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REGISTRO GENERAL S.B. 45

Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

defensa de tesis

English translation:

Thesis defense

Added to glossary by Daltry Gárate
Feb 1, 2011 17:08
13 yrs ago
99 viewers *
Spanish term

defensa de tesis

Spanish to English Social Sciences Education / Pedagogy
Estimados colegas:

Agradeceré sus aportes para esta frase, particularmente para "defensa".

Muchas gracias
Proposed translations (English)
5 +3 Thesis defense
5 +3 Viva Voce Examination
4 +1 dissertation
Change log

Feb 1, 2011 17:10: Travelin Ann changed "Term asked" from "defensa de tesis/proyecto de grado" to "defensa de tesis"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): Rosa Paredes

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Discussion

Yvonne Gallagher Feb 2, 2011:
Charles, yes, inquisition is good word to describe it! Thanks on nephew's behalf for good wishes:-)
Charles Davis Feb 2, 2011:
@gallagy You're quite right, it does vary, and I think it's generally much tougher in Britain than it used to be. 20-30 years ago there were hardly any hurdles on the way; now, as you say, they're pretty strict, especially if you're getting any kind of grant. But I think the point is that the interim controls are made tough precisely so as to make sure that projects that are not going to make it are aborted in good time. So if you make it through all that and get to complete and submit the thesis, and the examiners basically like it, well, it doesn't have to be so bad. I have seen and heard of PhD vivas not many years ago with really good theses where it was more an exchange of views than an inquisition. Good luck to your nephew!
Yvonne Gallagher Feb 2, 2011:
entry @ Fionn and Charles. Defending a thesis is the term I have heard and seen most often. As for difficulty, well it must depend on the university because just recently my nephew had to defend his ongoing (3 year) research (for Ph.D) front of 6 academics so he would be allowed continue. Others were FAILED and not allowed coninue. So they are weeded out in other words BEFORE they can submit their thesis (or US dissertation) The research is tested every 6 months in an oral defense until the final Defense for the Doctorate. BTW in Bristol Uni. but in Irish universities it is very stringent as well. Certainly not the "nice chat" Charles mentions!! As for ghits, well "viva voce" as I said, also includes oral exams for languages. ! each year for each language studied. So, we'll have to agree to differ. I hope your Defensa goes well Fionn. Suerte!
Charles Davis Feb 2, 2011:
@fionn I'm flattered! Very best wishes for your defensa. The viva is often not very stringent in the UK, in fact; it depends. If the thesis is very good it can be a nice chat. A weaker thesis calls for a more testing viva. The viva can affect the quality of the report (which matters, beyond merely passing), but people just don't fail doctorates, or virtually never. If the thesis clearly isn't good enough, the supervisor makes sure it isn't submitted. The only time I've seen an actual failure is when a candidate submitted against express advice. So in that sense it is a formality, and the same is certainly true in Spain. Mexico too, I trust!
fionn Feb 2, 2011:
ghits I agree with Charles (a phrase I appear to be using quite frequently here). Though I'm interested to hear the viva is more stringent in the UK (good thing -or not- I'm doing mine in Mexico, where I expect it will fit the French/Spanish model...)
But I was going to point out that the fact there are more ghits for 'defending a thesis' than 'viva voce' means very little, since 1) the first phrase could be used in all sorts of contexts, and 2) the more common term is simply 'viva'.
I would also add that, at least in Mexico, you have to do a defensa de tesis at every level of university study - Licenciatura and Maestría as well as Doctorado.
Charles Davis Feb 1, 2011:
Depends on the country Defensa de tesis is the oral examination for a doctorate, in which the examiners question the candidate on the thesis he/she has written and presented. It is indispensable -- you can't get a doctorate without it -- though it is rarely failed. How much of a formality it is depends on the country, and the examiners. In the UK it is quite often a searching interrogation. In Spain and France, judging by those I have attended, it tends to consist largely of the examiners giving speeches to demonstrate that they are more learned than the candidate.
What you write is always called a thesis in UK universities and is usually called a dissertation in the US, where a "thesis" is shorter and is usually written for a Master's degree.
In the UK, "thesis defence" is found in documents, but in my experience "viva" is overwhelmingly more common. "Viva voce", obviously the origin of "viva", is rare in everyday usage, though it will be found in formal regulations. "PhD viva" is the normal UK expression.
In the US, I believe "dissertation defense" is usual, though "viva" seems to be pretty common there too. But I can only speak with any authority for the UK.
Yvonne Gallagher Feb 1, 2011:
There are 3 times as many ghits for defending a thesis as for viva voce. Viva voce can be undergraduate Oral language exams as well. (1 each year) IMO Defending a Ph.D is far more common (and we're all assuming this IS a Ph.D?) than Viva Voce; in other words, both are correct (and both used in this link)

>Thesis Defense This review is from: How to Survive Your Viva: Defending a Thesis in an Oral Examination (Paperback). This book is a must-have for anyone facing into a PhD ...
www.amazon.co.uk › Books › Science & Nature › Education - Cached - Similar

Proposed translations

+3
6 mins
Selected

Thesis defense

http://www.cc.gatech.edu/faculty/ashwin/wisdom/what-is-a-the...

En algunos países podría ser deletreada "defence"
Peer comment(s):
agree Henry Hinds
35 mins
gracias
disagree fionn : the reference is talking about something else altogether, not a spoken presentation and response to questions by tutors.
46 mins
agree Yvonne Gallagher : this has 3 times as many ghits as viva voce and certainly the one I hear/see most often
2 hrs
de acuerdo
agree neilmac : The form I am familiar with is "to defend one's thesis". QED. Viva Voce sounds like oral exams to me. Elegance is in the ear/eye of the beholder.
3 hrs
agree Giannina Ireland
8 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Muchas gracias"
+3
3 mins

Viva Voce Examination

#
viva voce - definition of viva voce by the Free Online Dictionary ...
- [ Traducir esta página ]
vi·va vo·ce (v v v s , v v ). adv. & adj. By word of mouth: a report submitted viva voce; a viva voce examination. [Medieval Latin v v v ce, with the living ...
www.thefreedictionary.com/viva voce - En caché - Similares
#
What is a Viva Voce Examination? — University of Leicester
- [ Traducir esta página ]
29 Jul 2010 ... What is a Viva Voce Examination? So far your focus has been on writing and submitting your thesis. Your first submission is a massive ...
www2.le.ac.uk/departments/gradschool/.../thesis/.../definition - En caché
#
The Viva
- [ Traducir esta página ]
14 Jul 2003 ... The Viva Voce examination. < ADM training. Outline: Preface. What is a Viva for? What happens at a Viva? Tips for students ...
seacoast.sunderland.ac.uk/~as0bgr/.../viva2.htm - En caché - Similares
#
RGU: Guidelines: Viva Voce Guidelines
- [ Traducir esta página ]
There are a variety of circumstances where the viva voce examination is used as a form of assessment. Generally, use of the viva voce can be considered ...
www.rgu.ac.uk/academicaffairs/assessment/page.cfm?pge... - En caché
#
Preparing for Your Doctoral Oral Examination: How to Prepare for a ...
- [ Traducir esta página ]
6 Aug 2007 ... You're coming up to your PhD viva voce examination and wondering what's the best way of ensuring that you get over the last hurdle, the oral ...
www.suite101.com/.../preparing-for-your-doctoral-viva-a2809... - En caché

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Note added at 5 mins (2011-02-01 17:14:12 GMT)
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or less elegantly "thesis defense"

#
What is a thesis defense?
- [ Traducir esta página ]
A thesis defense has two parts: a thesis and a defense. .... In a year or so of focused research, you should be ready for a real thesis defense. ...
www.cc.gatech.edu/.../what-is-a-thesis-defense.html - En caché - Similares
#
How to survive a thesis defence
- [ Traducir esta página ]
How to survive a thesis defence. Joe Wolfe · School of Physics The University of New South Wales, Sydney. This document is an appendix to ...
www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/viva.html - En caché - Similares

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 mins (2011-02-01 17:15:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

#
What is a thesis defense?
- [ Traducir esta página ]
A thesis defense has two parts: a thesis and a defense. .... In a year or so of focused research, you should be ready for a real thesis defense. ...
www.cc.gatech.edu/.../what-is-a-thesis-defense.html - En caché - Similares
Or less elegantly, "thesis defence"
How to survive a thesis defence
- [ Traducir esta página ]
How to survive a thesis defence. Joe Wolfe · School of Physics The University of New South Wales, Sydney. This document is an appendix to ...
www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/viva.html - En caché - Similares
Peer comment(s):
agree fionn : ...though in practice it is only every called a 'Viva' (which I've heard pronounced both 'veeva' and 'vyva'). A much more common practice on the continent and in LatAm than Anglo countries as far as I know.//Yes re. UK, I mean it is only a formality there
52 mins
Thanks fionn. I agree, though there are 2 refs there from UK unis...
agree philgoddard
1 hr
Thanks phil
agree Evans (X) : I know it as just "viva" too
1 hr
Something went wrong...
+1
46 mins

dissertation

A PhD dissertation is a lengthy, formal document that argues in defense of a particular thesis. (So many people use the term ``thesis'' to refer to the document that a current dictionary now includes it as the third meaning of ``thesis'').
Two important adjectives used to describe a dissertation are ``original'' and ``substantial.'' The research performed to support a thesis must be both, and the dissertation must show it to be so. (...) Before one can write a dissertation defending a particular thesis, one must collect evidence that supports it. Thus, the most difficult aspect of writing a dissertation consists of organizing the evidence and associated discussions into a coherent form.
Reference:

http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/dec/essay.dissertation.html

Peer comment(s):
agree Lydia De Jorge
9 mins
Gracias Lydia!
agree Mónica Hanlan
17 mins
gracias monihanlan
neutral philgoddard : What about "defensa"?
24 mins
I think that if you have a look at the explanation ,it says that
disagree fionn : Though a dissertation (or any essay) 'defends' a thesis in a sense, this is not what a 'defensa de tesis' means here.
35 mins
As philgodard said,I think maybe the correct term would be "Dissertation defense, as in USA to get a PhD. See:http://everything2.com/title/Dissertation defense
Something went wrong...
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