Defending your thesis

Key things to know before defending your thesis

In order to defend your thesis, you must be enrolled at the Université Grenoble Alpes during the academic year of your defense and have completed 120 hours of training courses. An academic year runs from September 1st to August 31st of the following year.

The jury and the external referees are appointed by the thesis supervisor. The composition of the jury is validated by the President of the UGA on the advice of the doctoral school dean. The candidate must provide a copy of his/her thesis to each member of the jury as well as to the external referees.

Permission to defend is granted by the President of the university on the advice of the doctoral school dean and in view of the two pre-reports giving a favorable opinion.

PhD student defenses scheduled between September 1 and December 31 of the following year will be registered for the year before. In this case, PhD students do not re-enroll and are not required to undergo the CSI (Individual follow-up committee) interview during this period.

Defense procedure

 At least 10 weeks before the defense, the doctoral student must submit a declaration of defense via his/her ADUM account. Please take into account the summer closure period (last week of July and first 3 weeks of August). You'll find the detailed procedure and a tutorial in the box below.
You can also download a few tips for preparing your manuscript below.
Finally, a "defense kit" is available in your account.
 

After the thesis defense

The thesis supervisor must return the completed and signed thesis defense record to the Doctoral College Registrar's Office. The final defense report, signed by all the members of the jury, is also sent to the Registrar's Office.

For rules on jury composition and more rules and recommendations, see the "Juries and thesis defenses" document at the bottom of this page.
Published on  July 20, 2022
Updated on June 21, 2024