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How to prepare an excellent thesis defense

What is a thesis defense?

How long is a thesis defense, what happens at a thesis defense, your presentation, questions from the committee, 6 tips to help you prepare for your thesis defense, 1. anticipate questions and prepare for them, 2. dress for success, 3. ask for help, as needed, 4. have a backup plan, 5. prepare for the possibility that you might not know an answer, 6. de-stress before, during, and after, frequently asked questions about preparing an excellent thesis defense, related articles.

If you're about to complete, or have ever completed a graduate degree, you have most likely come across the term "thesis defense." In many countries, to finish a graduate degree, you have to write a thesis .

A thesis is a large paper, or multi-chapter work, based on a topic relating to your field of study.

Once you hand in your thesis, you will be assigned a date to defend your work. Your thesis defense meeting usually consists of you and a committee of two or more professors working in your program. It may also include other people, like professionals from other colleges or those who are working in your field.

During your thesis defense, you will be asked questions about your work. The main purpose of your thesis defense is for the committee to make sure that you actually understand your field and focus area.

The questions are usually open-ended and require the student to think critically about their work. By the time of your thesis defense, your paper has already been evaluated. The questions asked are not designed so that you actually have to aggressively "defend" your work; often, your thesis defense is more of a formality required so that you can get your degree.

• Check with your department about requirements and timing.
• Re-read your thesis.
• Anticipate questions and prepare for them.
• Create a back-up plan to deal with technology hiccups.
• Plan de-stressing activities both before, and after, your defense.

How long your oral thesis defense is depends largely on the institution and requirements of your degree. It is best to consult your department or institution about this. In general, a thesis defense may take only 20 minutes, but it may also take two hours or more. The length also depends on how much time is allocated to the presentation and questioning part.

Tip: Check with your department or institution as soon as possible to determine the approved length for a thesis defense.

First of all, be aware that a thesis defense varies from country to country. This is just a general overview, but a thesis defense can take many different formats. Some are closed, others are public defenses. Some take place with two committee members, some with more examiners.

The same goes for the length of your thesis defense, as mentioned above. The most important first step for you is to clarify with your department what the structure of your thesis defense will look like. In general, your thesis defense will include:

• your presentation of around 20-30 minutes
• questions from the committee
• questions from the audience (if the defense is public and the department allows it)

You might have to give a presentation, often with Powerpoint, Google slides, or Keynote slides. Make sure to prepare an appropriate amount of slides. A general rule is to use about 10 slides for a 20-minute presentation.

But that also depends on your specific topic and the way you present. The good news is that there will be plenty of time ahead of your thesis defense to prepare your slides and practice your presentation alone and in front of friends or family.

Tip: Practice delivering your thesis presentation in front of family, friends, or colleagues.

You can prepare your slides by using information from your thesis' first chapter (the overview of your thesis) as a framework or outline. Substantive information in your thesis should correspond with your slides.

Make sure your slides are of good quality— both in terms of the integrity of the information and the appearance. If you need more help with how to prepare your presentation slides, both the ASQ Higher Education Brief and James Hayton have good guidelines on the topic.

The committee will ask questions about your work after you finish your presentation. The questions will most likely be about the core content of your thesis, such as what you learned from the study you conducted. They may also ask you to summarize certain findings and to discuss how your work will contribute to the existing body of knowledge.

Tip: Read your entire thesis in preparation of the questions, so you have a refreshed perspective on your work.

While you are preparing, you can create a list of possible questions and try to answer them. You can foresee many of the questions you will get by simply spending some time rereading your thesis.

Here are a few tips on how to prepare for your thesis defense:

You can absolutely prepare for most of the questions you will be asked. Read through your thesis and while you're reading it, create a list of possible questions. In addition, since you will know who will be on the committee, look at the academic expertise of the committee members. In what areas would they most likely be focused?

If possible, sit at other thesis defenses with these committee members to get a feel for how they ask and what they ask. As a graduate student, you should generally be adept at anticipating test questions, so use this advantage to gather as much information as possible before your thesis defense meeting.

Your thesis defense is a formal event, often the entire department or university is invited to participate. It signals a critical rite of passage for graduate students and faculty who have supported them throughout a long and challenging process.

While most universities don't have specific rules on how to dress for that event, do regard it with dignity and respect. This one might be a no-brainer, but know that you should dress as if you were on a job interview or delivering a paper at a conference.

It might help you deal with your stress before your thesis defense to entrust someone with the smaller but important responsibilities of your defense well ahead of schedule. This trusted person could be responsible for:

• preparing the room of the day of defense
• setting up equipment for the presentation
• preparing and distributing handouts

Technology is unpredictable. Life is too. There are no guarantees that your Powerpoint presentation will work at all or look the way it is supposed to on the big screen. We've all been there. Make sure to have a plan B for these situations. Handouts can help when technology fails, and an additional clean shirt can save the day if you have a spill.

One of the scariest aspects of the defense is the possibility of being asked a question you can't answer. While you can prepare for some questions, you can never know exactly what the committee will ask.

There will always be gaps in your knowledge. But your thesis defense is not about being perfect and knowing everything, it's about how you deal with challenging situations. You are not expected to know everything.

James Hayton writes on his blog that examiners will sometimes even ask questions they don't know the answer to, out of curiosity, or because they want to see how you think. While it is ok sometimes to just say "I don't know", he advises to try something like "I don't know, but I would think [...] because of x and y, but you would need to do [...] in order to find out.” This shows that you have the ability to think as an academic.

You will be nervous. But your examiners will expect you to be nervous. Being well prepared can help minimize your stress, but do know that your examiners have seen this many times before and are willing to help, by repeating questions, for example. Dora Farkas at finishyourthesis.com notes that it’s a myth that thesis committees are out to get you.

Two common symptoms of being nervous are talking really fast and nervous laughs. Try to slow yourself down and take a deep breath. Remember what feels like hours to you are just a few seconds in real life.

• Try meditational breathing right before your defense.
• Get plenty of exercise and sleep in the weeks prior to your defense.
• Have your clothes or other items you need ready to go the night before.
• During your defense, allow yourself to process each question before answering.
• Go to dinner with friends and family, or to a fun activity like mini-golf, after your defense.

Allow yourself to process each question, respond to it, and stop talking once you have responded. While a smile can often help dissolve a difficult situation, remember that nervous laughs can be irritating for your audience.

We all make mistakes and your thesis defense will not be perfect. However, careful preparation, mindfulness, and confidence can help you feel less stressful both before, and during, your defense.

Finally, consider planning something fun that you can look forward to after your defense.

It is completely normal to be nervous. Being well prepared can help minimize your stress, but do know that your examiners have seen this many times before and are willing to help, by repeating questions for example if needed. Slow yourself down, and take a deep breath.

Your thesis defense is not about being perfect and knowing everything, it's about how you deal with challenging situations. James Hayton writes on his blog that it is ok sometimes to just say "I don't know", but he advises to try something like "I don't know, but I would think [...] because of x and y, you would need to do [...] in order to find out".

Your Powerpoint presentation can get stuck or not look the way it is supposed to do on the big screen. It can happen and your supervisors know it. In general, handouts can always save the day when technology fails.

• Dress for success.
• Ask for help setting up.
• Have a backup plan (in case technology fails you).
• Deal with your nerves.

PhD Dissertation Defense Slides Design: Start

• Tips for designing the slides
• Presentation checklist
• Example slides
• Additional Resources

Purpose of the Guide

This guide was created to help ph.d. students in engineering fields to design dissertation defense presentations. the guide provides 1) tips on how to effectively communicate research, and 2) full presentation examples from ph.d. graduates. the tips on designing effective slides are not restricted to dissertation defense presentations; they can be used in designing other types of presentations such as conference talks, qualification and proposal exams, and technical seminars., the tips and examples are used to help students to design effective presentation. the technical contents in all examples are subject to copyright, please do not replicate. , if you need help in designing your presentation, please contact julie chen ([email protected]) for individual consultation. .

• Example Slides Repository
• Defense slides examples Link to examples dissertation defense slides.

Useful Links

• CIT Thesis and dissertation standards
• Dissertations and Theses @ Carnegie Mellon This link opens in a new window Covers 1920-present. Full text of some dissertations may be available 1997-present. Citations and abstracts of dissertations and theses CMU graduate students have published through UMI Dissertation Publishing. In addition to citations and abstracts, the service provides free access to 24 page previews and the full text in PDF format, when available. In most cases, this will be works published in 1997 forward.
• Communicate your research data Data visualization is very important in communicating your data effectively. Check out these do's and don'ts for designing figures.

Power Point Template and other Resources

• CEE Powerpoint Slide Presentation Template 1
• CEE Powerpoint Slide Presentation Template 2

Source: CEE Department Resources https://www.cmu.edu/cee/resources/index.html

• CMU Powerpoint Slide Template

Source: CMU Marketing and Communications

https://www.cmu.edu/marcom/brand-standards/downloads/index.html

• Use of CMU logos, marks, and Unitmarks

Email me for questions and schedule an appointment

Top 7 tips for your defense presentation

1. show why your study is important, remember, your audience is your committee members, researchers in other fields, and even the general public. you want to convince all of them why you deserve a ph.d. degree. you need to talk about why your study is important to the world. in the engineering field, you also need to talk about how your study is useful. try to discuss why current practice is problematic or not good enough, what needs to be solved, and what the potential benefits will be. , see how dr. posen and dr. malings explained the importance of their studies..

• Carl Malings Defense Slides with Notes
• I. Daniel Posen Defense Slides with Notes

2. Emphasize YOUR contribution 

Having a ph.d. means that you have made some novel contributions to the grand field. this is about you and your research. you need to keep emphasizing your contributions throughout your presentation. after talking about what needs to be solved, try to focus on emphasizing the novelty of your work. what problems can be solved using your research outcomes what breakthroughs have you made to the field why are your methods and outcomes outstanding you need to incorporate answers to these questions in your presentation. , be clear what your contributions are in the introduction section; separate what was done by others and what was done by you. , 3. connect your projects into a whole piece of work, you might have been doing multiple projects that are not strongly connected. to figure out how to connect them into a whole piece, use visualizations such as flow charts to convince your audience. the two slides below are two examples. in the first slide, which was presented in the introduction section, the presenter used a flow diagram to show the connection between the three projects. in the second slide, the presenter used key figures and a unique color for each project to show the connection..

• Xiaoju Chen Defense Slides with Notes

4. Tell a good story 

The committee members do not necessarily have the same background knowledge as you. plus, there could be researchers from other fields and even the general public in the room. you want to make sure all of your audience can understand as much as possible. focus on the big picture rather than technical details; make sure you use simple language to explain your methods and results. your committee has read your dissertation before your defense, but others have not. , dr. cook and dr. velibeyoglu did a good job explaining their research to everyone. the introduction sessions in their presentations are well designed for this purpose. .

• Laren M. Cook Defense Slides with Notes
• Irem Velibeyoglu Defense with Notes

5. Transition, transition, transition

Use transition slides to connect projects , it's a long presentation with different research projects. you want to use some sort of transition to remind your audience what you have been talking about and what is next. you may use a slide that is designed for this purpose throughout your presentation. , below are two examples. these slides were presented after the introduction section. the presenters used the same slides and highlighted the items for project one to indicate that they were moving on to the first project. throughout the presentation, they used these slides and highlighted different sections to indicate how these projects fit into the whole dissertation. .

You can also use some other indications on your slides, but remember not to make your slides too busy.  Below are two examples. In the first example, the presenter used chapter numbers to indicate what he was talking about. In the second example, the presenter used a progress bar with keywords for each chapter as the indicator. 

Use transition sentences to connect slides 

Remember transition sentences are also important; use them to summarize what you have said and tell your audience what they will expect next. if you keep forgetting the transition sentence, write a note on your presentation. you can either write down a full sentence of what you want to say or some keywords., 6. be brief, put details in backup slides , you won't have time to explain all of the details. if your defense presentation is scheduled for 45 minutes, you can only spend around 10 minutes for each project - that's shorter than a normal research conference presentation focus on the big picture and leave details behind. you can put the details in your backup slides, so you might find them useful when your committee (and other members of the audience) ask questions regarding these details., 7. show your presentation to your advisor and colleagues, make sure to ask your advisor(s) for their comments. they might have a different view on what should be emphasized and what should be elaborated. , you also want to practice at least once in front of your colleagues. they can be your lab mates, people who work in your research group, and/or your friends. they do not have to be experts in your field. ask them to give you some feedback - their comments can be extremely helpful to improve your presentation. , below are some other tips and resources to design your defense presentation. .

• Tips for designing your defense presentation

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• Last Updated: Jan 9, 2024 11:18 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.cmu.edu/c.php?g=883178

a ranking of building 68 thesis defense posters by Abby H. '20

graphic design is our passion

May 15, 2019

• in Academics & Research

Those posters are eye-catching, professional, and seem as if they were made by someone who isn’t the person giving the talk. Except, of course, for the many posters I see advertising upcoming thesis defenses. Those posters have a kind of soul to them—they radiate heavy grad student energy. I imagine hunched over adults sitting at a computer moving text boxes around and sending things to front, grumbling about having to make one of these posters in the first place and getting frustrated when they can’t find images with transparent backgrounds. Weirdly enough, however, I’ve noticed that graphic design is something that biologists are usually pretty good at. It might be all the figures and powerpoints you have to put together. Integrated passive design education.

Here is my definitive ranking of all of the thesis defense posters I’ve seen in Building 68 in the past two weeks, from least favorite to most favorite. Strap in! ⁠ 01 I had a long back-and-forth conversation in my head about whether to censor the names on these posters. On one hand, a grad student's thesis is their baby. So much work gets put into these projects that it could be a bit alienating to separate their names from the years of work they put in. On the other hand, people on the internet can be mean. This is ultimately why I chose to black the names out. Additionally, even though I don't know any of the people behind these theses, I didn't want to make it seem like I was judging them personally by vaguely ranking them in terms of favorite-ness. I hope you understand, dear grad student (or freshly defended Doctor!) who may be reading this.

13. Synthetic Analog Feedback Control Circuits in Living Cells

12. The Assembly and Functions of microbial communities on complex substrates

11. Evolutionary Dynamics of the Human Gut Microbiome

10. Understanding Neurodegenerative Disease-Relevant Molecular Effects of Perturbagens Using a Multi-Omics Approach

9. Enzyme Structure, Function, and Evolution in Flavonoid Biosynthesis

8. BMI1: a context-dependent tumor suppressor and barrier to dedifferentiation in lung adenocarcinoma

7. Biosynthesis and medicinal chemistry of therapeutically promising plant natural products

6. Developing VHH-based tools to study Ebolavirus Infection

5. The evolution and specialized metabolism of beetle bioluminescence

4. Cell cycle S-phase arrest drives cell extrusion

I added this one several days after this was originally posted. But look at that Mickey Mouse anthropomorphic hunk of tissue yeeting those cells out of there. This one deserves to be up here (or I guess down, since this is descending order).

3. Identification of genotype-specific dependencies in Keap1-mutant lung adenocarcinoma

2. Understanding the dynamics of fecal transplants and the immune system to improve health

1. Promoters of Metastasis to Different Organs

Post Tagged

• #Course 7 - Biology
• I had a long back-and-forth conversation in my head about whether to censor the names on these posters. On one hand, a grad student's thesis is their baby. So much work gets put into these projects that it could be a bit alienating to separate their names from the years of work they put in. On the other hand, people on the internet can be mean. This is ultimately why I chose to black the names out. Additionally, even though I don't know any of the people behind these theses, I didn't want to make it seem like I was judging them personally by vaguely ranking them in terms of favorite-ness. I hope you understand, dear grad student (or freshly defended Doctor!) who may be reading this. ⁠ back to text ↑
• It's almost like a course 6 snuck in as a bio grad student and was like I want to study synthetic analog feedback circuits... in... umm... living cells! ⁠ back to text ↑
• multi-variable calc for the non-MIT ppl out there ⁠ back to text ↑
• The original caption for this was just going to compare the microbe-y cell to an I Spy puzzle but it is very late at night at the time of me writing this, and the worms start eating holes in my brain at night (oww). Anyway, I think microbe dating would make a pretty watchable reality show on TLC. ⁠ back to text ↑
• This is a thing that nerds who write are required to pretend to be excited about. Forgive me. ⁠ back to text ↑
• or you can call them fireflies if you're a terrible person ⁠ back to text ↑

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Additional Information

• Graduate Programs
• Doctoral Examinations (Pre-Candidacy)
• Ph.D. Sample Timeline
• Advancing to Candidacy (Ph.D.)
• Ph.D. Dissertation Defense, Exam and Filing
• Master's Degree
• Academic Standards
• Academic Calendar
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Registration Procedures

Ph.D. Dissertation and Final Examination

Ph.d. dissertation defense, exam, and filing instructions (updated september 28, 2023).

Dissertation Defense and Examination (Ph.D.)

The dissertation and defense are the culminating projects of the Ph.D. degree. The student is encouraged to discuss with members of the degree committee both the substance and the preparation of the dissertation well in advance of the planned date of dissertation defense and final examination.

The Ph.D. final defense and examination consists of an open seminar on the dissertation work followed by a closed examination by the degree committee.  During the examination, the student is expected to explain the significance of the dissertation research, justify the methods employed, and defend the conclusions reached. 

The defense consists of an open seminar by the candidate followed by questions from the audience (approximately 1 hour). The open session is followed by a closed session of the candidate and degree committee members (examination portion). The entire defense and exam may not be longer than three hours.

At the conclusion of the exam, the committee shall vote on whether both the written dissertation and the student's performance are satisfactory to earn a Ph.D. degree from the University of California.

The presentation slides from our PhD Graduation Filing & Procedures Workshop are available to download here: phd_time_to_degree_-_preparing_for_graduation.pdf

Ph.D. Dissertation Defense, Exam and Filing Procedure

• Please visit http://graduatedivision.ucmerced.edu/faculty-staff-resources/forms-publications for Ph.D./M.S. Degree Application Forms and Guidelines.
• Complete the Graduate Student Graduation Application during appropriate filing period (Fall: February 16-September 15; Spring: September 16th-February 15; Summer: September 16-June 15).  The application is available on the student portal under “MyStudentRecord.” No signatures are required.
• A defendable copy of your dissertation should be sent to your committee members at least three weeks in advance of their defense date.
• Complete Exam/Defense Date Submission webform to notify SoE Graduate Staff of your defense date. 
• Please create your defense flyer announcement and submit it   at least 2 weeks prior to your examination date. We will post your seminar announcement to the campus Event Calendar , and send out the announcement to your graduate program one (1) week prior to your examination date. Click here for available flyer templates . 
• At least one (1) week prior to your examination, you and your committee chair will receive an email with documents required to administer the examination. These documents include your current UC Merced transcripts, preliminary examination results (if applicable), Qualifying Examination Report, Approved Advancement to Candidacy Form, and the Report on Final Examination for the Ph.D. Degree Form. The committee chair will be responsible for submitting the signed Report on Final Examination for the Ph.D. Degree Form to the Graduate Staff  via email at [email protected] within 48 hours of the completed examination.
• Your signature page will need to be submitted to the Graduate Division.  Please see information below regarding acceptable approvals/signatures. Submit signature page to [email protected] along with acceptable approvals.
• Make any corrections/edits to final dissertation.
• Upload to UC Merced Proquest website by deadline (please refer to  http://graduatedivision.ucmerced.edu/current-students/calendar-and-deadlines )
• Submit dissertation signature page by deadline (please refer to  http://graduatedivision.ucmerced.edu/current-students/calendar-and-deadlines ). Please review information below on acceptable signature/approvals for all forms. You must submit to [email protected] for processing.

Graduate Division Acceptable Approvals/Signatures

1. Adobe Signature - Adobe signature with a scanned image of a wet signature. Please see Adobe's Quick Start Guide, step 4.c .

2. UC Merced Email - Forms should be completed online and forwarded as an email attachment to the appropriate persons for approval. Signers should indicate, "I approve" or "I do not approve" and add any notes they wish in the body of the email, and then forward it (with form attached) to the next person for approval via UCM email. The email approvals should be submitted through a single email trail. The final person to approve/disapprove should forward the form and email trail to [email protected] , with a copy to the school's graduate coordinator ( [email protected] ).

3. Wet Signature/Copy of Wet Signature - Traditional original ink signature on paper.

Please note: Forms submitted to Graduate Division without acceptable approvals/signatures will be considered incomplete and will NOT be processed.  Forms must be emailed to [email protected] . When a form is processed the student will receive an email notification to their UCM email account.

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Cool and Simple Thesis Defense Program Brochure

It seems that you like this template, cool and simple thesis defense program brochure presentation, free google slides theme, powerpoint template, and canva presentation template.

A thesis involves months (and even years) of investigation, so in order for your audience to fully understand your defence, we recommend giving them a printed guide. With this brochure you can give them the basic points and data so that they never loose track of your research, it is completely editable and will also catch their attention, since its modern and cool design, in combination with a minimal approach when it comes to the fonts, appeals to the eyes. Download and edit it now and start preparing your defense!

Features of this template

• 100% editable and easy to modify
• 6 different slides to impress your audience
• Contains easy-to-edit graphics such as graphs, maps, tables, timelines and mockups
• Includes 500+ icons and Flaticon’s extension for customizing your slides
• Designed to be used in Google Slides, Canva, and Microsoft PowerPoint
• A4 format optimized for printing
• Includes information about fonts, colors, and credits of the free resources used

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