After the internal and the external examiners have approved your thesis, a final oral defense examination is held on the subject of the dissertation and subjects intimately related to it.
You will be contacted by the Student Affairs Coordinator to arrange a date and time. It may take several weeks to coordinate a date and time when all participants will be available, so plan accordingly.
The Oral Defense is conducted in the presence of a Committee of at least five members approved by GPS, presided over by a Pro-Dean, nominated by GPS. The GPD and the candidate’s Thesis Supervisor are regularly invited to be members of this Committee; at least one member of the Committee is appointed from inside McGill but outside the Institute.
The oral defense usually takes place in the Octagon Room in the Islamic Studies Library. It lasts approximately 2 hours. You will present your thesis for the first 20 minutes followed by a question and answer period. Once you are done, you will be asked to leave the room while the Committee deliberates. They will then give you the result of your Oral Defense.
All editorial corrections and changes required by the examiners and the Oral Examination Committee should be made by the candidate to the satisfaction of the Thesis Supervisor and the Thesis Office before the PhD Degree can be conferred.
For detailed information, please see the GPS’ website on Oral Defenses.