Graduation procedure
Details in the procedure may vary between committee chairs. Here is mine:
Kick-off meeting
- The student sends the research proposal 1 week in advance to the committee.
- The student prepares a 10/15-minute presentation.
- Q & A with the committee.
- The committee assess the research proposal & presentation in terms of feasibility, scientific contribution and fit to your MSc programme’s objectives.
- If the committee approves the proposal, the committee chair approves kick-off in MyCase; SPA checks if all requirements are met. If so, then the student can formally start the thesis.
Mid-term meeting
- The student prepares a 10/15-minute presentation, usually containing the progress, first/preliminary results, and the planning ahead.
- The student prepares the agenda. What are the important topics you want to discuss and have the opinions of your committee on?
- It is recommended (but not obligatory) to send the committee members already the “finished” chapters of your thesis (typically, these are the intro and literature review). Do not send everything you have written (i.e. unfinished chapters). If you send a document, please let the committee know what sort of feedback you would like to receive.
- No forms need to be filled in or submitted.
Greenlight meeting
- The student sends the full thesis at least 1 week in advance. Note that the thesis must be complete, including an executive summary, references, etc. Only the preface can be missing.
- The student does not prepare a presentation.
- Each committee member provides his/her assessment of the thesis (i.e. he or she assesses whether the thesis is good enough to defend or not). Each committee member provides input to improve the thesis further. The committee chair makes the final call on whether to go ahead with the defence or whether revisions are needed (and a new GL meeting must be scheduled).
- If the committee gives a Go, then the chair needs to approve the GL in MyCase. Note that the minimum time between GL and defence is 3.5 weeks.
Defence COSEM/EPA
- The graduation committee meets - without you - in a separate room (my room) 15 minutes before the start of the public part. We coordinate questions and determine the range of grades to be awarded.
- We will enter the hall a few minutes before the start of the public part.
- You have exactly 20 minutes to present your work. The challenge is to keep everything reasonably understandable, but certainly not to make it too easy. The family likes to see ‘complicated things’ happening at TU Delft (and that is true), so don’t oversimplify.
- Then, the audience will have 15 minutes for a Q&A.
- Then, the committee will have 10 minutes for a Q&A.
- Around 45 minutes after the start, the committee leaves the room to determine your grade (5 minutes).
- When the committee gets back, you will receive a grade (if you want this to be made public), plus a word from the daily supervisor, plus a diploma, photo, etc. (10 minutes).
- If everything goes according to plan, we will finish one hour after the start of the public part.
Defence TIL
- Closed-door defence.
- Q&A committee and student (30 minutes).
- Committee discussion about the closed-door defence (the student has left the room and is getting ready for the public defence) (15 minutes).
- Public defence (30 minutes in total):
- The student presents his thesis (15 minutes).
- The committee adjourns outside the hall to determine the final grade (5 minutes).
- When the committee gets back, you will receive a grade (if you want this), plus a word from the daily supervisor, plus a diploma, photo, etc. (10 minutes).
- The committee chair fills in the final assessment form and sends it to SPA.
The student is responsible for reserving the meeting locations, with TU Delft as the default location. In-person meetings are preferred, although online attendance can be arranged when needed. For external supervisors, joining online is often the most practical option. The final defence, however, takes place in person at TU Delft (audience may join online).
If you have further questions about the procedures, feel free to drop me an email. Good luck!