Instructions for Dissertation and Thesis Defense

Initial Procedures:

The scheduling of the defense and the submission of documents must be done with the PPGACL Secretariat at least 20 (twenty) days prior to the defense date, to allow enough time for necessary arrangements such as processing of documents, room booking, payment of per diems and/or ticket reservations, submission of the record to PROPP, among other measures.

Therefore, the Secretariat is not responsible for any issues that may arise from noncompliance with the established deadlines.

Once the dissertation or thesis is ready for defense, the student must take the following steps:

1st – Once the final text is completed, the program offers access to iThenticate, a tool for similarity verification and plagiarism prevention.

Similarity reports should be obtained before the defense so that advisors and students can assess the best course of action.

The verification through iThenticate is optional and it is up to the advisor to decide whether to use the tool.

2nd – Define the Examination Committee together with the advisor:

• Master’s: Advisor (and co-advisor if applicable) and at least two Ph.D. holders (or their alternates), with at least one external member (outside UFJF).
• Doctorate: Advisor (and co-advisor if applicable) and at least four Ph.D. holders (or their alternates), with at least two external members (outside UFJF).

Note: The full names of alternate members must be included in the documents.

3rd – Contact the professors who will participate in the Committee to set the defense date.

iThenticate
The UFJF Academic Integrity Program uses iThenticate for similarity checking in dissertations and theses.

Access is provided through the PPG Secretariat. Reports must be kept restricted to advisors and students to serve an educational and corrective purpose for any passages that require significant revisions.

The advisor can decide whether or not to use the tool.

Only the advisor is authorized to submit the text to the Secretariat for verification.

The resulting report will be sent back to the advisor for review.

All steps must be completed exclusively via SEI, following these procedures:

1) The student must send the following completed documents to ppg.acl@ufjf.br at least 20 days before the defense date (all templates are available at the bottom of the page; the format must not be altered):

• Note 1: Signatures are not required because all signatures will be handled through SEI.
• Note 2: When filling in the names of committee members, use full names — no abbreviations or omissions.

For the Defense of a Dissertation or Thesis

All steps must be completed exclusively via SEI, following these procedures:

1) The student must send the following completed documents to ppg.acl@ufjf.br at least 20 days before the defense date (all templates are available at the bottom of the page; the format must not be altered):

• Note 1: Signatures are not required because all signatures will be handled through SEI.
• Note 2: When filling in the names of committee members, use full names — no abbreviations or omissions.

Required documents:

• Defense Record – Committee Composition;
• Checklist – Declaration of Compliance with Requirements;
• Defense Committee Participation Declaration;
• Approval Term;
• Defense Announcement;
• External Member Information Form;
• Completion Declaration.

2) The student/advisor must request the external member to register as an external user in SEI.

3) Once the documents have been submitted to the Program’s email, the Secretariat will open the Defense Process via SEI and handle the necessary procedures.

4) The Secretariat will send the Process/SEI number to the student and advisor for tracking purposes.

5) After the defense, the Secretariat will electronically sign the Completion Declaration and the Defense Committee Participation Declaration.

6) On the day of the defense, the student must download the Participation Declaration and send it to the committee members.

7) The Defense Record must be signed in SEI by all committee members, including the student, only after the defense.

The advisor must inform all members and the student to complete the signing process.

8) The Approval Term must also be signed in SEI by all participating committee members after the defense.

9) Important: If the committee recommends a title change during the defense, the change must be recorded in the "observations" field of the Defense Record. Without the updated title, PROPP will not homologate the defense.

Notes on Documentation:

• The External Member Information Form must be completed for both external members and internal UFJF members who are not part of PPGACL.
• The title of the Dissertation/Thesis and the student’s name must be identical across the Defense Record, Approval Term, and Authorization Term for the institutional repository.
• For remote or hybrid defenses, specify in the "Defense Location" field in the Committee Composition Form:
  “Remote/hybrid format, in accordance with Resolution No. 10/2022-CSPP.”
• External members must register as external users in SEI via the provided link.

Notes on Delivering the Dissertation or Thesis to Committee Members:

• The dissertation or thesis must be distributed by the student to the committee members.
• The student must check each member’s preference for receiving the material (printed or PDF via email).
• It is the student’s sole responsibility to deliver the work to the committee members.

Remote Defenses
For defenses held remotely, the advisor must choose to use Google Meet:

• The advisor is responsible for scheduling the videoconference via Google Meet and sending the access link to all committee members, including the student.