Public examination of the doctoral dissertation, Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies

Decision on the opponent, custos and date of the public defence

Begin by agreeing on the date of your public defence together with your supervisor and the proposed opponent. Once the date has been agreed, your head of department and principal supervisor will propose the opponent and submit their contact details to [email protected].

The vice dean will appoint at least one opponent for your public defence. The following requirements apply to the opponent:

• They must be outside the University of Eastern Finland.
• They must hold at least the title of docent or equivalent academic qualifications
(Education Regulations, Section 36).

If the opponent does not hold the title of docent, the vice dean will assess their qualifications based on their CV and list of publications.

The vice dean will also appoint a custos to represent the university at the public defence (Education Regulations, Section 36). The custos must be:

• a person employed by the University of Eastern Finland who holds at least the title of docent, or
• a professor with an emerita/emeritus agreement.

In most cases, your principal supervisor serves as the custos.

The faculty administration will prepare the vice dean’s decision and send it with instructions to you, the custos, and the opponent.

Please note that the public defence must be held on the Joensuu or Kuopio campus. The vice dean may grant an exception to this requirement for a justified reason.

Further information

Maija Nyman
Salla Lappalainen

Dress code

At the public defence, the doctoral candidate, the custos, and the opponent wear a tailcoat with a dark waistcoat (or a formal uniform without decorations) or a dark suit. The dress code is determined by the doctoral candidate. The custos and the opponent carry their doctoral hat in hand when entering and leaving the hall. During the defence, the hat is placed on the table with the lyre facing the audience.

Procedure for the public defence

The public defence begins at a quarter past the hour, by which time the audience will have taken their seats. The parties enter the hall in the following order: first the doctoral candidate, then the custos, and finally the opponent. The audience stands as the parties enter the hall.

The public defence consists of the following parts: 1. Opening, 2. Lectio praecursoria, 3. The opponent’s introductory review, 4. Examination of the dissertation, 5. The opponent’s closing statement, 6. The doctoral candidate’s closing words, and 7. Closing of the defence.

1. Opening of the public defence. Once everyone has taken their places (the doctoral candidate stands to the left of the custos), the custos opens the public defence by stating: “As the custos appointed by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies of the University of Eastern Finland, I declare the public defence of [title and name of the doctoral candidate] open.” The custos and the opponent then take their seats.
2. Lectio praecursoria (opening presentation). After the opening, the doctoral candidate delivers a brief opening presentation – the lectio praecursoria – while standing. In the lectio, the candidate outlines the background of their research and its connections to academic or practical issues. The lectio may last no longer than 20 minutes. The presentation begins with the words: “Honoured custos, honoured opponent, distinguished audience.” The lectio is usually delivered in the same language as the defence. If the lectio is in a different language from the defence, the doctoral candidate must, if necessary, provide the opponent with a translation of the lectio. After the lectio, the doctoral candidate states: “I respectfully request you, honoured Professor/Docent/Doctor, as the opponent appointed by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies, to present the criticisms you consider my dissertation warrants.”
3. The opponent’s introductory review. The opponent delivers a brief introductory review of the dissertation while standing. At the end of the review, the opponent announces that they will proceed to a detailed examination of the dissertation. After the opponent’s review, both the opponent and the doctoral candidate take their seats. If there is more than one opponent, they must agree on the division of responsibilities and announce this during their introductory review.
4. Examination of the dissertation. During the examination, the opponent first addresses general questions such as the choice of research topic, methods, and data, and then proceeds to a detailed examination. At the end of the examination, the opponent must present a summary assessing the significance of the dissertation’s findings in the field. The examination may last no longer than approximately four (4) hours, to allow sufficient time for any additional opponents. If the examination takes a considerable amount of time, a break may be held, which the custos will announce.
5. The opponent’s closing statement. After completing the examination, the opponent delivers a closing statement while standing, and the doctoral candidate listens while standing. At the end of the closing statement, the opponent states whether they recommend the dissertation to be accepted. The opponent then takes their seat.
6. The doctoral candidate’s closing words. The doctoral candidate thanks the opponent and, turning to the audience, states: “I now respectfully ask any members of the audience who wish to raise questions or comments regarding my dissertation to request the floor from the honoured custos.”
7. Closing of the public defence. The custos closes the public defence by rising and stating: “The public defence has concluded.” The public defence may last no longer than six (6) hours.

The parties leave the hall in the following order: first the opponent, then the custos, and finally the doctoral candidate.

The audience does not applaud or otherwise show approval during the defence. Congratulations are reserved for the moment when the doctoral candidate has left the hall and has had the opportunity to thank the opponent and the custos.

After the public defence, a post-defence coffee reception is held.

If the public defence is held remotely, the same protocol applies as in a regular defence. The parts of the defence that are normally delivered standing may be delivered while seated in a remote defence. If the parts are delivered standing, it is important to check in advance that the speaker is visible on camera and that the audio is picked up by the microphone.