dissertation defense date email

6 Email Templates to Ask Someone to be on Your Thesis Committee

By: Author Hiuyan Lam

Posted on Last updated: October 20, 2023

Categories Professional Etiquette

Writing a thesis is one of the most challenging parts of being an undergraduate or graduate student. You need to know how to ask someone to be on your thesis committee, especially if you are looking for a mentor to guide you through the writing process.

If you are currently starting the dissertation process, these unique email templates will help show you how to ask someone to be on your thesis committee.

How to ask someone to be on your thesis committee: When asking senior students

  These email templates will help you figure out how to ask a senior student to be on your thesis committee.   Senior students are perfect for helping you through the writing process. You can ask a student with whom you get along and share similar ideas.  

When asking professors to be on your thesis committee

  Your professor would be an invaluable addition to your thesis committee, especially since they could provide you with unique insight and constructive criticism.   Here is how to ask someone to be on your thesis committee if the person is your professor.  

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How to ask someone to be on your thesis committee: When asking professionals in your field

  Professionals can offer diverse and useful expertise if they choose to join your thesis committee. Here is how to ask someone to be on your thesis committee if you’re asking professionals in your field.  

  These are unique email templates that you can use when trying to figure out how to ask someone to be on your thesis committee.   Whether it is your professor, a senior student in your faculty, or a professional in your field, these templates will help you get that positive response that you are seeking.   If you are currently working on your thesis and wondering how to ask someone to be on your thesis committee, these templates will surely help you get some ideas.  

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Dissertation Defense: Steps To Follow To Succeed

A dissertation defense is arguably one of the most important milestones in every student’s career. While it signals that your tenure as a student is soon about to close, it validates all your efforts towards your thesis.

Being cautious about including all the necessary details is very important to successfully complete your dissertation proposal defense. This article tells you everything that you need to know about writing a defense that can add great credibility to you as a student.

What is A Dissertation Defense?

The first thing that you need to learn is what is a dissertation defense and what is its purpose. In simple terms, it is a presentation made by a student to defend all the ideas and views that are presented in a dissertation.

The presenter must include details like what is the reason for choosing specific research methods, the theory that has been selected for the paper, and other such points. This presentation is made before an audience that comprises of the university committee, professors and even fellow-students. It is met with questions and answers that gives the student an opportunity to provide more clarity on the dissertation in order to convince the committee to approve it.

Stages of a Dissertation Defense

One of the most important dissertation defense tips provided by several professors is to breakdown the process into three steps:

• Preparation : This stage involves collection of all the necessary information that must be included in the defense dissertation and making all the arrangements for the actual meeting.
• The defense meeting : This is where you decide how you will present the defense. The actual meeting is hugely reliant on the performance, body language and the confidence in your oral defense.
• After the defense meeting : This stage, also known as the follow up, requires you to make the necessary revisions suggested by the university committee. You can even provide bound copies of the whole dissertation to distribute among different members of your departments. In the follow up stage, one must also think about expense that are related to publishing the Ph.D. dissertation defense as well as printing additional copies of the manuscript, if required.

How Long is a Dissertation Defense?

The first thing that a student should know is how long does a dissertation defense last? The length has to be carefully calculated to make the impact that you want. One of the most important steps in the dissertation preparation is to understand how much time each department allocates to the closing oral defense. When you plan in the early stages of your dissertation itself, you can write it in a manner that allows you to defend it in the allocated time.

Usually these meetings including the presentation, the oral defense and the question and answer session last for about two hours. In most cases, these two hours also encompass the time needed by members of the committee to deliberate.

How to Prepare for the Dissertation Defense

Now that you know how long is a dissertation defense, the next step is to prepare well enough to make your presentation impressive.

Here are some tips on how to prepare for a dissertation defense:

• Watch other students in action to learn about different presentation styles. You can attend defenses of different colleagues in your department as well as other departments in your university.
• Get all the details about the deadlines and the rules of your college or university about scheduling your defense.
• Scheduling is also a very important part of your preparation. It is important to note that members of the committee and University chairs need to make time for these defences in a very packed schedule. Coordinate the date, venue and time of your defense as early as possible.
• Prepare a manuscript adhering to the necessary formatting rules. Review your manuscript thoroughly before you hand it in. During your PH.D, your faculty will also assist you with the defense. For this, they must have a crisp and polished copy of your manuscript.
• Most colleges have the facility for a pre-defense meeting. This is the best opportunity to sort out any concerns that you may have about the actual meeting. It is a good idea to ask the chairs what types of questions may be put forward and if there are any problems with the defense that need to be resolved. When you prepare for a pre-defense meeting, think of it as the final one and give it your all.
• Put together all the material that you need for the defense. A detailed, yet to-the-point presentation must be prepared.
• The final stage of preparation is practicing your presentation over and over again. It is not just the presentation but also the approach towards the questions that you must practice.

Tips To Nail Your Actual Meeting

With these tips you will be one step closer towards a successful defense that will help your dissertation pass and be approved:

• All meetings should begin by addressing the chair. Make sure you thank all the committee members and the advisors for the efforts that they have put it. This gives you a professional start to the presentation.
• The presentation should cover the following subjects in brief:
• The research topic
• Literature review
• The methods used for analysis
• The primary findings of the research
• Recommendations of additional research on the subject in the focus.
• Do not get rattled by any discussions among the chairs. They will deliberate on any disagreements or topics of interest. This is a part of the process and is not a reflection of the presentation itself.
• There are two questions that are commonly asked that you should be prepared for. This includes the weaknesses of the dissertation and the research plans that you have made post-dissertation.
• Use subtle gestures when you are talking. Do not overuse your hands when doing so. The whole meeting including the question and answer session should have a very formal appeal.
• The tone of your voice must be assertive without making it seem like you are trying to hard. Be clear and enunciate when you speak.

Once the questions have been answered, the committee will leave the room. Then, after the deliberation, you will be informed if your dissertation has passed or not.

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• University of Pennsylvania
• School of Arts and Sciences
• Penn Calendar

University of Pennsylvania Philosophy

Dissertation Defense Instructions for Current Graduate Students

1. Pick a defense date and time According to the Graduation Calendar (view here:  https://guides.library.upenn.edu/dissertation_manual/calendar ) the deadlines are as follows:   AUGUST 2023 graduation: Sign-up begins (no fee) Monday, May 22nd Defend by July 17th & deposit by July 31st Your degree will then be awarded on or during the week of August 4th   2. Contact the department administrator to reserve a room for your defense   3. Once the defense date is finalized, here is a list of the additional administrative steps to complete the career at Penn:   1. Sign up (there are relevant dates for sign up start/ end and late fee sign up on the calendar) for degree in the degree system:  https://apps.sas.upenn.edu/sso/gas/degree/app-start.php        2. Make sure to set up a deposit meeting with the Provost Office as soon as possible.  We recommend that you schedule the deposit early on since the spots fill up quickly towards the end of the term. Although you’re setting it up ahead of time, the deposit needs to be scheduled for  after  the defense, since this is when you will deposit the finished copy of the dissertation, ready for print.  (*there are also deposit schedules- and there is a calendar & tons of information on this on the provost’s website -  https://provost.upenn.edu/dissertation-deposit  )   Meetings (scheduled at  https://calendly.com/penngraddegree/deposit?month=2022-01 ) are for candidates to deposit the hard copy of their dissertation.  You do not need to be present for this meeting, but beforehand, you will need to take care of any outstanding bills with Student Financial Services and complete the two exit surveys GAS requires.  Your dissertation should be polished and edited—to your knowledge, ready for publication at the time of your deposit to Proquest.    3. Once you have successfully defended, please email the graduate coordinator the following information:

• exact title of your dissertation as it will appear in print
• name of your dissertation advisor
• the name of your committee chair (if different from your advisor)
• the names of your remaining committee members

Please note, the graduate coordinator will need an email address for any of the committee members who are external to the University of Pennsylvania.   For policies and procedures on formatting and submission, the Dissertation Manual is the place to begin.  As the Provost has just taken over in this term, they created some helpful checklists for graduating PhDs (see below).  

• PhD Graduation Checklist -  https://provost.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/users/user3179/PhD%20Candidate%20Graduation%20Checklist_0.pdf
• PhD Dissertation Formatting Checklist-  https://provost.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/users/user3179/PhD%20Candidate%20Formatting%20Checklist_0.pdf
• In Graduate Rules and Regulations, please read over the policies starting with “Dissertation” and “Dissertation Composition and Meetings” through “Publication and Submission”-  https://catalog.upenn.edu/pennbook/academic-rules-phd/#text . 

***EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: The formatting of your dissertation must follow the GAS guidelines EXACTLY (RE: Title page, pagination & margins)   4. Additional Information:

• Dissertation defenses may be conducted in-person or remotely
• Title page signatures are optional, and electronic signatures are accepted
• A printed copy of the dissertation is not required for deposit
• The dissertation must be submitted electronically in ETD Administrator

Remote Defense Request

This page contains important information related to the remote defense requests for graduate students defending their final oral thesis or dissertation.  Please click on the text below to be taken to the corresponding section of this page.

Remote Defense Overview

Remote defense policy, qualifying policy exemptions, emergency approvals for remote defenses.

• Report of Examining Committee (REC) Information

Current Graduate School policy allows for a committee member to request permission to participate in a thesis or dissertation defense remotely, and only in exceptional cases would remote participation be permitted for the student, a committee chair, and/or Dean’s Representative (for dissertation defenses). Further details about the remote defense policy, including qualifying exemptions, are below.

For qualifying exemptions, the committee chair (or designee) must request remote participation at least 10 business days before the oral thesis or dissertation defense date. To make this request, please go to go.umd.edu/remotedrequest .  Please note that only one request per student is required.  If duplicate requests are submitted, we will only review the first request we receive.

To complete this form you will need to provide the following:

• Student’s information, including their name, UID, and email address;
• Dean’s Representative information, including their name, UID, and email address (dissertations only);
• For each remote participant, justification for why it is not possible to participate in person; and
• Acknowledgement of the Graduate School’s policy related to remote defenses.

Once we receive the form, it will be reviewed by the Graduate School Dean or designee.  The committee chair and Dean’s representative (dissertations only) will be sent an email with the approval or denial of this request.  No member of the committee may participate remotely unless permission has been granted in writing by the Graduate School.

Please note that the Graduate School only requires remote defenses requests for students’ final oral thesis/dissertation defense. Each graduate program sets their own requirements for examinations and proposal or prospectus defenses. 

The Graduate School has developed guidance and advice for successful remote defenses, which you can find here .

As stated in our policy on remote participation in a thesis defense or a dissertation defense :

• The committee must be physically present in the examination room during the entire defense and during the committee's private deliberations following the examination.
• Permission to conduct a remote-participation defense must be obtained by the dissertation chair from the Graduate School in advance. In making this request, the chair must indicate in writing that they have read the rules for a remote defense listed below.
• Video conferencing software must be used that allows all participants to see and hear each other during the entire defense.
• The candidate, the committee chair (or at least one of the co-chairs), and the Dean’s Representative must all be present in the examination room; none may be at a remote site except for under highly unusual circumstances that restrict travel or in-person participation.
• If necessary, other members of the committee may participate from one or more remote sites as long as the conferencing software supports the rules of conduct of the defense. Permission for remote participation must be approved in advance by the Dean of the Graduate School. The request for remote participation must provide a compelling reason and/or explanation as to why each remote committee member cannot be physically present.
• The remote participants must connect to the defense in a manner that will ensure that all participants are visible and audible and that the connection is stable and available throughout the scheduled time of the defense.
• The Dean’s Representative is responsible for ensuring that all requirements for remote participation are met, that the remote participation was uninterrupted, and if interrupted, that the defense was paused until all remote participants were fully restored.
• Units can opt to offer online synchronous viewing options even when all committee members are in-person, with the defending student’s consent.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Graduate School will consider exemptions to the in-person defense policy on an individual basis. Remote participation by the student or committee chair, or Dean’s Representative will be permitted in exceptional and compelling circumstances such as:

• Students or advisors residing abroad who are unable to return to campus due to travel restrictions and/or visa processing issues.
• Students or committee members with health conditions that prohibit an in-person defense, in compliance with the University of Maryland Disability and Accessibility Policy and Procedures and University guidelines .

Please note that convenience is not sufficient justification for a remote defense. It is the responsibility of chairs/co-chairs to find suitable times for defenses. We encourage advance planning in scheduling defenses.  The Graduate School recognizes that hybrid defenses can present unique challenges that may diminish students' capacity to successfully defend their theses or dissertations. Committees are encouraged to schedule hybrid defenses in rooms that are equipped with the appropriate technology. Alternatively, the chair of a committee, or their designee, can request full remote participation for the entire committee under the following conditions

• A student qualifies for remote participation and the student prefers to have a fully remote defense with all committee members online.
• More than one committee member qualifies for remote participation and the student prefers to have a fully remote defense with all committee members online.

Throughout the spring 2022 semester the Graduate School will follow campus guidance on in-person courses. When courses are in person, defenses will proceed in person, unless committee member(s) qualify for an exemption to the in-person defense policy.

If, shortly prior to a scheduled defense, a committee member and/or the student need to quarantine or have children sent home from school/daycare for quarantine, please submit a new request. We will review those quickly. An email to [email protected] in those cases will expedite review and is preferable to a phone call to the Graduate School’s front desk (301-405-3644). 

If you have any questions, please email [email protected] .

Report of Examining Committee (REC)

Please note that a Report of the Examining Committee (REC) form request is required for all thesis and dissertation defenses regardless of whether the defense is in person or remote. All thesis and dissertation chairs, or their designates, are required to submit a request for the electronic report of the examining committee ten business days before the scheduled final oral defense.  As of fall 2021, the old hardcopy of the REC will no longer be accepted.  REC’s must be signed/approved and processed using Adobe Sign. For more information about REC requests, please go to gradschool.umd.edu/electronicrecrequest . If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

Updated 6/27/2022

Theses and Dissertations

Defense and submission.

Below is an overview of the main steps in preparing, defending, and submitting your thesis or dissertation. For detailed instructions on each step, see The Graduate School's  Guide for Electronic Submission of Thesis and Dissertation (PDF) , in addition to this video recording from a workshop given on the subject. 

• Schedule your defense and apply for graduation in DukeHub ( defense and graduation deadlines ).  
• At least 30 days before your defense: Confirm or update your defense committee.  
• Give your thesis/dissertation to your advisor for inspection, and prompt your advisor to send a letter to [email protected] stating that it is complete and ready to defend. Note: For students in School of Medicine Ph.D. programs, their advisor letters are generated through T3.  
• Request your DGSA to send a departmental defense announcement to  [email protected] . Note: For students in School of Medicine Ph.D. programs, their departmental defense announcements are generated through T3.  
• At least 2 weeks before your defense: Submit your complete, correctly formatted dissertation/thesis to ProQuest (initial submission). Also provide it to each member of your committee.  
• Optional: After you receive an email through ProQuest from the Graduate School administrator who reviewed your thesis/dissertation format, you may make an appointment for a brief, virtual meeting with the administrator to discuss any questions you have about the defense process or the recommended formatting revisions.  
• A few days before your defense, The Graduate School will generate your final examination certificate and email it to the chair/co-chair(s) of your examination committee and the DGSA of your department. Note:  For students in School of Medicine Ph.D. programs, their final examination certificates are generated and released through T3.  
• Defend your dissertation. After your final examination, your committee members will vote on whether you passed or failed. Your chair and DGS will record the votes on your final examination certificate, sign it, and submit it to The Graduate School. Your committee may vote that you passed but still require minor edits or corrections before final submission.  
• As soon as possible after your defense, submit to [email protected] the Non-Exclusive Distribution License and Thesis/Dissertation Availability Agreement (“embargo agreement”) signed by yourself and your thesis/dissertation advisor.  
• Within 30 days after your successful defense, or by the established final submission deadline (whichever is first): Submit the final version of your dissertation/thesis to ProQuest.

Guide for Electronic Submission of Thesis and Dissertation (PDF)

We provide the following templates for your convenience and to help you eliminate common formatting errors. However,  all submitted theses and dissertations must meet the specifications listed in the ETD guide . The manuscript must be a completed document, formatted correctly, with no sections left blank.

• Word Template for Thesis/Dissertation (Word)
• LaTeX Template for Thesis/Dissertation (ZIP)

Notes about the LaTeX Template

• This LaTeX template is for both master's and Ph.D. students. Master's theses must also have an abstract title page.
• Neither The Graduate School nor OIT supports LaTeX beyond providing this template.

Ph.D. and master’s students are required to apply for graduation in  DukeHub  by the established application deadline for the semester in which they plan to graduate.

Review the full graduation guidelines on the  Graduation Information and Deadlines  page. 

When you submit your thesis or dissertation electronically, you will also permit Duke University to make it available online through  DukeSpace  at Duke Libraries. See the pages below for more information about ETDs:

• ETDs Overview
• ETD Availability
• ETD Copyright Information 
• ETD Technical Help 

Check out the writing support  offered by The Graduate School, such as writing spaces, consultations, and access to online writing workshops, communities, and resources.

Defending Your Dissertation: A Guide

Written by Luke Wink-Moran | Photo by insta_photos

Dissertation defenses are daunting, and no wonder; it’s not a “dissertation discussion,” or a “dissertation dialogue.” The name alone implies that the dissertation you’ve spent the last x number of years working on is subject to attack. And if you don’t feel trepidation for semantic reasons, you might be nervous because you don’t know what to expect. Our imaginations are great at making The Unknown scarier than reality. The good news is that you’ll find in this newsletter article experts who can shed light on what dissertations defenses are really like, and what you can do to prepare for them.

The first thing you should know is that your defense has already begun. It started the minute you began working on your dissertation— maybe even in some of the classes you took beforehand that helped you formulate your ideas. This, according to Dr. Celeste Atkins, is why it’s so important to identify a good mentor early in graduate school.

“To me,” noted Dr. Atkins, who wrote her dissertation on how sociology faculty from traditionally marginalized backgrounds teach about privilege and inequality, “the most important part of the doctoral journey was finding an advisor who understood and supported what I wanted from my education and who was willing to challenge me and push me, while not delaying me.  I would encourage future PhDs to really take the time to get to know the faculty before choosing an advisor and to make sure that the members of their committee work well together.”

Your advisor will be the one who helps you refine arguments and strengthen your work so that by the time it reaches your dissertation committee, it’s ready. Next comes the writing process, which many students have said was the hardest part of their PhD. I’ve included this section on the writing process because this is where you’ll create all the material you’ll present during your defense, so it’s important to navigate it successfully. The writing process is intellectually grueling, it eats time and energy, and it’s where many students find themselves paddling frantically to avoid languishing in the “All-But-Dissertation” doldrums. The writing process is also likely to encroach on other parts of your life. For instance, Dr. Cynthia Trejo wrote her dissertation on college preparation for Latin American students while caring for a twelve-year-old, two adult children, and her aging parents—in the middle of a pandemic. When I asked Dr. Trejo how she did this, she replied:

“I don’t take the privilege of education for granted. My son knew I got up at 4:00 a.m. every morning, even on weekends, even on holidays; and it’s a blessing that he’s seen that work ethic and that dedication and the end result.”

Importantly, Dr. Trejo also exercised regularly and joined several online writing groups at UArizona. She mobilized her support network— her partner, parents, and even friends from high school to help care for her son.

The challenges you face during the writing process can vary by discipline. Jessika Iwanski is an MD/PhD student who in 2022 defended her dissertation on genetic mutations in sarcomeric proteins that lead to severe, neonatal dilated cardiomyopathy. She described her writing experience as “an intricate process of balancing many things at once with a deadline (defense day) that seems to be creeping up faster and faster— finishing up experiments, drafting the dissertation, preparing your presentation, filling out all the necessary documents for your defense and also, for MD/PhD students, beginning to reintegrate into the clinical world (reviewing your clinical knowledge and skill sets)!”

But no matter what your unique challenges are, writing a dissertation can take a toll on your mental health. Almost every student I spoke with said they saw a therapist and found their sessions enormously helpful. They also looked to the people in their lives for support. Dr. Betsy Labiner, who wrote her dissertation on Interiority, Truth, and Violence in Early Modern Drama, recommended, “Keep your loved ones close! This is so hard – the dissertation lends itself to isolation, especially in the final stages. Plus, a huge number of your family and friends simply won’t understand what you’re going through. But they love you and want to help and are great for getting you out of your head and into a space where you can enjoy life even when you feel like your dissertation is a flaming heap of trash.”

While you might sometimes feel like your dissertation is a flaming heap of trash, remember: a) no it’s not, you brilliant scholar, and b) the best dissertations aren’t necessarily perfect dissertations. According to Dr. Trejo, “The best dissertation is a done dissertation.” So don’t get hung up on perfecting every detail of your work. Think of your dissertation as a long-form assignment that you need to finish in order to move onto the next stage of your career. Many students continue revising after graduation and submit their work for publication or other professional objectives.

When you do finish writing your dissertation, it’s time to schedule your defense and invite friends and family to the part of the exam that’s open to the public. When that moment comes, how do you prepare to present your work and field questions about it?

“I reread my dissertation in full in one sitting,” said Dr. Labiner. “During all my time writing it, I’d never read more than one complete chapter at a time! It was a huge confidence boost to read my work in full and realize that I had produced a compelling, engaging, original argument.”

There are many other ways to prepare: create presentation slides and practice presenting them to friends or alone; think of questions you might be asked and answer them; think about what you want to wear or where you might want to sit (if you’re presenting on Zoom) that might give you a confidence boost. Iwanksi practiced presenting with her mentor and reviewed current papers to anticipate what questions her committee might ask.  If you want to really get in the zone, you can emulate Dr. Labiner and do a full dress rehearsal on Zoom the day before your defense.

But no matter what you do, you’ll still be nervous:

“I had a sense of the logistics, the timing, and so on, but I didn’t really have clear expectations outside of the structure. It was a sort of nebulous three hours in which I expected to be nauseatingly terrified,” recalled Dr. Labiner.

“I expected it to be terrifying, with lots of difficult questions and constructive criticism/comments given,” agreed Iwanski.

“I expected it to be very scary,” said Dr. Trejo.

“I expected it to be like I was on trial, and I’d have to defend myself and prove I deserved a PhD,” said Dr Atkins.

And, eventually, inexorably, it will be time to present.  

“It was actually very enjoyable” said Iwanski. “It was more of a celebration of years of work put into this project—not only by me but by my mentor, colleagues, lab members and collaborators! I felt very supported by all my committee members and, rather than it being a rapid fire of questions, it was more of a scientific discussion amongst colleagues who are passionate about heart disease and muscle biology.”

“I was anxious right when I logged on to the Zoom call for it,” said Dr. Labiner, “but I was blown away by the number of family and friends that showed up to support me. I had invited a lot of people who I didn’t at all think would come, but every single person I invited was there! Having about 40 guests – many of them joining from different states and several from different countries! – made me feel so loved and celebrated that my nerves were steadied very quickly. It also helped me go into ‘teaching mode’ about my work, so it felt like getting to lead a seminar on my most favorite literature.”

“In reality, my dissertation defense was similar to presenting at an academic conference,” said Dr. Atkins. “I went over my research in a practiced and organized way, and I fielded questions from the audience.

“It was a celebration and an important benchmark for me,” said Dr. Trejo. “It was a pretty happy day. Like the punctuation at the end of your sentence: this sentence is done; this journey is done. You can start the next sentence.”

If you want to learn more about dissertations in your own discipline, don’t hesitate to reach out to graduates from your program and ask them about their experiences. If you’d like to avail yourself of some of the resources that helped students in this article while they wrote and defended their dissertations, check out these links:

The Graduate Writing Lab

https://thinktank.arizona.edu/writing-center/graduate-writing-lab

The Writing Skills Improvement Program

https://wsip.arizona.edu

Campus Health Counseling and Psych Services

https://caps.arizona.edu

https://www.scribbr.com/

Reference management. Clean and simple.

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.

9 Best PhD Defense Invitation Email Templets

Phd defense invitation email templet 1.

We are pleased to invite you to attend {researcher’s name} PhD defense on {date}. The defense will start at 8:00 AM and it will be held at the University of {university name}. There will be a reception for the speaker and audience following the event.

PhD Defense Invitation Email Templet 2

Subject: PhD Defense Invitation

PhD Defense Invitation Email Templet 3

I am writing on behalf of {university} to invite you to your PhD Defense. Please find attached the details of the defense, which will be held on {date}. We look forward to seeing you there.

PhD Defense Invitation Email Templet 4

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to extend a cordial invitation to you to attend the PhD defense of [Student’s Name]. The dissertation, titled “Exploring Novel Applications of Nanotechnology in Renewable Energy,” promises to be an engaging exploration of cutting-edge research in the field.

The defense will take place on [Date] at [Time] in [Location]. Your presence and participation would be highly appreciated as we celebrate the culmination of years of hard work and dedication.

PhD Defense Invitation Email Templet 5

Dear [Recipient’s Name],

Best regards,

PhD Defense Invitation Email Templet 6

Phd defense invitation email templet 7, phd defense invitation email templet 8.

For more information on email templates, please see About us section of this website.

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PhD defense Thomas Johannes Nichting

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What time of day should I schedule my thesis defense?

With apologies for the attention-grabbing title: of course I am not actually asking you to tell me when I, specifically, should schedule my defense. But I have heard very plausible-sounding rumors that the time of day at which a PhD candidate holds their thesis defense can have an impact on the difficulty and even the candidate's chance of passing. For example, scheduling a defense just before lunch may mean the committee will ask fewer and less involved questions, because they will be anxious to finish so they can go eat. Similarly defending in the mid afternoon may lead to less complex questions because everyone is tired - or alternatively it could cause a more difficult defense because the committee members are in no hurry to get back to work. And so on; the rumors abound.

What I would like to know: is there is any research backing up the idea that there are better or worse times of day for a candidate to schedule their thesis defense? Any anecdotal experience from people who have sat on multiple PhD committees?

Of course I'm not claiming this should be a major influence on when one schedules their defense, but people do talk about it, so (as a scientist!) I can't help but wonder if there's any truth behind the idea.

• 14 +1 for overthinking it. :) You'll do fine I'm sure, just don't schedule it for midnight or something. –  badroit Apr 23, 2014 at 23:09
• 30 Do you really have that much freedom in scheduling? In my department, finding an hour when all the very busy committee members can be in the same room is always a struggle. –  ff524 Apr 23, 2014 at 23:18
• 3 @ff524 Me too. The challenge was getting 5 faculty members in a room at the same time, and it was scheduled for the single two-hour gap that could be found in the tangled nightmare that is faculty scheduling. –  Fomite Apr 23, 2014 at 23:44
• 29 Maybe this depends on your academic system, but in most, unless your advisor is incompetent or your committee is insatiable, your chance of passing is 1. At very worst, 1-o(ε). The effect of the time of day is like o(ε³). Stop worrying! –  Nate Eldredge Apr 24, 2014 at 0:08
• 8 I'm just going to leave this here. Make sure you provide a small snack (cookies, cupcakes, traditional ethnic petit fours, etc.)! –  Bill Barth Apr 24, 2014 at 1:15

4 Answers 4

First, I have never heard of any research backing up the idea that defenses will be more less successful based on the time of day the defense is held.

Second, the best time to defend is whenever your committee can actually make it . When I defended, my goal was to get get at least three of our four committee members in same physical room (one non-chair member could attend via video). Within a six-week window, I felt lucky to find any two hour-window to schedule the defense.

Finally, you are overthinking things . Pour your energy and concern into the content and remember that if your committee is encouraging you to defend, it's because they think you are ready. Surprises are unlikely.

Of course if you are in the enviable position of having to choose a time of day, I personally like defenses at the end of the work day so that you can head out with others — e.g., students, family members, maybe even committee members — for a celebratory post-defense drink or meal.

• 2 I'm not disputing that any of this is true, but only the first paragraph really gets at what I'm asking. It's a precondition of the question that the committee members' availability does not determine a time, so saying the best time is whenever they can make it kind of dodges the question, and also I'm asking out of curiosity so it doesn't help me to be told I'm overthinking things. (I know it's silly to use this criterion to determine a time. But if I weren't a PhD candidate at all, that paragraph wouldn't make much sense :-P) –  David Z Apr 24, 2014 at 5:58
• 1 @DavidZ, people interested in the best time of day to schedule a thesis will almost universally be PhC's. They will almost universally be worried by the fact that their fate in others' hands and so are worrying about the the little things they can control. The last paragraph also gives you a concrete suggestion for when to schedule your thesis and a reason why. :) –  mako Apr 24, 2014 at 6:08
• 2 For the sake of argument: my defense is long past and I'm still interested :-P –  David Z Apr 15, 2015 at 16:23
• 1 @DavidZ, Fair enough! –  mako Apr 15, 2015 at 16:24

Whatever time of day all your committee members can all get together . (Forgive the short answer but that's really it from my perspective)

• 2 There is nothing new in this answer that wasn't already in Benjamin's original answer above. –  aeismail Sep 26, 2018 at 2:21
• 1 @aeismail, I didn't mean to offend. I actually upvoted his answer. It is good. I hope it keeps more votes. However I felt a short, to the point answer was appropriate too. I've seen answers overlap a lot on Academia.SE. I'll reread the answer guidance to be sure I'm on target. Thanks for keeping me straight. –  SecretAgentMan Sep 26, 2018 at 3:24
• 2 There can be overlap, but when the entirety of an answer is subsumed in another, it's considered poor form. (Also, a one-sentence answer is generally frowned upon, particularly on "soft" sites where the questions and answers tend to be more experience- and opinion-based by their nature.) –  aeismail Sep 26, 2018 at 3:26
• 1 @aeismail, Thank you. I agree regarding one sentence answers but I respectfully feel a one-sentence answer is very appropriate here. I didn't consider the "poor-form" part and will work to avoid that in the future. Thanks for the lesson learned! –  SecretAgentMan Sep 26, 2018 at 3:33
• 2 @aeismail I think that this answer is good because it makes clear in one line what is the most important thing. The other answer is less strong in this sense. –  Massimo Ortolano Sep 26, 2018 at 8:18

I had mine at 1 pm. It finished at 3:30, which gave me one and a half hours to make all the necessary corrections and then get to the pub.

In retrospect, 1 pm was a good time. I'm not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination. 1 pm allowed me to roll out of bed at 10 am, have a good full English breakfast and have an hour just to flick through the thesis and post https://xkcd.com/1403/ on social media channels. If you're a morning person that's always super alert at the time of 9 am, then try to schedule it as early as possible in the morning.

Really, you know what time of day you personally feel most alert and responsive. Given the flexible working nature of a lot of PhD students, you've probably settled into a working routine that works well for you by now. My recommendation would be to plan it around that.

• Sorry I just noticed this - definitely good advice. It's not quite in the spirit in which I intended the question, i.e. taking all else to be equal (including what time of day the student is the best suited to work), is there a better time and what is it, but I wouldn't hesitate to endorse this to any student actually concerned with scheduling their defense. (Fun fact: that comic was posted the same day I defended.) –  David Z Nov 19, 2018 at 9:08

This answer is the one I would accept. But, I know of one notable exception.

A friend in my PhD grad program choose his defense time for late morning (around 10 am) on a Tuesday. That way, his public defense would get done around 11 am and his closed door defense with only his committee would take less than a hour because his major advisor and several committee members always went to a local restaurant for their "Taco Tuesday" special around 11:45 am.

This worked for him, but my major advisor made me pick a different time when I tried to repeat the trick.

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