Protocol for thesis vivas

A thesis viva is a public event that is carried out face to face. Information about the viva is published on the Doctorate website.

The procedure for a viva is as follows:

The person acting as Secretary of the viva panel should inform the University of the Basque Country Postgraduate Commission of the date, place and time of the viva at least three days in advance.

This notification should be carried out using the existing template. Once the form has been completed and signed, it should be sent to the following address: doctorado@ehu.eus.

The forms that need to be filled in during the viva are as follows (all these documents are available on the same website as that indicated in the previous paragraph):

• Final report by each member of the viva panel
• Cum Laude voting slip (only when all members agree to award a distinction)
• Extraordinary Doctoral Award voting slip (only when all members agree to award a distinction)
• Graduation certificate
• Agreement for publishing the doctoral thesis in the University of the Basque Country’s institutional repository (ADDI)

The panel shall award the thesis one of the following grades: DISTINCTION, MERIT, PASS or FAIL. The graduation certificate should be completed and signed by all members of the viva panel, as well as by the candidate him or herself. This document should feature the language in which the viva was held and the grade awarded. In the event of there being more than one language, the percentage of the thesis defended in each should be specified.

Each member of the panel must complete and sign a final thesis assessment report.

Moreover, if the thesis is awarded a UNANIMOUS DISTINCTION, the panel members shall then hold a secret vote to determine whether, in their opinion, it merits a CUM LAUDE distinction. Subsequently, the panel shall also decide, by the same means, whether the student should be proposed as a candidate for the EXTRAORDINARY DOCTORATE PRIZE. For the purposes of this vote, the person acting as Secretary shall provide each member of the viva panel with the corresponding voting slips and envelopes. The panel members must tick the corresponding YES or NO box on each of the voting slips, place them inside the corresponding envelopes and seal them. These envelopes shall be delivered to the person acting as Secretary, who should sign each one on the rear flap and send them, still sealed, to the University of the Basque Country Postgraduate Studies Service for counting, along with the rest of the viva documents: graduate certificate, final report by each member of the viva panel and publication authorisation (ADDI).

The vote must be unanimously in favour of the Cum Laude distinction in order for this honour to be bestowed. The same is true of the proposal of the student as a candidate for the Extraordinary Award.

Documents should be sent to the Postgraduate Studies Service by one of the following means:

• Internal mail or conventional post, to the following address:
  Postgraduate Studies Service
  Edificio Aulario ll
  Barrio Sarriena s/n
  48940 Leioa
• Delivered in person to the aforementioned address.
• By e-mail to doctorado@ehu.eus. In this case, each member of the viva panel should send the documents for the CUM LAUDE and EXTRAORDINARY PRIZE votes separately in order to maintain the secret nature of the ballot.

In accordance with article 21 of the Doctorate Teaching Management Rules, ‘in duly justified situations, the University of the Basque Country Postgraduate Commission may authorise the non-face to face participation of a member of the viva panel, through a video conference. In such a case, the viva should be held in accordance with the procedure outlined by said Commission.’ Requests for non-face to face participation should be submitted by the person acting as Secretary of the viva panel or, in the event that such a person has not yet been designated, by the Thesis Supervisor, to doctorado@ehu.eus, along with the documents that justify it, and will require the express authorisation of the Postgraduate Commission.

Attendance

3 member examination panels

* Under no circumstances may the established attendance limit for face-to-face vivas be exceeded.

5 member examination panels

Under no circumstances may the established attendance limit for face-to-face vivas be exceeded.