PhD Defense in the NL

[catulle]

Dear members,

My wife (who is French, like me) is going to defend her PhD thesis in Amsterdam within a few months. I believe this is quite a big deal, especially in the NL where there is a lot of ceremonial (university gown, people speaking latin...).
I wonder if this a good idea to wear my (French) medals or not:
a/would it be normal ou would it sounds "too much"?
b/is it OK to wear French medals in a Dutch ceremony?
and if I wear them
c/is it OK to wear miniature medals (on a suit? on a tuxedo? for the day? the night?)

Thanks for your advices!

catulle

[moos]

I'm not sure about the rules for foreign (ex) military in this kind of ceremony but I do know that whenever a member of the Dutch armerd forces is up for defending his / hers PHd papers they do it in grand uniform with all the ''trimmings".
But in this case its your wife doing the defending and you're a guest.

If the "afterparty" is in formal dress (smoking, tuxedo and such) my guess is it would be ok to wear miniatures on yours.


just my 2 cents and I don't mind being corrected if I see it wrong.

[Spraakverwarring]

I have been to some PhD examinations and in al honesty I never saw anyone wear decorations. And to be honest: I think during that event all attention should go to the person that is about to graduate and not to the guests that express their own achievements by wearing orders or medals. The PhD candiate should be the center of attention during the ceremony where he or she defends his or her PhD thesis and will receive the PhD title.
However at the afterparty that is held privatly, the new doctor can of course deside the dress code for the guests.

[RbP]

Dear members,

My wife (who is French, like me) is going to defend her PhD thesis in Amsterdam within a few months. I believe this is quite a big deal, especially in the NL where there is a lot of ceremonial (university gown, people speaking latin...).
I wonder if this a good idea to wear my (French) medals or not:
a/would it be normal ou would it sounds "too much"?
b/is it OK to wear French medals in a Dutch ceremony?
and if I wear them
c/is it OK to wear miniature medals (on a suit? on a tuxedo? for the day? the night?)

Thanks for your advices!

catulle

You're quite correct that a PhD defense in the Netherlands is quite different than in some other countries. Where in for instance Switzerland en Germany there is hardly any ceremony, in the Netherlands the PhD defense is a lot of ceremony.

Regarding the dress-code: I man defending his PhD is traditionally expected to wear "tails" (or military equivalent). Women defending their PhD have more freedom on what they choose to wear, although some wear (man's) "tails" as well.

For the partner and other guests there is no formal dress-code, but a suit is common. In the Netherlands it is not common to wear medals on a suit (only on black tie, white tie and "tails").

Since the attention should go to the person defending the PhD (after the ceremony: the new "doctor") it doesn't do well to be either overdressed or underdressed. I chose not to wear my uniform when my wife defended her PhD.

Hope you have a great day and best of luck to your wife. If it is in the "Lutherse Kerk"; great location.

Rob

[RbP]

Dear members,

My wife (who is French, like me) is going to defend her PhD thesis in Amsterdam within a few months. I believe this is quite a big deal, especially in the NL where there is a lot of ceremonial (university gown, people speaking latin...).
I wonder if this a good idea to wear my (French) medals or not:
a/would it be normal ou would it sounds "too much"?
b/is it OK to wear French medals in a Dutch ceremony?
and if I wear them
c/is it OK to wear miniature medals (on a suit? on a tuxedo? for the day? the night?)

Thanks for your advices!

catulle

You're quite correct that a PhD defense in the Netherlands is quite different than in some other countries. Where in for instance Switzerland en Germany there is hardly any ceremony, in the Netherlands the PhD defense is a lot of ceremony.

Regarding the dress-code: I man defending his PhD is traditionally expected to wear "tails" (or military equivalent). Women defending their PhD have more freedom on what they choose to wear, although some wear (man's) "tails" as well.

For the partner and other guests there is no formal dress-code, but a suit is common. In the Netherlands it is not common to wear medals on a suit (only on black tie, white tie and "tails").

Since the attention should go to the person defending the PhD (after the ceremony: the new "doctor") it doesn't do well to be either overdressed or underdressed. I chose not to wear my uniform when my wife defended her PhD.

Hope you have a great day and best of luck to your wife. If it is in the "Lutherse Kerk"; great location for a PhD defense.

Rob