Preparing for Oral Defense
By Nicole Baker
Introduction
The oral defense is one of the last steps of your dissertation journey. The oral defense happens at the end of Phase 5 after you have obtained approval on your dissertation Chapters 1 through 5. It is not only a time of celebration, but also an important milestone needed to earn your doctoral degree. During the oral defense, you will be expected to share your research findings.
How should I best prepare for my oral defense?
Practice! Practice! Practice! Doctoral candidates should first prepare their presentation for the defense. Students can find resources for the oral defense on CDS Central under Dissertation Journey and then Phase 5. Students can also reference the Chapter 5 and Oral Defense resources document. Doctoral candidates will find an oral defense template, recordings of a real oral defense, and a recorded webinar that shares more of what to expect and how to prepare.
Once doctoral candidates have their slides prepared, they should practice several times. We recommend having a few practice sessions by yourself where you time yourself to make sure you fit within the time frame of 20-25 minutes. Once you have practiced and fit within the time frame, reach out to your Chair, who may have additional support and guidance for you.
What presentation guidelines should I follow?
Doctoral candidates should prepare for the oral defense like you would any other professional organization. Appropriate dress, tone, inflection, and presentation energy are required. Doctoral candidates should present in an area free from distraction. Doctoral candidates should be experts of their own study and should speak with confidence. Committee members want to hear your voice. We do not want to hear doctoral candidates reading the slides. A good guideline is to follow the 7x7 PowerPoint rule. Use no more than seven bullets per slide and no more than seven words per bullet. The presentation should include bulleted phrases on the slides, rather than entire sentences, with the exception of the research questions and hypothesis.
What should I expect the day of the defense?
Doctoral candidates should log into the meeting ten minutes ahead of time to make sure everything is working. The committee members will log on. The session will be recorded. Doctoral candidates will start their presentation and will have 20-25 minutes of uninterrupted time to present research findings. Following the presentation, the floor will be open for a 10-15 minute question and answer session. Doctoral candidates should be ready to defend the choices made for research. Some common questions are: Why did you select the research design you chose? What would you change if you were to conduct the research again? What surprised you? What do you hope to do with your research now that you have your results and findings? Committee members will also ask any clarifying questions about the research.
After the Q&A session, any family members or friends who called in will be asked to log off. The Doctoral Candidate will be asked to leave the room, either by logging off, or going into a breakout room. The committee members will convene to determine if the doctoral candidate met the requirements to pass the oral defense. The Doctoral Candidate will be called back into the session once committee members have come to a consensus.
If students do not pass the defense, first, deep breaths. The committee will review with the candidate where improvement is needed. The doctoral candidate will be given the opportunity to present the oral defense again at a later date, once all revisions and changes have been made.
If the doctoral candidate passes the defense, congratulations are in order! This is a moment of great relief and celebration! Tears are often shed by both doctoral candidates and committee members! Even when doctoral candidates pass the defense, there are often revisions that still need to be made either to the defense presentation or the dissertation itself. Students should expect to make any final revisions after the defense. Once revisions have been made, doctoral candidates will work with Dissertation Services team for final preparations and signatures. If students do not pass the defense, first, deep breaths. The committee will review with the candidate where improvement is needed. The doctoral candidate will be given the opportunity to present the oral defense again at a later date, once all revisions and changes have been made.
Preparing for your oral defense is an exciting part of the journey and with good preparation, you will be one step closer to calling yourself DOCTOR.
General Resources
· Find resources and previously recorded webinars on the Dissertation Chapter Resources document
· Explore the Research Hub
· Join the Research Methodology Group (RMG) in Teams.
Dr. Nicole Baker
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Nicole Baker has been with the University of Phoenix since 2007 as a faculty member and part of the leadership team. Currently, Dr. Baker serves in the role of Doctoral Area Chair for Resources and Support, as well as University Research Methodologist. Dr. Baker obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education from Northern Illinois University, Master's Degree in Leadership from Concordia University, and Doctorate Degree in Education from Olivet Nazarene University. Dr. Baker has been in the education field for over 25 years, spending her early career teaching elementary and middle school and then moved into higher education, teaching those who want to be teachers. Dr. Baker resides in Northwest Indiana with her husband and four children.