By no later than six months before the planned defence of the doctoral thesis, the PhD student and supervisors must make decisions concerning the timetable, requirements, processes, etc. of the examination. This plan must be approved by the Director of Studies for third-cycle studies in Informatics – please see the checklist for defence of doctaral thesis.
Notification of the public defence
The doctoral thesis must be defended at a public seminar that is held within normal working hours during term time (spring or autumn term).
Written notification of the public defence (form 5:5) must be submitted by the main supervisor to the Director of PhD Studies by no later than three months before the preliminary date of the public defence.
Instructions concerning the public defence are available in Appendix 2 of the Guidelines for examinations in third-cycle studies.
Nailing and publication in DiVA
By no later than three weeks prior to the public defence, the thesis must be made available to the public. The purpose of this is so that members of the public shall have the opportunity to read the thesis in advance in order to be able to ask questions at the public defence.
The time and location of the public defence, the PhD student’s name, the title and a summary of the thesis, and the name of the opponent will be made available on the University’s website (electronic nailing).
The printed thesis shall be made available at the University by no later than three weeks before the public defence. The Coordinator of PhD Studies at the Academic Affairs and Student Support Office is responsible for ensuring that the thesis is distributed within and beyond the University.
By no later than three weeks before the public defence, the thesis shall also be published electronically in the University’s database of publications, DiVA (Digitala Vetenskapliga Arkivet).
For more detailed information, please refer to the instructions for the production and distribution of licentiate and doctoral theses and for publishing in DiVA.
Nailing ceremony in the University library
Nailing is a traditional academic ritual performed in conjunction with the presentation of a licentiate or doctoral thesis, and is not compulsory. By no later than three weeks before the public defence, the PhD student may nail up their thesis on a notice board located inside the entrance to the library. Nails, string and a hammer are provided in the library. The PhD student must provide their own copy of the thesis to be nailed up at the ceremony. The thesis may then be left on display until after the public defence, when the PhD student may remove their own nailed copy. It is fine if a student wishes to arrange a small gathering in conjunction with the nailing ceremony. To register a nailing ceremony, please contact the Coordinator of PhD Studies: forskarutbildning@his.se.
Public defence – examination of thesis work
The written thesis must be defended at a public seminar. The seminar is led by a chairperson who is active at the school within which the thesis was written.
A description of how a public defence at the University of Skövde is to be conducted is available in Appendix 3 of the
Guidelines for examinations in third-cycle studies.
Follow the links to find out more information about the competence requirements, roles and division of responsibility for the external reviewer (sw. opponent), examininge committee and the chair, or for Tasks and Division of Responsibilities in Connection with Defence of Doctoral Thesis at the University of Skövde.
Applying for degree certificate
Following the successful completion of the third-cycle studies/PhD education, the PhD student must apply to have the degree awarded. This is done using form 4:6 – Application for certification of doctoral degree/licentiate degree.