Culture at your school for PhD defenses

[comp12]

Hi all!

 

Just wondering what is the departmental culture like at your school when it comes to attending other's PhD defenses?

 

Of course, they are are listed publicly, but do only friends/invitees show up? Do everyone in the department show up? Do nobody ever show up?

 

How much is the result reflective of a large vs. small department, and how much is it the effect of overall departmental culture?

 

Cheers!

[biotechie]

We have a small Cell Biology department, 12-15 students. When one of us defends, our department plus Biochem, Micro, Chem, and Plant Bio usually shows up, even though we're mammalian molecular bio based... so you're talking 50-200 students and faculty depending on summer or during the semester. Most of us don't have friends or family come; since my friends are mostly outside my field and think it is another language, they won't be there. Plus the defenses are notorious for being followed with brutal Q & A sessions.

[fuzzylogician]

A public portion of the defense is optional in my department. If someone chooses to have a public defense (I'd say less than half of the students per cohort do so) they will send an email announcement to the whole department and then everyone who is in town usually attends, so probably 30-40 students and faculty. The defense consists of a 1-hour lecture followed by a Q&A from the general audience about the presentation, followed by a private Q&A about the whole dissertation attended only by the student and the committee, followed by champaign and a celebration. It's not customary to invite friends or family members to the defense, except to that last part

[TakeruK]

At my current school, the department administrator announces all PhD defenses to the entire division. There are two parts: first a one-hour public lecture given by the PhD candidate. This is usually given at the level so that a non-specialist* can understand it. All terms are defined and all the work is motivated and justified.

 

(*Note: When I say "non-specialist", I mean someone who is familiar with scientific methods but does not study that particular problem. For example, our division contains geologists, geophysicists, geobiologists, as well as planetary scientists. I would say that the lectures are given at a level that a first year graduate student in any of these specialties should be able to fully understand it.)

 

The one hour lecture is followed by simple questions from the audience. The audience typically consists of the student's family, friends, and generally the rest of the students in the same option, and of course, the committee. The culture is very laid back and relaxed, this part is not really the examination (but I think technically it is). For every presentation I've seen so far, there is a lengthy (~10 minute) section devoted to acknowledging the student's friends, family, supervisors and everyone else important to the student. There is often many fun pictures of the student's advisor and committee members doing things like falling asleep in their offices or making silly faces. In one case, the advisor preempted this by having a slide with an "incriminating" picture of the student on the screen as the advisor introduced the student to the audience.

 

After this part is over, the committee and student move to a private conference room for the examination to actually happen. This is where the tough questions will happen! After about 60-90 minutes of that, there is celebrations with friends, family, other profs in the department involving cake and champagne, usually. 

Edited June 12, 2013 by TakeruK

[Eigen]

TakeruK's department seems very similar to mine. 

 

All of the grad students try to go to any defense, and the defenses are usually given such that any grad student in the department should be able to follow most of them. 

 

Rarely do family come, outside of spouses/significant others. 

 

Following the general presentation and questions, they committee grills the candidate, usually as much on the dissertation as the presentation. I've seen some last 3-4 hours. 

 

Then there's champagne, and we take the new doctor out for a long night on the town.