PhD Defense Procedures

The PhD thesis defense procedure under the LMD system is governed by several ministerial decrees (see list of decrees on the school’s website). Below is a summary of the official defense procedure as per the current regulations in force.

✅ 1. Terms and Conditions for LMD PhD Thesis Defense (for students enrolled from 2016-2017)

Defense Application Admissibility Conditions:

The thesis defense can only take place at the end of the third year, and the request for defense is admissible only if the PhD student has met the following conditions:

• Successfully completed all PhD training requirements and obtained one hundred and eighty (180) distributed credit points, as specified in Annex 2 of the decree governing PhD training.
• Written an original thesis contributing to the knowledge advancement.

• Published or submitted at least one (01) scientific article in an indexed journal, as required by the Ministry of Higher Education.

✅ 2. Required documents for LMD PhD defense:

• A report from the Thesis Supervisor authorizing the defense (Word document);
• One hard copy and one digital version of the thesis;
• Thesis abstract in three languages (Word document);
• Cover page (Word document);
• Thesis Supervisor's Report certifying that the work is defendable (Annexes 1 and 2);
• Thesis jury proposal, established by the Thesis Supervisor (Word document);

• Proof of valid enrollment in the LMD PhD program (Appendix 3);
• Grading rubric (Word document);
• Supporting documents (Publication, Communication, etc.) where any scientific publication(s) or output related to the thesis (See Circular No. 03 of July, 7th, 2019);
• Anti-plagiarism report (Required by the school).

✅ 3. Jury Proposal

The Thesis Supervisor proposes a jury composed of four (04) to six (06) research professors holding high academic ranks (Professors, Associate Professors Class A, or authorized permanent researchers) and specialized in the field of the thesis.

• The jury is composed of one (01) to two (02) external members from outside the institution.
• The Thesis Supervisor cannot chair the jury;
• One additional internal or external member (optional).