The defence
The higher doctoral candidate agrees a date for the defence together with the assessment committee. Higher doctoral dissertation defences are always held on a Friday at 14:00 in lecture theatre 424 at the Department of Biomedicine. Ministerial Order Sections 17, 18, 19 and 20 (Word) form the basis of the holding of the defence.
The Higher Doctoral Dissertation Committee appoints a moderator of the defence following proposals from the relevant academic environment.
Printing of dissertation
The author is obliged to ensure that the dissertation is printed and is publicly available at least four weeks prior to the defence (see section 16 of the Ministerial Order). No later than 4 weeks before the defence a pdf of the printed version of the higher doctoral dissertation must be send to [email protected] and 4 copies of the printed dissertation must be delivered or sent to the following address: the Faculty of Health Sciences PhD administration, Ny Munkegade 120, bld. 1521, room 123, DK-8000 Aarhus C. The PhD administration will ensure that the rules concerning legal deposit (pligtaflevering) of published works will be complied with. The printed dissertation must contain the articles on which the dissertation is based.
Furthermore, no later than four weeks before the defence, the author must submit an abstract to the Journal of the Danish Medical Association and the Danish Medical Journal. Read more her.
Holding and moderating the defence
The moderator of the defence undertakes his or her tasks based on a manuscript guide which he or she receives from the Health PhD Administration before the defence together with other material. The moderator is responsible for ensuring that all rules and formalities for holding the defence are followed.
The moderator of the defence is responsible for welcoming the audience, including ensuring that the audience stands when the assessment committee and the higher doctoral candidate enter the lecture theatre together and are shown to their seats. The moderator is responsible for ensuring that no private sound recording, photography or filming is carried out during the defence and that rounds of applause and the like, along with acceptance speeches, do not take place before the defence has been officially completed.
The defence must not exceed six hours in total and the moderator is responsible for explaining how the defence will take place, including the sequence of speakers (the higher doctoral candidate, the official opponents and then any other ex auditorio opponents).
As a rule, the defence will be held in the language in which the dissertation is written.
The moderator must ensure that the protocol is signed and that it is submitted to the [email protected].
A guideline script for conducting the doctoral defence will be sent to the chair of the defence approximately 14 days prior to the defence.
Provisions of the ministerial order regarding the defence
Provisions of the ministerial order regarding the defence
16.-(1) When a dissertation is accepted for defence, the author must ensure that copies of it are obtainable. It must be available no later than four weeks before the defence, as decided by the institution.
17.-(1) The defence is public and conducted by the chairman of the responsible collegiate body or another member of the academic staff appointed by the chairman. The institution must ensure that the defence can subsequently be documented sufficiently.
(2) The defence must be conducted in Danish, Norwegian or Swedish, unless the institution grants permission to use another language.
(3) Not later than four weeks before the defence, the institution must announce the time and place for the defence, and state where the dissertation may be obtained as well as detailed rules on the defence, including information about registering as an unofficial opponent.
18.-(1) Two of the members of the assessment committee will be appointed as official opponents. In special circumstances, other experts may be appointed as official opponents.
(2) Any unofficial opponents must register with the chair of the defence before its start. However, the chair may allow contributions from opponents who registered at a later time, giving priority to those who registered earlier.
19.-(1) The doctoral candidate must be given the opportunity to start the defence with a lecture of up to 30 minutes, comprising a review of the dissertation’s subject and the research results that have been submitted for assessment.
(2) Each official opponent will normally be allotted a maximum of 1½ hours and each unofficial opponent a maximum of 45 minutes. This time includes the time that the candidate will need for response. The time allotted to opponents may be reduced or increased according to circumstances. The entire defence must not exceed six hours, including any breaks.
20.-(1) As soon as possible after the defence, the official opponents must submit a report stating whether they consider the defence satisfactory, see, however (2). If one or both opponents do not consider the defence satisfactory, this must be substantiated in the report.
(2) If the defence has caused one or both opponents to doubt whether a positive report can be submitted, they may recommend to the responsible collegiate body that the institution obtain written comments, including, according to circumstances, comments from unofficial opponents to clarify the issue in doubt. The institution must allow the doctoral candidate to comment on statements made by others before the material is sent to the opponents for the completion of their report.
(3) If a report contains insufficient guidance or material defects, the report will be returned to the opponents for revision or correction of formal errors. When the final report becomes available, it must be sent to the doctoral candidate. Unless both opponents have found the defence satisfactory, the doctoral candidate must be given the opportunity to submit comments for the report within a deadline of at least 14 days. The comments are submitted to the opponents for comment and possibly revision of the recommendation. The doctoral candidate is notified of the opponents’ reaction.
