Procedure of the public defence/masters examination

During the defence, the supervisor (=first examiner) will focus on questions related to the research field of the master's thesis. The second examiner will ask questions about the specified demographic literature. The literature should predominantly be from a research area within Demography different from your Master thesis.

The public defence/master's examination lasts one hour. Questions can be posed to the candidate by the supervisor (first examiner), the second examiner and a chairperson, as well as theoretically by any member of the public.

  • The first part of the exam (public defence) consists of a 15-minute presentation of the Master thesis (possibly using slides). This is followed by a 15-minute discussion with the first examiner on the area of research that the thesis is taken from.

  • The second part of the examination consists of a 15-minute discussion with the second examiner on the agreed literature.

After that, you and the rest of the audience will be asked to leave the room during the examiners' consultations.

After that, you will be asked to return and your grade will be announced. Please note that the use of supporting materials (except for the slides used to present the thesis) is not permitted during the exam.