defense

Today is a big day, as one of my graduate students defended his dissertation successfully.  He is the third grad student receiving Ph.D.

After accomplishing certain amounts of research (takes usually five to seven years), graduate students write their thesis/dissertation and then do oral defense against committee members' offense.
If agreed by the committee (usually five members for Ph.D.), he/she is granted the degree.

Adapted from a commercial T-shirt store.

It is a moment of emotion for students as well as myself, as we have been mutually interacting for such a long period of time for better or for worse.

Best of luck with your future, Dr. Wang.