The examination committee coordinator (i.e. the reserve committee member from MISU) shall receive the committee’s recommendation in good time before the printing of the thesis. The printing of the thesis takes place five or six weeks before the defense; the PhD student should check the exact date. It means that the committee members may have only one week to submit their recommendations. The opponent has formally no say in this matter, but it’s advisable to give him/her the possibility to express his/her opinion in advance.

A recommendation to postpone the defense, e.g. as a result of the examination committee’s preview, shall be submitted to the Head of Department, the ämnesansvarig and the main supervisor as soon as possible. The advice against defense shall be submitted to the PhD student by the Head of Department.

When the Dean has taken a decision about the defense, the responsible administrator sends a letter to the examination committee and the opponent with a copy to the main supervisor and the committee coordinator. The letter contains information about the defense procedures and travel arrangements as well as an invitation to the defense lunch. The Faculty also sends out key guidelines, but this usually happens so late that the opponent has already done most of the preparations.