During the Ph.D. thesis defense ceremony, the chair is mandated to read multiple bible verses.

At the opening of the ceremony the votum is spoken:

“Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 124:8)

After 45 minutes of questioning the Ph.D. candidate, the committee withdraws for their private deliberation on whether the Ph.D. candidate defended their thesis sufficiently to obtain their doctorate. Before their deliberation can begin, the chair needs to read out a self-chosen paragraph of the bible.

After the committee reconvenes with the audience, the ceremony is ended publically with the doxology:

“Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 113:2)

For more information on the ceremony, click here.

The obligatory recitation of bible verses during the Ph.D. thesis defense ceremony has led to debate (1,2,3). Even though many staff and students at the VU are highly opinionated on the matter, little effort has been made to collect these opinions and concentrate the debate on a single platform.

The petition asks the Staff Counsel to survey the VU community on their views.

Read the full petition, without a VUnet login, by navigating to the "petition" tab of this website.

For questions or remarks, email us at vu.phd.ceremony@gmail.com