Home » How Can You Prepare For Dissertation Defense? Best Tips For Ph.D. Students

How Can You Prepare For Dissertation Defense? Best Tips For Ph.D. Students

by Uneeb Khan

The dissertation defense is a scary event in the life of a Ph.D. scholar. How to prepare for the dissertation defense is the question that majority of students start asking even at the time they have admission acceptance letter in their hands. Hope so, you are reading this article to solve a similar query. Though it is not necessary that only the final year students start thinking about the defense, you can start search the ways to get ready for defense from the very first day. This article will share some top tips for dissertation defense preparation for all Ph.D. students, irrespective of their phase of a doctorate degree program.

What is a Ph.D. dissertation defense?

In simple words, dissertation defense is a short presentation arranged by the academic professional to explore the scholar’s level of understanding about research process. In this meeting, the university’s faculty members, along with a few foreign and external supervisors, are invited, and the student is asked to present his/her research project in front of all. The panel members are usually highly qualified teachers and industry experts that have proven working experience in a particular field. These experts are invited to suggest points of improvement in the final research project.

When scholars are asked about the reason of their fear about the dissertation defense, the majority of them replied that they are afraid of the consequences if they fail answering some of the question asked by supervisor. Thinking about so many ‘ifs’ at the same time will, of course, threaten you. Thus, you must neglect them and start working on a few things to deal confidently with all research queries.

Tips for getting ready for dissertation defense:  

1. Be vigilant from the early years of your doctorate degree program:

Research is a continuous process that demands students to stay active, proficient, and vigilant. To get ready for a defense, you must start taking part in research activities. Following only your supervisor’s footsteps may help you quickly get through the process, but it makes the defense a hard nut to crack for you.

2. Never stop playing the ‘why game’ at any phase of research:

The success of a Ph.D. researcher is not driven by his IQ level; rather, it depends on the way he solves the scientific query. Thus, you must not stop asking ‘why’ questions at every second stage of research. It will help you make educated decisions by knowing the exact reasons behind the happenings of all events. If you know the reason behind each decision you made during research, you can easily answer all cross-questions and will definitely secure good grades. In case you feel any difficulty in making a right decision related to final thesis you can also seek PhD dissertation help.

3. Never depend on others at any phase of your Ph.D. dissertation research:

The moment you start balancing yourself on someone else’s shoulder, you may leave some gaps in your knowledge. These knowledge gaps are among the most common reason behind students’ nervousness on the day of defense. If you step by step upgrade your knowledge bank, you will not at all fall at any point of defense.

4. Take as much time for preparation as you want:

Unlike master’s and undergraduate dissertation defense, doctorate students are allowed to set their own date of defense. Thus, you do not need to rush at any step of the research and dissertation; instead you must work on all minor details before finalising the dissertation and asking for defense date.

5. Present your dissertation in front of eight different types of audiences before the final defense:

Practice makes a man perfect is true in this as well. To gain confidence and avoid all possible mistakes from your presentation you must arrange a small gathering on your own to present your thesis. Eight is a right number as after presenting a single presentation in front of different people, at least eight time, you will be fluent enough to impress the university panel. Moreover, to arrange such gathering you can send people invitations on Whatsapp and Zoom. It is better to use the social media power for arranging mock dissertation defense.

Final Thoughts:

The moments you think that no one can knock out as you are getting ready of a task from the very first day, you can definitely overcome all defense fears. However, your confidence on defense day is a most common thing that you must strive for gaining a doctorate degree. Additionally, the more you effort on the visual aids like presentation and communication skills, the more easily you can pass through this phase of academics. 

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