I am defending in 4 to 6 weeks. The stories I heard from fellow students range from "It's unheard of to fail a defense. They just do it for show." to "OMG! I never studied more in my life."My understanding is that they expect me to present my thesis for half an hour. Then a discussion will follow. This discussion will focus on my thesis 50% of the time, and the other 50% are meant to establish if I have a general understanding of the discipline. Obviously a best practice could be to make sure I have that and also to discuss with my advisor if I should do a powerpoint or just give a talk or whatever. Other than that how did your defense go? Any suggestions? Ideas? Funny stories? Horror stories? Common mistakes?Cheers!

I more agree with the first impression. It's more a show than a real test. I saw a PhD defense in which the guy told several bullshits at the answering of the questions and he still got an "Honorable" mention.So do not worry believe me ...

Hey congrats for reaching this stage. Usually, the defense is just a formality, specially if your advisor is a senior professor. You present your stuff. Then they ask you some easy questions. Then they tell you to leave the room. After 15 minutes, they call you back and says congrats. They may tell you to make some minor revisions, which should take 1-2 days max. Then they sign the front page. Then you get the thing bound and it goes on the library shelf where no one will ever read it again.

The right place to ask in order to know what to expect would be your Institute / University. But as rule of thumb, yup, they are more a show than a real test.Knowing something about the examining committee members and their relationships with your supervisor might help knowing what to expect, too.

A good supervisor won't be putting you forward for a defence unless & until he's pretty sure you will pass.But a lot depends upon the culture of the place you're defending in, some ask for clarifications and a bit of extra work as the norm, not a "fail", just as "could you just tighten up your numbers here ?" sort of thing.

if you have a good advisor, he'll make you present in front of him at least once. my dad said his students would present several times at his seminar, with feedback and updates until everything's up to his standards. you should also attend at least one defense before your own.

It's worth remembering that your advisor has skin in the game, he won't look good to his colleagues if you crash and burn, so he ought to be eager to help.

QuoteOriginally posted by: DominicConnorIt's worth remembering that your advisor has skin in the game, he won't look good to his colleagues if you crash and burn, so he ought to be eager to help.that's like "rational investor" type of hypothesis. trust me, they crash and burn sometimes so much depends on the advisor, some of them are irrational in their neglect to students

QuoteOriginally posted by: traderjoe1976Hey congrats for reaching this stage. Usually, the defense is just a formality, specially if your advisor is a senior professor. You present your stuff. Then they ask you some easy questions. Then they tell you to leave the room. After 15 minutes, they call you back and says congrats. They may tell you to make some minor revisions, which should take 1-2 days max. Then they sign the front page. Then you get the thing bound and it goes on the library shelf where no one will ever read it again.Depends on the school. In my situation, they found enough problems with dissertation that I had to do about six months more of work. What happened was that the committee people all signed the sheet except for my advisor with the understanding that he would sign once I had fixed all of the problems. More or less the same thing happened with my wife.One of the fun things that happened a few times was when one committee member came up with an objection, another one didn't think it was valid, and they spent ten minutes arguing over the issue while basically ignoring the fact that I was in the room.

What did you have to do to your wife before your wedding was sanctioned?

QuoteOriginally posted by: EtukaWhat did you have to do to your wife before your wedding was sanctioned?Heh.... Heh.... Heh....What I meant was that my wife also has a Ph.D. and the same thing happened to her (i.e. advisers gave a list of corrections and then she took a few months to do them).

QuoteOriginally posted by: twofishQuoteOriginally posted by: traderjoe1976Hey congrats for reaching this stage. Usually, the defense is just a formality, specially if your advisor is a senior professor. You present your stuff. Then they ask you some easy questions. Then they tell you to leave the room. After 15 minutes, they call you back and says congrats. They may tell you to make some minor revisions, which should take 1-2 days max. Then they sign the front page. Then you get the thing bound and it goes on the library shelf where no one will ever read it again.Depends on the school. In my situation, they found enough problems with dissertation that I had to do about six months more of work. What happened was that the committee people all signed the sheet except for my advisor with the understanding that he would sign once I had fixed all of the problems. More or less the same thing happened with my wife.One of the fun things that happened a few times was when one committee member came up with an objection, another one didn't think it was valid, and they spent ten minutes arguing over the issue while basically ignoring the fact that I was in the room.Well, in my case, I had to give copies of the dissertation to each committee member four months before the defense. So, whatever changes each individual committee members wanted was already incorporated into the dissertation before the defense. After the defense, I only had two days work left on the dissertation. You are correct. All the other committee members will sign the signature page. The advisor signs the page only after all the changes have been made. Same school, but in Finance department instead of Physics department.

QuoteOriginally posted by: traderjoe1976Well, in my case, I had to give copies of the dissertation to each committee member four months before the defense. wow, that's quite long, isn't it? my personal strategy was rather to have the defense as soon as possible.

it varies tremendously according to field, school and country.Best to get advice from other people who've just finished in your department.

not powerpoint, powerdotand conventions vary from school to school.Some, you have to give a lecture open to the public then the defense takes place behind closed doors.Some, the examiners are all department members, others they have an external come in.I'd talk to the department examiners before hand and iron out any queries they haveAnd most places the examiners have a vote, so even if one flunks you, the others outvote him or her