The Defense

So, you may have heard that I'm finishing my PhD. This entails doing a huge research project (taking somewhere upwards of 4 or 5 years), then writing it up as a dissertation and defending it. The last big hurdle for me is coming up on Tuesday: The Defense.

Some of you might not know exactly what a PhD defense consists of, so I figure I'll give you a brief explanation. The actual process may vary in different departments/fields, but this is how it is in mine. This may be particularly helpful to those of you that are planning to show up at mine. :)

First off, the defense is in two parts: (1) the public talk; and (2) the closed door.

(1) The Public Talk. This is the first part. I give a talk (using power point) about the research that went into my thesis, explaining to everyone what I did, why it's important, and what the major results were. This tends to last about an hour: 50 minutes of me talking and 10 minutes at the end for questions from the audience. Although in my department, the environment for giving talks is somewhat casual, and questions can be asked at any point by someone in the audience. Many people from the department tend to show up to listen to these things, as everyone is always interested in seeing your last, big talk. (A person's defense is a pretty big deal.) Attending is also a way to show support of the upcoming graduate. Everyone listens to you until you're done and then they clap for you at the end. Then they leave to go about their own business.

(2) The Closed Door. (This is the part that is really scary.) This usually happens right after the public talk. In order for me to pass and graduate, my dissertation has to get the approval of the six people on my committee. These include my adviser, co-adviser, and four other people I chose sometime after my second year of graduate school. (One of them is a professor at the University of Florida, and he'll be joining the defense via video conferencing.) The Closed Door session is private and is just me and my committee. They will (hypothetically) have read my thesis prior to the defense, and come prepared to (basically) grill me about it. They can ask me anything they want. (From my thesis or about anything in astronomy in general, though I hear they generally stick to your research.) This part typically lasts 1-2 hours. Once the grilling is over, I will be asked to leave the room while they talk amongst themselves and decide if the dissertation and my performance at the defense (i.e., my talk and my ability to answer their questions) were sufficient for the bestowal of a PhD. (i.e., if I pass or fail, if I graduate or not.) Once they've reached their decision, they call me back in and tell me what they've decided.*

Once the defense is over, they each give me a list of revisions for my thesis. This can be anything ranging from typos to things of more substance (like "explain this point better" or something). If there are no substantial revisions required, I take their suggestions, incorporate them, then turn my completed dissertation into the University, and they let me graduate. (But not without mountains of paperwork first, of course.) The deadline for all of this to be finished is August 14. I hope to be done well before that.

I think that's all. Anyway, thanks again to everyone for your support and prayers. I've really been feeling them buoy me up in the last six weeks. It's been a story for the ages, that's for sure. I can't wait for it to be over.




* The good news is, I've never heard of anyone failing their defense. People say things like, "Your adviser won't let you defend unless he thinks you'll pass." This is sort of comforting, but this doesn't take all of the pressure off, because you still must perform well.