11. Defence and Evaluation of the PhD thesis
The act of defending the thesis will be called by the Chairman and communicated to the members of the panel of experts, with sufficient notice, by the secretary.
Once the act has been called, the Chairman of the panel will establish the substitute members of the panel. If on the day decided for the defence and public presentation of the thesis any of the members of the panel of experts do not arrive, one of the substitutes will take his or her place. If this is not possible, the Chairman will decide whether to continue with the defence or not, having consulted the remaining members of the panel and the Chairman of the PhD Commission. In order to continue with the defence it will be necessary to have a minimum of four members of the panel and that the requirements for the maximum number of members of the University itself are complied with. Should it be decided to suspend the defence, another day will be will be established in agreement with the rest of the members of the panel and the PhD student. The change must be communicated to the Chairman of the PhD Commission of the UPM.
The defence will take place in public session and will consist of the presentation by the PhD student of the work carried out, the methodology, the content and the conclusions, with special emphasis on original contributions.
The members of the panel of experts must express their opinion and ask the PhD student as many questions as deemed necessary. Those PhD graduates present at the public presentations may also ask the PhD student questions at the moment and in the way indicated by the Chairman of the Panel.
On finishing the defence and discussion of the thesis, each member of the panel of experts will draw up a written evaluation of it.
The panel will then award an overall evaluation of the thesis under one of the following categories: “no apto” (unsuitable), “aprobado” (pass), “notable” (Excellent) and “sobresaliente” (outstanding). The panel can also award the title of “cum laude”, if the overall qualification is outstanding and is unanimously awarded.
Once the PhD thesis is approved, the university will keep a copy in its archive and send on to the Ministry of Science and Innovation the corresponding thesis file as established under law. The PhD Degree will not be awarded if the aforementioned file has not been completed correctly.