Defence of the PhD thesis

Date and posting of defence
The PhD school publishes the date and time for the defence proceedings in the engineering weekly Ingeniøren (in the section navnenyt) and registers the time of the defence in the DTU calendar no later than two weeks before the defence. 

The posting of the defence must be sent to CAS Serviceafdelingen, and the moderator of the defence proceedings. The notice must state:

• how a thesis abstract can be obtained
• that a copy of the thesis is presented for inspection at the PhD school in question.

Partially online defence

To support a reduced climate footprint and strengthen the possibility of attracting academic capacities who reside far from DTU, the PhD defence can be planned with the possibility of online participation by external members of the assessment committee.

When the defence is held as a hybrid meeting with the possibility of the pulic joing the defence proceedings online, the notice must also be published at relevant web sites/social media with a registration link.

The checklist for the moderator of the defence proceedings can be found below. The PhD school secretary sees to it that the moderator receives the following materials:

• a copy of the announcement of the defence
• the thesis (incl. summaries).

Time frame

In case of technical challenges, time is added if necessary. The assessment committee is responsible for the assessment of the defence.

The 45-minutes set for the lecture itself must be observed. If a lecture is of considerably shorter duration, the assessment committee may require a new defence. In case of considerable exceeding of the time limit, the moderator must interfere offering the PhD student the opportunity of a very brief conclusion.
 
Others may also ask the PhD student questions concerning the scientific work. Any such question must be limited to 15 minutes, including the time necessary to reply.

In due time after the defence, the chair of the assessment committee sets up a separate meeting with the PhD student, the examiners and the supervisors in order for the examiners to be able to convey the content of their final recommendation to the PhD student.

Exemption for number of assessment committee members

In special cases, the head of the PhD school may permit that the defence can be held with only two of the three members of the assessment committee present. The PhD student must agree to this.

Postponement

To observe the regulations of publication in the act on inventions at public research institutions or the act of inventions of employees or if other specific circumstances apply, the institution may decide to postpone the defence. A postponement of the defence implies a reciprocal agreement between the parties involved, including when the defence can take place.