The Ph.D. viva - defense procedures
The authorization to submit a thesis for viva voce defense is granted by the President of the University, upon the advice of the Director of the Doctoral School, and upon submission by the Thesis Supervisor.
Procedure deadlines calendar:
- V -2 months before the Viva (V) date, the names of the thesis referees or “rapporteurs” must be submitted to the Doctoral School:
- V -1 month before the viva date: deadline for reports from the thesis referees and submission of the names of the panel of jury members
- V -1 month before the viva date, Depositing a copy of your thesis in digital format and thesis dissemination contracts:
http://bibliotheques.univ-pau.fr/fr/services/votre-these.html - Viva date = +2 weeks: the thesis paper in digital format along with 2 dissemination contracts, must be deposited with the Service Commun de Documentation (SCD) (or Archives office) if the jury have not requested corrections
- V +3 months : in the case of the jury requesting corrections, the thesis shall be deposited with the SCD no later than 3 months after the viva date.
- June of Viva year +1, conferral of doctorate award or delivery of Ph.D.diploma to the graduate on condition that the thesis has been properly deposited with the SCD (Archives Office).
Official forms to be handed in to the Doctoral School by the Thesis Supervisor:
- Course attendance form
- Thesis referee reports
- Submission form for Jury panel members
- Resumé of the thesis (Name of doctoral student, title of thesis, research centre hosting the student)
- Depositing a copy of your thesis in digital format and thesis dissemination contracts
Official forms to be handed in to the Doctoral School by the PhD student:
- Course attendance form
- Resumé of the thesis (Name of doctoral student, title of thesis, research centre hosting the student)
- Depositing a copy of your thesis in digital format and thesis dissemination contracts
Thesis referees or "rapporteurs":
The work of the candidate is first examined by at least two thesis referees or “rapporteurs” who are appointed by the President of the University as qualified persons to supervise research, upon submission by the Director of the Doctoral School and upon the advice of the Thesis Supervisor. These referees must be external to the Doctoral School and to the university itself as well as to the university in which the candidate is registered. Such referees may come from foreign institutions of Higher Education or research.These referees will be consulted for their opinion rendered in the form of a written reports on the basis of which the President of the University will decide to authorise the Ph.D. viva, upon the advice of the Director of the Doctoral School. Thesis referees’ reports will be made available to the jury and to the candidate before the viva.
Thesis referee reports:
- Thesis referee report form: names and full details of thesis referees, planned viva date and title of thesis.
- Course attendance form: properly completed with all relevant proofs attached (certificates, copies of published pages, etc.)
- Resumé of the thesis: presentation of the thesis mentioning the name of the candidate, title of the thesis and the name of the hosting research centre (in about two pages, in digital format, .doc or .rtf) preceded by a title and resumé in both French and English (10 lines per resumé).
On completion, these official forms must be addressed to the Director of the Doctoral School ED481 two months before the date planned for the viva and sent to :
Anne-Marie VENANCIO
05 59 40 81 95
edssh@univ-pau.fr
Important information for thesis referees: reports must be returned 1 month before the date planned for the viva.
Ph.D. viva defense jury:
Submission form for jury panel members. This is submitted by the Thesis Supervisor and, upon the advice of the Director of the Doctoral School, the jury is then officially appointed by the President of the University. The number of jury members will be between 3 and 8. The jury panel will be made up, for at least one half of its members, of French or foreign experts who are external to the Doctoral School and to the university in which the candidate is registered, and who have been selected on the basis of their scientific competence, subject to the terms and conditions of international co-supervision of the thesis.
At least one half of the jury must be made up of Professors or Thesis Supervisors.
The jury panel submission form must be addressed to the Director of the Doctoral School ED481 and sent to :
Anne-Marie VENANCIO
05 59 40 81 95
edssh@univ-pau.fr
1 month before the date planned for the viva.
ThePh.D. viva defense
The Ph.D. viva is held in public, except where special derogation has been granted by the President of the University if the subject of the thesis is proven to be clearly of a confidential nature.
Before the viva, a resumé of the thesis will be disseminated within the university. Following the viva, dissemination of the thesis will be ensured to reach the general university community
The jury members choose one member to be president and chair the jury and, as appropriate, a jury reporter to record the proceedings of the viva. The jury president must be a professor or equivalent or a senior lecturer of equivalent status. The thesis supervisor, if participating on the jury, may not be chosen as jury reporter nor as jury president.
In the course of its deliberations, the jury assess the quality of the candidate’s work, his or her capacity to relate such work to its proper scientific context and his or her presentation qualities.
The outcome of Pass or Fail is announced after the jury has deliberated. The jury president signs the jury viva report which is countersigned by each of the jury members. This report may specify one of the following French distinctions: “honorable”or “très honorable” (equivalent to “cum laude” and “magna cum laude”).
The viva jury report will be made available to the candidate.