Thesis defence or presentation

Finally, the time has come: your thesis is finished. You have put the last words down on paper and it is now time to defend or present your thesis. An exciting moment! Your defence or presentation often counts towards your final grade. That is why good preparation is very important. Read our tips here to ensure that you successfully defend or present your thesis.

For many hbo and university study programs, you have to defend your thesis in front of and/or present it to people. Who exactly your audience is differs per study program. In any case, your thesis supervisor and second reader will be present. Sometimes you can also invite people yourself,for example the supervisor from your internship company, proud family members, or friends.

During the defence you will answer critical questions about your research, the method used or the results. You will also present your research and findings.

There are also courses where a thesis defence is not necessary, but a research presentation is. In that case, you will not be asked any critical questions, but you will provide a brief summary of, among other things, the reason for your thesis, the research question, the research method, the results, and the conclusion.

1. Present your research

First, you will present your complete research to the public in an understandable way. You often briefly discuss the different parts of your thesis. In addition to your speech, preferably use a visual presentation, such as a PowerPoint. This will help the reader to follow your story and stay engaged while you present.

You usually present your research in the following order:

• What prompted your research (or the problem for which you were looking for a solution)?
• What is your main question?
• What are your possible sub-questions and/or hypotheses?
• What method did you use to answer your research question?
• What are the main results of your research?
• What conclusions do you draw based on those results?
• How do you interpret those results (the discussion)?
• What are your possible recommendations based on your research results?
• What are the limitations of your research? What are any suggestions for further research?
• What have you learned from writing your thesis?

Please note: not every thesis defence requires a presentation of your research. Sometimes a presentation is necessary, but you have to keep it very concise. Check with your thesis supervisor what your specific requirements are.

The presentation of your research should take, on average, about 10-20 minutes. It can be shorter or longer depending on the study program.

2. Answering critical questions

Then comes the most nerve-wracking part of your thesis defence: answering your supervisor’s and second reader’s critical questions. With these questions, they check whether you fully understand the topic and your research.

As nerve-wracking as it is, answer the questions calmly and trust that you know your thesis well enough to be able to answer it. Don't know the answer to a question? Then ask if you can come back to it later. There is nothing wrong with that!

It usually takes about 15-30 minutes to answer the questions. But,, there are also shorter defences. It differs depending on the study program.

3. The result: your grade

You and the audience must leave the room for five minutes. Your supervisor and second reader will use that time to discuss your thesis defence, and your thesis itself. When you return after a few minutes, you will receive your grade. Thus, you will immediately know whether you passed or failed.

Incidentally, there are courses where you will only be informed of the grade later, for example, a week after the defence and/or presentation. Then you have to wait in suspense for a while.

The critical questions are intended to check to what extent you have knowledge of your topic and to see whether your research is well structured or not.

The critical questions can be about the subject of your thesis, your results, or the research design. Consider, for example, these kinds of questions:

• Is your sample representative of the target group you wanted to research?
• Why did you choose that one specific sub-question?
• What does your research add to existing literature?
• Why did you choose this research method?
• How can you show that your research is reliable and/or valid?
•  What are the limitations of your research?
• Could solution X also be a solution to your problem?
• Why did you decide to cite source Y or theory Z in particular?
• If you were to do the research again, what would you do differently?
• Why do or do not your results match with previous research?
• How could you solve the limitations in your research next time?

Good preparation is half the work when defending your thesis. We are happy to give you 6 helpful tips to ensure the defence and presentation run smoothly.

1. Bring your printed paper with you. Then you can always reach for your thesis if someone asks a detailed question about a certain part.

2. Do not read your script, instead memorize the presentation as much as possible. Practice your presentation once with an audience, so that you can be sure that your story is easy for others to follow and that you do not go over the time limit.

3. Use one or at most two slides per part of your thesis (so for example one results slide, one slide for your conclusion, etc.). Otherwise, you will quickly run out of time or your audience will get lost because of the many slides.

4. Limit yourself to the big picture. Only discuss the most important aspects of each section. For example, stick to the results that matter most and don't go into every detail in your results chapter.

5. Read your thesis again in advance, so that you have its contents clear in your mind.

6. Be confident. Stand up straight, keep your back straight and your shoulders back. Speak loud and clear, and avoid fidgeting with your hands. This is how your story comes out at its best.

It is also smart to think in advance which questions may be asked. Knowing that will help you prepare possible answers to those questions.

You defend your thesis both when you study at university and when you follow a higher vocational education programme. However, the requirements differ per study program. Some study programs do not require a defence and/or presentation at all.

Hbo programs are more vocationally oriented; university courses are more scientifically oriented. That is why you will probably be asked more practical questions when defending your thesis at hbo, for example about how feasible your advice is or what you have learned from the internship. If you are going to defend a thesis at the university, you can expect more theoretical or methodological questions, for example about method choices or the sources you used.

The defence of your thesis is almost always compulsory at hbo; a thesis defence does not always occur at university. You will also occasionally see that you only need to present your thesis after receiving your grade.

Unfortunately, the fact that you are allowed to present your thesis does not mean that you are immediately granted a passing grade. This is indeed the case with some study programmes, where you are only allowed to defend a thesis if you have at least a passing grade. In the case of study programs that do not apply this rule, it is in principle possible that you will still hear that you have not passed during your thesis defence. This doesn't mean it was your defence that was not sufficient, as maybe your thesis alone was not up to standard.

If you have not passed your thesis, it is important to talk to your graduation supervisor or examiner as soon as possible. Discuss together why your thesis has not been approved and what your options are. You can often improve your thesis based on the feedback. On the assessment form, you can also read where your thesis currently scores an unsatisfactory mark. After this conversation, you can implement the points for improvement and resubmit your thesis, after which you will hopefully pass.

A good thesis defence starts with a thesis that is rock solid. In other words: a thesis without language errors, with the right structure and with a clear thread. We are happy to help you ensure that your thesis meets all these points. The editors of AthenaCheck check theses on all these matters, and they will be happy to check yours for you too!.