Thesis Defense

Schedule and Steps for the Defense

10 weeks before the defense: Defense Declaration and Approval Process

The doctoral student submits the declaration through their Adum account. A guide containing instructions for the declaration is available in the Adum portal as well as at the bottom of this page to assist with the submission.

Information to be entered by the doctoral student:

_Abstracts in French and English.
_The complete composition of the examination committee (committee roster), indicating for each member: precise status, employer, HDR status, and contact information.

Documents to be submitted by the doctoral student:

_Up-to-date CVs of the foreign members of the examination committee, combined into a single PDF.

VERY IMPORTANT: If a foreign national who is not a professor is proposed as a reviewer, the CV provided must clearly indicate their thesis supervision experience (this allows for an assessment of HDR equivalence)

_The authorization to publish the dissertation, downloaded from Adum and signed by the doctoral student.
_The list of training courses completed: a total of 120 hours is required, and the VSS (Gender-Based and Sexual Violence) and Research Ethics modules must be successfully completed.

Approval of the Application: The doctoral student must complete the entire approval process. This triggers the electronic signature process in the following order:

_The thesis advisor*
_The Doctoral School (ED) administrator
_The Director of the Doctoral School
_The institution’s president

The Thesis Committee Approval Process

The doctoral student must upload their thesis manuscript to their Adum account no later than 8 weeks before the defense.
The doctoral program administrator forwards this manuscript directly to the reviewers via the platform. She includes a message clearly explaining the guidelines and the expected content of their reports.

4 weeks before the defense: Submission of Reports and Authorization

The reviewers have until this deadline (no later than 4 weeks before the defense) to submit their reports on Adum.
The doctoral program administrator verifies that all reports are online.

The Day of the Defense

After the defense (within 3 months)

The doctoral student completes the process by submitting the final, corrected version of their dissertation to their Adum account. After your defense, your dissertation advisor must submit the minutes and reports to Adum. The report documents must be combined into a single file and uploaded via the first link. The minutes, the video defense authorization, and the confidentiality agreement must be combined into a single file and uploaded via the second link. This dual upload via both links is mandatory. It is the only way for the Registrar’s Office to receive the upload notification.

PLEASE NOTE: For defenses scheduled for early September, the doctoral college’s closure period must be added to the standard deadlines, resulting in an additional 4 weeks.

Ph.D. Student Thesis Defense Kit

Download the CED's memo on the composition of juries
Upcoming thesis defense
Published on  October 28, 2026
Updated on October 28, 2026