Section 6. Preparation of the doctoral defence ceremony

Article 3.22. Determining the PhD graduation date

1. As soon as possible after the doctoral thesis has been approved, the PhD graduation date will be determined at the request of the PhD candidate by the secretary of the Doctorate Board.
2. The PhD graduation date must be determined before the Doctoral Examination Board is established and the members of the committee are appointed.
3. The date of the thesis defence will be confirmed in writing. The dean will receive a transcript of this.

Article 3.23. Request for access to the thesis defence

1. As soon as possible after the manuscript has been approved as a dissertation, the PhD candidate, submitting a proof of the dissertation, requests the secretary of the Doctorate Board to be admitted to the thesis defence as referred to in Article 7.18 of the WHW.
2. The secretary of the Doctorate Board will provide access to the PhD if
   a. the PhD candidate is registered for the PhD track with due observance of the provisions of these regulations;
   b. the PhD candidate meets the statutory educational requirement as referred to in Article 7.18 or, with due observance of the provisions of Article 3.4, is released from that educational requirement;
   c. the dissertation has been adopted by the Manuscript Committee with due observance of the provisions of these regulations;
   d. the statements, if applicable, have been approved by the supervisor with due observance of the provisions of these regulations;
   e. the proof of the PhD thesis complies with the formal requirements as referred to in these regulations.

Article 3.24. Printing the PhD thesis

1. After the PhD candidate is granted access to the doctorate, the PhD candidate will ensure that the PhD thesis is printed, unless the chair of the Doctorate Board has granted permission to publish the PhD thesis in an alternative way.
2. The PhD candidate is responsible for ensuring the PhD thesis is printed in a timely fashion.

Article 3.25. Setting up the Doctoral Examination Board

1. The chair of the Doctorate Board appoints the Doctoral Examination Board no later than five weeks before the date of the PhD ceremony and appoints the members.
2. The Doctoral Examination Board consists of a minimum of seven and a maximum of eleven members.
3. Members of the Doctoral Examination Board include:
   a. the chair of the Doctorate Board;
   b. the members of the Manuscript Committee;
   c. the (co-)supervisor(s).
4. In addition to the members referred to in paragraph 3, the chair of the Doctorate Board appoints at least one external member to the Doctoral Examination Board.
5. During the composition of the Doctoral Examination Board and the appointment of its members, the chair of the Doctorate Board will ensure that the Doctoral Examination Board:
   a. is composed of at least two external members (not including the chair and (co)supervisor). Members of the Cum Laude Committee cannot be appointed as external members.
   b. consists primarily of professors and
   c. has a balanced and, if possible, diverse composition.
6. With the exception of the PhD (co-)supervisor, all members of the Doctoral Examination Board can act as opponents during the PhD defence ceremony.
7. The chair of the Doctorate Board acts as chair of the Doctoral Examination Board. In his absence or inability to attend, the chair of the Doctorate Board is replaced by the dean and, if not available, by another professor, appointed by the chair of the Doctorate Board.
8. After establishing the Doctoral Examination Board, the secretary of the Doctorate Board will inform the members of the Doctoral Examination Board of their appointment. The secretary of the Doctorate Board will also inform the PhD candidate about the establishment of the committee and the appointment of the members.

Article 3.26. Dispatch, submission and inclusion of the thesis in the repository

1. After the Doctorate Board has been established and the dissertation has been printed, the PhD candidate will ensure that all members of the Doctorate Board receive a copy of the printed dissertation as soon as possible. The PhD candidate informs the dean of the dispatch of the dissertation to the Doctorate Board.
2. The PhD candidate will deliver ten copies of the printed dissertation to the secretary of the Doctorate Board no later than four weeks prior to the PhD graduation date.
3. If the results of the manuscript are partly based on research data, then the Doctoral Examination Board may, on request, have access to the research data. Article 3.15, paragraph 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
4. A digital copy of the dissertation will need to be submitted to the central University Library with a view of including it in the repository of Radboud University. Upon request by the PhD candidate, the chair of the Doctorate Board can determine that the inclusion in the repository is postponed by six months at most. In that case, the full text of the PhD thesis will be included in the repository under embargo.
5. A request as referred to in paragraph 3 is submitted to the secretary of the Doctorate Board.

Article 3.27. Sending the dissertation around and inspection

1. The secretary of the Doctorate Board shall ensure that the copies of the dissertation submitted by the PhD candidate are sent to those who are eligible, having heard or considered the instructions of the chair of the Doctorate Board, at least three weeks prior to the date of the PhD defence ceremony.
2. One copy of the dissertation is available for inspection at the office of the secretary of the Doctorate Board for at least two weeks prior to the date of the PhD defence ceremony.

Article 3.28. Appointing additional opponents

1. Experts with a doctorate who are not part of the Doctoral Examination Board but who nevertheless desire to oppose during the PhD defence ceremony can submit a request to that effect to the chair of the Doctorate Board. The request must be submitted to the secretary of the Doctorate Board no later than two weeks before the PhD defence ceremony, with a copy of the request sent to the PhD candidate and the PhD supervisor.
2. If the request as referred to in paragraph 1 is granted, the secretary of the Doctorate Board will inform the one submitting the request, the dean and the PhD candidate and the PhD supervisor.

Article 3.29. Location of the PhD defence ceremony

1. The PhD defence ceremony will take place on the campus of Radboud University in Nijmegen, unless the chair of the Doctorate Board has determined, upon request, that the PhD defence ceremony will take place elsewhere.
2. If the defence takes place elsewhere, the provisions in these regulations still fully apply.
3. A request as referred to in paragraph 1 is submitted to the secretary of the Doctorate Board.