Sweet people of the Higher Education category, please help me with this word?

Question

Hey,
English is not my first language. Arabic is. I am translating this paper from Arabic to English and it is mainly about higher education terms.
When someone is done preparing his thesis , he "defends" it. Right?
What do you call the professors who mmmm are in the process of mmm "listening" to the guy who is defending the thesis.
Is it called "counter defending" or something?

It seems I didn't make myself clear. I mean . The students "defend" their theses and the professors " ......." what the theses ? They counter-defend ? debate ? argue ? discuss ?


Like in the sentence : Professor Smith has "............." 34 theses in his life.
Should i put " discussed" "debated" or what?
I don't mean he supervised, or defended. I mean he was in the judge's side of the place.

Answer 1

Professors examine a student who is defending a thesis, but in the sentence you cite, the correct locution is:

"Professor Smith has served on 34 thesis committees."

If this professor was the advisor in each case, then:
"Professor Smith has served as advisor on 34 thesis committees."

If this professor was the chair of the committee in each case, then:
"Professor Smith has chaired 34 thesis committees."

Answer 2

Read this and you should understand the process and how the word "defend" is used (i.e. what it means in context).

"Defending Your Thesis - Your chance to shine"

"Your thesis should be a finished product before the defense is scheduled. While there might be changes resulting from the defense, it is expected that they will be fairly minor. To assure this, give your thesis Advisor and Committee sufficient time to review earlier drafts in order to have their approval before the defense.

Format

The presentation is generally 20-30 minutes and might include a PowerPoint presentation and/or handouts if you desire. You should cover the following topics:

* What is your research question?
* Why was this an important topic to study?
* How did you conduct your research?
* What are your major findings?
* What are you contributing to the body of knowledge on the subject?
* Based on your research, what are your conclusions and recommendations for policymakers?

Your thesis Advisor and Committee will then ask questions, and you should be able to appropriately defend your findings and recommendations. Normally, this is a conversation of less than ninety minutes overall.

At the end of the defense, your Advisor will ask you to leave the room as the Committee makes a final grade determination for the thesis. You will then be invited to return, and the Committee’s feedback will be given to you."

Answer 3

the professors are probably challenging the facts in the thesis and the write then has to defend them.

Answer 4

advisor, you look one to defend you