THESIS MILESTONES

Around the end of the first year of the PhD studies, the composition of the Thesis advisory committee (TAC) needs to be communicated to the doctoral program.
The TAC participates in the intermediate evaluation as well as in the PhD exams according to the modalities in force at the faculty of enrollment of the PhD candidate. In agreement with the candidate, the thesis director is responsible for constituting a TAC no later than 12 months after the admission of the PhD candidate into the doctoral program. The TAC consists of a president or a representative of the doctoral program (where appropriate at UNIGE), and at least two experts holding a doctoral degree, who are active in research and independent of the PhD candidate’s thesis project, and at least one of whom is external to the thesis director’s department. The Scientific Committee validates the composition of the TAC and designates the person who chairs it. This person is chosen from among the full or associate professors of the partner faculties of the Doctorate in Neuroscience. The thesis director and, if applicable, the thesis co-director participate in the TAC in a consulting role.

The TAC composition must be communicated to the LNDS coordinator, using the official form below, at the latest 2 months before the intermediate evaluation session to allow for sufficient time to prepare the session and the TAC members.

>>> Form to submit TAC composition

Goal

The intermediate evaluations are organized by each PhD candidate who has been working on the project for 2-3 semesters, but not later than 18 months after the reception of LNDS acceptance letter. The goal is to evaluate the first part of the thesis project. Eventually, the thesis advisory committee (TAC) can make suggestions on the continuation of the project and publications. Ideally, the candidate has achieved at least 9 study credits (ECTS) around the time point of the midterm evaluation; please check with the LNDS coordinator to receive your recap.

Format

The evaluation session lasts ~2 hours, for details check the section “Oral presentation” below. The intermediate evaluation is based on:
• the quality of the report provided by the candidate,
• the quality of the oral presentation of the candidate,
• understanding of the field of research (literature, methodology, importance of the work, limits, etc.),
• the originality and the advance of the experimental work,
• the projects formulated for the continuation of the thesis work.

In addition, the TAC asserts on the potential for publication of the results in the form of original articles in international journals with editorial policy, and makes recommendations thereon. In the end of the evaluation session and after deliberation, the TAC issues its conclusions, recommendations and other remarks in a report (MidtermPV) signed by the parties and transmitted to the LNDS.

>>> Template for TAC report

Progress reports

At least one month before the exam, the PhD candidate (mandatory) and the thesis director (not mandatory) are asked to submit a report to the LNDS coordinator by e-mail, using the templates below. These reports (together with some procedural information) are collectively forwarded to the TAC members by the LNDS coordinator.

• Template for student’s report
• Template for thesis director’s report

The candidate’s report should describe how the thesis project has evolved so far and the plans and timeline for the remainder of the thesis duration. The thesis project description (max 10 pages plus references) should be organized as follow:

• Aim of the project: 0.5 to 1 page
• Background: 2 to 3 pages
• Already published results (if applicable) and on-going work: 2 to 5 pages
• Perspectives and timeline for completion and defense: 1 to 1.5 pages
• References

The thesis director’s report should describe the progress of the student, both academically and project-related, and the state of the student’s publications.

Both the candidate and the thesis director can report any minor or major problems and describe in detail what these problems are. Yet, there will also be the possibility to discuss problems with the TAC in private during the evaluation session (see section “Oral presentation” below). The reports and presentation should be in English.

Oral presentation

The presentation of the candidate should not last more than 30 minutes, and elaborate on the thesis project, goals, hypotheses, methods and results obtained so far. During the following discussion (moderated by the jury president/ LNDS representative),  the TAC members will pose questions, e.g. on the research plan, results obtained, the next project steps and timeline towards PhD completion, as well as on the state of publication(s). Questions can also touch topics beyond the actual thesis topics in order to evaluate the candidate’s general state of knowledge in neuroscience.

Note: The LNDS expects candidates to be able to discuss multidisciplinary neuroscience research with colleagues coming from different research backgrounds.

Before the TAC deliberates, the PhD student and the supervisor are heard separately by the committee. The possible evaluations of the evaluation are “sufficient” or “insufficient”. If the progress of the thesis project or/and the oral presentation of the PhD candidate are deemed insufficient, the PhD candidate can present him-/herself to a second and final intermediate evaluation. This second evaluation must take place between three and six months after the first one.

NOTE: THE PROCEDURES DETAILED BELOW APPLY BY DEFAULT TO PHD CANDIDATES ENROLLED SINCE THE AUTUMN SEMESTER 2021 (A2021) OR LATER. IF YOU ENROLLED @UNIGE BEFORE A2021, PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR THE “OLD” UNIGE THESIS PROCEDURES AND CONTACT THE LNDS COORDINATOR WITH QUESTIONS.

Private defense: No later than 3 weeks before the scheduled private defense date, the PhD candidate submits the thesis manuscript to the TAC. In the defense session, the TAC makes an assessment of the quality of the PhD candidate’s personal contribution to the presented work as well as his/her knowledge. The possible evaluation outcomes are “sufficient” or “insufficient”. In case of failure (“insufficient”), the candidate may organize a second private defense. The TAC may also suggest modifications to the thesis manuscript. Any changes must be completed before the public defense of the thesis. The private defense is held at least 6 weeks before the public defense.

Template for private defense report to be filled and signed by all jury members during the private exam. The original must be sent to the student secretariat of the faculty of enrollment of the candidate (jury signatures must be original, no copies are accepted) and a copy to the LNDS coordinator to receive your LNDS thesis (Covid update: scanned documents accepted until further notice)

Public defense of the thesis – Procedure: No later than 6 weeks before the scheduled public defense date, the PhD candidate submits a proposal for the composition of the thesis jury.
No later than 5 weeks prior to the scheduled defense date, the PhD candidate submits his/her thesis manuscript to the director and, if applicable, to the co-director of the thesis and to the other members of the thesis jury for assessment.

>>> Template for thesis title page (MED & SCI)
>>> Template for thesis title page (FPSE)

No later than 6 weeks prior to the scheduled defense date, the PhD candidate registers for the thesis defense at his/her faculty, providing the following information:
– date, time and place of the public defense
– an electronic copy of the thesis manuscript (and a paper copy for candidates @ Faculty of Medicine)
– the exam protocol of the private defense
– the composition of the thesis jury, including the professional address of each member and his/her function
– a summary of the ECTS credits obtained in the doctoral program.

Faculty contacts:
– Medicine
– Sciences
– FPSE

No later than 3 weeks prior to the scheduled defense date, the thesis director must send the thesis report(s) to the Dean’s office / Student secretariat∙ of the Faculty of enrollment of the PhD candidate. The report must have been approved and signed by all members of the jury, and conclude that the thesis can be defended to the thesis jury. Any modifications to the thesis manuscript that are proposed by the jury must be completed before the defense.

>>> Template for thesis reports to faculty

Public defense of the thesis – Evaluation: During the defense, the thesis is evaluated by the jury, which assesses the PhD candidate’s scientific research, as well as the quality of the manuscript and of the oral presentation. The possible evaluation outcomes are “accepted” or “refused” in the Faculties of Medicine and Science, or are expressed by an average mark between 0 and 6 in the Faculty of Psychology and Education. The outcome “accepted” or a mark equal to or higher than 4 is necessary for the successful completion of the doctoral exam.

>>> Faculty of Medicine or Sciences: Template for public defense report. Must be filled and signed by all jury members. Please send the original to the secretariat of your faculty after the exam (and a scan to the LNDS coordinator). Jury signatures must be original, no copies are accepted (Note: Scanned documents accepted until further notice!)

>>> FPSE: Template for public defense report. Must be filled and signed by all jury members. Please send the original to the secretariat of your faculty after the exam (and a scan to the LNDS coordinator). Jury signatures must be original, no copies are accepted (Note: Scanned documents accepted until further notice!)

Following the public defense, the thesis must be submitted to the UNIGE university library (incl. the imprimatur page you will receive from your faculty of enrollment once they received the report about your successfull public defense) and your PhD imploma must be ordered. These last steps must be completed within 6 months after the public thesis defense.

IMPORTANT: PhD candidates have to stay enrolled at UNIGE until this last step of thesis archiving and diploma ordering has been completed!

Some more information on thesis procedures potentially useful for candiates enrolled at the
– Faculty of Sciences
– Faculty of Medicine
– FPSE

Please find in the document “What to do and to keep in mind” all information needed towards the end of your thesis @ UNIGE (deadlines, addresses etc).

The documents and protocol templates cited can be found here (under the section of the “new” thesis procedures @ UNIGE that automatically apply to PhD students enrolled since A2021 or later.

Please do not hesitate to contact the LNDS coordinator with questions; we are currently in a transition phase between the old and the new UNIGE thesis procedures ….
Please see below a little comparison of old and new to clarify differences …