Ph.D. Thesis Defense
The thesis of a Ph.D. candidate must be approved by a committee of at least five members appointed by the graduate director. All members of the committee must have a Ph.D. in operations research or a related field. The committee consists of five members: the thesis advisor, two RUTCOR fellows, one further member from any of the participating departments in the operations research Ph.D. program and one external expert. One committee member, different from the thesis advisor, is appointed as chairman.
The thesis must be in the hands of the committee members and exhibited at RUTCOR at least one month prior to the defense. The graduate director circulates announcement of the defense to all faculty members and students of the university who may have an interest in the topic of the thesis.
The defense starts with a one hour presentation by the candidate. Then questions, remarks and discussions follow, where everybody can participate. The defense is public. At the end, the committee votes by majority rule on the acceptability of the thesis. In case of a tie the vote of the chairperson decides on the acceptance.