For your information, once the thesis has been available to the Public for 10 days and there have been no allegations, the Department requests from the Doctoral School its approval of the thesis defence. 

Deadline: Students must be defend your PhD Thesis for up to 6 months after the defence has been authorized by the Doctoral School.

 

Thesis defence date

The Doctoral School requires a date for the thesis defence which must have been previously agreed. The director of the thesis is responsible for contacting the members of the panel and the PhD candidate to agree upon a day. The Department must be informed about the date and time that the student chooses for the thesis defence in order to make the necessary arrangements. ​A budget of 2,000 euros is available for the defence (if the members of the examining board are from the EU and 2,500 euros if they are from outside the EU). Expenses exceeding this amount will have to be covered by other funds, e.g. a research project of the thesis supervisor. The expenses of the examining board can be adjusted by inviting some of the members to participate remotely. The Department has a protocol prepared for such cases.

The act of PhD thesis defense could take place between September 1 and July 31. During August the Phd Thesis defence is not allowed.

The Department's office will arrange the panel members' accommodation and trips and will send them a copy of the thesis by e-mail or post.

Panel members will gather in the defence room around half an hour before the start of the presentation in order to fill in the necessary administrative documents and ask any questions they may have about the defence process. The panel members are also expected to hand in the thesis report form they will have previously received by e-mail.

 

Room for the public defence

The Department's office will book a room for the public thesis defence. If available, the defence will be held in room 40.035 - Albert Calsamiglia or in room 23.S05 - Mercè Rodoreda Auditorium.

The room will be available 30 minutes before the start of the defence so the candidate can check that everything needed for the presentation is working correctly. If the student needs special technical support or needs a place to rehearse in previous days, a request must be sent to the Department's office.

Once the defence is over, the Department offers a lunch/dinner for those in attendance (the PhD student, the panel members, the supervisor, and one guest of the PhD student). The Department will contact the doctoral student in order to book a place and confirm attendance.

 

Administrative procedures prior to the defence

The Postgraduate Office will send an e-mail to the PhD student with the following information and instructions:

 

Thesis via videoconference

Below you will find the information you need to organize the thesis defence via videoconference:

1. Space equipped with the necessary technology: Mercè Rodoreda auditorium or Albert Calsamiglia auditorium (Ciutadella campus).

2. Conditions for defending a doctoral thesis via videoconference (agreement of the Steering Committee of December 2015):

  • Defending the thesis via videoconference is optional.

  • Approval by the Academic Committee.

  • The doctoral student must always be present at UPF.

  • Only the board member can participate in the defence of the doctoral thesis via videoconference (this must be stipulated in the proposed thesis board form).

  • It is essential to do a technical test with the “external” board member a few days prior to defending the thesis.

 

Thesis defence protocol

  1. The chair of the panel opens the session by welcoming the attendees and presenting the thesis defence.

  2. The PhD candidate has about 30-40 minutes to present the thesis.

  3. Each member of the panel has 20-30 minutes to ask questions.

  4. The PhD candidate answers the suggested questions.

  5. The chair of the panel asks the audience if any other Doctor wishes to ask a question.

  6. The president of the panel asks the audience and the PhD candidate to leave the room.

  7. The members of the panel discuss the thesis and grade it. The grading system is: (1) NOT PASS, (2) PASS, (3) GOOD, and (4) EXCELLENT. The equivalent grading in Catalan is 'no apte', 'aprovat', 'notable' and 'excel·lent'. If the grade is (4) Excellent, the president of the panel must ask the other members of the panel to vote for or against the "Cum Laude" mention. The members of the panel will cast their positive or negative vote, which must be secret, in a ballot box. Please find the document of Instructions to members of PhD thesis Tribunals for the award of "Cum Laude" here.

  8. The PhD candidate and the audience enter the room.

  9. The chair of the panel informs the student as to the grade and whether the "Cum Laude" mention has been proposed. In this case, the PhD candidate is informed that the result of the "Cum Laude" vote will be known within a week.

  10. The panel's secretary will give the Department's Office all the documents related to the thesis defence session: a certificate with the thesis grade signed by the members of the panel, the TESEO form, the individual report of each panel member and the ballot box with the votes.

  11. Within a week of the thesis defense session, the chair of the panel or the PhD programme coordinator will open the ballot box, recount the votes, sign the corresponding "Cum Laude" certificate and inform the student and the thesis director of the result. 

 

International Mention in the Doctoral Diploma

Before requesting the PhD Diploma. the student should request the International Mention in the Doctoral Diploma. Check the requirements and the application form here.