Doctoral education

Public defence at Aalto University

During the public examination of the doctoral thesis, or the defence, the doctoral student defends the results of their doctoral thesis and answers questions presented by the opponent, who has been appointed to evaluate the thesis. The course of the public defence is supervised by a custos, who usually is the supervising professor of the doctoral student. The public defence is also a ceremonial occasion that follows the academic traditions of each field.

On this page you can find Aalto University's instructions for arranging public defences.

Doctoral hat floating above a speaker's podium with a microphone

The date, time and language of the defence are confirmed by the Doctoral Programme Committee of the School at the same time when the opponent and custos are nominated.

How to confirm the details for defence and apply for nomination of opponent and custosCustomarily the defence begins at 12 o’clock sharp and takes approximately 2-3 hours. The audience must enter the hall by the time given in the defence event page, but the thesis defender, opponent and custos enter 15 minutes later. 

The language of the event is customarily Finnish, Swedish, or English. Thesis defender generally gives the Lectio Praecursoria (max. 20 minutes) in the language of the public defence. 

Responsibilities regarding defence arrangements

The practical arrangements of the defence are mainly the responsibility of the doctoral student. Some departments offer help with the arrangements. 

Doctoral Programme 

When the opponent and custos have been appointed and date, time, and language of the defence confirmed, the Doctoral Programme will send an official invitation to the opponent. The Doctoral Programme also sends instructions for the opponent regarding the examination of the thesis. The opponent is requested to submit their statement by email within two weeks from the date of the public defence either to the custos or directly to the Doctoral Programme. The guidelines of the Schools can be found via the links below:

Custos 

The Doctoral Programme Committee appoints the supervising professor as the custos of the public defence. Another professor of the School with a doctoral degree in the same research field may also serve as the custos. The custos has the responsibilities listed below. 

  • Custos is responsible for hosting the opponent(s) during their visit. It is good to inform the opponent about the schedules well in advance. Custos of the defence should agree together with the opponent(s) on travel arrangements for their stay in Finland. The secretarial services of the department handle all the bookings and offer their assistance by request from the custos. Please note that doctoral student should not be in contact with the opponent(s) before the defence, except for sending the thesis in a pdf form to them. 
  • The custos is supervising that the public defence follows the guidelines of Aalto University and is responsible for instructing the opponent(s) on practicalities of the defence. In ARTS, the custos should ensure that the opponent(s) are familiar with the grading scale used and the principles of grading to be observed.
  • In online or hybrid defences, the custos is responsible for instructing the audience during the defence. Custos should inform the guests to mute their microphones and keep their webcams closed unless they wish to ask a question regarding the doctoral work at the time allocated for comments. Student and custos should agree in advance how to proceed if there are any technical problems during the defence. It is recommended to have at hand an appointed person for fetching help if needed.
  • The custos ensures that the statement of the opponent is made according to the guidelines of the School and that it is submitted to the Doctoral Programme within two (2) weeks from the date of the defence (or preferably at latest three (3) days before the next meeting of the Committee).
  • In ARTS, custos must also submit their own report to the Committee covering  the defence proceedings (e.g. the start and end times, number of persons in the audience).

Department 

The secretarial services of the department handle all the bookings and offer their assistance by request from the custos. Note that for opponents based in Finland the travel arrangements and bookings are typically made directly by the opponent or by opponent's home institution, and travel expenses will be refunded afterwards. Department also pays the reimbursement for the opponents. Some departments also offer help for the doctoral student with the practical arrangements. 

Practical arrangements (doctoral student)

The practical arrangements of the defence are mainly the responsibility of the doctoral student. Some departments offer help with the arrangements.

Doctoral hats, 2016

Schools' protocols for the public defence and post-doctoral party

Each School has also their own, specific instructions for the public defence and the post-doctoral party, which are academic events following the traditions of each field. These include e.g. protocol/proceedings of the defence, roles of the opponent and the custos, dress code and traditions related to the "karonkka", ie. the post-doctoral party.

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