Doctoral thesis defence

The lectio praecursoria must be prepared in advance. It should introduce the subject matter of your doctoral thesis in a way that can be understood by an educated member of the general public. If the doctoral candidate’s native language is Finnish, the lectio praecursoria is usually given in Finnish, even if the language of the doctoral thesis defence is not Finnish. In other cases, the presentation is given in the language to be used with the opponent during the doctoral thesis defence. You should keep in mind the fact that the lectio praecursoria may be the only part of the whole doctoral thesis defence that is understood by all those present at the event. Although not required, a PowerPoint presentation is frequently useful for highlighting and illustrating the main points of the lectio praecursoria.

The doctoral candidate should submit the final bound version of the doctoral thesis to the opponent(s) as soon as it has been received from the printing house. This copy of the thesis is usually printed so late that the opponent will only have time to browse through it. Therefore, it is good to e-mail the thesis manuscript to the opponent right after the Doctoral Training Committee has given the permission to defend the thesis. If the opponent comes from abroad, instructions on the doctoral thesis defence, its duration and an abstract of the lectio praecursoria should be sent to them beforehand.

Traditionally, the doctoral candidate acts as the host or hostess of the opponent(s). The opponent may need help with travel arrangements, such as purchasing the airplane tickets, or for transportation from the airport to the hotel. For accommodation in Oulu, you should find out the hotels with which the University has an accommodation agreement. Some faculties or research units have a named travel arrangement support person. Sometimes the custos also acts as the host. The travel and accommodation costs of the opponent are covered by the faculty or research unit.

The research unit or faculty may want to offer the opponent a lunch on the thesis defence day or some other cordial reception. The candidate should meet with the opponent at dinner on the day preceding the thesis defence, for example, in order to get to know them and review the schedule of the defence day. This dinner is usually arranged by the custos, or the candidate’s principal supervisor. At this time, you could also agree on how you will address the opponent (unless agreed otherwise, they should be addressed formally).

The hall in which the thesis defence will take place should be booked through the janitor as soon as the thesis defence date has been set. The doctoral candidate must agree on any “tools” needed in advance with the janitors. Most halls at the University include a wide-screen television projector, a computer and a sound system, but it is wise to check on their availability beforehand. The doctoral candidate must also ensure that there are beverages, flowers and a photographer (if required) for the thesis defence, unless the faculty or research unit has a support person who takes care of these issues.

The doctoral candidate should visit the venue with the custos and the opponent(s) before the thesis defence, such as on the morning of the defence day to see how you will be able to move about in the room, and where the tables, podiums, etc. are. The doctoral candidate should also check that all the necessary equipment (wide-screen television projector, computer, sound system, microphones, notebooks, pens, etc.) is available and in working order. If the doctoral candidate needs some help with a PowerPoint presentation, etc., they should agree on this in advance with a colleague.

It is good to have the first slide of the lectio praecursoria presentation ready on the screen when people come in, which shows the doctoral candidate’s name, faculty, the name of the thesis and the names of the opponent and custos. The doctoral candidate can also add the same slide at the end of the lectio praecursoria presentation and leave the projector on for the duration of the discussion.

In case of problems, the custos should check the University’s safety instructions on Patio and have the contact information of the janitors in charge of the venue at hand. The doctoral thesis defence may also be arranged at a venue outside the University of Oulu, in which case that venue’s safety instructions must be taken into account.

A sufficient number of copies of the thesis (40 – 50 is usually sufficient) should be available at the venue for the audience, unless it is available in electronic format, in which case the members of the audience may be encouraged to use the electronic copy of the thesis. In the event that where hard copies are provided, the doctoral candidate should make sure that somebody brings them to the venue on time.

Agree on the dress code for the doctoral thesis defence with the custos and opponent (Table 1). The custos makes the final decision on the dress code.

The custos, opponent(s) and doctoral candidate should follow the same dress code (alternative 1 or 2); an exception to this rule is a person who has graduated from a non-Finnish university: they may use their own doctoral outfit that may include a cape or a hat, for example. Doctoral candidate, custos or opponent can wear a tailcoat and black vest, a black business suit, a black pant suit, a knee-length black skirt/dress, or a jacket suit. The dress should not be very low-cut or otherwise too “revealing”. A black jacket may be used over the dress, or blouse and skirt. The dress code for a doctoral promotion ceremony should be used.

Table 1. Traditional dress code alternatives of doctoral candidate, custos or opponent for a doctoral thesis defence.

The research unit or faculty may pay for the opponent’s costume rental, but the doctoral candidate and custos must pay for their own clothes. The practices of the faculties in this issue vary.

There is no specific dress code for the audience of the doctoral thesis defence. The thesis defence is an event that is open to everyone, so regular, everyday clothes are considered to be appropriate. Guests invited by the doctoral candidate often wear a black tie or other festive outfit.

The doctoral candidate traditionally offers coffee or sparkling wine to the audience after the doctoral thesis defence. When the thesis defence has been concluded, the doctoral candidate will invite the audience to a “cocktail”, or coffee event. The easiest way to arrange this is to use the university restaurant services. A separate table should be reserved for the more honoured guests, such as the custos, opponent, etc. Sparkling wine may also be served in the corridor next to the venue.

When all parties are settled (with the doctoral candidate to the left of the custos), they will stand up, and the custos will welcome the audience with a free-form speech and briefly present the opponent(s) and the doctoral candidate. Next, the custos will officially open the doctoral thesis defence by saying:
“As the custos appointed by the University of Oulu Graduate School, I hereby declare the doctoral thesis defence of ‘title name xx ‘opened.” After these opening words, everybody except for the doctoral candidate will sit down.

The doctoral candidate will give the lectio praecursoria, or presentation of the doctoral thesis, standing up. During the lectio praecursoria, the doctoral candidate describes the background of the research and its connections to academic or practical problems. The lectio praecursoria should last between ten and twenty minutes. If the opponent does not speak Finnish, they should be given a translation, or summary, of the lectio praecursoria. Out of courtesy, the members of the audience enter the hall before the thesis defence starts, and do not leave during the lectio praecursoria.

If the doctoral candidate’s native language is Finnish, the lectio praecursoria is usually given in Finnish, even if the language of the doctoral thesis defence is not Finnish. In other cases, the presentation is given in the language to be used with the opponent during the doctoral thesis defence. You should keep in mind the fact that the lectio praecursoria may be the only part of the whole doctoral thesis defence that is understood by all those present at the event. Although not required, a PowerPoint presentation is frequently useful for highlighting and illustrating the main points of the lectio praecursoria.

The doctoral candidate will start the speech by saying:
“Honourable custos, honourable opponent, dear audience.” At the end of the speech, the doctoral candidate will say: “Dear Professor (Doctor, etc.) xx, as the opponent named by the University of Oulu Graduate School, I now call upon you to present your critical comments on my doctoral thesis.”

The opponent stands up and gives a brief opening statement in which they will discuss the subject matter of the thesis, its position and its significance in academia, and its possible practical relevance. The candidate remains standing during the opponents opening speech. The opponent then announces that they will now review the thesis in detail. The opponent and the doctoral candidate will then both sit down. If there is more than one opponent, they should agree on the division of their duties and announce it during the opening speech. As a general rule, the more senior academic of the opponents gives the opening speech and starts the review of the work.

The opponent will then examine the doctoral thesis, first paying attention to general issues – such as the selection of the research theme, research methods and data – and then going into the details. The candidate should defend their thesis to the best of their ability, as the success of the defence will be reflected in the opponent’s statement issued later. The total duration of the doctoral thesis defence should not exceed four (4) hours. The opponent may use a maximum of three (3) hours for their examination of the thesis. If it appears that the event will last more than three hours, a break will be taken. The custos will announce the break.

After completing the examination of the thesis, the opponent gives a summary in which they evaluate the significance of the contribution of the doctoral thesis to the discipline. Having concluded the examination, the opponent (and the candidate) stands up and gives the concluding statement. The opponent will then sit down. The candidate remains standing.

Having listened to the opponent’s statement, the doctoral candidate thanks the opponent and turns towards the audience to say: “I now cordially invite anybody who has comments regarding my doctoral thesis to offer their comments by asking the floor from the custos.”

All persons present at the event will then have the right to ask to take the floor from the custos. A person asking for permission to speak in this way is reffered to as an extra opponent. The custos gives the floor to the extra opponents and presides over the ensuing discussion(s).
When giving the floor, the custos asks the extra opponent to first introduce themself by stating their name and title. The extra opponent is then permitted to state their question, comment, or criticism. The doctoral candidate must be given the opportunity to answer each criticism immediately after the criticism has been made. The opponent may also participate in the discussion if they wish.

A maximum of one hour may be allocated to interventions by the extra opponents. In order to keep the discussion within the set time limit, and to provide all extra opponents the opportunity to express their comments, the custos ensures that each intervention is brief, relevant to the subject matter, and substantive. If necessary, the custos may ask an extra opponent to terminate their speech if the comments, or the discussion resulting from them, are not substantive. The custos may invite an extra opponent to submit possibly extensive or multi-dimensional comments on academic or ethical issues in writing, within two weeks. Such written comments may provide more background or further detail. For each extra opponent, the custos uses a dedicated form (can be found in the page "Final stages of the doctoral degree") to record the name, title and contact information, and a summary of the key content of the comment and eventual subsequent discussion. If necessary, the custos may ask the extra opponents to summarise their key criticisms at the end of their address.

The custos ensures that hard copies of this form are available for use at the thesis defence venue, or the form must be readily available in electronic format. After the event, the custos submits the completed forms to the Academic Affairs Lead Specialist , who will forward them to the Doctoral Training Committee and the opponent. The opponent takes the observation(s) of the extra opponent(s), and the response(s) of the candidate, into account when preparing their final statement, and assesses whether they should influence the statement.

The custos will conclude the event by saying: ”I declare the public defence of the doctoral thesis to be concluded.” The doctoral candidate should remember to invite the audience to the cocktail/coffee event. The custos and the opponent(s) will then pick up their doctoral hats and the participants will leave the room in the same order as they came in: first the doctoral candidate, followed by the custos and, finally, the opponent. The audience will not clap their hands or applaud in any other way during this event. The audience will wait until the doctoral candidate, custos and opponent have left before leaving the room. Congratulations will not be expressed until after leaving the room and after the doctoral candidate has had time to thank the opponent and the custos.

It is customary for the doctoral candidate to receive congratulations and flowers outside the doctoral defence venue. The doctoral candidate usually offers cake and coffee/sparkling wine after the doctoral thesis defence to everybody who attended the event. The research unit of the doctoral candidate is responsible for the costs of catering after defence organized on the University's premises, according to the reasonable and equitable practice agreed in the Faculty. In this event, speeches addressed to the doctoral candidate are given and the candidate receives gifts from the faculty or department, for example. The official speeches are reserved until the thesis defence party.

Each unit and team has its own practices and traditions on how to congratulate the doctoral candidate. The most common practice is, for the doctoral candidate’s colleagues to collect money from amongst themselves to buy a collective gift. Cash or a gift voucher to buy a doctoral hat is a good and traditional gift. If the research team or other unit of the doctoral candidate wishes to congratulate the candidate, a reasonably priced gift that complies with the legislation and the financial rules of the unit may be given.