Final phase of the dissertation process
As you prepare to complete your dissertation, several steps need to be planned and coordinated before the public defence. This page describes the department’s procedures for booking the defence, planning the budget, arranging language review, and preparing for the departmental nailing ceremony. For detailed regulations, deadlines, and checklists, always refer to the Faculty of Social Sciences' guidance.
Faculty guidance on the public defence
The Faculty of Social Sciences' website should be your primary source of information about the defence process. Both doctoral students and supervisors are responsible for following the faculty’s regulations, timelines, and checklists before and after the defence.
- Defence of doctoral thesis | Internal Faculty of Social Sciences
- Checklist before and after public defense (pdf, new window)
- Guidelines on third-cycle education at the Faculty of Social Sciences (pdf, new window)
The information below contains only additional information on departmental procedures not covered in the faculty pages.
Booking the defence date and venue
The supervisor and doctoral student should discuss suitable dates for the public defence. The supervisor then contacts the Faculty Office to determine which dates are available according to faculty procedures. Please note that public defences are only held during the academic semesters.
Once the date and time have been confirmed, the supervisor should contact Kristina Gröndahl Nilsson to book the defence venue.
Opponent and examining committee
The Department’s standard practice is for the examining committee to consist of five members. Two of these are normally the dissertation’s green readers.
The remaining members usually include:
- one political scientist from another university,
- one representative from another department within the Faculty of Social Sciences, and
- one representative from another faculty at Lund University.
The supervisor discusses proposed candidates for the opponent and examining committee with the Director of Doctoral Studies. The supervisor then completes the faculty nomination form. The proposal must be approved by the Head of Department (or the Deputy Head of Department responsible for doctoral studies) before being submitted to the Faculty Office.
Practical arrangements before the defence
Contact Research Administrator Helen Fogelin for assistance with arranging:
- travel and, when required, accommodation for external opponents and examining committee members,
- a meeting room for the examining committee,
- fruit and water for the committee meeting,
- flowers for the defence,
- water for the doctoral student and opponent, and
- a lunch reservation for the opponent, supervisors, and examining committee.
Defense budget
After the manuscript conference, the supervisor may contact the Director of Doctoral Studies to request the Department’s budget template for the defence. The supervisor is responsible for ensuring that costs remain within the allocated budget and for keeping the doctoral student informed throughout the planning process.
After the defence
For payment of the opponent’s fee, contact Marie Persson.
The opponent receives a fee of SEK 12,000. For opponents from outside the Nordic countries, deductions are made in accordance with applicable SINK tax regulations. Members of the examining committee do not receive an honorarium but may be reimbursed for travel expenses.
Language review and translation
The supervisor and doctoral student should discuss the need for language review or translation well in advance. Any related costs must be covered within the defence budget.
Professional language review normally takes two to three weeks and should therefore be planned ahead. AI-based language support tools may also be used where appropriate. Further information is available on Lund University’s webpages on AI.
AI at Lund University | Staff Pages
Departmental nailing ceremony
In addition to the formal university nailing procedure, the department has its own nailing tradition.
The ceremony is normally held on a Wednesday approximately three weeks before the public defence. The doctoral student ceremonially nails a copy of the dissertation at the department, followed by an informal gathering with colleagues.
For information about the mandatory formal nailing procedure, see the Faculty of Social Sciences’ website.
Defence of doctoral thesis | Internal Faculty of Social Sciences