Doctoral students must defend their theses in a closed final oral examination, after their supervisory committee has deemed it ready to go forward. The thesis is reviewed by an external appraiser from another university/institution, and this individual provides the student and committee with a thoughtful critique of the thesis prior to the defence.
The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) oversees the doctoral defence process. On average, a doctoral defence runs just under two hours, and students usually present their research in a 20 minute presentation at the start of the exam, and are then questioned by the committee. Students are sent out for the voting process, and are invited back into the room to learn the result:
Exam practices vary for masters students, and are overseen by individual units and/or faculties; consult your Graduate Handbook for the practice in your unit.
The following are some common masters defence scenarios:
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