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What happens at the public defence?

Your public defence will have a host and a chair. The chair professor is ordinarily the host – or your principal adviser if the chair professor cannot be there. Conflict of interest does not need to be considered. The chair of the public defence is the person appointed by Research and Third-cycle Studies Committee to convene the examining committee for the preliminary examination.

The host welcomes everyone, introduces you, the title of your thesis, the faculty examiner, the members of the examining committee, and your principal and assistant supervisors. The host then turns over the proceedings to the chair.

• The chair calls the proceedings to order and presents the rules.
• You announce any corrections to your thesis and hand out a list as needed.
• The faculty examiner offers a brief popular science introduction of your thesis and field of research.
• You or the faculty examiner presents the main results and conclusions of your thesis.
• The faculty examiner discusses the thesis with you, pointing out its strengths and weaknesses, and asks you questions.
• The chair gives the examining committee the opportunity to ask questions.
• The chair solicits questions from the audience.
• The chair adjourns the public defence and convenes an immediate meeting of the examining committee to grade your thesis. The examining committee appoints a chair.

What happens if members of the examining committee or the faculty examiner cannot be there?

What happens if they provide notification that they are unable to attend no later than the day before the public defence?

If a member has a valid reason for not attending the public defence no later than one day in advance, the chair – or the vice-chair if the chair is not available – of Research and Third-cycle Studies Committee shall be notified. The chair or vice-chair of Research and Third-cycle Studies Committee can assign the deputy to replace the member or approve another solution.

If the faculty examiner is unable to attend no later than one day before the public defence, the chair – or the vice-chair if the chair is not available – of FUN shall be contacted immediately and decide how to resolve the situation.

What happens if they are unable to attend as of the day of the public defence?

If a member of the examining committee or the faculty examiner provides notification on the day of the public defence that they are unable to attend or be there at the beginning, the convenor of the committee (chair of the public defence) shall be entitled to appoint a replacement. If necessary, the defence may be adjourned for up to two hours.

A docent who does not have a conflict of interest may be appointed to replace an absent member of the examining committee.

A member of the committee may be appointed to replace an absent faculty examiner. The member is then replaced either by the deputy previously appointed by Research and Third-cycle Studies Committee or by a docent who does not have a conflict of interest if the deputy is not available.

An absent external member must be replaced by someone from a school other than The Faculty of Health Science.

After the defence is over, Research and Third-cycle Studies Committee shall be informed of the relevant facts and circumstances.

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Last updated: 2014-06-04