Videodefense

Can a thesis defense be carried out under exceptional circumstances?

A special Instruction was approved to that effect by the Dean of the Doctoral School. Based on said instruction, the Director of each PhD Program will assess the timeliness and convenience of a videoconference, taking into consideration the position and availability of all parties involved.

What are the requirements for a videodefense?

1. That the members of the Committee have declared their availability to carry out the defense by this means of communication.
2. That the members of the Committee and the doctoral student have stated that they have sufficient technical equipment to participate in the evaluation process.
3. That the members of the Committee have stated that they understand the functioning of the computer application for the secret vote of the possible Cum Laude distinction.
4. That some member of the Committee [or, failing that, a thesis advisor, a tutor, a member of the ACPP or any other member of the program's faculty] has verified the identity of the doctoral student prior to the start of the defense. If this verification of the doctoral student’s identity is not carried out by any member of the Committee, whoever performs it must previously declare that they have sufficient means to participate in the videoconference.
5. That the technical person responsible for conducting the videoconference has declared that the secret deliberations of the members of the Committee are guaranteed.

How to request a videodefense?

The Academic Committee of the PhD Program will submit their application, which must be authorized by the Dean of the Doctoral School.

What is the procedure to follow during the organization of the videodefense?

The administrative manager of the PhD Program will contact all parties involved in the defense to ensure that they have sufficient technical means and will set an appointment in advance to do some tests. 

Then the manager will set a day and time that is convenient for all parties.

The act will be recorded for quality assurance purposes, except for the deliberation, which will take place in a private virtual session. All participants will be informed of this. 

Once the act has been finished, the Secretary of the Committee will issue and submit electronically the grade report (acta), the cum laude distinction report, if applicable, and the vote pertaining to the thesis eligibility for the Outstanding Thesis Award. The members of the Committee will be provided with anonymous survey tools for this purpose.

The President of the Committee will announce in open session the result of their evaluation.