As the PhD candidate, you submit the dissertation manuscript to your (co‑)supervisors, who will then assess it in terms of the stated requirements. If necessary, you will make changes in consultation with them. You will then submit it for approval to the (co‑)supervisors and will receive their response within six weeks. They are also responsible for performing a plagiarism check using the iThenticate software.

If your dissertation is approved, the Dean and the Doctorate Board will be informed of this. If it is not approved, you will discuss with your (co‑)supervisors what changes are needed.

After the dissertation has been approved, you then submit the related propositions to the supervisor. There may be a maximum of twelve propositions: at least four relating to the subject of the dissertation; at least four relating to the relevant field; and at most four relating to subjects of your choice.

The layout of the dissertation must comply with the layout requirements.

After the dissertation has been approved, the supervisor decides on the composition of the Doctorate Committee and asks the Dean to appoint the committee within three weeks. One of the members, who is a full professor or senior lecturer (US: associate professor; in Dutch: UHD) with ius promovendi at Leiden University or the LUMC, is appointed as the Secretary. You then send a digital version of the dissertation, or a sufficient number of paper copies, to the Secretary.

Within six weeks, the Secretary, on behalf of the Doctorate Committee, then informs the supervisor, the Dean and the Doctorate Board of the decision about whether you will be allowed to defend your dissertation. The Dean informs the supervisor, the Beadle, the Doctorate Board and you, as the PhD candidate, whether you will be admitted to the PhD defence. For PhD candidates who started after 1 January 2024, this will include checking that they have completed a training plan.

Scheduling the PhD defence

You should notify the Beadle via this form that you wish to schedule the defence of your dissertation. The Beadle will determine a date and time for the defence, in consultation with you, the supervisor and the Dean.

Paranymphs

Make sure that you contact your two ‘paranymphs’ (assistants) in good time. As the PhD candidate, you are personally responsible for making arrangements with your paranymphs and ensuring that invitations to the PhD defence ceremony are sent on time.

Composition of the Examining Committee

No later than three weeks after the manuscript has been approved, the supervisor makes a proposal for the composition of the Examining Committee. The Dean then appoints this Committee. The PhD candidate provides the Beadle with the names of the Examining Committee members. If some of the members are from outside Leiden University, you should additionally state where they work. You must also inform the Beadle of who will give the eulogy. 

Communication, press briefing and lay talk

At least four weeks before the date of the PhD defence, you must submit a short public summary of the dissertation via an online form. This text will be published on your PhD defence event page.

You may perhaps like to share your research with a wide audience and to engage the media for this purpose, for example. In that case, you can contact the university’s communication department for a press briefing. If you want media recordings to be made during the defence, you will need to ask the Doctorate Board for permission (via the secretary).

You must also prepare a lay talk for the PhD defence. If you plan to use a digital presentation for this, you must send it to the audiovisual department no later than one week before the defence. 

Reception after the PhD defence

After your PhD defence ceremony, you may hold a reception in the Academy Building. For this, please contact the Party Catering administration office of the University Services Department (UFB). 

Once you have been admitted to the PhD defence and the ceremony has been scheduled, you must submit the non-scientific part of the dissertation to the Dean for approval no later than twelve weeks before the date of the ceremony. The title page and reverse of this page must also be submitted to the Beadle. After receiving their approval, you may proceed to reproduce the dissertation.

As the PhD candidate, you are personally responsible for distributing your dissertation to the relevant people. You must also deliver a sufficient number of copies of the dissertation no later than three weeks before your PhD defence to:

• the Beadle (two copies of the dissertation and the propositions, inserted separately);
• the Dean (the number is different per faculty); 
• the members of the Doctorate Committee and Examining Committee; 
• the University Library (two copies). You must also supply your dissertation to the University Library in digital format for inclusion in Scholarly Publications, and provide the university with a licence for non-exclusive publication of the dissertation in digital format, if necessary with a temporary embargo. 

You can apply for an allowance towards the publication costs. For more information, please send an email to proefschrift@library.leidenuniv.nl. You should ask the Graduate School about other allowances that may be available for the PhD defence ceremony. 

More information about the procedure of the ceremony can be found in the PhD Defence Protocol. To gain an impression, we recommend that you attend a PhD defence ceremony yourself, or watch this video on the PhD defence ceremony.

Before the defence, you must give a lay talk. After the procession enters the room, the ceremony begins. Accompanied by two paranymphs, you defend your dissertation by answering questions posed by the Examining Committee. This exchange of views is chaired by the prorector.

The ‘opposition’ (examination) and defence are conducted in Dutch, unless you, as the PhD candidate, and/or the ‘opponent(s)’ do not speak Dutch. Committee members from outside Leiden University may present their opposition first. After 45 minutes the defence is brought to an end by the Beadle saying ‘Hora est!’ and the meeting is suspended, after which the committee withdraws to deliberate. When the committee returns, the PhD degree is awarded and the certificate is presented. The eulogy is then given by one of the (co-)supervisors.

Your supervisor will explain the procedure of the PhD defence ceremony to you, and the Beadle may provide some additional information. 

Dress code

The dress code for the PhD candidate and paranymphs is: a dress suit with tailcoat and a black waistcoat, white bow tie and black socks, or other formal attire appropriate for the nature of the ceremony. 

Forms of address

During the PhD defence ceremony, the following forms of address are used:

Attending the ceremony  

Guests and participants should take account of the following points:

• The university provides as standard a public livestream of the entire PhD defence ceremony. 
• Children under the age of six are not allowed to attend the defence of the dissertation, but they may be present at the conferral of the PhD degree, at the end of the ceremony. Young children are also permitted on the ground floor of the Academy Building, where there is a direct video link to the ceremony. 
• Guests who do not arrive in the Great Auditorium on time will only be allowed to enter after the defence, i.e. after the meeting has been suspended and before the committee returns. 
• Photography and/or filming are not permitted during the defence of the dissertation, but they are permitted when the committee has returned and the meeting has resumed. 
• There are very few parking facilities near the Academy Building. You should therefore direct your guests to one of the car parks or parking garages in and around Leiden city centre.