Public defence
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IMPORTANT: The public defence must take place at least one month after the private defence.
The PhD administrator must be informed of the public defence date at least four weeks in advance.
Preparing the thesis manuscript and completing the administrative formalities for the public defence:
-> When revising the thesis manuscript, ensure that the document complies with the formatting requirements set out in the thesis formatting guidelines.
-> Any changes made to the thesis manuscript must be approved by the exam board members designated during the private defence (typically the supervisor(s)).
No later than four weeks before the public defence, the PhD administrator will contact the student to collect the following information:
• public defence date;
• thesis abstract and digital photograph (optional);
• completed authorisation form for electronic dissemination;
• exam board's pre-defence meeting time and venue, as determined by the chair;
• preferred lecture hall.
A €250 voucher will be sent to the student to present to Ciaco when the printing quotation or invoice is arranged (i.e. before the thesis is printed).
The UCLouvain Central Library Service will contact the student to arrange the deposit of the thesis in UCLouvain’s electronic catalogue.
During the public defence:
At least half of the exam board members must attend the public defence, the total duration of which may not exceed three hours. Members unable to attend must send the exam board chair, prior to the session, a written report containing a reasoned assessment of the thesis and a list of the questions they wish to ask the candidate.
The public defence consists of the student’s oral presentation of the research findings that led to the thesis. During the presentation, the student highlights the quality and originality of the research, as well as their ability to communicate scientific concepts to a broader audience. The presentation is followed by a discussion with the exam board, then with any others present
Immediately after the public defence, the exam board withdraws to confirm the successful completion of the PhD programme and verify that the 180 credits required for the award of the PhD have been earned. The board completes the minutes of the public defence and agrees on the points to be included in its report, which may be finalised after the meeting, in which case it must be submitted to the PhD administrator within 15 days of the public defence.
• The exam board chair announces the outcome in a public session.
• The diploma is signed immediately by the new doctor.
After the public defence:
• the diploma, supplements and minutes are forwarded to the PhD administrator, who will arrange for them to be signed by the rector.
• The PhD administrator notifies the libraries that the thesis has been successfully defended; an automatic email from the DIAL team is then sent to the doctor, inviting them to deposit the thesis in DIAL.
=> Once all the documents have been signed, the PhD administrator will contact the doctor to arrange collection of the documents.