Defense

The defense is the final judgment of the work. Unlike previous evaluations, here the goal is no longer to correct course — it is to verify if the work meets the requirements for graduation.

For the committee: argumentation should focus on the presented work. Criticisms must be specific and justifiable. Questions about “what would you do differently” or “what did you learn” may be interesting, but do not replace the technical evaluation of what was done.

For the candidate: defense is not combat. The committee asks questions to understand and evaluate the work. Defensive or evasive answers harm the evaluation. Clear and honest answers — including “I don’t know” when appropriate — demonstrate mastery.

The Bylaws establish general rules for judging dissertations and theses at USP:

Examining Committee:

Composition requirements:

• All members must have at least a Doctorate degree
• The majority of members must be external to the Program
• At least one member must be external to the Unit
• Participation of spouse or relative up to 4th degree of the candidate is prohibited

Deadlines:

• CPG has 45 days after deposit to designate the examining committee
• Defense must occur within 105 days after committee designation
• If CPG does not designate the committee on time, the Standards Chamber (CaN) of CoPGr approves the composition

Defense duration:

Modality: Defense can be conducted:

• In-person: all committee members and candidate physically present
• Hybrid: some members may participate remotely
• Fully remote: in exceptional cases, with prior approval and adequate infrastructure

Result:

• The result is approval or rejection, decided by majority of examiners
• CPG has 45 days after defense to ratify the result

The advisor’s role in the committee differs according to level:

Master’s: The advisor participates in the examining committee as chair and examining member, with voting rights. This means they:

• Lead the defense session
• May ask questions to the candidate
• Vote in final deliberation (approval/rejection)

Doctorate and Direct Doctorate: The advisor participates in the examining committee exclusively as chair, without voting rights. They:

• Lead the defense session
• Do not examine the candidate
• Do not vote in final deliberation

This difference reflects the greater autonomy expected from doctoral students regarding their work.

There is no written evaluation of dissertations or theses in the Chemistry Program.

Evaluation is exclusively oral, during the public defense session.

Main languages:

• Dissertations and theses may be written and defended in Portuguese or English

Article collection:

• May be written partially in Portuguese and partially in English (articles in different languages)

Other languages:

• Other languages may be authorized upon advisor request and CCP approval

Mandatory requirement: Regardless of the main language, all dissertations and theses must contain title, abstract and keywords in Portuguese AND English, according to USP Graduate Studies Bylaws.

Main languages:

• Dissertations and theses may be written and defended in Portuguese or English

Article collection:

• May be written partially in Portuguese and partially in English (articles in different languages)

Spanish:

• Dissertations and theses may be written in Spanish, upon advisor request and CCP approval

Mandatory requirement: All dissertations and theses must contain title, abstract and keywords in Portuguese AND English, according to USP Graduate Studies Bylaws.

The committee composition suggestion is made by the advisor and approved by CCP. Composition must include:

Master’s (3 members):

• The advisor (chair, with vote)
• 2 examiners external to the Program

Doctorate (3 or 5 members):

• The advisor (chair, without vote)
• 2 or 4 examiners (majority external to the Program, at least 1 external to the Unit)

1. Opening: The chair (advisor) opens the session and introduces committee members
2. Presentation: The candidate presents their work (up to 60 minutes)
3. Examination: Each examiner makes their considerations and questions; the candidate responds
4. Deliberation: The committee meets privately to deliberate
5. Result: The chair announces the result (approval or rejection)

• Prepare a clear and objective presentation
• Rehearse respecting the time limit
• Be prepared for questions about methodology, results and implications
• Remember that the committee wants to contribute to improving your work

After defense, the result must be ratified by CPG within 45 days. Ratification:

• Confirms that all procedures were followed correctly
• Authorizes diploma issuance
• May require corrections to the work before final version

The committee may request corrections to the dissertation or thesis. In this case:

• The candidate has a deadline to make the changes
• The advisor verifies if corrections were made
• The corrected version is deposited in the Library

The Program allows cotutelle agreements with foreign institutions, resulting in multiple degrees:

Requirements:

• USP advisor + foreign institution advisor
• Minimum period of 6 months at partner institution
• Formal agreement between institutions

Defense:

• A single defense, recognized by both institutions
• May be conducted in foreign language
• Committee may include members from both institutions

Result:

• Diploma recognized by both partner institutions
• Double degree (or joint degree, according to agreement)