Thread by @hishamzerriffi

How To Write The External Referee Report for a PhD Defence (a mini-thread).

This is @Abhishek_Kar_AK's defence. His external was @jurpelai and I'd like to take a moment to say what a great job Johannes did and why. (1/n)

https://twitter.com/hishamzerriffi/status/1170104900845391872

For context, @UBC @UBCGradSchool the external on a PhD writes a report that is shared with the examining committee the week before the defence. It is the job of the supervisor (me in this case) to summarize the report and ask questions on behalf of the external. (2/n)

Let me highlight four ways @jurpelai got it right.

1) Start with the merit of the PhD. This sets the tone right off. He was very clear about how the PhD contributes to the field, even referencing his own work in the area and how this fills a gap in knowledge. sets the tone. 3/n

2) A very clear statement that the PhD should be granted. This is not a trivial thing. It is what the examining committee is looking for. (4/n)

3) Excellent critique of a few key things in each chapter. Not a big laundry list. Key things. But even more importantly, making it clear that these were not critical for PhD submission. They'll make it to the papers, but why hold up PhD if not critical. say that. (5/n)

4) A small number of pertinent questions to be asked by the supervisor (me) of the candidate. Not 15 questions that I have to wade through and guess which he thought were more important. Three probing questions that get at heart of the matter in the dissertation. (6/n)

So, if you find yourself having to write one of these, this is a good model to follow. State the contribution clearly, state whether it passes clearly, provide small # of critical pts on each chapter and say whether needed before submission, provide small # of really good Q (7/n)

Thanks @jurpelai for giving your time for this and being so thoughtful in doing so. I appreciate it and I'm pretty sure @Abhishek_Kar_AK does as well. (fin)