saved on the CD-ROM! It may seem tedious to you but it will be very useful for the library and the archiving of your thesis. Your work will thus be valued. 

The CD-ROM, on which your NAME, FIRST NAME and FILE NUMBER appear, contains the 7 files (9 in the case of expurgated texts). It is recommended to use the style sheets proposed by Sorbonne University (standard (215 KB) or for co-supervision theses (254 KB). 

• 1 .txt or .doc file with the title of the thesis, named: subject_Folder_No.
• 1 .txt or .doc file with the translated title of the thesis (in English for example), named: subject_translated_Folder_No.
• 1 file (or folder) containing the full text of the thesis in source format (word, latex, open office) named: thesis_archiving_Folder_No.
• 1 file including the full text of the thesis in PDF format named: thesis_archiving_Folder_No.pdf
• 1 .txt or .doc file containing the French summary of the thesis (1700 characters including spaces maximum) named: summary_fr_Folder_No.doc
• 1 .txt or .doc file containing the English summary of the thesis (1700 characters including spaces maximum) named: summary_en_Folder_No.doc
• 1 .txt or .doc file containing the 6 keywords in French, in lower case, separated by semicolons named: key words_Folder_No.doc

and as applicable :

• 1 file (or folder) including the redacted text of the thesis (without the documents subject to copyright not acquired in the source format named thesis_dissemination_Folder_No.)
• 1 file in pdf format named these_ dissemination _Folder_No.pdf

Optional •    The font files if special characters are used (Greek, Hebrew, phonetic...)

• The "FACILE" application report indicating that the analysis is valid (just print the browser page). The validity of the .pdf files burned on the CD must be confirmed on the FACILE application. The requested pdf files must be valid. If not, they will be rejected by the Doctoral Candidates' Office. You will then be asked to provide another CDRom with a new validated version.  Your manuscript must be digitally archived for the future on a national platform. For this, pdf format has been chosen by the National Computer Center for Higher Education, CINES.  The Facile application allows you to check that the file is ready to be archived on the CINES platform. The report that you must provide in printed version informs us of its status.
• the distribution charter for the electronic thesis to be downloaded and printed
• the thesis form to be completed and printed

and, as applicable :

• The declaration of a modification to the manuscript after the defence

For any technical question about FACILE, contact the Sorbonne University library (BSU)

Authorisation form for an off-site defence If necessary, complete and print the authorisation form for an off-site defence. 

Submission and dissemination of the thesis

Submission of the thesis Final manuscripts must be submitted in digital format (CD-Rom) to the doctoral candidates' reception office 4 weeks before the date of the defence without waiting for the corrections requested by the rapporteurs.  This CD-Rom is accompanied by the Defence File.  The defence is subject to the submission to the president of the selection board of certification of the submission of the thesis and the completed electronic form. If the jury or the rapporteurs have requested corrections, the new doctor has three months after the defence to submit his corrected thesis in electronic format, accompanied by a certificate from the jury member stating that the corrections have been made.

Dissemination of the thesis Sorbonne University files the validated version of the thesis in its dissemination and archiving formats, as well as the electronic docket, in the national STAR application managed by the Agence bibliographique de l'enseignement supérieur - ABES. The college of doctoral schools offers you a course cycle called "Biblio@doctorate".  You can sign up for it.

Confidentiality or embargo? You have submitted the final version of your manuscript. It will be forwarded to the university library for flagging and distribution. However, the manuscript’s dissemination may be delayed either by the doctor (embargo) or by the university (confidentiality).

When you submit your manuscript, you can ask to delay its release, for example when results are pending publication. This is known as an embargo request. You will be asked to specify an embargo end date, i.e. the date on which you want your thesis to be disseminated. To request an embargo, just indicate it on the thesis form.

• Non-disclosure

This is a matter of prohibiting the disclosure, reproduction and dissemination of the thesis over a given period of time. This request is generally linked to the existence of a research contract or agreement signed between the partners of the doctoral research project to define the objectives of the research, the contributions of each party and the rules of intellectual property of the results. The request comes from you but from your thesis director, laboratory director or partner institution. Only the President of Sorbonne University can grant it. The thesis is then only reported but cannot be disclosed, reproduced or disseminated before the end of the non-disclosure period granted.

How do I make a non-disclosure request?  No later than three months before the defence For PhD candidates hosted in a research unit whose promotional activities are managed by Sorbonne University*, the thesis director completes the non-disclosure request form specific to Sorbonne University For doctoral candidates hosted in a research unit whose promotional activities are not managed by Sorbonne University but by another supervising institution, the thesis director completes the non-disclosure request form specific to the other institutions, has it signed by the promotional structure they belong and returns it to the Doctoral Candidates Reception Office.

* : for any question relating to the establishment which manages the promotion of your unit please contact: Lise Tourneux-Ravel at the Directorate of Research and Innovation (DR&I) This document is filed before the defence with the doctoral candidates' reception office.

• For research units whose promotional activities are managed by Sorbonne University :

All "readers" of the manuscript must agree to keep the data confidential and complete the Non-disclosure Form (including the thesis supervisor. It must also be sent to the rapporteurs at the same time as the manuscript. The members of the jury may complete it by the time of the oral presentation at the latest. If confidential results are presented at the hearing, the non-disclosure undertaking will be signed by each of the persons present. A list will be drawn up by the president of the jury from the list prepared for this purpose.  If they have not been submitted, the doctor, the thesis director and the chair of the selection board will complete this non-disclosure certificate. 

Request for in camera proceedings The physical organisation of a closed session is the responsibility of the president of the jury who will complete the list of those present.

At the end of the defence Once the defence has been completed, all documents must be handed over to the doctoral candidates' reception office. The degree certificate will only be handed over in light of the complete non-disclosure file.

• For research units whose promotional activities are not contracts managed by Sorbonne University 

The equivalent of this procedure may be organised by the institution in charge of the promotional activity.

The stages of a defence

The thesis is defended in two stages: a presentation by the doctoral candidate of their research work followed by a question-and-answer session with the members of the jury. At the end of the defence, the jury meets to deliberate and then announces its decision to award the thesis to the doctoral candidate.  The defence is public, unless the headmaster exceptionally grants an exemption if the subject of the thesis is proven to be confidential (cf Thesis filing and dissemination/Non-disclosure) The defence is traditionally followed by a "thesis party" organised at the discretion of the doctoral candidate.

Appointment of the President of the Jury

During the defence, the members of the jury shall appoint a chairman and, if necessary, a rapporteur for the defence from among themselves. The chairman must be a professor or equivalent or a teacher of equivalent rank. The thesis director cannot be appointed either as rapporteur for the defence or as president of the jury. The thesis director does not take part in the decision.

Awarding the title of doctor

Admission or adjournment will be decided after deliberation by the selection board. The chairman signs the defence report, which is countersigned by all the members of the selection board. The report is sent to the candidate in the month after the defence. In accordance with regulations in force, the doctorate is awarded without any special mention. 

Corrections of theses

Final manuscripts must be submitted in digital format (CD-Rom) to the doctoral candidates' reception office 3 weeks before the date of the defence without waiting for any corrections requested by the rapporteurs.  At the end of the defence, they will be sent by the doctoral candidates' reception office at the Sorbonne University library according to the instructions given by the president of the jury in the defence report.

The thesis can be reproduced as is without any correction. The CD-Rom that is filed before the defence is considered to be final and sent to the library for distribution, archiving... 

However, if the doctor wishes to make minor corrections: You have a period of one month to make minor corrections (typos, formatting, etc.) and submit the corrected version (labelled corrected version) and on CD-ROM to the doctoral candidates' reception office accompanied by a signed declaration from you indicating that the corrections have been made (manuscript modification declaration form) and the report from the Facile application. At the end of this period, even if the corrections have not been made, the thesis will be sent to the library to be reported, reproduced and disseminated.

The thesis cannot be reproduced as-is... The jury wanted major corrections under the responsibility of a designated jury member. You then have 3 months to make these corrections and submit the corrected version of your thesis on CD-Rom accompanied by the form for declaring modifications to the manuscript) and the report from the Facile application to the doctoral candidates' reception office. The CD must be accompanied by a letter from the member of the jury designated during the defence, certifying that the requested corrections have been made. The delivery of the graduation certificate, the reporting, reproduction, distribution and consultation of the manuscript are subject to the delivery of the corrected versions and the certificate.    Emmanuel DESCUBESBSU Electronic Theses Service Snake Library Email

Collection of degrees

Once the defence is over, don't forget to bring the original of your report to the Doctoral Candidates' Office. Then, you will be able to collect your degree by appointment within a fortnight. Previous degrees are published within a maximum period of 6 months.      Collection at the reception office You can pick it up at the Doctoral Candidate Reception Office. Please bring an identity document (national or European identity card, passport, residence permit).  If you can't make it, another person can come in your place. They will need to bring a handwritten power of attorney, a copy of your ID and their own ID.

Doctoral candidates reception office - - 15 rue de l’école de médecine - Escalier G – 2e étage 75006 PARIS (métro Odéon) Opening hours: 9:30 am - 4:30 pm (closed on Wednesdays)

Collection by mail You can also have your diploma sent to you. If you wish to receive your degree by post, please send us:

For a delivery to France

• €6.82 in postage stamps
• A registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt filled in at the permanent address at which you wish to receive your diploma in the addressee box and "Sorbonne Université - Bureau d'accueil des doctorants - 15 rue de l'école de médecine - 75006 Paris" in the sender box.

For a delivery abroad

• €12.10 in postage stamps or the equivalent in international coupons
• An international registered mail shipping slip (CN07)
• A deposit form (517/517 bis) filled in with the permanent address at which you wish to receive your diploma in the recipient box and "Sorbonne Université - Bureau d'accueil des doctorants - 15 rue de l'école de médecine - 75006 Paris" in the sender box.
• You can frank your mail from your home in France or abroad on the website of the Post Office.

Do you need your degree authenticated?

• Find out about legalisations
• Legalisation or apostille: for which country

Cérémonie des docteurs

Need a personalized reception .

The appointment scheduling system enables the doctoral candidates and HDR reception office to ensure you receive an individual, personalised and smooth welcome. This system allows you to make an appointment from the available schedules. Only times that are not already booked will be displayed. No appointment booked on a profile other than the one you applied for will be honoured. Appointments are individual and bear on a single case.

Information required when making a booking

• Your email address must be correct so we can send you your email confirmation. If the address has been used several times on other Sorbonne University forms and an email tells you that your address has already been used, log in with another address.
• Present the confirmation on your mobile phone or on a printout at the doctoral candidates' reception office.
• To avoid delaying other appointments, please arrive at the reception office on time.
• If you are unable to attend or delayed, cancel the appointment and schedule a new one on the platform according to availability.
• In some exceptional cases, the reception office will be unable to honour the precise appointment schedule. You will of course be dealt with within a reasonable time.
• In very exceptional cases (computer failures ...), you will be notified through the email address given when you made your appointment by the doctoral candidates' reception office and HDR, on the same day.
• No appointments other than those given here can be made (either by email or by phone).  

Scheduling appointments  The organization of the reception office has changed. Appointments are now made according to your doctoral school.

You are part of the doctoral school

• Complexity of life
• Physiology, physiopathology and therapeutics
• Physics in Ile-de-France
• Physics and chemistry of materials
• Earth and Environmental Sciences and Physics of the Universe
• Brain, cognition and behavior
• Molecular Chemistry of Paris-Centre
• Computer science, telecommunications and electronics
• Natural and human sciences: evolution and ecology
• Astronomy and astrophysics of IdF
• Physical chemistry and analytical chemistry
• Geosciences, natural resources and environment
• Pierre Louis Public Health
• Environmental Sciences of IdF
• Mathematical Sciences

Schedule an appointment

Defence FAQ

• A CD-ROM and why not a more up-to-date medium? The CD-rom is the cheapest medium (€2 to 3). This is a constraint for the library in terms of archiving. Look out for some news on this soon, we are working on it! By the way, not all burners work with all brands of CDs, check that the data is present and readable.
• The files "thesis title", "summaries", "keywords"..., are they really useful? This is your personal metadata. They allow you to be listed on the dedicated internet platforms, in French, in English... others are imported from your student file or copied from the defence forms to the library and thesis forms. Copy/paste but a better readability of your work.
• Redacted version, full version, what are the differences? The complete version is the final version of the manuscript. The expurgated version is the one that will be put on line according to any confidentiality issues, or the use of resources subject to copyright which you must comply with. It is not necessary if you have nothing to conceal!
• Why provide the text in source format? Because a computer application can fail! Having the source version allows the Sorbonne University library, which is in charge of archiving and distributing the manuscripts, to recreate a pdf if necessary. It may need your fonts to reprocess the file.
• I wrote my thesis on LaTeX, how can I make a single file in source format? You can make as many as you need, as long as they are numbered. The pdf file will still be unique and will group all the files together.
• Paperwork to be returned to the reception office... why? In the event of an appeal, the conditions for the presentation of original documents ensure the greatest evidentiary force, both for you and for the university.  
• What is the purpose of the dissemination charter? You are the author of the manuscript, but you have rights and responsibilities.  
• What's the point of sending the jury members' email addresses by mail? Jury members must receive the rapporteurs' reports prior to your defence. Regulatory but especially useful for your presentation.  They must be sent out to all jury members; don't forget your thesis director if he is present! Make sure you enter the addresses separated by semicolons to avoid getting "user unknown".
• What do I do in co-supervision? You will get your degree from Sorbonne University, so you must act like any doctoral candidate preparing his defence, same files, same conditions and defence schedule.
• Are the guests on the jury? No, they must not appear in the report or any other administrative document.

Bureau d'accueil des doctorants - 15 rue de l'école de médecine 75006 Paris

You are assigned to an affiliated laboratory by the Faculty of Arts

Organizing your defence

• Contact et accès

Preparing a thesis defense

Résumé de la formation.

Thesis defense is the culmination of an extensive, 3-year project. It is an exercise with very specific rules and in a short time frame.

PhD candidates must prepare thoroughly for this, both in terms of the content of their message and the form they take. To this end, this course offers participants a comprehensive preparation for oral defense in front of a jury, giving them the tools they need to perform confidently. The skills developed can also be used in other communication situations, and to valorize research works efficiently.

DAY 1 Unit 1: The fundamentals of thesis defense (2h) • Purpose, duration, format, structure, subject-specifics • The expectations and objectives of the jury, the different stakeholders and their role in the peer review process • Exercise: deciphering the criteria and how they are evaluated during the defense followed by a time of reflexive analysis of each person’s strengths and weaknesses in relation to each criterion.

Unit 2: Planning your defence (4h30) • The classic scheme of a defense; from the plan of the thesis to the plan of the defense • Tips for organizing your intervention, bringing out strong ideas, concepts and key words • The use of a visual medium (power-point style): why and how to achieve it, content, organization of information and number of slides • Exercise: Individual preparation of one’s plan, intervention structure and strong messages. • Intersession tip

Intersession: preparing your presentation material

DAY 2 Unit 3: Mastering oral communication in front of an audience (1h15) • Basic rules for using your voice, mastering pronunciation, breathing, sound level, understanding the non-verbal part of a communication situation (managing gestures, eye contact), managing stress. • Preventing information loss linked to the transmission of a message, significance of key words and multi-channel communication. • Tips for bringing conviction and experience to your speech, and for conveying your motivation, enthusiasm and conviction to the jury. • Why, how and with whom to repeat?

Unit 4: Handling questions (1h) • Different types of questions by the chairperson, rapporteurs and other jury members (e.g., deepening of the presentation, clarification, mastery of scientific concepts, subjects and community involvement). • The situation of a speaker in front of a jury and the exchanges, knowing how to create a constructive discussion, develop the ability to listen and interact with an audience, take questions into account, acknowledging their relevance , reformulate, deepen, explain, etc. • Tip for taking the time to think, to know how to reflect on a tough question, to build an argument.

Unit 5: Defense simulation (4h) • Exercise: simulated defense in front of a jury composed of the trainer and the other participants: presentation of the first 10 minutes of the presentation (introduction) + questions/answers of different types • Each exercise will be followed by a group debriefing session, sharing of advice between participants and the trainer, and definition of an individual action plan to complete the preparation of the defense.

Conclusion (15’) ● Review of key messages and remaining questions

Objectifs de la formation :

• Structure your defense
• Master oral communication
• Get trained on how to deliver an efficient speech

Formateurs et formatrices

Adoc Talent Management

Email : [email protected]

Informations pratiques

• Email (contact pédagogique) : [email protected]           
• Dates prévisionnelles : session 1 le 22 avril  et le 3 mai 2022 de 9h00 à 17h00
• session 2 le 24 mai et le 02 juin 2022 de 9h à 17h
• Lieu : Université Paris – Bâtiment Halle aux Farines – Salle 125C. Selon l’évolution des mesures gouvernementales les formations en présentiel pourront être basculées en distanciel.
• Pré-requis : 3rd year PhD candidates in the writing phase of their thesis work
• Effectif maximum : 10

Outils et méthodes

Gérer sa thèse, doctorant en 3 ème année, 14h/ 2 jours, formations dans la même catégorie, vulgarisation scientifique vers le « grand public ».

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Rédiger sa thèse en 2 mois : gestion du temps et des priorités

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Elaborer sa recherche à l’aide d’outils numériques – Initiation à R

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5 Tips to ace your thesis jury

After completing their thesis, which is a long journey to graduate, master and Ph.D. students appear before the jury. Now you only have to dodge the jury and defend your thesis for your expertise. After the committee has reviewed your thesis, if it sees no problem with the thesis, it will call you to defend it. The jury will decide whether your thesis passes, needs revisions, needs to be resubmitted, or is not approved. And if it is successful, that day will be the day you will realize your dreams and reach the degree you want. So what can you do to make it easier for you to ace? Here are some tips for you.

1. Prepare a good Presentation for defense

Presentation techniques need time to be allocated, planned, and developed. Thorough preparation is essential for a good jury experience. First of all, you should choose a template that matches your thesis and set a theme in which you can highlight your work. While the striking and attractive first slides explain the reasons why you wrote the thesis, the following slides explain some of the main parts of the thesis while paying attention to style and typography. Then the literature review slide comes into play. Here you are expected to demonstrate your knowledge of the subject. Then you will give the audience the basic information about your thesis by emphasizing the important points with the methodology and conclusion section. It will be helpful to use tables, charts, infographics, and visual content to increase understanding during the presentation. Check the system to avoid technical problems during the presentation with a final repetition on the day of the jury. 

On this website, you can find detailed advice and slide templates for a quality presentation. Link for the website [online] Available at : https://slidemodel.com/proper-thesis-defense-using-right-powerpoint-presentation/

2. Rehearse the Thesis defense

The last stage of the thesis process, which is required for the completion of the master’s degree, is the defense after the submission. You complete your presentation before the committee inquiries. It would be helpful to present your essay in front of others that might be to your friends, family, or academic audience. Thanks to this training, can help you adjust your slide time, be prepared for the questions that will come to you, and notice if you have mistakes. You need to follow your advisor’s advice. Receiving feedback will strengthen your defense. 

3. Be prepared for possible Questions

Fundamental questions about the thesis can be found on the internet and how appropriate answers can be sought for them. Another method might be to observe your colleagues’ thesis defenses so you can be prepared for questions. By learning what awaits you, your self-confidence can be restored. In addition, the committee’s areas of expertise are among the factors that will create questions. Some very frequently asked questions are: In a few sentences, can you tell us what your study is all about; What is your motivation for this study; Based on your findings what are your recommendations? (Rafael.C, 2014)

But what if you are asked an unexpected or unanswered question? It’s better to be humble and admit that you don’t know than unfounded answers. You may not know the answer to every question. Sometimes questions aren’t meant to be answered, but to see how you react under pressure, stress, and how you get out of tough situations.

4. Your Attire matters in Jury

Appearance is an important factor in terms of respect and first impression in professional and official environments. Even if you say that my job represents me, not my appearance, clothing is important to reveal your self-confidence and show your best performance. Clothes affect your gait, speech, emotions, and body language. By choosing the right clothes, you can reflect this attitude of seriousness, work ethics, and respect. Making a good impression is a safe approach.

5. You’re Ready, Deal with the Tension

To err is human and one may not be perfect. But remember, if you make a mistake or have difficulty because of the questions asked, it doesn’t mean that the committee is trying to make you fail. No one on the jury has personal problems with you. On the contrary, they want to help you. Before coming to the jury , they have already reviewed and evaluated your thesis.

You were there when you wrote the thesis, you know best what you are writing and why. All you have to do is pass on what you know. It’s normal to be nervous, just be confident. Don’t try to give quick and hasty answers and finish the presentation as soon as you’re nervous, instead, it’s best to wait and respond with firm answers and practice breathing control. If you have a problem with public speaking, creating a speaking plan and rehearsing the transcript before giving a speech will help you relax.

• Rafael Chidi, (2014) , How to ace the 25 most common project defense questions, [online]. Available at: https://nairaproject.com/blog/25-common-project-defense-questions.html [Accessed 27 February 2022].

It is a great passion for Elif Demirci, a student of the department of architecture, to examine all the works, materials and projects going on in the field of architecture. She believes that her writings will improve the built environment.

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17 Thesis Defense Questions and How to Answer Them

A thesis defense gives you the chance to show off your thesis work and demonstrate your expertise in your field of study. During this one- to two-hour discussion with the members of your thesis committee, you'll have some control over how you present your research, but your committee will ask you some prodding questions to test your knowledge and preparedness. They will all have read your thesis beforehand, so their questions will relate to your study, topic, methods, data sample, and other aspects.

A good defense requires mastery of the thesis itself, so before you consider the questions you might face,

1. What is your topic, and why did you choose it?

Give a quick summary in just a few sentences on what you've researched. You could certainly go on for hours about your work, but make sure you prepare a way to give a very brief overview of your thesis. Then, give a quick background on your process for choosing this topic.

2. How does your topic contribute to the existing literature? How is it important?

Many researchers identify a need in the field and choose a topic to bridge the gaps that previous literature has failed to cover. For example, previous studies might not have included a certain population, region, or circumstance. Talk about how your thesis enhances the general understanding of the topic to extend the reach beyond what others have found, and then give examples of why the world needs that increased understanding. For instance, a thesis on romaine lettuce crops in desert climates might bring much-needed knowledge to a region that might not have been represented in previous work.

3. What are the key findings of your study?

When reporting your main results, make sure you have a handle on how detailed your committee wants you to be. Give yourself several options by preparing 1) a very general, quick summary of your findings that takes a minute or less, 2) a more detailed rundown of what your study revealed that is 3-5 minutes long, and 3) a 10- to 15-minute synopsis that delves into your results in detail. With each of these responses prepared, you can gauge which one is most appropriate in the moment, based on what your committee asks you and what has already been requested.

4. What type of background research did you do for your study?

Here you'll describe what you did while you were deciding what to study. This usually includes a literary review to determine what previous researchers have already introduced to the field. You also likely had to look into whether your study was going to be possible and what you would need in order to collect the needed data. Did you need info from databases that require permissions or fees?

5. What was your hypothesis, and how did you form it?

Describe the expected results you had for your study and whether your hypothesis came from previous research experience, long-held expectations, or cultural myths.

6. What limitations did you face when writing your text?

It's inevitable — researchers will face roadblocks or limiting factors during their work. This could be a limited population you had access to, like if you had a great method of surveying university students, but you didn't have a way to reach out to other people who weren't attending that school.

7. Why did you choose your particular method for your study?

Different research methods are more fitting to specific studies than others (e.g., qualitative vs. quantitative ), and knowing this, you applied a method that would present your findings most effectively. What factors led you to choose your method?

8. Who formed the sample group of your study, and why did you choose this population?

Many factors go into the selection of a participant group. Perhaps you were motivated to survey women over 50 who experience burnout in the workplace. Did you take extra measures to target this population? Or perhaps you found a sample group that responded more readily to your request for participation, and after hitting dead ends for months, convenience is what shaped your study population. Make sure to present your reasoning in an honest but favorable way.

9. What obstacles or limitations did you encounter while working with your sample?

Outline the process of pursuing respondents for your study and the difficulties you faced in collecting enough quality data for your thesis. Perhaps the decisions you made took shape based on the participants you ended up interviewing.

10. Was there something specific you were expecting to find during your analysis?

Expectations are natural when you set out to explore a topic, especially one you've been dancing around throughout your academic career. This question can refer to your hypotheses , but it can also touch on your personal feelings and expectations about this topic. What did you believe you would find when you dove deeper into the subject? Was that what you actually found, or were you surprised by your results?

11. What did you learn from your study?

Your response to this question can include not only the basic findings of your work (if you haven't covered this already) but also some personal surprises you might have found that veered away from your expectations. Sometimes these details are not included in the thesis, so these details can add some spice to your defense.

12. What are the recommendations from your study?

With connection to the reasons you chose the topic, your results can address the problems your work is solving. Give specifics on how policymakers, professionals in the field, etc., can improve their service with the knowledge your thesis provides.

13. If given the chance, what would you do differently?

Your response to this one can include the limitations you encountered or dead ends you hit that wasted time and funding. Try not to dwell too long on the annoyances of your study, and consider an area of curiosity; for example, discuss an area that piqued your interest during your exploration that would have been exciting to pursue but didn't directly benefit your outlined study.

14. How did you relate your study to the existing theories in the literature?

Your paper likely ties your ideas into those of other researchers, so this could be an easy one to answer. Point out how similar your work is to some and how it contrasts other works of research; both contribute greatly to the overall body of research.

15. What is the future scope of this study?

This one is pretty easy, since most theses include recommendations for future research within the text. That means you already have this one covered, and since you read over your thesis before your defense, it's already fresh in your mind.

16. What do you plan to do professionally after you complete your study?

This is a question directed more to you and your future professional plans. This might align with the research you performed, and if so, you can direct your question back to your research, maybe mentioning the personal motivations you have for pursuing study of that subject.

17. Do you have any questions?

Although your thesis defense feels like an interrogation, and you're the one in the spotlight, it provides an ideal opportunity to gather input from your committee, if you want it. Possible questions you could ask are: What were your impressions when reading my thesis? Do you believe I missed any important steps or details when conducting my work? Where do you see this work going in the future?

Bonus tip: What if you get asked a question to which you don't know the answer? You can spend weeks preparing to defend your thesis, but you might still be caught off guard when you don't know exactly what's coming. You can be ready for this situation by preparing a general strategy. It's okay to admit that your thesis doesn't offer the answers to everything – your committee won't reasonably expect it to do so. What you can do to sound (and feel!) confident and knowledgeable is to refer to a work of literature you have encountered in your research and draw on that work to give an answer. For example, you could respond, "My thesis doesn't directly address your question, but my study of Dr. Leifsen's work provided some interesting insights on that subject…." By preparing a way to address curveball questions, you can maintain your cool and create the impression that you truly are an expert in your field.

After you're done answering the questions your committee presents to you, they will either approve your thesis or suggest changes you should make to your paper. Regardless of the outcome, your confidence in addressing the questions presented to you will communicate to your thesis committee members that you know your stuff. Preparation can ease a lot of anxiety surrounding this event, so use these possible questions to make sure you can present your thesis feeling relaxed, prepared, and confident.

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How to Start a Thesis Defense Presentation

After months and years of hard work, the moment to wrap things all up is finally here—your thesis defense presentation.

Whether you’re pursuing a master’s degree or doctorate, it’s the final step to that much-deserved achievement. 

A thesis defense requires a lot of prior research and preparation. And as important as its content is, so is how you present it because a stunning design with clear data and text hierarchy plays an immense role in comprehension.

In this article, we’ll explore how you make your thesis defense .

The organization is the key to success. Establishing some previous steps before any project or work is essential for the result to be very positive. And the defense of a thesis could not be less. 

Below, we will develop all the necessary steps to make a thesis defense presentation and we will give you some tips on how to carry them out.

How to Make an Amazing Presentation

Defining the concept of your thesis presentation, structuring your thesis defense presentation, how do you welcome the audience, tell them why you did this thesis, go into the content by explaining your thesis part by part, how to end the defense of the thesis.

After a long time of research and study, the content of your thesis is ready. Now, you have to find the best way to reflect all that effort behind your work. The information comes across more clearly if you use a visual format, as it attracts the attention of the audience. To present your thesis information in a clear, concise, and ultimately amazing way, you can use one of our unique thesis defense templates , available at Slidesgo.

As an example, in this article, we are going to use the Ecology Thesis template . With it, we will show you what to include in your presentation and how to make an attractive design.

After choosing the Google Slides and PowerPoint template that best suits the needs and subject matter of your thesis, it is time to define an overarching concept.

This is the main theme on which your designs are based. It must be relevant to your thesis as its purpose is to guide your selection of colors, typography, images, style, etc. 

These must be portrayed in a way that supports the main message of your slides and should be aligned with your concept both visually and sociologically.

Once you have defined the concept, you will have to move on to the next step: structuring the content of your thesis. A good structure will show that there is a good organization behind the work, but most importantly: it will highlight your content.

In this article, we are going to show you a structure that could be a good example of how to structure a thesis, but you can adapt it to what your specific content requires.

Before you begin your thesis defense, you should welcome your audience. A good presentation will make you connect with your audience, which will result in more general interest in your work.

Use an appropriate language register (avoid informal language), but be approachable and natural.

"Welcome to the thesis defense on [the title of your thesis]". Next, introduce yourself with your name and give a short description of your background and occupation.

Don't forget to say “thank you for attending!”

To continue establishing that connection with your audience, explain the reasons that led you to do this thesis. Tell the professional reasons, and you can even say some personal ones, which will denote closeness, and your audience will appreciate it.

Now it's time to go into the content of the thesis ! After these preliminary steps, which are just as important as the thesis itself, it is time to explain part by part the structure (which you had previously established). We are going to propose a structure for your project, but the final decision is always yours!

First impressions are very important. Because your title page is the very first thing viewers see, it must be striking and impactful. It also sets the stage for the rest of your slides.

In one glance, the following should be established:

• Thesis defense topic
• Design style

For instance, the ecology thesis’s title page uses illustrations of a natural landscape to represent the topic of nature and a striking shade of blue to set the tone.

The sans serif font used depicts clean-cut typography and style and the thesis topic is written in large and bold typography, which draws attention to it immediately.

Right after your title page, include an introduction slide to provide more details about your topic. 

This means explaining what you hope to answer with your research, its importance to your field, and why you chose it.

Continue to incorporate design elements relevant to your concept. This example has done just that by using a different natural landscape and including animals. For coherence, stick to the same typography and style throughout your presentation.

The aim of the literature review slide is to illustrate your knowledge of your thesis topic and any relevant theories.

Walls of text kill a design. For clarity, we recommend presenting this with bullet points. Each one should be short and sweet and only touch on the basics; you can elaborate on them in your speech. 

Don’t forget to be consistent with your design. In our example, we’ve maintained the tone of blue chosen and added illustrations of leaves in the far corners of the slide. 

Also, address similar research that has been done. This is to showcase your topic’s originality and, if relevant, how it’s different and/or an improvement from previously done research. 

This is one of the most important parts of a thesis defense presentation.

It allows your viewers to assess the rationality and validity of your approach and consequently, the accuracy of your results.

A great methodology slide explains the what , how, and why :

• What method did you use for your research
• Why did you choose it
• How did you conduct it

Because this part of your thesis will be rather technical, the most effective way to aid understanding is by using graphics like charts and tables. 

Keep text to a minimum to avoid drawing attention away from the graphics. If there is a text that must absolutely be included, consider using bullet points and keep them short.

Don’t forget to maintain color, style, and typography coherence.

The results slides are easily the most quantitative part of a thesis defense. 

Here, your aim is to simply introduce your findings. Select the most impactful data and highlight them here.

Just as with methodology, use graphics like charts, tables, and graphs to portray the data in a clear way. And, once again, try not to write too much text. Let the visual content do the talking .

After you’ve introduced your data, the next step would be to help your audience make sense of it. That means understanding what it means in the context of your thesis research topic and your discipline. 

Simply put, you should answer the question: What do the numbers mean?

The best way to approach this would be to do it as if you were creating an infographic . 

Illustrations like icons are a quick and simple way to represent your message. It also reduces the amount of text on your slide, which makes the information much more digestible. 

For a balanced thesis presentation, you should also address any outliers and anomalies.

To quote bestselling author Robin Sharma, “Starting strong is good. Finishing strong is epic.”

That’s exactly what to aim for in your conclusion.

Provide an overview of your thesis topic and remind your audience what you set out to answer with your research. In our example, we’ve used three icons accompanied by a short title and text. 

Following that, reiterate the important points of your research results you want your audience to take away from your thesis defense presentation. 

You can do so by expanding the next slide to have more icons and points, for example.

Don’t forget to address any shortcomings and limitations in your approach and extra points for suggesting possible improvements for future research.

We are going to give you a little tip to make your thesis defense a success. You can combine your defense with good public speaking techniques. Take a look at our article "How to become a great speaker" .

We hope this article has been of great help, have you already seen our templates to make the presentation of your thesis ? Choose the one that best suits your needs, we are sure that one of them will go perfectly with your thesis presentation! 

Good luck from Slidesgo.

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Appointment of rapporteurs and jury

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The doctoral student verifies that he fulfills all the conditions to support and that the ED secretariat has all the information on this subject.

The thesis director proposes to the university president via the doctoral training department two HDR rapporteurs and a jury. Rapporteurs must be external to the university and the doctoral school; they must not be involved in the candidate's work. The proposal is made using the standard form word . This form must be completed imperatively in digital version.

The PhD student attaches the thesis summary (4 pages excluding figures (7 pages maximum)) obligatorily in French followed by a list of articles and papers at congress (with title and name of the authors) in electronic version  to the secretariat of the Doctoral School (email: [email protected] ) according to the abstract template ( strictly follow the instructions given in the template ). The doctoral student must in person at least have made a communication - oral or poster - to a congress or a symposium, national or international. A reporter must have his HDR in France. In the case of a foreigner, you must refer to the attached table and take the PR column (please send us his updated CV).

Moreover, a novelty for 2020 for doctoral students who want to write or/and defend in English, the document "request for authorization to write the thesis manuscript and/or defense in English ( Word or PDF )" must be attached obligatorily with the jury proposal and the abstract.

These documents are sent early enough so that the appointment of the jury by the president of the university can take place at least two months before the date envisaged for the defense. The thesis summary is distributed to all members of the ED who are authorized to conduct research.

The Thesis Committee of the ED examines the rapporteur and jury proposal at one of its five annual meetings and gives an opinion. If necessary, details or modifications are requested.

Important : Only proposals for doctoral students who have met the conditions for support set by the ED will be dealt with by the commission. The president of the university appoints the jury.

Composition of the jury

The composition of the jury has 4 to 8 members, according to the following distribution :

• at least half of the jury must be composed of professors or similar
• half of the jury must be composed of personalities from outside the research unit, the doctoral college of site, namely outside the Doctoral School of the candidate and all the institutions (University of Strasbourg and University of Haute-Alsace )
• at least one woman must be on the examination panel
• potential invited members (in very limited numbers) are not officially part of the jury. la moitié du jury au moins doit être composée de professeurs ou assimilés

The thesis director can be part of the jury, but he can not preside over it. The president of the jury is appointed by the jury members among them; he must be a teacher or assimilated. A rapporteur may be chairman of a jury unless he is emeritus. An emeritus may be rapporteur if his emeritus is still valid. He can not preside over a thesis jury.   Scientists invited to the defense : limitation to ONE invitation max. by defense (decision of the council of the College of ED of November 16, 2011). The visiting scientist is not a member of the jury. Consequently, he does not take part in the jury's deliberations or sign the minutes of the defense. If one wishes to make his name appear on the cover of the thesis, it must be in a section clearly separated from that of the members of the jury: to make a section "Jury" and a heading "Guest".

Proposal for reimbursement : defense jury

The Scientific Council of February 8, 2012 has completed the proposals of the Scienfic Council of February 4, 2009 concerning the assumption of expenses related to the organization of thesis defense juries and HDR.

Amount of lump sum refunds  : (CS of 4/02/2009)

Dsciplinary sections 3 and 4 :       450 € per jury

(Science and Technology, Health)

Cotutelles all sectors :               900€ per jury

International co-management : 900 € per jury (CS of 8/02/2012) (subject to declaration before the 2nd doctoral regristration)

Procedure for the reimbursement of jury costs :

• Lump sum reimbursements are granted only for candidates (doctoral students and HDR) belonging to research units attached to the University of Strasbourg .
• Financial support for the costs of organizing a jury is made on the budget lines of the applicant's research unit.
• The lump sum repayments mainly concern transport and accommodation expenses related to the organization of the defenses.
• The expenses of mouth (invoices of restaurant) will not be able to exceed 1/3 of the fixed price.
• Reimbursement is made on written request (using a form and a budget notification form) to the Research Directorate - Research Finance Department [email protected] (if applicable, accompanied by proof of expenditure).
• The refund will not exceed the packages listed above.
• Requests for reimbursement should be made, as far as possible, during the budget year corresponding to the defense date.
• Applications sent to the Research Directorate beyond November 15th will be reimbursed for the following fiscal year.

These provisions take effect as from 1 March 2012 and concern juries organized from that date.

Soutenance par visioconférence

2 mois avant la soutenance et au moment du dépôt du jury :

Lors du dépôt de la désignation du jury, le/la directeur.rice de thèse présente le formulaire de demande d'autorisation de la mise en place d’une soutenance de thèse avec des membres du jury présents par visioconférence au Collège doctoral. Cette demande doit obligatoirement parvenir avant la date de soutenance prévue.

Une semaine avant la soutenance :

Le/la directeur.rice de thèse adresse les informations techniques utiles à la visioconférence à tous les membres du jury concernés. Les membres en visioconférence envoient au Collège doctoral et au directeur.rice de thèse une délégation de signature en faveur du président du jury pour la signature du Procès Verbal. Ces délégations doivent être remises au Président du jury par le directeur de thèse au début de la soutenance.

Deux jours avant la soutenance : 

Le/la doctorant(e) envoie à tout membre du jury utilisant la visioconférence :

- un texte finalisé de la présentation ou son PPT ;

- l’éventuelle liste des errata du manuscrit déposé.

Il est nécessaire que les diapositives de la présentation PPT soient numérotées, car en cas de défaillance du système de visioconférence en cours de soutenance, tout membre du jury à distance doit pouvoir suivre la présentation sur son ordinateur tout en écoutant la soutenance orale par téléphone.

Le jour de la soutenance  :

La pré-réunion du jury, la soutenance et les délibérations du jury ont lieu dans la salle prévue pour la visioconférence. Le public et le/la doctorant(e) ne sont admis dans la salle que pendant la soutenance elle-même.

Les règles générales de fonctionnement des soutenances de thèse sont dans leurs totalités applicables aux soutenances avec visioconférence.

• Legal notice

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Judge won't reconvene jury after disputed verdict in New Hampshire youth center abuse case

The judge who oversaw a landmark trial over abuse at New Hampshire’s youth detention center won’t reconvene the jury but says he will consider other options to address the disputed verdict

CONCORD, N.H. -- The judge who oversaw a landmark trial over abuse at New Hampshire’s youth detention center won’t reconvene the jury but says he will consider other options to address the disputed $38 million verdict.

David Meehan, who alleged he was repeatedly raped, beaten and held in solitary confinement at the Youth Development Center in the 1990s, was awarded $18 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in enhanced damages on May 3. But the attorney general’s office is seeking to reduce the award under a state law that allows claimants against the state to recover a maximum of $475,000 per “incident.”

Meehan’s lawyers asked Judge Andrew Schulman on Tuesday to reconvene and poll the jury, arguing that multiple emails they received from distraught jurors showed that they misunderstood a question on the verdict form about the number of incidents for which the state was liable. But Schulman said Wednesday that recalling the jury would be inappropriate given that jurors have been exposed to “intense publicity and criticism of their verdict.”

“We are not going to get a new verdict from the same jury,” he wrote in a brief order. “Regardless of what the jurors now think of their verdict, their testimony is not admissible to change it.”

Jurors were unaware of the state law that caps damages at $475,000 per incident. When asked on the verdict form how many incidents they found Meehan had proven, they wrote “one,” but one juror has since told Meehan’s lawyers that they meant “‘one’ incident/case of complex PTSD, as the result of 100+ episodes of abuse (physical, sexual, and emotional) that he sustained at the hands of the State’s neglect and abuse of their own power.”

Schulman, who plans to elaborate in a longer order, acknowledged that “the finding of ‘one incident’ was contrary to the weight of the evidence,” and said he would entertain motions to set aside the verdict or order a new trial. But he said a better option might be a practice described in a 1985 New Hampshire Supreme Court order. In that case, the court found that a trial judge could add damages to the original amount awarded by the jury if a defendant waives a new trial.

Meehan, 42, went to police in 2017 and sued the state three years later. Since then, 11 former state workers have been arrested and more than 1,100 other former residents of what is now called the Sununu Youth Services Center have filed lawsuits alleging physical, sexual and emotional abuse spanning six decades. Charges against one former worker, Frank Davis, were dropped Tuesday after the 82-year-old was found incompetent to stand trial.

Meehan’s lawsuit was the first to go to trial. Over four weeks, his attorneys contended that the state encouraged a culture of abuse marked by pervasive brutality, corruption and a code of silence.

The state portrayed Meehan as a violent child, troublemaking teenager and delusional adult lying to get money. Defense attorneys also said the state was not liable for the conduct of rogue employees and that Meehan waited too long to sue.

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