The Final Act: Defending Your Thesis with Panache

Abstract

The day has arrived and you are almost ready for the final act. You have completed your magnum opus, submitted it to your thesis committee, and received permission to move onto the next and final step: defending your doctoral thesis. Whether you like it or not, it is show time. You may have been working towards this day for several years, but defending your thesis will require a different set of skills than you are used to using for your regular research and writing activities. The prospect of this ‘oral exam’ may seem extremely daunting (not to mention frightening) to you at this time, and you may be wishing you had already passed through the whole thing and were holding your coveted degree in your hands. However, if you think of your thesis defence as a rite of passage, a necessary test of knowledge and competence, and the final challenge that you must undergo before you reach your final goal, it will not seem all that insurmountable.

The aim of science is not to open the door to infinite wisdom, but to set a limit to infinite error.

– Bertolt Brecht