PhD people.... Defense

[greekypie]

What was your defense like? Did your SO attend? Did you bring food/snacks? I am hearing allll sorts of things (from coworkers) from "my wife made brownies for the committee!" to "my mom came to the defense". DH is very low key and is telling me it's not a big deal, nobody is really going to attend beyond advisors/committee, and I can't tell if he is trying to talk me out of going.... Or if it really is NBD.

Should I send snacks? Lol.

[womet]

I had moved by the time I defended, so I stayed with a friend. She came to my defense, but she was in my cohort. I did bring some pastries and juice since it was in the morning. I had 2 committee members there in person and one called in. It was really low key. Just how every defense should be.

[HoneySpider]

Huh, I would never think to bring snacks to the defense. I haven't heard of anyone doing that here so I'm guessing it's not the norm.

[greekypie]

Aug 21, 2012 15:00:25 GMT -5 @fivedogs said:

Some people brought snacks, but I think I forgot to bring the cookies I made. In my old department, family, sometimes close friends, and most of the grad students you know come to the defense. In DH's old department, it's only the committee and the rest of the research group.

However, now they have changed the format in my old department so that you have your actual defense first with just your committee, in private. Then if you pass, you do a seminar/public defense for the people I listed above. Previously, it was a given that you would pass your defense because your committee wouldn't let you defend unless you could pass. So now that they have changed the format, they are free to fail you without public pressure of all the people who just attended your defense. Lame.

Yeah I think DH's is the kind where it is a given that he will pass (or else they wouldn't be holding it).

[barefootcontessa]

We never had snacks. Spouses, family close by, friends, and most graduate students in the department attend. The candidate would typically give a 20 minutes presentation of their work and then the committee asked questions. While the questions can be tough, I have never seen anyone not pass their defense. It is the chair's job to make sure you are ready before scheduling the defense. Congratulations to your DH.

[lahoagie]

I attended my husband's defense. He also practiced in front of me, so I heard his defense four times. We did not do snacks and two of his advisors nodded off. A couple of the members of his group showed up. It was pretty laid back and they don't allow students to get to the defense stage if they are not going to pass them.

ETA. I also worked in the engineering office in college and whenever we had a student doing a defense we would make sure that they had coffee in the room and I think snacks.

[80sjunkie]

What was your defense like? Very low key, just me and my committee. I do remember a visiting prof from Italy sitting in but I don't remember if it was the proposal or defense.
Did your SO attend? No
Did you bring food/snacks? No

Should I send snacks? As others have said, the norms can vary widely. At my current university, students bring all kinds of food (and I've also need it as an outside committee member in other departments here). I'd listen to your H on this one.

[drloretta]

It was pretty businesslike.

I didn't have an SO at the time. People from my lab came, and students in my program, any friends who were at the school, and most of the professors.

I did not bring food or snacks. My lab threw a little lunch afterward if memory serves. I got some wine and gag gifts from some fellow students.

Don't send snacks. That sounds desperate to me.

[mccallister84]

Wow. I'm just in the midst of coursework so eons away, but I'm glad this came up. I never would have thought to bring anything.

[Deleted]

My H and mom are coming. That's it from outside the department. H ordered gourmet popsicles for the post-defense celebration, but usually our boss just buys cake and champagne.

[keweenawlove]

I think it must be really lab dependent. With every defense I've sat through, the person has brought some snacks. Some just bring bagels and coffee, others do a whole spread. It's generally expected you bring something here.

With SOs, it depends on the person. My friend didn't go to her boyfriend's because he told her that she would make him more nervous. We have a big lab so it's generally a majority of the lab plus the committee. I would ask your DH what he wants you to do.

[Deleted]

Aug 21, 2012 15:00:25 GMT -5 @fivedogs said:

However, now they have changed the format in my old department so that you have your actual defense first with just your committee, in private. Then if you pass, you do a seminar/public defense for the people I listed above. Previously, it was a given that you would pass your defense because your committee wouldn't let you defend unless you could pass. So now that they have changed the format, they are free to fail you without public pressure of all the people who just attended your defense. Lame.

This is terrible. I think that failed defenses should be extraordinarily rare.

[smock]

It really depends on the field and the department. In my case, the defense wasn't public (just me and the committee) and no one brought snacks. In my cousin's case, it was a public defense and his immediate family attended (and I don't know if there were snacks). His dad even asked a question!

I'd just follow your H's lead on this one! And congrats to him!

[sm12]

My defense had two parts - there was a open seminar (given by me) with Q&A; and then there was a closed session with just me and my committee. I didn't think to bring snacks to either part. Anyone would have been welcome to come to the seminar, but none of my family or non-classmate-friends came. I honestly can't remember if DH (then boyfriend) came or not (he was working at the same institution) - I might have told him not to come.

[5thofjuly]

Defenses in my department were technically public, but no one ever came in practice. It was kind of discouraged. I definitely didn't want my family/friends there.

I didn't make snacks, either (I've never heard of anyone doing that---we were boring.) I did go out for drinks with my chair afterwords, though!

[mccallister84]

Aug 21, 2012 15:48:15 GMT -5 smock said:

In my cousin's case, it was a public defense and his immediate family attended (and I don't know if there were snacks). His dad even asked a question!

Remind me in a few years NOT to invite my dad. He would totally ask a question.

[beefjerky]

Aug 21, 2012 14:49:32 GMT -5 greekypie said:

What was your defense like? There were about 40 people there from my department and other departments (professors, students, etc.). My presentation was about 45 minutes long and then there was about 20 mins of questions. Then about an hour behind closed doors with the committee.

Did your SO attend? My DH did come - and managed to stay awake.

Did you bring food/snacks? Not for the public defense but I had DH pick up some bagels/coffee for the closed committee part

I am hearing allll sorts of things (from coworkers) from "my wife made brownies for the committee!" to "my mom came to the defense". DH is very low key and is telling me it's not a big deal, nobody is really going to attend beyond advisors/committee, and I can't tell if he is trying to talk me out of going.... Or if it really is NBD.

Should I send snacks? Lol.

I would follow your DH's lead on this one too, he will know the culture of his department. Congratulations to him!!!!

[Doc_Lobster]

Aug 21, 2012 14:49:32 GMT -5 greekypie said:

What was your defense like? Did your SO attend? Did you bring food/snacks? I am hearing allll sorts of things (from coworkers) from "my wife made brownies for the committee!" to "my mom came to the defense". DH is very low key and is telling me it's not a big deal, nobody is really going to attend beyond advisors/committee, and I can't tell if he is trying to talk me out of going.... Or if it really is NBD.

Should I send snacks? Lol.

People will expect snacks, unless his department is one of those weird ones where no one goes to defenses.

I had almost 50 people at mine. Lab mates, friends, departmental people who wanted to talk to my dad and get free lunch, my husband, dad and wife, and two aunts. I brought lots of food.

[Doc_Lobster]

Aug 21, 2012 15:37:30 GMT -5 drloretta said:

Don't send snacks. That sounds desperate to me.

People in my department would be rioting if there were no snacks.

[Deleted]

Aug 21, 2012 18:25:21 GMT -5 Doc_Lobster said:

People will expect snacks, unless his department is one of those weird ones where no one goes to defenses.

It is department-dependent. Trust me.

[cgpm]

I had an open defense for my thesis (not PHD, if that matters). My mom and my H drove up to see it and one of my committee members brought some of his grad students.

I had some snacks because my defense was around lunch time. My committee was also very laid back and I agree with others that it can be department specific.

[calimae]

In my department, food was mandatory and everyone let the newbies know about the policy from day one. Some people were seriously pissed if it wasn't a good spread. And most had family and friends come.

So, hopefully he has attended other defenses in the department and will know what is expected.

[timorousbeastie]

Defenses in my department are a big, public deal. For me, my parents, DH, and in-laws all came, plus friends and fellow students. Most people in the department come to each defense. Most people have acknowledgement slides at the end of their presentation, complete with as many goofy pictures of everyone they'd like to thank as possible, plus frequently flowers for the PI.

Everyone always brings snacks and drinks, too. As far as I'm concerned, a well-fed crowd is a happy crowd. After the closed session was over, my PI had a big party w/ cake, champagne, etc. for anyone who stuck around (or who came running back when they heard there was free food and alcohol

However, since apparently not every dept. is like that, definitely follow your H's lead.

[dragonfly08]

In my department, the actual defense is private...candidate and committee only. The "public" portion is a presentation, scheduled for *after* the defense and to which the entire department is invited (or anybody, for that matter, but the information isn't posted outside of the department email and building, so somebody would have to tell you about it otherwise). DH didn't come to that. He would have, but I told him it wasn't necessary for him to skip work. These presentations usually have 3-4 students at both the Masters and PhD level presenting, so it wasn't just me anyway. There are refreshments afterward, but they're provided by the department and not the presenters.

[dr.girlfriend]

Mine was just me and my committee, sitting around a conference table and I was up front with the PowerPoint. I got like a snack platter, but everyone seemed really impressed by it so I don't think it was standard. It had like mini wrap sandwiches on it. Mine was at 4 p.m. I think.

[FishChicks]

My department had open defenses, but never any food. Your peers would come only if you asked them to, and otherwise they'd wait out in the lab to take you out to celebrate when you were done. I never heard of anyone bringing in family or an SO, and I doubt most of our faculty would eat student provided food. They were odd that way.

[emilyj]

It's totally department dependent. Ask the people that have defended before you.

Ours passed a rule right before mine - no food allowed - because the snacks and food were getting so out of control. So I was absolved of having to bring food. No S/O's or families allowed. Other grad students could attend (but it's an unspoken rule among the students that none ever do). Interestingly, my husband was also a student, and they told him his husband status trumped his grad student status and he was forbidden to attend my defense.

Mine was so low key it wasn't even funny. One of my committee members spent the first 10 minutes heckling me on my job offer, we got down to business, and an hour later it was done.

[80sjunkie]

Aug 21, 2012 21:13:07 GMT -5 emilyj said:

One of my committee members spent the first 10 minutes heckling me on my job offer, we got down to business, and an hour later it was done.

Did you go from one SEC school to another?

[emilyj]

Aug 21, 2012 21:14:49 GMT -5 80sjunkie said:

Did you go from one SEC school to another?

From one rival right to the other!! :-)

[80sjunkie]

Aug 21, 2012 21:33:46 GMT -5 emilyj said:

Aug 21, 2012 21:14:49 GMT -5 80sjunkie said:

Did you go from one SEC school to another?

From one rival right to the other!! :-)

I interviewed with one of our biggest rivals and they seriously brought it up at least 10 times throughout those two days. It didn't work out.